Idecided to give Dreamin Sun A read because it is by Ichigo Takano. The Mangaka of Orange. I also really liked the protagonist’s aesthetic, as she was featured on the cover. I decided to go into it pretty blind, not knowing much about the premise other than the fact that the protagonist moves away from home.
The story opens up with Shimana Kameko declaring that she hates her name (Which means something like “turtle door.”) and her life. Immediately, I think, well, that’s interesting. There’s definitely going to be more to that statement than meets the eye. After a slight disagreement with her father regarding helping with her new little brother, Shimana decides to run away from home. We find out that the person that Shimana’s dad refers to as her mom is actually his second wife because Shimana’s mom has passed away. Ah, there’s the catalyst of Shimana’s unhappiness.
Shimana’s running away from home quickly becomes eventful when she accidentally kicks a sleeping, Kimono-clad man in the park. Being a reasonably observant man, he immediately notices that Shimana is running away from home.
He says that he has a beautiful, furnished place she can stay at for about $100 a month if she fulfills three conditions. Condition number one: tell him why she is running away. She says that she hates her parents and feels she has nowhere to belong after her father remarried. The second condition is to find Asahi, the man’s housemate, so Shimana can get the key. The third condition is not revealed at this time.
Shimana learns that Asahi is a schoolmate of hers. She also learns that Zen, another classmate, is another housemate of Mr. Kimono. Shimana high tails it to school to find Zen. She asks for his key without explaining herself. This leads to a hilarious exchange between the two where Shimana declares she has Zero interest in him. Ultimately, she decides to drag him to the park where his housemate is.
Shimana and Mr. Kimono think they are saved, but unfortunately, Zen lost his key on the way to school while doing backflips. This eventually leads to an argument between Shimana and Zen. Where Zen calls her useless, referring to her last name, which means tortoise child. Being called useless is a trigger for poor Shimana. She often feels this way because of her name and her family life.
She decides that she will leave Zen and his housemate to their fate. While she is on her way, she spots Zen’s lost key stuck on a tree overlooking a cliff. While she becomes determined to grab it, she thinks of her mom fondly. It seems that her mother was often her cheerleader and made her feel loved and needed. Shimana almost falls but is saved by none other than Asahi!
She takes Asahi to Mr. Kimono, who we finally learn is actually named Fujiwara. Fujiwara declares that although she cleared condition two because she found Asahi, Shimana did not tell the truth about condition one. Fujiwara encourages her to be honest. Shimana says that what she wanted most was to accept her new family’s happiness with a new mom and brother and her dad, but she couldn’t. She felt that to accept it would be betraying her mom. Fujiwara accepts this explanation, and Zen sincerely apologizes for calling her useless.
When Fujiwara says she has yet to tell him her name, Asahi asks her what it is. She happily tells him her name. This surprises Zen and Fujiwara, but Shimana is clearly smitten with Asahi. When Asahi asks for permission to call her Shimana without an honorific, she quickly agrees. When everything is all settled, she decides to move in.
As it turns out, the room she will be renting is actually in a lovely single-family home and not an apartment like Shimana thought. Fujiwara refers to himself as the landlord of the house. Shimana quickly finds out that Fujiwara fibbed at least a little because her room is completely unfurnished. She is meant to spend her first night in the living room, but when Asahi comes home from work he takes her to his room.
When she wakes up the following day, Fujiwara informs her of Asahi’s kindness, including him making her lunch for school. As a result, Shimana becomes even more smitten with Asahi senpai. When Shimana asks Fujiwara what the third condition of the house is, he says that she must have a dream and he’ll give her time to find her dream, which she agrees to. He also encourages her to fall in love which she thinks she might be able to do because of Asahi.
Shimana learns a bit more about Asahi while at school. Like how he has a completely different persona while at school while reading. She also learns that his dream is to be a lawyer.
During a welcome party that her new housemates have for her, Shimana learns that Asahi is already in love with someone, leaving her feeling quite deflated. I would say, girl, don’t give up so fast. The boy didn’t say he had a girlfriend. Fortunately, Fujiwara points this out as well. Fujiwara also tells Shimana that she can’t put off confronting her parents forever.
With Asahi’s help and Fujiwara’s wallet, Shimana finally gets a bed in her room. When Asahi is running late one morning, Shimana decides to make his lunch. Although she doesn’t get up the courage to share the lunch with him, she learns that Asahi’s love is unrequited while talking to Asahi and Zen. So yay, girl, you’ve got a shot, Shimana! Shimana and Zen make friends with a young woman named Miku. Who owns their home and says she has a crush on Fujiwara, who acts hilariously awkward around her.
The volume ends with Shimana getting permission from her father to stay with Fujiwara and the boys. I. I was happy to see that there was actually a heartfelt and honest conversation between Shimana and her dad where he admitted his faults. He realizes now that his actions have hurt her. Shimana is also honest when she says that she had felt very lonely since her mother’s death three years ago, but the house with Fujiwara and the boys has given her a new place to belong.
In a moment alone with Shimana’s dad, we learn that Fujiwara is a Prosecutor just like his dad. Shimana’s dad says that Fujiwara’s dad helped his family three years ago. I believe this refers to Shimana’s mom somehow, but we don’t get clarification right now. Due to this, Shimana’s dad says he will trust Fujiwara, and Fujiwara says he will definitely protect Shimana.
Overall impressions? I love the comedy aspects! Although Asahi is the clear sweetheart, I adore Zen and his panda obsession. Fujiwara gives me Shigure from Fruits Basket vibes. I mean that although he provides comedic relief, he also has very insightful moments. I also wonder why he seems to be hiding his true profession from the kids. He himself is fairly young, only 21. I look forward to Shimana’s adventures in the home.
