The Shigeta twins are at it once again! Miyako and Tomoko continue to do their best to help improve a few lives by finding them places to stay…outside of Kichijoji. From finding a place for a woman as she goes through a divorce, to helping a young woman’s return to Japan after staying in New York for 5 years, and to finding a suitably cheap but interesting place for a woman who’s lost friends because her prior apartments were “haunted”, the twins map out a place and whisk these ladies away to various cities in Japan.
However, this time, it’s the twins who may have to do some searching now that they have to renovate their place.
I think it’s safe to say after reading Is Kichijoji the Only Place to Live? volume 2 that the structure isn’t changing much. You’re going to be introduced to a young or older woman making a major change in their lives due to their situations, and the Shigeta twins tap into their innate knowledge of Japan and what their clients want to find the best place for them. Since that’s the case, it will continue to depend on if the stories are interesting, and for me at least, it’s much sharper in volume 2. Maybe it’s a case of settling into the personalities of the characters or the stories, but it’s very engaging this time around.
The stories are in the same vein of volume 1 — one story involves a young lady who’s getting a divorce, and one of her driving passions leads her to discover an area that fits her to a tee; another story involves a young writer whose talents were taken advantage of, which leads to her eventually settling in an area that fits her personality and what she wants to do. For the most part it worked well, likely due to how they reacted to the twins, who gave them good advice and information during their search — though whether one particular area can be considered to be like “Brooklyn” is a bit questionable. What helps is how it’s resolved — from discovering what led to them wanting to move or find a new place and to a very lush two-page spread that encapsulates how they’re feeling in their new area, it caps what can be a pretty harrowing story line.
That said, there is a sub-plot involving Miyako and Tomoko. They aren’t the biggest fans of renovation, but after going through a study of someone getting their house renovated to them realizing the state of their own place, they realize it’s time to go through that themselves. This leads to them reflecting on their own past as they now have to figure out a place they can stay at until the renovations are done. It doesn’t feel like it’ll last after volume 3, but we’ll see how long this continues.
Is Kichijoji the Only Place to Live? volume 2 was a good step up from the first one. From its well-conceived stories to the art style, I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of this.