It's the 90s, and Mari is up for an adventure—and a challenge. Determination to learn enough Japanese to be able to communicate directly with extended family is the natural impetus for those adventures: a job as a hostess in a Japanese bar and, eventually, an extended trip to Japan to explore and learn and catch up with family.

The art here is black and white, very clean and often spare; it took me a moment to get into it after the explosion of color of the photographs at the beginning of the book. It's the storytelling that sells me, though—the storytelling and the little quips of humor. ("I didn't MEAN to step on its head!" protests child-Mari as the baby sister wails in the background (93).) According to the author's note at the end, this started as a story about an unusual job, and there is indeed plenty about the experience of working as a hostess. I love how matter-of-factly it's approached, neither exoticised nor demonised, just exploring what it was like (good and bad) to work that job for a time, and the other hostesses and customers.

But while the book is more interesting for the hostess job, it's also more interesting for the fact that the hostess job is not what holds it together—what holds the book together is rather this question of language acquisition and, to a lesser extent, identity. Throughout the book, Mari's mother periodically tries and fails to answer the question of why she didn't teach her children Japanese. She never has a satisfactory response, for the reader or for Mari, but gradually some of the complexities of living a multilingual life—and of some surprisingly rebellious choices—start to sink in for Mari. The version I read is an extended edition, with epilogues touching on later years, and although short they're very valuable for a sense of closure.

3.5 stars—3 for the art (well done but not my preferred style) and 4 for the story.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

I have wanted to read this for years! And my first reading was of the new expanded edition!

The themes of culture clash are so poignant in this book, never more so when it comes to women's choices, bodies and autonomy. I love how MariNaomi depicts their relationship with their ex, and that relationship's deterioration throughout the timeframe of the book. Family expect them to have kids, family all the way out in Japan expect them to have kids, and a boyfriend who was supposed to want the same things... reveals he doesn't really? Gender politics across American and Japanese culture are explored subtly and with a lot of compassion here.

The expanded edition includes extra pages, bringing us up to date with MariNaomi's relationship to Japan and the Japanese language now. As well as a new afterward, which I think pulls out the themes in the book with interesting hindsight. It's also so exciting to see how their art style has developed over the years!

Many thanks to Oni Press for the review copy of this title.

This is a stunning graphic novel. I absolutely adored the simple art style and the story felt so personal and real. I’ll be happy to recommend this book to students interested in graphic novels and Japanese culture.

big thank you to netgalley and oni press for the eReader arc!
turning Japanese is a graphic memoir about author MariNaomi's experiences as a mixed-race person trying to connect with their Japanese culture.
I loved the art style in this, very simple lines without any color made it really impactful visually (kinda like persepolis!). my favorite part of this reading experience was definitely when Mari was in Japan, finally able to connect to and speak with their grandparents in their language. I also really loved the addition of Mari's actually photos from their trips to Japan in the front and back of the book. I kinda wish there had been more!
but overall, this reading experience wasn't super impactful, unfortunately. I think I was just expecting a lot more, but it felt kind of all over the place/pointless at times and, after reading the epilogue, I think maybe there was just too much trying to be tackled all at once. I also felt like the relationship with their boyfriend Giuseppi could've been dived into more/felt very surface level. a lot of it actually felt very surface level, which is a bummer. but I'm still glad I read it!

i definitely recommend this graphic novel, it’s a quick and engaging read and it’s written by a non-binary author so it’s perfect to add to your tbr for the trans readathon this week!the characters were all very well developed and i could really feel their personalities through how the author wrote about and drew them. i also was never bored, the illustrations and dialogue as well as the general storyline were all very entertaining and kept me hooked. i think i read this in only one or two sittings because i didn’t want to put it down!the novel was humorous but at the same time told an important story about the experience of being japanese-american. as someone who grew up in japan, i especially loved when the main character went to japan and showed their experiences with the culture there. it definitely made me very homesick!

