Akiko Higashimura (Princess Jellyfish, Tokyo Taraneba Musume) has decided to suspend her latest series, Himozairu after receiving a storm of complaints from many people.
The semi-biographical manga is about a group of unemployed young men seeking to better their romantic prospects.
They do this by teaching themselves domestic skills that would make them more desirable to professional women. The series was serialized in Kodansha’s Monthly Morning 2 magazine and only two chapters are out as of the moment.
Despite the fact the manga is based on the feedback by one of the mangaka’s male assistant and several male friends, it nevertheless drew massive complaints from readers. They said they felt the series is too degrading to men in general.
Facing such a negative outpouring from the readers, the mangaka has decided to withdraw the manga from the magazine.
Higashimura’s response when she is asked about this , “I cannot continue with my creation without facing up to public opinion, […] I will take time to re-examine the plot and resume the serial after I am fully ready.”
Guess the Japanese society is still relatively male dominated even in 21st century. We don’t know when the manga will be back, but hopefully it doesn’t end up being too different from the mangaka’s original vision.
