Lesson #4: MAry Poppins the Ass-istant

It’s time for a confession. I love romcoms! There’s something special about that feel-good nature of a good romantic story. Not to mention it reminds you of how wonderfully terrifying it is to fall in love.

This month we’re going full romance with “A Galaxy Next Door” by Gido Amagakure, a sweet and relaxing story about two awkward people falling in love. The story begins with Ichiro Kuga, a young manga artist struggling to get by on his earnings from his work due to having to take care of his two younger siblings by himself. He barely makes his deadlines and can’t keep an assistant long enough for it to make a difference. It’s a sweet and unusual premise but it sets up a nice family dynamic that you don’t see too often (especially with adult-ish characters) in romcoms.

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The story gets moving quickly as the new manga assistant, Shiori Goshiki, makes her appearance. Right from her initial appearance, it’s clear that there’s a mysterious allure to her. Shiori seems reserved at first, which worries Ichiro, but she shows herself as more than capable for the job, much to his delight. After pulling off an all-nighter to make the deadline, a groggy Ichiro sees a G-Pen stuck to Shiori’s lower back and goes to save her from a potential injury… However, as he reaches to grab the pen, he instead pierces his finger on it. The sting from the blow wakes him up and lets him see that it was no pen but a… tail? Shiori wakes up and notices what happened and is visibly irritated. It turns out that the tail, called a “stinger”, serves as a sort of blood contract between her and the stung… More specifically it means that they are to wed. Now we have a romcom on our hands, people!

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In an instant, the story flips the script on what seemed to be a low-key slice of life endeavor and incorporates more fantastical elements which add a certain flair to what was otherwise a somewhat bland story premise. Besides the stereotypical “now we must marry” element, Ichiro is now bound to Shiori in different ways that affect the way he lives out his life. For example, if he were to make her cry, his entire body turns against him and makes Ichiro sick. This mystery serves as fuel for the next few chapters as they try to figure out what exactly it means to be in a “contract” and what the limits of its effects are on Ichiro.

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“A Galaxy Next Door” isn’t breaking any new ground here, but it does have the elements of a successful rom-com. The main leads are extremely likable and it’s the most enjoyable aspect of the manga. Shiori is stoic at first, but as she gets more comfortable with Ichiro and his family, she begins to show weirder and quirkier parts of her personality that make her a more relatable character. She’s a huge manga nerd, especially for romcoms, and this made me love her even more. Shiori is almost like a vehicle for the reader to manifest the things we like about these stories. There’s even a part where they reenact certain scenarios as they try to figure out how the contract works. The wall-slam (kabe-don) is a personal favorite of mine. Ichiro on the other hand is a bit more vanilla when it comes to personality (such is the curse of male romcom protagonists), but he does have his moments where he shows promise. His dedication to his family and his work is commendable and the way he handles the whole “contract” situation is surprisingly realistic. The man has a good head on his shoulders.

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To sum up “A Galaxy Next Door” is a nice read if you like romcoms and even if you don’t, you might find it worth your time as well. The artwork is simplistic, but it works given the nature of the story. The pacing towards the end was a little fast for my taste but other than that there’s not too much to complain about here.

​Grade: B+

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