I'm not normally a fan of graphic fiction, so take my review with a grain of salt as I read mostly for content rather than illustration. Though I did like the illustrations and thought they were apt!
I didn't find anything particularly special or unique in this story. I was in Japan in the 1990's and I knew many half-Japanese people. There is a true dichotomy of experience for them and the hostess world can be ugly and superficial. Perhaps the most interesting part is the new ending and the realization that we never really lose a language; it is hidden and can be accessed when the right situation presents itself.
I think Mari was floundering in both America and Japan... and the geographical solution is never quite enough.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. Many will enjoy it!

This is such a sweet and beautiful story. It's more than just a memoir, it gives you a real and meaningful insight into how the author was feeling, and how Mari was dealing with everything that was happening around her. I enjoyed how Mari was trying so hard to learn Japanese to connect to her roots and her family. And as I was not familiar with the hostess subculture, and I feel like I learned a lot without even intending to.

And the new epilogue? Chef kiss. I loved how her language skills never left Mari in the end.

Everything felt very entertaining, and immersive.

Thanks Netgalley and publisher for allowing me to access this graphic novel.

At first I thought it was nice to see a Japanese-American girl figuring out Japanese culture on her own without the help of her Japanese mother. However I thought the whole story in this graphic novel was way too busy for me to understand what was really going on and I just lost interest after a few chapters. Its a pity since I too love Japanese culture and was excited to see what this graphic novel had in store but unfortunately it wasn’t for me ;/

I was exoecting more from this and I didn't really enjoyed the way it was written. I was looking for more depth, I found it a bit superficial. Maybe this could work better as a collection of short stories instead.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Turning Japanese is an entertaining read, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in Japanese culture, host clubs, or the experience of being mixed race and/or otherwise disconnected from your cultural heritage.

MariNaomi’s artstyle is quite variable, which is consistently engaging, but I didn’t love every panel. Its strengths, however, are apparent: in particular, how they represent interiors and the creative flares they incorporate with inventive panelling, lettering, etc. I would absolutely prefer this over a “pretty,” art style that doesn’t take any risks.

The “characters,” in Turning Japanese are real people, and indeed, they feel extremely vivid and multifaceted, even if they only appear briefly. Whilst this book doesn’t have a strong narrative throughline, I really enjoyed the way that it was presented as a series of moments with thematic parallels. This feels more true to how memories are usually preserved, which suits a memoir well, and I appreciate that the reader can draw their own conclusions from MariNaomi’s experiences, without excessive rumination or commentary from them: just the events filtered through their point of view.

On a more personal note, I really appreciated this read as a mixed race person with some commonalities with MariNaomi’s experiences (e.g. a mother who did not pass on her native language). I think this memoir really captures the strange liminal space you can occupy as a mixed race person, and the sometimes absurd and bewildering experience of trying to reconnect to your heritage as an adult. The conversations it opens up about cultural and intergenerational differences, and how these can be exacerbated by interacting, are something I would love to see more of both in fiction and non-fiction.

The edition I read included a follow-up comic about a more recent visit to Japan, which I think bookended Turning Japanese really nicely- in fact, I can see the ending feeling a little sudden or dissatisfying without it. If you’re interested in this book, I think it’s worth buying an up to date edition for this comic alone: it really recontextualizes the rest of the memoir.

A graphic novel about a girl called Mari who’s trying to connect with her Japanese heritage via working in US hostess bars then via a trip to Japan. The art work is quite minimal black & white line drawings and sometimes tells a story, sometimes explains aspects of the culture.

An interesting read on connecting with culture but the stories/vignettes are happy to stay mainly on the surface level rather than going deeper. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

In the graphic memoir Turning Japanese, biracial author and artist MariNaomi shares her experiences of reconnecting with her Japanese heritage in California and Japan. The story begins with her at 22, fresh from a messy breakup and chopping off her own hair. She decided to reboot her life in San Jose and use the departure of her long term boyfriend and all their mutual friends as an opportunity to connect with Japanese culture. She starts working as a hostess in Japanese bars with the aim of improving her Japanese language skills and strengthening her sense of identity. As the name of the book suggests, this memoir touches on themes such as reconnecting with one's ethnic heritage and the experience of being mixed race in Japan.

