‘If formality and courtesy take over the feelings, how silly and meaningless all these things could become. She feels like she is performing in a ritualized play, detached from her emotions, just like a performer in Noh theater. During her father’s wake and funeral, Yumiko notices she doesn’t feel sad, she doesn’t seem to feel anything. As a matter of fact, all human forms, shapes and movements are codified in specific forms. The performers restrict characters’ emotions by following a sophisticated code of gestures.

A traditional form of Japanese theater which aesthetic demands the exclusion of natural traits and spontaneity. This internal conflict is visualized via the appearance of a performer of the Noh theater. Is Japan still her home or has she changed too much in the years she stayed overseas? Here, she feels out of place in daily situations, but also in ritualistic situations such as the wake for her father. When her father suddenly dies she returns home to Japan. She is engaged to an Englishman and has made a nice life for herself in the UK. In this graphic novel, London-based Yumiko is a designer running her own firm with friends. That’s why I chose to read Just So Happens by Fumio Obata. Those films give an impression of Japan that leaves one wanting to know more. Yes, I’ve seen martial arts films, some anime and Lost in Translation.

Just so happens by fumio obata