It’s rare for a manga to stir up emotions unless it brings all of its best elements together. And even if there are some issues, its flaws are minor compared to reading it from the start and getting to the end and going, “Wow.”
Perfect World volume 2 was “Wow.”
Though it also ended in a way that messed me up completely, it brings many worries for Itsuki and Kawana as the series continues.
It starts off pleasantly enough. After the end of volume 1, Itsuki and Kawana get into a relationship. While they are trying to get used to each other, for Itsuki, concerns about his leg and being there for Kawana affect him greatly, but them being honest seems to deepen their relationship even more. And as Kawana’s getting some advice from a friend on being with a disabled person, the relationship will have hardships, but the two should manage to overcome it.
Yeah, like it would ever be that simple.
The stigma that happens with disabled people is a major conflict in volume 2, and it unfortunately comes not from the train station worker or the passerby at the park, but from everyone and everything that was trustworthy. For Kawana, that comes in all the unexpected ways — from Itsuki’s caregiver, Nagasawa, to an old high school friend, Koreda, and to her own mom and dad. For Itsuki, it’s his disability, all the ways that he wishes he could be with Kawana if he could walk, and from a person he trusts. All of that comes to a head, which brings forth disastrous consequences that test the two moving forward.
After getting to the ending of volume 2, I thought about everything that took place. Lots of things occurred in what was only 5 chapters, and yet, nothing felt rushed. All of it is clearly explained and the emotions for every character that appears are drawn well. And within all of that, many emotions went through me: happiness, fury, sadness, the works. Life’s never as simple as it could be, but the one constant that sums up this volume is people’s selfishness.
In subtle (or unsubtle) ways, everyone displays their selfishness, which actively affects Itsuki and harms Kawana. The first one to go over is the one who pops up, Koreda, Kawana’s high school friend. Koreda was just like her — he liked Kawana in school, but nothing came of it because he knew she had eyes for Itsuki. Now years later they meet again, and as much as he tries to play the friend, he realizes he can’t. The big difference between the two, however, is Kawana’s already in a relationship, and he wants to sever it. He even at one point (while Kawana’s not around) makes a comment to Itsuki that shows he wants her, and it’s not great.
The second is Itsuki’s caregiver, Nagasawa. Formerly a nurse, her history with Itsuki would normally be fine, and especially since he trusts her — he explains why — she could’ve been a nice supporting character in this manga. Unfortunately, she’s a part of the problem too. It does stem from being unhappy in her marriage, but not only is she withholding her true situation from Itsuki, she’s sharing that with Kawana instead. Hence she’s gonna be one of the characters that will have to change because she is not helping.
Finally, Kawana’s parents. She tells them who he is and his disability, which leads them to questioning everything about him. Maybe that’s expected of them, but constant badgering is the one where yeah, this is a major problem. Their explanations seem reasonable, but it mostly all involves them. There’s little concern for Itsuki at all. Itsuki knows of this, but Kawana, who already has a lot to learn about being with a disabled person, didn’t need any of this. It only makes me wonder if Kawana can get through to her parents.
There’s a lot to consider when it comes to this, but in almost every action it feels like people consider someone in a wheelchair to be useless. Volume 1 goes over this, and volume 2 has a part to show that despite being disabled, there’s potential to still do things. And quite honestly, maybe it’s just human nature to question these things. For at least Kawana’s parents, in the back of their mind, they believe they’re asking these out of concern. For Nagasawa, we later learn she has ulterior motives, but her questioning Kawana about being with Itsuki wasn’t wrong. And sadly for Kawana, she doesn’t heed the advice she got earlier in this volume where sometimes in being with a disabled person, that also means not being there for them all the time, so she has much to learn.
But the general actions from people come across as yes, Itsuki can’t be a help to her due to his injury. In fact, it’ll only add extra stress, so why be with this guy?
I can only hope that belief changes. I can also hope those who are in need of a great manga can pick this one up. From all of its plotlines to its art and to its characters, this is a fantastic work. There are some parts of this drama I don’t like. It’s one thing to have Nagasawa pine for Itsuki, and then it’s another to have Koreda pine for Kawana. I think just keeping one of those plotlines would have been better. I also wasn’t a fan of this volume’s ending — something simple would have been fine. That’s all minor to the fact that everything about Perfect World is compelling. And well, I really just want to know if Itsuki and Kawana can somehow stay together.