It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too Volume 1

Review Date: 2023 October 13 22:09

Reviewed by: Joe

Released by: One Peace Books

Publishing Country: USA

Author: Suzuyuki

Age Rating:

Page Count: 144

ISBN-13: 9781642732993

ISBN-10: 1642732990

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Summary

It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too is getting its English-language release on October 17th by One Peace Books, and it's a slice of life as warm and crumbly as a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Office employees Yuya and Rio decided to move in together after a year of dating. Thus opens the curtain on their new life: a web of work and social obligations, weathering major and minor storms both serious and silly, always together.

Created by Suzuyuki, this adorable manga went viral on Twitter for its subtle humor and realistic yet heart-squeezing scenarios. The manga is brought to life in English by veteran translator Emily Balistrieri (Tatami Galaxy, I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School).

Review

It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too is a nice little slice of life manga created by Suzuyuki. It charts the everyday adventures of Yuya and Rio a couple in their 20's. Office workers by day, they live in a one bedroom apartment together.



The story starts when the couple move in together and adapt to living under the same roof. Most of the action takes place in their apartment, with the occasional scene in the supermarket or in the office or a few other similar everyday locations. As it's a slice of life manga, it's all about the interactions between Yuya a 25 year old guy, with big bags under his eyes and Rio a 28 year old woman with big eyebrows. Comic misunderstandings, domestic harmony, coming home drunk and a bit confused are all sources of amusement for this manga.



Artwise, the characters are drawn consistently; the backgrounds are minimalist, with just enough detail to set the scene. There isn't really anything elaborate such as two page spreads for key scenes or anything like that. The framing of characters in each scene feels basic, most of the shots are close ups or side on, it feels a bit repetitive, but it does work.



The translation by Emily Balistrieri is natural as it should be, it's snappy when it needs to be, and soft in the right moments too.



There isn't much substance to this manga. One Peace Books describe it as "slice of life as warm and crumbly as a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie" and that's half the pleasure, it's a soft easy read. Like a day time soap opera or one of those cheesy comfort shows you can just dip into. It's not a great magnum opus, it's just something enjoyable you can read through to unwind to, which is a good thing. I'm curious to see where this title goes. If you want something causal to read about romantic every day adventures, you can't go wrong and pick up a copy of this manga.

Rating: 7/10

Notes

The good people at One Peace Books, helped us arrange an interview with the translator for this manga Emily Balistrieri. You may be familiar with Emily's other translation work which includes Kiki's Delivery Service, Tatami Galaxy and I Belong to the Baddest Girl at School.

What was it like translating and It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too?

It's such a laid-back series! And the schedule is also laid back, so I tend to give myself the space to just do like a chapter a day. Although sometimes I get in a groove and do a bunch.

Who's your favourite character in the manga?

Of the two mains, I like Rio. Her brother shows up in the second volume, and as a manga character I think he's interesting, but he would be a total pain in real life.

Do you also like milk pudding?

I bought one when I started doing the series to see what it was all about. And it was tasty, of course. Japan is very good at "milk" flavor. It's not vanilla, you know? It's its own thing. It's gone now, but for a while there was a specialty ice cream shop in Ikebukuro where you could get milk-flavored ice creams made from the milk of cows from different regions in Japan.

Is there a favourite moment of yours from volume 1?

I dunno if I really have a favorite, but there's a cute panel near the end where Rio and Yuya are looking at stuffed animals. In terms of plot, I guess I liked the punchline of chapter three (where the boss is a good cook), though I kind of wish Rio would have ribbed Yuya for his assumption.

Given the choice would you rather have big eyebrows or dark circles under your eyes?

Mmm, eyebrows, I guess. It's easier to adjust those, too, if they start to annoy you.

With the manga you opted for a literal translation of the Japanese phrase "The type who doesn't feed the fish he's caught?" Did you consider other phrases or a less literal translation? If so what?

Not really. I felt like the metaphor was clear.

Are there any other Japanese expressions that spring to mind that you'd also take a similar approach with?

Umm, I can't think of an example off the top of my head, but I know I have before. If it's a very common cliché in Japanese, I'll usually opt for a corresponding English cliché, but if it feels less common or there isn't a good English option, and it seems like it would come across fine in English, then I figure, why not use it? Because the alternative is making something random up or explaining it without using a metaphor, neither of which feels great. Like, in the above example, if I say, "he's the type who doesn't give his dog treats once it knows the trick" that's introducing a whole lot of stuff with potentially different nuances that Suzuyuki didn't write. Or if I say, "the type who stops showing affection once he's in a committed relationship" it feels very flat compared to the Japanese. I don't think the fish line is super natural-sounding to an English speaker, but in a slice-of-life rom-com like this, it's very Japanese all around, so I think using the Japanese metaphor fits when it's comprehensible.

Otaku News would like to thank Emily Balistrieri for being awesome and answering our questions and One Peace Books for helping us arrange an interview with him.

Links

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