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With the Light – Volume 2 Review

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With the Light - Volume 2 Review 1Title: With the Light ~Raising an Autistic Child~ Volume 2
Alternative Title: Hikari to Tomoni… ~Jiheishouji o Kakaete~ (光とともに…-自閉症児を抱えて)
Written by: Keiko Tobe
Published by: Yen Press
Based on: Original Manga
Language: English Text
Pages: 528 Pages
Cost: $AUD 29.95 from Borders
Previous Reviews: Volume 1

I remember a few posts back when I stated the criteria and means that I would conduct reviews for manga and anime titles…. and I said that I would endeavor to review manga in sets. However, With the Light is one of those titles that deserve an individual review for many reasons. The first, being that each volume is the size of threeish normal manga volumes and the second is that whilst this manga would not suit the tastes of some manga readers, for those that can appreciate the context of the storyline through either personal experience or through your own personality, I feel it is my duty to continue to promote this title.

This series is currently the only manga series I have read, that has ever made me cry whilst reading it, infact, there are multiple times when I have wanted to tear up. This series is not for someone who likes fantasy novels, or mystery or heck, anything that does not involve a real life scenario… this manga is for people who have an interest in a lifestyle shared by many families throughout the world…. the life of a parent with a child with special needs, in this case… autism. This, is my review of With the Light ~Raising an Autistic Child~ Volume 2.

Sachiko and Masato Azuma have overcome numerous obstacles in dealing with their firstborn son Hikaru’s autism. Having saved their marriage from ending in ruins, the young couple has welcomed a healthy baby girl, Kanon, into their tight-knit family. But with the obvious differences between Hikaru’s and Kanon’s developmental abilities, it becomes apparent that social prejudices against Hikaru’s disability are never far away. As Hikaru moves into fourth grade, Sachiko encounters a new student, Miyu, whose mother has completely given up on her daughter’s life, and her own. With the help of Hikaru’s beloved teacher, Aoki-sensei, Sachiko aims to bring hope back to Miyu’s family. But when Aoki-sensei transfers to a different school and Hikaru’s special education class is thrown into upheval by yet another tragedy, can Sachiko continue to hold on to her own hope for her son’s future?

As you can see, the storyline is not all sunshine and daisies, or mages and swordsmen clashing in an all epic duel, instead, it shows the harsh realities of life that some families happen to endure (Not exclusively to Japan either, I can safely say almost every, if not all countries in the world have flaws in the way that disabled children are treated by the general public and the education system). The storyline primarily focuses on Hikaru and Sachiko while at some points of the manga, I found myself forgetting that Kanon and Masato actually were in the manga. The storyline is not a clear transition from Volume 1 and it goes from the Early Elementary Years arc which was Grade 1 to the Later Elementary Years at the start of this volume, which focuses on Grade 4 for the entire volume. The storyline uses a lot of the characters from the previous volume, with the addition of a few new characters (Such as a child who supposedly has autism at the same degree as Hikaru) and they are introduced sporadically during the chapters.

The storyline focuses on Hikaru and how he manages to change the lives of the people he meets, such as Ishida-kun, a grade 6 student who volunteers to look after Hikaru as part of a Buddy System and a bully who comes from a deadbeat family, and slowly changes his personality through spending time with Hikaru. The only issue I really have with this volume, is that it does give the impression at times, that the storyline uses too many convenient plot twists in an attempt to form not only a more saddening storyline, but also causing a more complex situation on the characters. However, if you take these as mere coincidences (and quite often the manga tries to explain them as such), then you actually do feel a strong empathy towards the characters. All I can say it does show what a bitch a certain part of the general public are like to the disabled.

I did get the impression that the design quality of the volume was not as high as the previous volume and some of the characters in the volume looked oddly similar that at one point I had to look back to see if a character was one person or another, however it is still of a very good standard for a manga that is aiming at simulating real life. One thing that I cant recall if I stated before, Keiko Tobe really shows off her design skills in the chapter introduction page, where she shows off a lot of clever and cute drawings of the characters, in a bunch of different drawing styles.

In terms of extra content within this volume, I am sure you would be surprised if there was none in a book of this size. Thankfully, they have added a few extra bits of content such as:

  • Cultural Notes – Much better designed then what is used in a lot of mangas, and whilst it may look like the same old stuff, you have to consider that this could very well be a persons first manga considering the genre, so I think it is a nifty thing to have, along with the reading style information page, also at the front of the book.
  • Autism Information – Throughout the book, there are scattered pieces of information regarding autism groups and tools.
  • Living in my Town, Being Myself… and that’s how I (Tetsuyuki Akashi) became a public Employee by Tetsuyuki Akashi’s Mother, Yoko Akashi.
  • About the “Convention on the Rights of Children.
  • Guided by the Children by Kiyokazu Nagae, Special Education Teacher (Who was one of the models behind Aoki-sensei).
  • Translation Notes
  • Tagalog – Althrough the Filipina neighbours do not appear in the volume, Hikaru still speaks Tagalog periodically during the chapters.
  • Information on books regarding Autism.

and I now realize stating that there were a few extra bits of extra content was an understatement.

As I stated at the start of this review, I cannot recommend this book enough. It is one of those books that will make you cry, make you go aww… and make you look at life in a completely different way, only to have it happen again the next chapter. This book is not for everyone, however this is one of the manga series I can say that I shall follow right through to the end!

Final Score

Storyline: 10
Characters: 9
Design: 8
Extras: 10
Personal Opinion: 10
Final Score: 9.5

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.
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