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My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness

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My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness
A two-tone illustration of two naked women sitting on a bed, looking at one another; the woman on the left is closer to the viewpoint, and frames the image.
Cover art, featuring Nagata (right) and Yuka (left)
さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ
(Sabishisugite Rezu Fūzoku ni Ikimashita Repo)
GenreAutobiography, yuri
Manga
Written byKabi Nagata
Published byEast Press
English publisher
DemographicJosei
PublishedJune 17, 2016

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness (Japanese: さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ, Hepburn: Sabishisugite Rezu Fūzoku ni Ikimashita Repo, lit., "A Report on Being So Lonely That I Went to a Lesbian Brothel") or The Private Report on My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness[1] is an autobiographical josei manga by Nagata Kabi.[2] It was originally published by Nagata on the art website Pixiv. It was later published as a single print volume by East Press in June 2016 in Japanese, and by Seven Seas Entertainment in June 2017 in English, with this version winning the Harvey Award for Best Manga of 2018.

The manga was well received by critics, one of whom called it a counterpoint to the "yuri fantasies" common to the genre, and was included on several lists of the best comics of the year, including the annual Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list. Japanese-American critics such as Okuyama have productively classified this genre as tōjisha manga - first-person narratives about lived experience of mental health distress - a subcategory of Japanese medical manga, which has since the 1970s grown into a considerable subgenre.[3] A sequel, My Solo Exchange Diary, was released in Japan in December 2016, and in English in June 2018. A third installment, My Solo Exchange Diary Volume 2, was released in English in February 2019. Another sequel, My Alcoholic Escape from Reality, was released in Japan in November 2019, and in English in May 2021.

Synopsis

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The manga is an autobiography following Kabi Nagata, a young woman, exploring subjects such as her mental health, her exploration of her sexuality, and her experience with growing up.[4] Her experiences provide context to why she chose to lose her virginity to a female sex worker.

Production and publication

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My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness was written and drawn by Kabi Nagata, with art colored in a two-tone palette.[5] According to Nagata, she does not hesitate to expose her private life for the sake of creating interesting content for a manga, despite being more reserved when speaking to people in person. She decided to do this because of a lack of work after she had become a manga artist, thinking that the only way for her to create something interesting that could earn her a living was to base her creation on her own experiences. The writing process involved her writing down things that have happened to her, and her feelings, in the form of a bulleted list, and rearranging the items to form a narrative. When writing, she strove towards neither lowering or glorifying herself, to avoid spreading too negative feelings and making readers unable to relate to the stories. She said that there were some things she "couldn't touch on" in the manga, that she would like to use in a future work.[6]

Nagata originally published the manga on the Japanese art website Pixiv;[7] it was later published by East Press in one print volume on June 17, 2016.[5] For the printed volume, extra story material was added, and the art throughout the manga was revised.[7] Seven Seas Entertainment announced in October 2016 that they had acquired the license for the manga, and released it on June 6, 2017 in North America, in a single volume,[4][5][8] and digitally a day later through ComiXology.[9] A sequel, My Solo Exchange Diary, was published by Shogakukan in Japan on December 10, 2016, and in English by Seven Seas Entertainment on June 5, 2018.[10] Nagata's third work in this series, My Solo Exchange Diary Volume 2, was published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment on February 12, 2019.[11] Her fourth work, My Alcoholic Escape from Reality, was published in Japan on November 7, 2019, and was published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment on May 11, 2021.[12] Since that time, she has also produced My Wandering Warrior Existence, My Pancreas Broke but I'm Doing Better, and My Wandering Warrior Eating Disorder.[13]

Reception

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The manga was well received by critics.[14] The publishing company Takarajimasha listed My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness as the third best manga of the year for women in the 2017 incarnation of their yearly Kono Manga ga Sugoi! top-twenty list, after Kin no Kuni Mizu no Kuni and Haru no Noroi.[15] It won The Anime Awards 2017 in the "Manga of the Year" category,[16] both Publishers Weekly and Amazon listed it as one of the best comics of 2017,[17][18] Teen Vogue included it on their list of the "best queer books to celebrate Pride 2017",[19] and comic creator Tillie Walden included it in a Bookish article about "must-read" LGBTQ comics.[20] It won a Harvey Award in the "Best Manga" category.[21]

