Helen: Hanako, a young woman from Japan, absolutely adores the works of English writer Victor Franks and the feelings of hope they inspire in her. It seems like nothing in Hanako’s life will go her way no matter how much she struggles and resists, she feels inadequate as a teacher in Japan, and in a fit of imprudence she travels all the way to Victor Franks’ English publisher in an effort to meet him. Hanako’s efforts are unsuccessful but a noblewoman, Alice Douglas, feels a kinship in Hanako’s emotions and hires her as a maid at her family’s estate. Hanako is grateful for the opportunity, especially as she wrestles with what to do next with her life, but Alice’s price for her help is a steep one indeed: to be an accomplice in her own death.
The first, and most obvious, comparison readers will probably draw with Goodbye, My Rose Garden is to Kaoru Mori’s Emma, not because Emma was a yuri romance (since it wasn’t) but because it’s clear that creator Dr. Pepperco also enjoys drawing all of the minute details in an upper-class, English Victorian setting. If that is also your aesthetic then you should really give this series a shot just for that, and then of course stay for the interesting story of Hanako and Alice.
While some of the lines of dialogue, and even the conflicts, might sound cliché out of context, Dr. Pepperco really does a remarkable job at quickly fleshing out Hanako and Alice’s personalities and dreams and in a gripping manner. Hanako isn’t as much of a dreamer as you would expect her to be — she’s honestly quite perceptive, but it’s clear that she’s hit a dead end in life and she (irrationally) hopes that someone who writes such inspiring works will have the words to help her through this part of her life. Likewise, Alice’s carefully guarded demeanor belies all of her interactions with Hanako from the beginning, and an astute reader will realize that we’re supposed to seriously consider her to be the real “Victor Franks” from the get-go, and that’s before both Hanako and the readers realize the depths of despair Alice has been pulling herself through the past few years. Rumors of her being a lesbian have reached and unnerved seemingly everyone in polite society and Alice has reached her breaking point; so when a completely new, unconnected person steps into her life she seizes upon Hanako not as a lifeboat but as a weight to finally sink her.
Once again, nothing about this set-up (a historical romance between a noble and a maid! One asks the other to kill them! A relationship society wouldn’t approve of!) is completely unique and fresh, and even introducing Hanako as a foreigner in England feels rather rote for a manga. But Dr. Pepperco proves that a well-done story is a well-done story, no matter what elements it’s composed of. It seems that no aspect of this tale will remain static for long, as Alice certainly feels as if her life is coming to a close with her impending engagement, and I’m thoroughly eager to see just how much more Hanako and Alice manage to change each other’s lives in future volumes of Goodbye, My Rose Garden.
Helen’s rating: 4 out of 5
Rai: If you’ve read some of my other reviews, you’ll know that I am sucker for yuri. Well, it also turns out I am a sucker for tragic love stories, the Victorian era, and books, especially literary classics. When all of these things are bundled together in a well-written package, I can’t help but fall in love.
In other words, I immensely enjoyed Goodbye, My Rose Garden because it consisted of all of these things and more.
This manga takes place in the early 1900s and centers around Hanako, a Japanese woman who travels all the way to England to meet her favorite author. When she is unable to meet him and starts to doubt her decision to leave Japan, she unexpectedly gets invited to work as a maid for a noblewoman named Alice Douglas. Hanako enjoys her new job and home, but things get complicated quickly — her employer Alice asks Hanako to kill her (when the time is right) because she doesn’t want to live anymore. Alice continues living for the time being, while Hanako gets used to her new job and tries to understand why Alice is so desperate. At the same time, the two women get closer, with potential romantic feelings blooming between them.
For me, this is a very unique premise. Almost every yuri series I’ve read has taken place in modern day Japan and focuses on teenage characters. It’s refreshing to see characters that are adults; plus, the Victorian setting creates a completely different dynamic than what I’m used to. In most yuri manga, there’s usually some societal pressure that make the girls feel ashamed about their sexuality, but it’s much worse in 20th century England. Homosexual relationships weren’t just looked down upon in this era – they were punishable by law in some cases. On top of this, Alice’s social status and Hanako’s background make their prospective relationship seem even more impossible. The forbidden love and the whole you-must-kill-me thing adds a layer of suspense: will they get together and if they do…what will happen when people find out? Or, will Alice die before anything becomes of their relationship?
Despite its many flaws, I’ve always had an affinity for the Victorian era. I love the aesthetic, especially the fashion. Hanako’s and Alice’s outfits – and the overall art in the manga – are gorgeous. Another reason I love this era is because of the literature. I am a fan of Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, and many more, so all of the literary references throughout the story made me giddy. The writing in the manga itself is great. The dialogue is well-written, and the localizers — Amber Tamosaitis (translator), Cae Hawksmoor (adapter), & Jenn Grunigen (editor) — were able to capture the high-class speech of the nobility. If a book uses fancy words like “assuage” or “besmirch,” the English geek is going to be incredibly happy.
Speaking of books and literature, I really like Hanako as a character. She’s a bookworm, Japanese, and just plain adorable. But I also find her very brave. Traveling to a completely new country (during the early 1900s no less) and starting a new life must have been terrifying. She’s not afraid to give her opinion – against things like sexism and homophobia – and speak her mind, even in a society that has countless social rules. Yet, at the same time, she can be very vulnerable and insecure about certain things. She is complex just like an actual person, which makes her a strong and realistic character. Alice, on the other hand, has a carefully crafted façade that she is always upholding, so I’m not sure if I really like her since I don’t know the real her.
Alice’s ever-present mask makes the yuri move slowly. Right away, it’s obvious that Hanako finds Alice attractive; she has quite a few gay moments. But Alice is more complicated. She’ll sometimes flirt with Hanako or make flirty jokes, but it’s hard to tell what she is really thinking or feeling. The yuri is there, though, and it builds up over the course of the manga. However, nothing is official by the end of this volume…and who knows what is going to happen with Alice’s death wish.
Goodbye, My Rose Garden provides a new take on yuri, which is something I’ve been desperately waiting for. While there were some coincidences that don’t quite add up in the story, the overall manga is very strong, and I can’t wait to see what happens. Hopefully, Alice lives long enough for her and Hanako to have a legitimate relationship, which would make the series even more enthralling.
Rai’s rating: 4.5 out of 5