Happiness Recommended by Himawari Souya

Rating: 5
Juné 2008 - Houbunsha 2003
1 volume
Translation: Melanie Schoen

I liked Himawari Souya's Right Here, Right Now that
Juné put out in 2011 so I thought I'd check out this earlier title of hers but although happiness is recommended I'm not entirely sure it's delivered, for the reader, at least. 

Yukiharu's grandfather has died and left him orphaned and alone in the world, until he learns that his parents didn't die in a car crash when he was little, as he was told by his grandfather, but that they are still living and he also has six brothers he's never met. It turns out that when he was young his grandfather thought his parents too irresponsible to raise Yukiharu and took him away. It appears that the parents haven't improved a jot because when Yukiharu goes to meet his family, the parents have done a runner and left the brothers to fend for themselves. Flat broke, his brothers don't appreciate gaining another mouth to feed and Yukiharu worries about fitting in with his new family. On top of that there's the strange neighbour, Makoto, who calls him 'Haru-chan', says Haru-chan has always been his favourite, and hugs him at every given opportunity.

Happiness Recommended is a light romantic comedy that can't decide whether it wants to be a family drama story or a romance (a point that the mangaka admits in the afterword). On the whole it veers more toward the family drama and makes a rather half-hearted attempt at the romance. I like Himawari's relaxed flowing narrative but the story doesn't quite have the chops to make it interesting enough as a stand-alone family drama. There are too many characters, not enough time developing all those characters, and though a few of them showed signs of life there just weren't enough chapters to do them justice. You get the sense that Himawari bit off more than she could chew with this set-up. I might've scored the manga higher if she'd made up for it with the romance but that side of the story ends in a decidedly unsatisfying manner. As if there isn't enough going on, there's a secondary romantic couple, the 2nd brother x Makoto's twin (gah, too much confusion when they all look alike), whose story threatens to steal the show but, frustratingly, is only teased at. 

It's an enjoyable enough read but it doesn't leave you with a feeling of fulfilment because there was too much that went unexplored both in the familial and romantic relationships. This is a volume destined for the 'one-off read' pile, methinks. I still like Himawari's writing a lot and though the story was a tad too thin here it hasn't put me off from reading more of her work in the future. If you've never read any of her work before I'd recommend finding a copy of Right Here, Right Now and leaving Happiness Recommended for some time when there's a lull in your BL-buying schedule.