While the teabag is in the pot and she’s waiting for it to be ready, she looks at a picture of Yumiko in which she has her diploma in her hands. It takes a third panel and quite some noise from the kettle before the mother notices the water is boiling and she goes to the kitchen. We see the woman working on her computer at home, followed by a panel of a bookcase with a radio and a picture of her daughter, followed by a panel of her hands typing on the keyboard, followed by two panels showing the kettle is boiling. For instance, when he introduces Yumiko’s mom, Obata uses two pages without any dialogue or captions. Obata uses a subtle and visual way of storytelling. Every once in a while, for example, Obata shows us a street scene, Japanese architecture or a canal that runs through town. In this pleasantly paced story, Obata gives the reader time to look around, just like Yumiko does as she visits Japan. And despite all this, I still take part in it! Ah, where I am right now… I am in a theater… performing a piece, pretending to be something else…’ she thinks during the ritual.įumio Obata makes wonderful visual observations about Japan. ‘If formality and courtesy take over the feelings, how silly and meaningless all these things could become.

She feels like she is performing in a ritualized play, detached from her emotions, just like a performer in Noh theater. During her father’s wake and funeral, Yumiko notices she doesn’t feel sad, she doesn’t seem to feel anything. As a matter of fact, all human forms, shapes and movements are codified in specific forms. The performers restrict characters’ emotions by following a sophisticated code of gestures. A traditional form of Japanese theater which aesthetic demands the exclusion of natural traits and spontaneity. This internal conflict is visualized via the appearance of a performer of the Noh theater. Is Japan still her home or has she changed too much in the years she stayed overseas?

Here, she feels out of place in daily situations, but also in ritualistic situations such as the wake for her father. When her father suddenly dies she returns home to Japan. She is engaged to an Englishman and has made a nice life for herself in the UK. In this graphic novel, London-based Yumiko is a designer running her own firm with friends. That’s why I chose to read Just So Happens by Fumio Obata. Those films give an impression of Japan that leaves one wanting to know more. Yes, I’ve seen martial arts films, some anime and Lost in Translation.