Due to a complicated state of familial circumstances between the Tachibana’s and Hiiragi’s, Haru was going to marry Togo, but it’s not going to happen anymore — Haru died at 19 due to cancer. In Haru’s Curse, we end up following the two people closest to her — Togo, the fiancé, and her sister, Natsumi. While at the funeral Natsumi and Togo agree to date but with a catch — Togo has to take Natsumi to all the places he took Haru to. What seems like a bad optics situation evolves into revealing just how much the loss of someone they each loved has taken a hold of them.
And for at least one of them especially, it’s something that they can’t shake off with ease.
Overall, Haru’s Curse is a worthwhile, messy read. Messy in the sense that what should seem simple can always be unnecessarily complex, and while certain visions and plans can work for people, it also can be constricting for others. One example is Togo Hiiragi, who’s part of a respected family that must maintain a high status, and this starts from the moment you’re born. You have something you want to do or go to? For Togo, he grew up with his family setting his future for him, believing they knew what’s best. As he begins going out with Natsumi and taking her to the same places he’s taken Haru, it starts to dawn on him how much his life hasn’t been his own, and being unable to stray from the path set for him makes him realize this can’t go on.
The other example is Natsumi Tachibana, who is the more interesting character since it’s her love for her sister that shadows her — her families’ situation plays a role too. And yes, key word families, as she had two sets of families as she grew older, with a divorce ensuing. This delicate situation ended up making her spend more time with Haru, even to the point where she thought about marrying her, but now that Haru’s gone, she’s at a loss of what to do. As she spends more time with Togo, her love for her sister is still there, but she starts discovering sides of Haru that she didn’t notice before. This eventually leads to a scene where Natsumi uncovers something secret that Haru had hid. I’m ambivalent on whether it was a good narrative choice, but how Natsumi responded after this reveal is something the manga needed.
While we do meet other characters, from Haru’s second mom to Natsumi’s little brother on her mom’s side to Togo’s mother, how Natsumi and Togo reconcile with losing Haru is the driving force in this series. Even when these two try to date, what they know of Haru continues to stick with them. This involves the places and things they happen to do, and even the one thing that Haru never did that Togo ends up doing with Natsumi impacts them. While they were interspersed in the first half, we do get more from Haru’s perspective in the second half of the story, which goes into attempting to infer so much from someone who can no longer respond to them. This ends up giving the readers additional information that only makes us question her true feelings for Natsumi and Togo.
The art for this work is mostly great — with the type of relationships and nuance going on in this manga, it’s great that you can see how Natsumi’s conflicted when she stumbles upon something new, when she ends up confronting her mother, or when Natsumi and Togo do something mundane as they go out. I do feel like where it comes a bit short is the attempts at levity. They can be sorely needed with material this heavy, but the jokes don’t really stand out, and the drawings to convey them didn’t work that well either.
Haru’s Curse certainly is not a light read, but is certainly a manga worth checking out. From its cast of main characters, how they each handle the loss of someone they loved, and what they chose to do to move forward were depicted well. If you’re looking for something short, then this is worth placing on your shelf.