The Japanese newspaper Fukui Shimbun liked the manga, and said that Nagata's thoughts remained with them after having finished reading it.[22] The entertainment news site Natalie also enjoyed it, calling it a "breathtaking essay".[7] Ana Valens of The Mary Sue cited it as a work that goes against the typical yuri fantasy themes in yuri works by exploring realistic emotional and mental dynamics in lesbian relationships, and said that the events leading up to Nagata's meeting with the sex worker "shed a new light on how we can think about yuri".[23] Heidi MacDonald at The Beat called it "an irresistible memoir" and perfect for young readers also dealing with identity and acceptance issues.[24] Judith Utz of Teen Vogue described it as "moving and honest", and relatable for everyone who has doubted themselves.[19] Mey Valdivia Rude of Autostraddle hailed it as "the best book I’ve read all year", commending Nagata's rawness and honesty.[25]

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness was the second best selling comic of its debut week in North America, according to the weekly Nielsen BookScan graphic novel sales charts, after Bitch Planet volume 2.[24] It also appeared on the monthly BookScan chart for June 2017, in eleventh place.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "生きづらい28歳が人生を懸けて描く「さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ」". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2016-06-19. Archived from the original on 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  2. ^ Gramuglia, Anthony (January 10, 2021). "Josei Is Anime & Manga's Most Underserved Demographic". CBR. Archived from the original on January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Okayama, Y. (2022) Tōjisha Manga : Japan's Graphic Memoirs of Brain and Mental Health., Springer International Publishing AG, Cham.
  4. ^ a b "Seven Seas Licenses My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness Manga". Seven Seas Entertainment. 2016-10-28. Archived from the original on 2016-11-02. Retrieved 2016-12-05 – via Anime News Network.
  5. ^ a b c "Seven Seas Adds Tales of Zestiria, My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness Manga". Anime News Network. 2016-10-29. Archived from the original on 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  6. ^ Kondo, Sena (2016-12-31). "Being a manga artist was my calling - Interview with Kabi Nagata". Pixivision. Pixiv. Archived from the original on 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
  7. ^ a b c "生きづらい28歳が人生を懸けて描く「さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ」". Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2016-06-19. Archived from the original on 2016-06-20. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  8. ^ "My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness". Seven Seas Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2017-06-03. Retrieved 2017-06-03.
  9. ^ Beveridge, Chris (2017-06-07). "ComiXology Sets New Digital Comics & Manga For June 7th, 2017". The Fandom Post. Archived from the original on 2017-07-14. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  10. ^ "Seven Seas Licenses My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness Sequel Manga". Anime News Network. 2017-11-13. Archived from the original on 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  11. ^ "My Solo Exchange Diary (GN 2) - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Archived from the original on 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
  12. ^ "My Alcoholic Escape from Reality (manga) - Anime News Network". www.animenewsnetwork.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
  13. ^ "My Wandering Warrior Eating Disorder | Seven Seas Entertainment".
  14. ^ a b Griepp, Milton (2017-07-14). "JUNE 2017 BOOKSCAN -- TOP 20 ADULT GRAPHIC NOVELS". ICv2. GCL, LLC. Archived from the original on 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  15. ^ "Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Reveals 2017's Series Ranking for Female Readers". Anime News Network. 2016-12-09. Archived from the original on 2016-12-09. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  16. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee (2018-02-25). "Made in Abyss, My Hero Academia Win Big at Crunchyroll's Anime Awards". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2018-02-25. Retrieved 2018-02-25.
  17. ^ "Best Books 2017 - Comics". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz LLC. Archived from the original on 2017-10-27.
  18. ^ "Amazon's Best Graphic Novels of 2017 List Includes Twilight Princess, My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness, My Brother's Husband Manga". Anime News Network. 2017-11-13. Archived from the original on 2017-11-13. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  19. ^ a b Utz, Judith (2017). "Best Queer Books to Celebrate Pride 2017". Teen Vogue. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  20. ^ Walden, Tillie (2018-02-15). "Five Must-Read LGBTQ Comics". Bookish. Zola Books. Archived from the original on 2018-02-20. Retrieved 2018-02-19.
  21. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (October 6, 2018). "2018 Harvey Award Winners Announced". Comics Beat. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  22. ^ "『さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ』永田カビ著 自己愛をめぐる冒険". Fukui Shimbun (in Japanese). 2016-08-01. Archived from the original on 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  23. ^ Valens, Ana (2016-10-06). "Rethinking Yuri: How Lesbian Mangaka Return the Genre to Its Roots". The Mary Sue. Abrams Media. Archived from the original on 2016-10-07. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  24. ^ a b MacDonald, Heidi (2017-06-21). "This week's Bookscan chart is a wake-up call for the comics industry". The Beat. Archived from the original on 2017-09-04. Retrieved 2017-09-09.
  25. ^ "Drawn to Comics: "My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness" Is an Incredible Examinations of Mental Illness, Sexuality and Shame". Autostraddle. 2017-07-18. Archived from the original on 2020-05-25. Retrieved 2020-01-24.
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