Tsubaki Chou Lonely Planet, Vol. 1 Review

By popular demand (after winning a poll on the Shoujo Reddit), here is my review of Tsubaki Chou Lonely Planet, Vol. 1. I will preface this review by saying that I know very little about the series aside from the fact that it was highly recommended, and is from the same mangaka as Daytime Shooting Star and In The Clear Moonlight Dusk.

Chapter 1

Fumi Ohno is a 16-year-old girl who loves a good bargain. Her father, on the other hand, has a love/hate relationship with money. When He tells Fumi that he owes a large sum to a loan shark, her dreams of saving up for a vacuum go out the window. Her father finds work on a fishing boat, and she is forced to get a job as a live-in housekeeper. The beginning is reminiscent of Tokyo Crazy Paradise and Kamisama Kiss regarding the parents being in debt.

Fumi is fairly optimistic as she arrives in Tsubaki Chou (Camellia neighborhood), her new home. Fumi is told she will work for a novelist and presumes he will be an elderly man. What she did not expect upon her arrival was to find a young man looking half-dead in the entryway.

The novelist Akatsuki Kibikino Sensei was, in fact, not dead. (This isn’t a murder mystery shoujo, after all.) He simply worked himself to exhaustion, trying to meet his deadline. (Basically, the opposite of Shigure from Fruits Basket regarding work ethic.) After miraculously reviving himself, he unceremoniously shows Fumi to her rather unimpressive room.

Fumi and Sensei find themselves confused, as neither of them is quite what the other expected. They expected each other to be elderly. Fumi expected Sensei to be elderly due to his profession, and Sensei expected Fumi to be elderly because of her “granny” like first name. Despite the rude welcome she receives from Sensei, Fumi tries to go all out to impress him with dinner. He disregards the small feast and continues working. As rude as he may be, Fumi can’t help but acknowledge Sensei’s strong work ethic.

The next day, to be more considerate of him, Fumi tries to make simple foods that can be eaten one-handed so as not to interrupt Sensei’s workflow. Unfortunately, he is harsh once again and tells Fumi if she wants to “play house,” she can do so at her own home. Fumi storms off to the market, all the while thinking of her family’s debt. Leaving Sensei oblivious to her situation.

While Fumi is out, Sensei notices she has left the house in tip-top shape. He doesn’t seem to care where she is until he receives a phone call from his publisher, who fills him in on Fumi’s situation/

Meanwhile, Fumi has wandered back to the old home she shared with her dad. She reminisces about her time there and thinks about how she no longer has a place to call home. To her surprise (but not mine), Sensei shows up to take her back to her new home.

When Fumi and Sensei arrive home, he tells her that she will be staying in the larger bedroom (formerly his room) from now on. He also tells her that she should announce herself by saying “I’m home” when she arrives. When she says it, he tells her, “Welcome home.” Side note: This is a cultural custom in Japan. When you arrive home, you say “I’m home” or “Tadaima,” and another family member, such as a parent or sibling, responds with “Welcome home” or “Okaerinasai.” Telling Fumi to do this is Sensei’s way of telling her to think of his place as her new home.

Sensei’s unexpected kindness touches Fumi. However, by the next morning, she is reminded that he is like a forgetful cat when she discovers he accidentally fell asleep in her room.

Chapter 2

Fumi tries her best to get used to Sensei’s eccentric loner behavior. Although she’s having a bit of a hard time, she reassures her best friend that Sensei isn’t a bad guy. While Fumi is overthinking her situation, she accidentally makes way too much food in her Home-Ec class.

When Fumi arrives home, while cleaning and continuing to overthink, she stumbles upon some of Sensei’s novels. She is pleasantly surprised to find them riveting, fun, and full of emotion. An unexpected knock at the door reveals Sensei’s editor, Gorou. He refers to Fumi as a cutie, and he and Sensei begin discussing Sensei’s latest work.

Sensei admits that he is unhappy with the hook of his latest work and asks Gorou for a bit more time to think about it. Suddenly, Sensei asks Fumi a question. What would she like as a parting gift if she were parting from a loved one forever? Fumi feels put on the spot but answers him, saying gloves. This gives Sensei sudden inspiration, and he storms off to write after thanking Fumi. Note that as of this point in the story, Sensei always refers to Fumi as “Girl” and never by name. Fumi is once again reminded of how dedicated Sensei is to his work.

Later that day, Fumi tells Sensei that she recently read some of his work and enjoyed it. The praise he receives from Fumi turns Sensei into a shy, blushing little bean. Fumi finds this side of Sensei endearing, although he tries to play it off.

The chapter ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. An unknown young man, seemingly Fumi’s age, approaches her new neighborhood. A moving truck can be seen in the background.

Chapter 3

Fumi wakes up to find that Sensei has fallen asleep in her room again. She voices her annoyance, but his only response is that it used to be his room, and when he’s exhausted, he forgets. At school, Fumi sees the mysterious boy from the previous chapter in passing but thinks nothing of it.

Her friends say the random boy is good-looking and proceed to tease Fumi, saying she never notices such things. Later, Fumi admits to herself that she spends too much time preoccupied with money to worry about boys.

