AnimeChicago ✶ Anime, Manga, Japanese Pop Culture

"Our Colors" 僕らの色彩 is a manga from critically acclaimed manga-ka Gengoroh Tagame (田亀 源五郎) who previously released "My Brother's Husband". Tagame's general audience works are often heart warming tales that examine the challenges of being gay in Japan and how family, identity and love intertwine. He also is well known for his very not safe for work "bara" manga which are gay erotica (aimed at gay men in contrast to "yaoi" which is aimed at women), keep this in mind when googling his name.

Set in contemporary suburban Japan, Our Colors is the story of Sora Itoda: a sixteen-year-old aspiring painter who experiences his world in synesthetic hues of blues and reds, governed by the emotional turbulence of being a teenager. He wants to live honestly as a young gay man in high school, but that is still not acceptable in Japanese society. His best friend and childhood confidant is Nao, a young woman whom everyone thinks is (or should be) his girlfriend; and it would be the easiest thing to play along—she knows he is gay but knows, too, how hard it is to live one’s truth in their situation.

Sora’s world changes forever when he meets Mr. Amamiya, a middle-aged gentleman who is the owner and proprietor of a local coffee shop, and who is completely, unapologetically out as a gay man. A mentorship and friendship ensues, as Sora comes out to him and agrees to paint a mural in the shop, and Mr. Amamiya counsels him (platonically) about how to deal with who he is. But it won’t be easy. Mr. Amamiya paid a high price for his freedom of identity, and when a figure from his past suddenly appears, it becomes a prime example of just how complicated life can be.

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