A Glorious Symphony Of Blood and Sweat (because of GaoGaiGar)

Kimi wa dare to kisu wo suru?

When you think of romance comedy, what would be the titles that cross your mind? Most probably for recent fans of the Japanese visual culture, the answer would probably be Love Hina or Suzuka to a lesser extent (since Suzuka is more inclined towards being serious in its theme of romance as compared to Love Hina). Fans of romance comedy enjoy it because it brings parental warmth or simply joy to watch the growth of the main couple develop feelings for each other while trying to overcome a series of obstacles that prevents them from getting together. I am guilty of that as well.

Usually when I find myself engaged in a conversation that goes like ‘SO WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MANGA TITLE?’ or something along that line, I would bring up the name ‘Tsurumoku Dokushinryou’ and it has a 98.72% chance of baffling whomever I am speaking to. Tsuru-what is the common reply as the title is an extremely old piece of work. I might be accused of being impishly elitist for doing so (which I might have to admit being so) but Tsurumoku Dokushinryou is indeed a manga that has left a strong impression in me and it is the reason why I am writing a darn post about it.

Allow me to provide a bit of information in regards to this work before I move onto why I am spurred to recommend it to fellow appreciators of the visual culture. If you are not interested, you are welcome to skip this paragraph. Well then! Tsurumoku Dokushinryou -ツルモク 独身寮-, also known as The Tsurumoku Bachelors’ Dormitory, is a romance manga with a dash of comedy to it. Published in the 1980s, it was drawn by Eisaku Kubonouchi and lasted for 12 volumes. AnimeNfo claims that it has 11 volumes but I have the entire series in my room and I think I possess at least the counting ability of a kindergardener to affirm that it has 12 volumes in total. Well that was not too long right?

The Plot:

After graduating from high school, Shota Miyagawa leaves his hometown to work near Tokyo. He leaves behind him the responsibility of succeeding his father’s small furniture store and his childhood sweetheart, Tomomi Sakurai. *Note: I am writing the names of the characters in the order of first name following by last name. Sorry weaboos. XD*

He becomes a blue collar worker in a well known furniture company known as Tsurumoku Furniture and is assigned to live in the Tsurumoku male dormitory. It is in the dormitory where he meets interesting characters like playboy Kyousuke Sugimoto and grumpy Shigeo Tabatake. And his life will never be the same when he finds himself falling for the beautiful office lady Miyuki Himeno who lives in the ladies’ dormitory just opposite the men’s. Shota would eventually find his stay in the Tsurumoku company the most fulfilling days of his life as he experiences the bittersweetness of love and the challenges of life.

A serious take on coming of age, Tsurumoku Dokushinryou is also capable of being light hearted at times.

The Characters:

Shota Miyagawa- The protagonist of the story. He was only 18 when he left his home to travel all the way to Tokyo to seek a job and a place in society. Young and naive, Shota probably was not willing to settle down and that prompted him to adventurously seek his own world.

While working as a simple worker in the manufacturing branch of Tsurumoku Furniture, he proves to have a talent in designing furniture himself and his ability was acknowledged by the mangement when his design was used.

For almost the entirety of the manga, Shota struggles with his indecisiveness to choose between carrying on his relationship with the girlfriend whom he had left behind and starting a relationship with an older lady in Tsurumoku Furniture.

Miyuki Himeno- An office lady in Tsurumoku Furniture, Miyuki first met Shota, who is younger than her by a few years, when he had a glimpse of her through the window of Miyuki’s room. There were initial rumours that Shota is dating Miyuki because he was found in her room after the welcome party for new employees, the confusion was caused by a chain of funny events.

When Shota’s girlfriend travels to Tokyo to find him, Miyuki makes it clear that she neither is she dating Shota nor does she have feelings for him to ease the uncertainty of Shota’s girlfriend. However as the story progresses, she realises that she is beginning to like him.

Tomomi Sakurai- The girlfriend of Shota, she runs off to Tokyo to chase after Shota. Although Shota once assured her that he will never fall for another woman, Tomomi notices that she is slowly losing her place in Shota’s heart.

Emotionally vulnerable and guilible is Tomomi that Shota had to save her once from being raped by the colleagues of her workplace. When Shota starts to ignore her, Tomomi becomes more independent.

Kyousuke Sugimoto- Handsome and good with words, Kyousuke is the ultimate casanova. He is humourously depicted to be so attractive that he receives a heap of chocolates on Valentines Day every year and has slept with quite a lot of women. Mischevious in nature, Kyousuke shows his maturity once in a while by sharing some advice with Shota. Kyousuke’s playboy lifestyle would eventually be halted when he starts a rather reluctant relationship with the ugly but filthly rich Reiko Shiratorizawa.

Shigeo Tabatake- Lecherous and a grouch, Shigeo is one of the most senior denizens of the Tsurumoku dormitory for men. He is known to use a pair of binoculars to peep at ladies while they are changing their clothes. For that, he is rather unpopular with his female colleagues. Often the source of comic relief like Kyousuke, Shigeo is teased for having facial features of a monkey.

But he is bloody GAR.

Reiko Shiratorizawa- Reiko is the daughter of the head of the Shiratorizawa Group of Companies. So ugly she is that Kyousuke would freeze in terror when she touches him. She met Kyousuke when he took Shota to a bar to flirt with some women. Shota ended up talking to a beautiful lady, surprisingly being the younger sister of the not so good looking Shigeo, while Kyousuke stumbled across Reiko.

Very often or not, Reiko ‘cockblocks’ Kyousuke by intervening with his approaches on women very much similar in style to the random appearances of Fuuko of Clannad. Whimsical and very selfish, Reiko does not have a lot of appealing traits since she is ugly as well. But it is her love for Kyousuke that made the latter give up his lifestyle as a playboy.

Reflections:

This is probably one of those manga titles that would prompt you to scoff at newer works with a snide remark like ‘Bah! Those young whippersnappers!’. It is slice of life portrayed in a seinen light, and it has evidently set a certain standard for me when it comes to experiencing anime and manga of the same genre.

Putting the comical moments aside, Tsurumoku Dokushinryou is a captivating depiction of ordinary life. It is filled with mundanity and is often serious. Each character of the story is given a decent portion of attention to have a healthy development, so that readers are able to understand their personalities. It is so because it is the characters that drive the flow of the story, hence there is a stronger emphasis on the characters above the events and challenges they are facing.

But I would not declare that Tsurumoku Dokushinryou is much superior as a SoL story as compared to say works like Lucky Star simply because it is a seinen work. Its execution and presentation is like good ol’ mummy’s home cooked food while Lucky Star can be considered like food that people can enjoy together from those pizza places.

Shota would have to choose either Tomomi or Miyuki and his decision is more than just a simple conclusion for his romance for it is a significant indication of his growth from boy to man. Each experience, be it painful or wonderful, is more than just a passing moment but an engraving in each of the characters’ heart and memory that contributes to the shaping of their maturity. And while Shota’s romance is one of the main highlights of the story, other themes stand on equal ground in attention given so that it is not mainly just about who will Shota eventually end up with. Because of that, everyone in the story is not easily forgotten.

If you like a story that is not about moe-moe girls (lol. that was uncalled for) and do not mind rather old art work (but it ain’t so bad. Tomomi and Miyuki are pretty!), do give Tsurumoku Dokushinryou a try!

By the way, this story has a ‘beach episode’.

P.S

I do not know whether there are scans for this manga online. m(   )m –Sorry