Week #12

This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki


     As I started reading This One Summer, I finished reading it in one sitting. It was very interesting and aesthetically appealing. At first, especially when I saw the montage pages (page 44-53), I expected that this comic is a “diary” kind of story which doesn’t have a big climax… I was wrong! Though this comic captures even tiny moments of the characters’ life, it also tells a family drama in where each characters’ emotions are carefully depicted.

     First of all, I wonder how Mariko Tamaki is able to capture those moments that a lot of us experience in our childhood; looking down on cartoons and trying horror movies, digging a nonsense hole at the beach, having a crush on someone older than you (and that person is not as cool as you thought when you look back…just like the Dud in this comic!)…I recalled similar memories from my childhood because of this comic, but those childhood memories are hard to recall by myself; however, This One Summer is full of such nostalgic memories. As I want to tell my story through animation in the future, Tamaki’s storytelling was really inspiring.

     Another interesting thing is that This One Summer significantly deals with sexual matters as well and clearly depicts Rose and Windy’s interest in those topics; while teenage boys’ interest in sexual matters are casually depicted in the media, the girls are not often depicted that way (I am not totally sure in American media, but in Japan, it is.) I think it is one of the characteristic of comics by women; the story is personal and honest in women’s perspective. 


     The most memorable scene for me was Rose’s internal conflict feeling that her mother is not happy with just Rose. When Rose asks Windy if her mother wants another baby, Windy responds that she is all her mother wants and says, “I’m perfect.” Although Rose responds chill, Windy’s word must have been brutal for Rose. I don’t know if Windy said this on purpose to hurt Rose, or just didn’t think Rose’s feeling enough (because of age?) Rose and Windy’s family situation is totally different and they both have kind of a sense of inferiority although they don’t show it (especially Windy’s feeling about adoption is hard to tell, but she overreacts when Rose mentions something about adoption.) They are friends, but at the same time, they might have those human nature that they want to be (or want to be seen as) happier than another. I feel that This One Sumer really captures such sensitive and complexed feelings of characters which a lot of people can somewhat sympathize. 

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