MariNaomi's simple black and white illustrations convey so much emotion. Part travel journal, it includes wonderful cross sections of her various homes and hostess bars in the U.S. and Japan. For example, the details of her new home in San Jose note that the cat is located next to the heating grate. She ingeniously used the speech bubbles to perfectly illustrate her growing sense of confusion and panic as she struggled to keep up with Japanese conversations in noisy bars. "My relationship with the Japanese language was a rocky one" she says, as she reflects on how her mother would switch to using English with her and her father and how she was unable to fully participate in conversations with her extended family.

Starting out in Japan with a knowledge of forty kanji, she says, "What a great opportunity to finally learn Japanese." Unfortunately, she soon discovers that patrons either want to speak English or that she can't maintain a conversation. For the hostess role, she is asked to dye her hair blonde for the work. This moment is not lingered over, but the reader will wonder how it felt to accentuate her Whiteness for the same role she was hoping that would connect her more to her Japanese heritage. This is especially poignant after reading how few Japanese people there were in her childhood hometown. This is illustrated with a drawing of her childhood self a banana with a girl's head ("White inside, Yellow outside"). Her recollections of being a hostess highlight the indignities of service work, sexual harassment, undiagnosed illness and mental health struggles. I think the scene where MariNaomi's real, physical illness is disregarded as being an emotional issue will resonate with many female readers. Similarly, a woman's ability and choice to remain childfree is a key part of this memoir.

It would have been interesting to hear more about why her mother decided to not speak Japanese at home with her. Some panels show her White father trying to speak Japanese to his wife and daughter, and yet her mother answers back in English. She asks her mother why, but neither she nor the reader ever receives an answer. However, this is actually a hidden strength of this book. Books in the multicultural space often focus on strong family histories, connections, pride and inclusion. However, there are many families which don't pass on the language, the food or the culture. Sometimes, due to divorce, trauma, discrimination or just sheer exhaustion, things just don't get passed to the next generation. Sometimes children are brought up entirely separated from one side of their family. What does this mean for Diaspora members? How does this impact their life when they are not White passing? It is interesting to contrast this sense of exclusion and loss here with other books by second generation authors who describe mandatory cultural education to be something of a burden. For those from multilingual families debating various education options, these chapters might give you something to think about. How do you pick which language to speak? What if one parent isn't interested in teaching it? What if your town doesn't have any community resources to support a connection to culture?

Although much of this book focuses on her romantic relationships, the strongest writing came from the chapters detailing her relationships with her mother and her extended family in Japan. You really feel as if you are with her, taking the train and experiencing all of her nervous anxiety and hopes over whether or not her Japanese will be strong enough to finally communicate with her family. She describes her family situation as, "I've only known them through my mom's eyes, and I'm pretty sure that she's not telling me everything." It is also through her female friendships at the hostess bar that she begins to understand why her mother acts as she does and from observations from her fiancé, who argues that her mother must be more daring than she gives her credit for, considering that her mother left Japan to marry her father.

The moments where MariNaomi is both insider and outsider fantastically illustrate what it means to have a layered, multicultural background. Her boyfriends and friends often expect her to be an intermediary between them and Japan. As MariNaomi struggles with her self-image, we learn how everyone else's perceptions and expectations of how she should be often leave her feeling disheartened and fraudulent. For example, on a visit to her grandparents' home, she hides her cigarette smoking and takes to praying at the family shrine. She is shaken when her fiancé asks "since when are you such a conformist?" However, he is more than happy to benefit from her arranging their lengthy stay in Japan. In situations like these, it seems like everyone wants MariNaomi's multilayered identity to shift only when it serves a purpose for them. In some situations, she is too Japanese. In others, she is too American. She wants to be accepted by her co-workers, but is horrified by the casual racism expressed towards other Asians. "But when I got the hostessing job, thinking I'd finally get in touch with a culture I'd only been at the fringes of for my entire life, my feelings of alienation actually worsened."

