Rie Aruga

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Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol 12, by Rie Aruga

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In this final volume, we see how Tsugumi and Itsuki are handling being the parents of a young boy names Koki; a very energetic child who doesn’t think anything is ‘wrong’ with his father. He’s just a happy child and they have mostly normal parenting stresses. Since the main couple is firmly established, we have other side characters stepping in for a few asides like how wedding planning would go for a couple in wheelchairs.

All in all, this is a great series with some important information delivered with a good story. If you like romantic drama, this is a sweet series. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol. 11, by Rie Aruga

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Now that Tsugumi and Itsuki are married, they have tried every way possible to have a child of their own. When all else fails, they decide to adopt a child. They have to take classes, prove they can be good parents, and one of them has to take parental leave so they have to decide who will be the one to leave their job.

I’m on the fence about how “easy” the adoption process was. On one hand it’s good that the agency wasn’t automatically against one parent in a wheelchair but at the same time it was such a non issue that it messes with my suspension of disbelief. Not because I want something bad to happen, this couple has been through enough but I can’t imagine so many people being so nice all the time. Just goes to show what I expect from life if I have an issue with there not being enough assholes in a story. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol. 10, by Rie Aruga

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After all their trials and tribulations, Tsugumi and Itsuki start their lives together s husband and wife. And as most couples do, they start to think about having children.

We do get a quick nod to show how a couple would be intimate if one of them is paralyzed from the waist down. This isn’t a hentai so its quite tasteful and very short. It’s something a reader would no doubt wonder about.

The meat of this volume are the fertility struggles so here’s your trigger warning if you have trauma associated with that.. It’s a little by the numbers in order to cover all the feelings swirling around wanting a family and trying to get pregnant in a single volume and I chalk that up to trying to get to a certain amount of pages. We’re in volume ten now, so we gotta get things moving to the conclusion. It’s still emotional and real but fast paced. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol. 9, by Rie Aruga

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Itsuki is determined to get Tsugumi’s father to understand him but the old man’s health takes a steep decline, giving the couple doubts as to if they will even have the chance to get his blessing before he dies.

This volume is the heart tugging, tear jerking one so if you’re a softy, maybe grab a tissue. Here it’s more straight up love story and life drama, which is fine. The reason why this series works is because it doesn’t rely on Itsuki’s disability to carry the story. It’s about people who have to deal with these circumstances as a part of their lives. It’s easy for a story like this to fall into bad tropes of become overly preachy but that’s not the case here. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol. 5, by Rie Aruga

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While Tsumugi is back home helping to take care of her sick father, she meets Kaede and her boyfriend Keigo. They want to get married but Keigo wants to build Kaede a barrier free house, as Kaede is in a wheelchair. Despite their past relationship, Tsumugi connects them with Ikeda who inexplicably turns the job down.

I love how much perspective we get from the disabled characters. It’s so important to see the myriad of reasons why someone could need a wheelchair and how hard it is to know you won’t get better. All the help you’re getting feels hopeless and you want to give up. This series oozes with empathy and care. I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol. 4, by Rie Aruga

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Itsuki feels he can’t be a burden to Tsugumi and breaks up with her, allowing Koreda to swoop in as her support. But Tsugumi can’t seem to catch a break as she must leave Tokyo and go back to her parents due to a medical emergency.

Geez, just throw everything at this poor woman all at once. But, this volume shows how strong she is and Tsugumi keeps moving forward and doing what she needs to do. I think Koreda is being an opportunist no matter how nice he’s being. In my opinion, he should have let Tsugumi process the breakup before immediately taking Itsuki’s place. But, nobody is really terrible in this series. Even Tsugumi’s parents are sympathetic in their own way. I think things are portrayed realistically and that’s important for this subject matter. 4.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol. 3, by Rie Aruga

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Tsugumi is recovering from her accident and while her parents come to help take care of her, her parents insist Itsuki is unable to properly care for their daughter and beg him to break up with her.

A mild nitpick here that’s slight spoilers: Nagawa (the aide) who helps Itsuki is a former nurse and we find this out when Itsuki needs a DRF (don’t click if you can’t handle poop) when he ends up in the hospital. She tells the doctors “Yeah, I was a nurse. I can do it.” Can you just do that in a hospital? Just say that and the doctors say “Well, if you say so, go ahead?” Without any proof? I dunno, that made me pause…

Other than that, this volume amps up how disability can put extra pressure on a relationship; the stress, pain, and embarrassment… Especially when you remember being able bodied and needing all this help. I like how this series is handling it. Nothing feels like it’s checking off a box on a list. It reminds me of With the Light. 5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol. 2, by Rie Aruga

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Tsugumi has begun to take Itsuki but is keeping it secret due to the stigma and gossip around Itsuki being in a wheelchair. But with the stress of meeting Tsugumi’s parents, Itsuki’s aide Nagasawa, as well as a former classmate who still has feelings for her, Tsugumi is burning the candle at both ends trying to prove she can be a good partner to Itsuki.

Now, we’re getting into the rough parts. I dunno about adding in another set of love rivals as the existing conflict seems like enough for me. There are complications that come with dating someone in a wheelchair; and it’s more than just not finding a ramp and random people who can’t mind their own business. But we’ll see how it goes. They may turn out to be interesting. 4.9 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Perfect World” Vol. 1, by Rie Aruga

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Tsugumi and Itsuki went to high school together but drifted apart as they grew older. Tsugumi had a crush on Itsuki and is shocked to see him when her company and his have a work party and she still has feelings for him. She is shocked, however, to see is is now in a wheelchair; having suffered a tragic accident that left him a paraplegic.

Not many people know what it’s like to date someone who’s disabled and not many comics (or other media, honestly) address the unique complications that comes with doing so. Plenty of media have background characters but this puts one front and center with all the cards on the table.

Tsugumi is almost too perfect. I hope she goes through the full range of emotions rather than stick with being a go lucky saint the entire time. I do like how Itsuki isn’t a biter, angry character trope or an overcompensatingly happy person to “compensate” for being in a wheelchair. He’s got issues but he’s a realistic character and I look forward to watching their progress. 4.7 out of 5.

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