The Spring 2021 Manga Guide

Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide

What's It About? 

Super serious Asahi Suzumura and laidback, easygoing Mitsuki Sayama might seem like an odd couple, but they made a deal; they'll vacation around the world and when they get back to Japan, they'll get married.

As they travel from country to country, the different people, cultures and cuisine they encounter begin to bring them closer together. After all they're not just learning about the world, but about themselves too.

Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide is drawn and scripted by Sorai Mone and Tokyopop released its first volume both digitally and in print for $7.99 and $12.99 respectively

---

Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

I'm a terrible traveler. I get anxious, I bring too many books, I have trouble adjusting to time changes…I know all of that all too well. But you know what? Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide makes me want to say the hell with all of it and just go off on a trip around the world. That's not because the manga makes world travel look particularly glamorous. Asahi and Mitsuki's journeys in this first volume see them struggling to navigate India and Thailand, where haggling and vendors taking advantage of tourists makes things hard for them, and the crowd scenes of both of those places are enough to set off a panic attack. But the delight they share, the new experiences, and the food make it all seem worth it.

This is an example where, while the journey is part of the appeal (it's right there in the title, really), it's the characters that truly make the book. Asahi and Mitsuki are dating and living together in Japan, but they've liked each other since high school, something the story shows us really well in flashbacks. Some unnamed medical problem forced Asahi to quit his job (I suspect organ trouble), and that panicked Mitsuki, who not only fears losing him to disease, but also wants to be able to be there to take care of him – and to be allowed to. They agree that they'll get married if they take a round-the-world trip, and that's what led us to the starting point of the volume. But what's striking is that Asahi clearly has reservations about it. Whether it's because he's not comfortable being out in the world or due to his surgery we don't know, but something is definitely holding him back, and that lends the series not only a through-plot, but also a little something bittersweet to add to the travelogue.

Another interesting component of the book is that each country they visit has something to teach Asahi specifically. Mitsuki is the more carefree of the two, the more comfortable in his life, so Asahi is the one who needs to learn the big lessons right now. In Thailand they meet Layla, a trans woman, who, along with her girlfriend, tell Asahi that gender and sexual orientation aren't nearly as black and white all over the world as he's grown up believing. In India, a ferryman reminds him that death is just part of life, and you can't spend all of your time worrying over it. Then in Georgia (the country, not the state), an encounter with Mitsuki's high school girlfriend reminds him of how much he loves Mitsuki and how invested he is in their relationship. There is a slight sense of The Magic of Foreign People and Places, but the book largely avoids too much of that, instead coming off as an exploration of the good a change of scenery can bring you. He could have learned these lessons in Okinawa, but that wouldn't have been as exciting to draw.

The art for the series is very busy and a little sketchy, but it works to convey the overwhelming experiences the characters are having. It's not 100% guaranteed to have a happy ending since we don't know what Asahi's illness is/was, but it's looking like traveling alongside them vicariously is still going to be worth it.

---

Lynzee Loveridge

Rating:

Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide is a well-crafted story that blends the adventure of travel with the emotional trials of navigating a queer relationship. Asahi and Mitsuki are college graduates and in love, but their personalities are in stark contrast to one another. Mitsuki is affable and easily persuaded by snacks, whereas Asahi could best be described as high-strung. A lot of people, myself included, have known a Asahi. If I'm absolutely honest, I'm a little more like him than I'd like to admit. He likes to have a clear plan and is easily flustered when situations outside of his control upset that plan. Also, while he may be the more capable of the two, he's still uncomfortable in his own skin.

Mitsuki and Asahi's relationship isn't "new," they live together and have seemingly been in a romantic relationship for several years. Despite that, Asahis mother has no idea that he's gay and he still remains guarded about their relationship around strangers. Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide is as much about a couple experiencing the world together as it is about Asahi exploring and accepting his own identity. The backdrop of foreign food and tourist attractions is just a bonus, albeit one that made me desperately want to book a flight to Georgia.

The story perfectly blends enough sentimental romance, character writing, and detailed art to make this a great companion book for anyone who wants to learn a bit about the world around them while also following an imperfect couple through their relationship growth. I was most impressed by how well-written both men are, and even with Asahi's flaws, it's easy to understand where his reticence comes from as a man still very much in the closet.