Turning Japanese covers many difficult and nebulous subjects with sensitivity, grace and humour. I strongly recommend it for those looking to read about the Japanese Diaspora and multicultural America. It would be an excellent choice for libraries celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. I hope to see more books by excellent authors such as MariNaomi which cover topics related to cultural isolation and reconnection.

This book was provided by Oni Press for review.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this book. I picked it up because I thought the cover was pretty cool and the title intrigued me.
I was very pleasantly surprised. I was able to quickly get into the story and become interested in the different characters. I liked the drawing style: black and white, very simple and straight to the point.
It was very moving and touching to read the author's story, I am grateful that she shared her experience with the world and managed to open up about her feelings.

This was a delightful graphic novel about identity and finding oneself. I loved the simple art style and how it conveyed the author's message without overwhelming the reader.

Not too sure how to feel about this graphic memoir by MariNaomi about their desire to explore that Japanese side their mother never cultivated in them. That's often the case with mixed families, a culture is often left behind, and for Mari it was something they wanted to rekindle in their 20s.

I love graphic memoirs, because of the illustrations it feel so much more personal and real. I liked the simple and expressive illustrations of Turning Japanese, MariNoami is very talented, but I was left not quite as taken by the story. I liked how it ended, that message, I liked the genuineness overall as well, their anxiety and how hard it is to get out of a loop. But I guess sometimes you just don't connect so much with books or with people.

I have lived in Japan for many years, but I chose the opposite path, if that makes sense. I avoided the sordid nightlife, the manga/toy cliches, the perverts and Roppongi expats. What I went for was more the zen side of Japan, the nature, the clean comfortable convenience, the fascination for details, the art... reading that graphic novel, reminded me of why I wasn't interested in all that other side of Japan. So it was a very ambivalent read. I did find the pages about the temple experience really interesting though.

This graphic memoir is very different to any book I've ever read but I really enjoyed it. I learned so much about the Japanese illegal hostess scene in the mid 90's US. I really liked being a part of Maris journey on learning the Japanese Language and finding their way as a mixed Japanese person living in the US and then moving to Japan for three months. Its a great story about Culture, Identity, Family, Finding your place in life and the World and the impact Language can have.
The artwork is brilliant and a great way to tell Mari's story, I particularly liked that the artwork was in Black & White.

I hate giving star ratings to memoirs, because who am I to rate your life experiences, ya know?

However, this was very special and felt like a slice of life and introspective look into the author's life, and I loved the art style and what pieces they chose to share with us! I also loved reading more on the diaspora and culture clashes. Definitely left me with things to think about myself!

At first I wasn't sure about this comic but I ended up liking it a lot.
Turning Japanese is about a lot of things: hostess bars, learning a language, feeling stranded from your family and relationships. I enjoyed a lot the trip to Japan, the hostess part was a little stressful.

I liked the art (I am very biased towards b&w drawings, I find them easier to read), although I think the style of the epilogue was even better, MariNaomi is very good at drawing faces and expressions.

Mari, a Japanese-American in her early 20's is having what I like to call a quarter life crisis. She wants to connect to her mother's family and heritage. To do so, she takes a job in a bar for Japanese expats. She loves it but struggles with the differences in culture and with the language. She moves to Tokyo in a quest to connect with her extended family - on her own.

- Bay Area setting
- Finding yourself
- Learning new things/exploring new places
- Memoir! Loved the format of the graphic memoir and the illustrations.

I loved how she found herself through her adventures!

I liked the art style and learning a little about working in a hostess bar and the parts about them learning Japanese were touching
I was expecting a little more depth to the actual characters
this could've worked more as a collection of short stories
a big thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.