While taking care of the house chores in the afternoon, Fumi notices a stranger in the yard. The stranger is actually a panty thief. (eww) When Fumi tries to confront the thief on her own, she feels scared, and Sensei steps in to unknowingly save the day.

Although it takes Sensei a moment to realize what situation he saved her from, once Fumi explains, he gives chase. Unfortunately, the McCreeperson got away. When Fumi breaks down from fear, Sensei comforts her by saying she can rely on him.

Fumi admits to herself that the moment she heard Sensei’s voice, she felt more relieved than she had ever felt before.

Chapter 4

After encountering the thief, Fumi feels grateful yet awkward around Sensei. She starts to leave the house early to avoid him but doesn’t neglect her chores. She considers this the first time a man has ever protected her. (This means that although her father is never described as a bad person, it is obvious Fumi has never relied on him.)

Fumi is lost in thought when the mysterious young man finally makes another appearance. He’s actually a transfer student named Aioi, who seems to have his eye on Fumi. He requests that Fumi give him a tour of the school. Classmates squeal, saying how lucky Fumi is that he chose her. Fumi, on the other hand, is confused by his choice.

All the girls in school are buzzing about the new transfer student. They fawn over him as they watch him play basketball. When Fumi tries her best to show him around school, he seems completely disinterested. Aioi flips the script when he suddenly becomes inexplicably angry with Fumi.

Aioi insists that he knows Fumi very well and is offended that she doesn’t remember him. What follows is not the typical first love confession I would have expected. Instead, it’s a hilarious story of (in Fumi’s case) forgotten rivalry. Aioi, whose real name is Imamura, lost a race to Fumi ten years ago when they were only six. It was the first loss he had ever suffered, and he still hasn’t gotten over it. The only reason Fumi was determined to win was because rice was one of the prizes.

Imamura’s origin story regarding his hatred of Fumi reminds me of the manga Last Game. It’s hard to take him seriously, although he swears that he hates Fumi.

Chapter 5

Poor Fumi’s supermarket coupon book has been taken hostage by none other than her self-proclaimed rival, Imamura. Determined to get it back, she agrees to be his lackey. I find it hilarious just how much this boy can’t get over himself. I would almost bet money he ends up falling for Fumi.

When Fumi tries to tell her friend Yoh-chan about her situation, Imamura threatens her by pretending to cut the coupon book. This forces Fumi to be quiet and continue to be his lackey. Sensei is also completely unaware of Fumi’s situation as she continues to avoid him at home. Sensei and Gorou are researching out and about when they spot Fumi out with Imamura. The two teens seem romantic, and Gorou says they must be out on a date.

Although he doesn’t question her often about her life outside of the house, Sensei is surprised by what Gorou says. Sensei feels it seems a bit reckless of Fumi to be out on a date nonchalantly, especially after the recent scare she had with the panty thief. He thinks Fumi must have no risk management/self-preservation skills. The truth is what Gorou and Sensei saw was Aioi/Imamura continuing to boss Fumi around while shopping.

When Fumi arrives home, Sensei tries asking her if there is something he should know. Since Fumi doesn’t know what he means, she says no. He asks about her boyfriend, and Fumi realizes he saw her with Aioi-kun. Instead of trying to tell him the truth, Fumi gets flustered and tells Sensei it’s really none of his business. She didn’t mean to sound harsh as Sensei tried to caution her about men.

Since his words are falling on deaf ears, Sensei exemplifies his point by suddenly grabbing Fumi. Demonstrating that she needs to be more cautious.

Sensei’s unexpected actions leave Fumi feeling confused and heartbroken.

Chapter 6

Fumi finds concentrating hard as she wonders why Sensei’s actions sent her heart into doki-doki overdrive. She tries to convince herself that it’s because she is so unaccustomed to men. Even Aioi-kun notices she’s acting strange.

When Fumi arrives home, she finds Sensei nearly dead in the entryway again. Harkening back to chapter one. Turns out he has a nasty cold/fever. (The obligatory sick/nursed back to health chapter is upon us.)

Fumi dutifully insists on caring for him when he tries to continue working. Sensei admits to himself that it has been a long time since anyone has cared for him while he is sick.

Sensei tells Fumi what his favorite soup is, and she is determined to make it for him. He smiles kindly at her enthusiasm and tells her not to bury it in toppings.

Sensei’s smile has Fumi feeling a bit weak in the knees and more determined than ever to make the perfect soup. As she finishes the soup, Fumi starts to wonder what is the mysterious feeling that seems to be growing bit by bit. Why does Sensei’s smile make her so happy? (Girl!!! I know what it is.)

Overall impression? 8/10. The series is really cute. I suspect it will be an age-gap romance akin to Dengeki Daisy. However, I would still bet money that Aioi/Imamura will fall for Fumi, too. It’s not revealed how old Sensei is in volume one, so I know I have to put my this is fiction/suspension of ick and disbelief glasses on soon. I will definitely continue the series as I find the characters super enjoyable. My only potential gripe with volume one is that pacing-wise, chapters three and four could have easily been combined. I look forward to reading and reviewing volume two in the future.