Famous for her autobiographical works such as My First Time, Letters to Myself and My Alcoholic Escape, Kabi Nagata is an award-winning mangaka who, with her latest masterpiece entitled My Poor Pancreas, tells us about the developments of her relationship with alcohol addiction and how she managed to deal with all the problems that resulted from it. This volume, just like the previous ones, is self-contained and is brought to Italy by the J-POP Manga publishing house. Released in bookstores last April, it immediately intrigued us at Akiba Gamers, who read and reviewed it for you! Are you ready to find out more about it?
The protagonist of this manga, as we already mentioned, is the author herself who finds herself, once again, having to deal with alcoholism: her alcohol abuse, in fact, causes her to suffer from severe pancreatitis and so she is hospitalized, especially during the period of the Coronavirus pandemic, which as we know was not an easy time for anyone. Isolated from everything and everyone (or almost), Kabi Nagata will have to deal with herself and try to fight one of life’s toughest challenges: overcoming her inner demons and finding some self-love again.
Original title: 膵臓がこわれたら、少し生きやすくなりました。(Suisou ga kowaretara, sukoshi ikiyasuku narimashita.) Italian title: Il mio povero pancreas Uscita giapponese: 2022 Italian Uscite: 10 April 2024 Volume number: single volume Publisher: J-POP Manga Genre: Slice of life, dramatic, autobiographical Disegni: Kabi Nagata Story: Kabi Nagata Format: 15×21, sovraccoperta, b/n , colored Page number: 136
We reviewed My Poor Pancreas via the print volume provided to us free of charge by J-POP Manga.
Like a diary
My poor pancreas focuses on a single character: the protagonist who, as we were saying, is the author herself. In fact, with the exception of the doctors who assist and treat her during her hospital stay, and the parents who support her in the most difficult moments, we do not meet other significant characters during the reading. Since it is an autobiographical work, the volume appears as a sort of diary, focused on the events that characterize a specific period of time in the author’s life: that of her hospitalization due to a “relapse” into alcohol, which causes her return of the much feared pancreatitis already suffered in “My alcoholic escapes”.
This is how Kabi Nagata talks about herself: she talks to us about the meaning that “drinking” has for her, about how much this makes her feel like an adult, but also about how a gesture as simple as it is dangerous can sometimes make us forget our problems for a moment, alleviating the feelings of guilt and the state of inadequacy that we can often feel. But all this, just like all other addictions, creates an illusory effect in man’s life, actually worsening his physical and psychological conditions, often making him really hit rock bottom. Healing is not impossible, but it is an uphill road, and Nagata teaches us that, often, great willpower is not enough and it is the help of our family and those who love us that gets us back up from a disastrous fall .
There are many topics covered: among them the concept of addiction certainly stands out, but with this work the author also focuses on the concept of loneliness, happiness and self-realization, as well as on the problems related to eating disorders and social discomfort in general. The strength of this autobiography lies precisely in knowing how to talk about such delicate and personal themes with such spontaneity and clarity that it is as if the author was looking at and analyzing herself from the outside, from a different point of view, with more awareness. What we have before us is therefore a courageous denunciation of our own limits and weaknesses, in the hope that sharing something as intimate as a difficult moment in our lives with the public could perhaps help someone who is facing similar experiences.
A basic but expressive style
From a technical point of view we can admire a rather basic style, characterized by simple, if not elementary, lines and shapes; even the backgrounds are barely sketched, without too many details and often confusing. The mangaka focuses everything on the expressiveness of the faces, portraying dramatic and even embarrassing moments through decisive traces and some splashes of color that catch the eye and remain imprinted in the mind. The dialogues are mostly interior monologues, streams of consciousness that give free space to the protagonist’s thoughts and observations, in a sort of sincere and unfiltered self-analysis that allows the reader to empathize with her, inducing him to dispassionate reflection.
The price of the volume is €12.00, probably a little too high for a relatively short single volume, perhaps justified by the fact that the paper support on which it was printed is decidedly thick and therefore appears to be of excellent quality. The illustrations also feature color inserts and the glossy dust jacket, also coloured, is detailed down to the smallest detail, with the title in relief.
In this new manga by the author of “My First Time”, Nagata Kabi continues the story of her most intimate events, uncompromisingly revealing her very human limits and the courage with which, every time, she finds herself facing them. His history with alcohol caused ours to develop severe pancreatitis, resulting in hospitalization. The diagnosis leaves no doubt: she has no choice but to stop drinking altogether. Not an easy feat to accomplish, especially in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. Will the need to improve her health at all costs finally lead Kabi to love herself?
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Who do we recommend My Poor Pancreas to?
If you like autobiographies and dramatic stories that deal with social problems such as, in this case, alcoholism and psychological and eating disorders, this work is for you: the author’s direct style ensures that every detail, even the most raw, as well as every weakness, are exposed in a completely human and authentic way. In a certain sense, this manga is ideal for you even if you like coming-of-age stories: the protagonist faces a journey, obviously made up of ups and downs, but each obstacle helps her learn something new about herself and the world. that surrounds it.
Current topics Direct and authentic style Well edited from an editorial point of view
Very simplified illustrations
My poor pancreas
Between realism and hope
My Poor Pancreas is a realistic work, an autobiography that exposes its author in every way, but which also knows how to play down drama. The tones are those of someone who talks about something that really happened, but at the same time they show us how a situation that seemed to have no way out was then overturned. A story of pain, but also of rebirth and hope. Kabi Nagata reveals herself, once again, to be an uncensored mangaka: she tells her experience with sincerity and courage, as she has already done previously and leaves a mark with her particular illustrations. These are perhaps atypical compared to most of the drawings that are part of the Japanese scene, and for this very reason they end up capturing attention as they are original, managing in their simplicity to leave a visual and emotional impact on the public.
