
Member Reviews

I picked this comic purely based on its interesting cover and it didn't disappoint. This graphic novel shows us an engaging story of foreigners in Japan and their experience living in this country. It was funny, it was heartwarming, it was cute. The art style was super interesting and beautiful as well.

Es un libro bastante particular que no lo terminé de entender, parece manga pero a la vez no. Me gusto pero hasta ahí, no me voló la cabeza

My favorite part of Julia Cejas's "Hanami" is the art work. I enjoy the loose style as it makes it seem more personal to the author/artist and less driven by what is in the more established graphic novel/comic art style. I also like that "Hanami" is a memoir of a person living in Tokyo for school and it is not afraid to show the fun and the foibles that the main character encounters. Some of the awkwardness is self-inflicted and some is getting used to living in a city/country that is new and different from one's home country. I was also delighted that the main character is from Spain as it provided an added layer of interest for me as someone who is from neither Japan nor Spain or Europe for that matter. So it was a refreshing point of view in many respects.
There were some transitions that were a little abrupt, but it was easy to get back into the narrative flow. I liked the paneling in that it was kept fairly straightforward and dialogue bubbles were easy to follow.
Overall, a solid 4 stars. Very much enjoyed.

This graphic novel dictates a couples move to Japan and their economic struggles. I adored the colour palette, and although the artwork was not my particular taste, i found that it worked well for this story. I enjoyed reading about the different culture, but unfortunately this book failed to hold my attention.

This was pretty good! A bit difficult to read at times, both because of the font that was used and the small size of the text, but it was doable. Would recommend it to other people!

I really enjoyed this book. It was beautifully illustrated and a wonderful telling of the author and her partner's journey in Japan.

I loved learning g about a different culture and how they deal with urban left and how the expats are treated when they come to start new lives there. A beautiful and insightful read.

This was a good story but couldn't connect with the characters.
The art style was good but I got a little bored after the start.

I think it was an okay book, it was decent and I don't really have a specific complaint about it. It just didn't do anything for me and kinda bored me. It felt like something was missing or was lacking in the way the story was being told?

Great cover & charming artwork throughout.
I really loved this story of a young married couple from Spain who decide to move to Japan until the money runs out when the economy takes a downturn. She's an artist & he's an engineer who also composes music. They spend a year preparing & studying the language so they're not completely out of their depth when they arrive & this comic follows them as they navigate their way through their time in Japan.
The color palate reminded me of cherry blossoms & just added to the overall vibe of the story.
I would definitely recommend this to people who read manga & people interested in Japan & have already sent one to a friend who works at her local library & is my go-to on these two areas.
Thanks to netgalley & Humanoids for a review copy of this title.

An artist and musician decide to save up and travel to Japan to live for a few months. This is their travelogue of that adventure.

Interesting at start but I could not stay in the story the whole way through. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the free eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I thought the premise of this sounded interesting, but perhaps it just wasn't what I was interested in at the time. I found it difficult to keep my attention, easy to put down, and a chore to pick back up. For people who are interested in travel journals, I think this would be more appealing. I just didn't find myself captured.

This book had a great premise, with a European couple dropping everything to embark on a once in a lifetime journey of living in Japan. It was fun to read at first, especially since I also had an interest in Japanese culture, but unfortunately it gradually became rather boring as I flip through the pages since the book didn't have a clear plot nor a climax (perhaps due to its slice-of-life nature). Those aside, I pretty much enjoyed the art style.

Hanami is a fun, easy read about a couple's stay in Japan after they realise they have nothing tying them down to their current life. The story is told in a free-flowing way, with a mix of single page snapshots and longer anecdotes. There were some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments (the first experience with a Japanese public toilet!) alongside more moving insights into the mundanity of daily life. There was a sense of appreciation for Japan on every page.
The artwork was stunning and the use of a limited colour palette added to the appeal. With a less rigid approach to line style, Julia Cejas was able to capture emotions in an effective way. I would recommend this graphic novel for anyone interested in travel or Japanese culture.
Thank you NetGalley and Humanoids Inc for providing this e-ARC for an honest review.

While I enjoyed the stories told in this graphic novel, of two young people taking a chance at their dream in another country. I found the fount of the text very irritating to read in a digital format and I did not end upp finishing it.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Humanoids Inc. for the e-ARC. I really enjoyed it!
This book is such a fun peek into life as a foreigner in Japan! Julia Cejas and her husband take us through their year long adventure with plenty of laughs, capturing all the cultural shock and language mix-ups we can all relate to. I loved the blue and red art style it’s super unique and makes each character pop that I can distinct who is who! While the cozy apartment scenes and their language struggles were great, I kind of wished there was a bit more about Japanese culture. It’s a cute, quirky graphic novel that’s perfect if you’re curious about Japan or just want a chill read.

I enjoyed the illustrated diary style this comic has. It really feels like sneaking a peek into someone’s personal sketchbook. In that context the swings in art quality are not as jarring as they might have been otherwise.
The story itself is very cozy, with plenty of fish-out-of-the-water moments from the Spanish couple moving their lives all the way to Japan.
As this is an autobiography it’s hard to hold it against the author, but the fact that all Japanese characters were very minor and stayed firmly in the background felt rather off to me. I understand that not everyone can make friends wherever they move to (god knows I myself can’t) but the lack of meaningful interactions with locals, only deepened the feeling of alienation.
Lovely artstyle with a very tasteful yet narrow and not exactly e-reader friendly color palette. It took quite a bit of tinkering with settings to make all texts legible on my Kobo Clara color. I definitely recommend reading the digital copy on a regular display rather than paper like one, looks and reads much better.

I wished to explore manga, but after i downloaded this, my mood died. Hence will not be reading, sorry!

Circumstances perfectly align for Julia and Marc to finally make their dream of moving to Japan a reality. In Hanami Julia captures their adventures.
Hanami is a collection of vignettes capturing the Japanese spirit viewed through foreign eyes. As someone fairly familiar with Japanese culture I found a lot of recognition in this graphic novel. It shows the joys as well as the bureaucratic nonsense that gets thrown at you when you move to Japan.
I imagine a lot of people visiting or planning to move to Japan will enjoy this, and people already living in Japan might find some catharsis in the pages of Hanami.
Julia Cejas has a unique art style that fits very well with the story being told. I enjoyed spotting the references to other media, and I adored that Cejas listed them out at the end of the graphic novel.
Thank you Humanoids Inc and Julia Cejas for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.