So I finished ‘Family Compo’ by Hojo Tsukasa, a 14 volume manga from 1997. I’m both sad and happy right now. Very sad it’s over and there isn’t anymore. Especially as the ending is rushed. I knew going in that this series was ‘unfinished’ and yeah it’s not, plot points were rushed in the last few chapters and alot is left up in the air. It’s sad to see such an incredible series come to such a quick end. I was surprised that there is an official END but also that leaves me sad as so much is left up in the air and so manyquestions left unanswered. The ending is an ambiguous one and something that was clearly either forced by lack of sales by the publisher or by Hojo’s lack of interest to continue. I REALLY hope it wasn’t the latter as we were so close to the end, honestly it would have taken an extra volume max to fill out a decent ending leaving little left unanswered. Instead it really feels like the end was called upon and Hojo had two chapters to do it.

Still though I’m Happy because I LOVED this series. I laughed (alot) and I cried more than I care to admit. I genuinely cared for every character in this series, all brought to life so wonderfully. Undeniably it doesn’t truly go that deep into it’s LGBT themes as some might have liked but this series isn’t really about the struggle of someone who is LGBT but more the journey of someone, in this case Masahiko, discovering there is more to people than simply a defined gender (what’s on the inside that counts etc) and what that means to himself and especially how he feels about those around him. At least that’s my rough take on it :P

Read it, The story is heartfelt and Hojo’s art is beautiful.