All My Darling Daughters [Paperback]

Fumi Yoshinaga (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 19, 2010

By the Eisner-winning author of Antique Bakery and Ôoku. R to L (Japanese Style). Yukiko, a salarywoman in her thirties, still lives with her mother Mari. But their relationship suffers a sudden change when Mari announces that she’s getting married—to an ex-host and aspiring actor who’s younger than Yukiko. Yukiko, convinced he’s out to fleece her mom, can’t stand to stay in the house and decides to move in with her boyfriend. Fumi Yoshinaga weaves together the lives of Yukiko, a thirty something salary woman, and her friends in five short stories, exploring the various relationships women have with all the skill and elegance she is known for.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fumi Yoshinaga debuted in 1994 with Tsuki to sandaru (The Moon and the Sandals) and has won numerous awards, including the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for her series Antique Bakery, and the 2006 Japan Media Arts Festival Excellence Award for ?oku.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Original edition (January 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1421532409
• ISBN-13: 978-1421532400
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #805,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A series of stories about relationships with that special Yoshinaga Fumi touch both artistically and emotionally, July 12, 2010

By 

Mir (North Miami Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: All My Darling Daughters (Paperback)

I really, really love this mangaka. I first discovered Yoshinaga Sensei through the delightful ANTIQUE BAKERY (which, if you haven't read, hurry up, it's a treat as delicious as any whipped up by the pastry chef "gay demon" of that series!) and the funny and touching and totally fun FLOWERS OF LIFE (which I had to pay extra to get the later volumes, as they're a bit hard to get in English now, and has my absoloutely fave plotline including the cultural festival, so funny). Her manga artwork is distinctive. Once you see it, you know it's Yoshinaga Fumi--which differentiates her from some of the by-the-book-bishie-mediocre stuff out there. While she may be known also for her yaoi stuff, I find the non-yaoi is really where she shines. She's positively genius in using manga style to showcasing relationships, be they at work in a bakery, in a Japanese high school, or at home with family.

But what really makes this mangaka stand out for me is how she delves into the daily life and emotional workings of characters and brings them to life and makes you laugh and cry and feel strongly for these interesting, often recognizable, very human 2-d creations.

In ALL MY DARLING DAUGHTERS you get a series of stories, in some way connected to the others by characters, if not a continuation of story situations. A daughter who lives with her mom has to deal with mom marrying a young host-turned-actor. A professor deals with the wacky-desperate sexual blackmail of a dorky student (this one made me laugh A LOT, but it is a bit bawdy in storyline and some of the art--nothing overly graphic). A woman agrees to arranged dates in a marriage quest, and an unexpectedly suitable suitor triggers a life-changing decision. (This one made me feel great admiration for Yoshinaga's Sensei ability to delve into a character deeply to come to a surprising ending that makes perfect sense in retrospect.) A woman reconnects with old classmates (in flashbacks and letters) and we see how their youthful dreams did or did not pan out. A daughter's hatred of her mother leads the grandaughter of the former to seek insight about the relationship, and we end up learning how what may seem like villainy is motivated by love and the trauma of old emotional wounds.

Yoshinaga Sensei often gives us those twists in relationships that offer endings that make sense, offer more character insight and drama than a conventional one would (ie, conventional happy romance ending). I sometimes WISH for a more conventional ending, but then it would not be Yoshinaga Sensei's work, which is fresh because it surprises. But it's not cheap, shallow twists. It's twists motivated by real characterization.

Her artwork can be amazingly sensitive (in facial expression panes without dialogue) or crazy funny (like the ones that use the exaggerated manga style to provide humor...love, love her way of making a character eating funny).

These are very sensitive stories (even the funniest one), and there is such a sense of the bonds and frailties of humans here that you feel both saddened by the weight of what we bear and refreshed by the virtues and love that make life worth living.

A terrific volume that is worth buying.

Thank you, Yoshinaga Sensei. Please...MORE!

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful storytelling, January 31, 2011

By 

Tiffany T. Tran (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: All My Darling Daughters (Paperback)

I purchased this manga based off of some great reviews on various sites and Fumi Yoshinaga does an excellent job in this single manga, examining relationships and especially identifying the complicated issues between mother and daughter. I thought it was appropriately mature and hilarious when it needed to be and the artwork was stunning on its own. Her other work, Ooku the Inner Chambers, got me hooked on her work and this just continues to solidify her as one of my favorites.

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous Story and Art, January 11, 2011

By 

Demeter (East of the Sun, West of the Moon) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: All My Darling Daughters (Paperback)

Yoshinaga Fumi is one of my favourite mangaka and this is a brilliant manga to showcase her talent for character. There's not exactly a plot, per se. There's no gundams or special powers; just a story of an ordinary family with their own troubles, dreams, and history. I quite love it, especially with the mother-daughter plotline. It's actually quite rare to find decently written stories for females, but Yoshinaga-sensei actually does it quite often, with a huge focus on it. This is a short, one-volume story, but it's powerful and very, very lovely.