You know how kids cartoons tend to have really literal opening songs? You know, lyrics that specifically explain who’s who and what’s going on? Well, I feel like if I were to describe My Boy volume 5, it’d sound like some kind of theme song. “There’s a discussion of what is an abduction. Satoko gets a transfer offer. Mashuu studies while Mayuko moves in with her. And just as Satoko’s feeling old, Mashuu says something bold!”
My little ditty is bad, but this manga certainly is not.
This volume is about 190 pages, but it feels longer than that. In a good way though. That’s a lot of pages, and a lot happens here, as you can gather from my little theme song above. It’s kind of necessary since the two main characters have already been separated for two years. For the story to get back into the swing of things, Satoko has to come back to Tokyo.
For Mashuu, it’s a dream come true. Originally, he wanted to go visit her, but she explains to him that this whole relationship is legally problematic. As Satoko’s visit turns into her making preparations to move back, he’s making plans to pick up where they left off, comparing his life to a YouTube video on pause.
But Satoko is trying to more clearly define their relationship…if only she knew what it should be. Like a guardian, she’s wary that Mashuu’s bruising is not from everyday accidents. But like a schoolgirl, she charges down 39 flights of stairs in order to talk to him. She’s constantly battling with her desires versus proper boundaries, and we see this both in her thoughts (“Why…can’t we be together?”) and Takano’s art (beaming when Mashuu helps her out, shaking when the conversation turns toward romance).
What’s great though is that while Takano could have made Satoko the queen of emo, here comes her sister Mayuko to show a different side of her. At first glance, she seems flighty, outgoing, and somewhat pushy, a stereotypical younger sister. But it’s a bit of a role she’s playing, a way to connect with her walled-off older sister. After Satoko moved out, Mayuko realized her sister had been trying to protect her in her own awkward way. Now, though, Mayuko is not going to let Satoko shut her out of her big sister’s life.
…And that includes inserting herself into Mashuu’s. She’s surprised when she learns that Mashuu is the “Pillow” Satoko had mentioned before, and she plays the teasing older sister to him. Mayuko is worried that Satoko’s trying to fill a hole in her life, even using an actual hole as a metaphor for Satoko’s heart. But Mayuko learns that Satoko isn’t weighed down by the past like she assumed, and the hole metaphor is brilliantly used to show the older sister can embrace the flaws in life.
But for now, the two leads have a lot of internal conflict. Even if Mayuko can serve as a bridge between their desires, there’s still the issue of Mashuu’s dad and Satoko’s former boss, who is not wearing a ring. There’s so much to unpack here that I could just keep on going. Instead, you should just dive into this excellent read for yourself.