{"id":38326,"date":"2024-03-08T15:58:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T19:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/?p=38326"},"modified":"2024-03-08T15:58:41","modified_gmt":"2024-03-08T19:58:41","slug":"glad-tidings-from-the-tendo-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/glad-tidings-from-the-tendo-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Glad Tidings from the Tendo Family"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Historical shoujo romantic drama is a relatively common subgenre of manga, and one that\u2019s well-done more often than not. Veteran shoujo manga creator Ken Saito\u2019s Tales of the Tendo Family<\/a> (Tendou-ke Monogatari) premiered in 2014 and told its story through 14 volumes. Although the first book\u2019s illustration doesn\u2019t set new standards for shoujo art, its strong characterizations and brisk pacing make the tale instantly engrossing and highly enjoyable, for select readers. One Peace Books<\/a> will begin releasing the official English-language translation of the manga on April 9.<\/p>\n

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Tales of the Tendo Family<\/em> revolves around a nameless orphan girl with nothing to live for. But rather than wastefully end her own life, she seeks an opportunity to give up her life for the benefit of another person. The girl believes she\u2019s found a prime opportunity to honorably sacrifice herself by taking the place of a woeful bride-to-be who\u2019s slated to wed into a vicious, ruthless family. But the nameless sacrifice, who assumes the name \u201cHojo Ran,\u201d finds that her experiences and earthy personality make her an ideal survivor in the harsh Tendo family.<\/p>\n

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Ken Saito\u2019s graphic art is typical of the modern shoujo aesthetic. The illustration isn\u2019t as literally rose-filled as some shoujo titles, nor is it always quite as detailed or expressive as similar manga art by Miho Obana or Natsuki Takaya. But the illustration is clean and consistently easy to comprehend and follow. Distinguishing characters is easy due to their distinct appearances. Background art is typically minimal except when necessary. While foreground designs are a bit minimal and simplistic, extensive use of screentone gives the art a rich, textural depth. Moreover, the original magazine serialization in Hakusensha\u2019s LaLa DX<\/em> periodically included sidebar advertisements. In the collected volumes those ads have been replaced by cute \u201cbonus\u201d illustrations.<\/p>\n

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Typical of a first volume, Tales of the Tendo Family<\/em> volume 1 concentrates on introducing its cast, setting, and scenario. Readers get to know quite a bit about heroine \u201cHojo Ran.\u201d Supporting characters Masato Tendo and Tachibana don\u2019t get rich characterization, yet they both get more rounded personalities than one would typically expect from a first manga volume. Even the initially minor supporting characters are introduced with a bit more complexity than simplistic one-dimensional antagonists. The story setting at the very end of the Meiji era will likely be familiar to seasoned manga readers. The story scenario is also familiar from titles ranging from My Happy Marriage<\/em> to Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts<\/em>; however, the intensity of the oppressive, threatening scenario is likely more prominent in this manga than readers may be used to. In similar shoujo manga, the outsider protagonist is usually subject to harassment and mild bullying. The first volume of the Tendo Family<\/em> manga does escalate to occasional instances of bloody domestic violence.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the protagonist isn\u2019t just figuratively hopeless. Her suicidal tendencies aren\u2019t strenuous, but they are genuine and may be especially troubling for delicate or sensitive readers. The figurative and literal darkness of the story is effectively offset by Hojo Ran\u2019s pragmatic attitude and periodic flashes of cynical and even sinister slapstick comedy. The first manga includes mild nudity in the form of one shot of Ran\u2019s nude behind. The book contains no adult language or sex.<\/p>\n

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One Peace Books\u2019 official English translation by Matt Schley is fluid and natural. All of the characters speak with a slight formality typical of the time period, but rather uniquely, this manga gives a slightly different dialogue font to members of the elite Tendo family compared to the more practical and plain-spoken commoners. The difference in font subtly helps emphasize the difference in class status between characters regardless of the closeness of their relationships. Occasionally translated dialogue slips out of the bounds of illustrated word balloons. The slips are momentarily distracting but don\u2019t affect the translation or readability. Sound effects are translated in-panel. One translator\u2019s note is included as a footnote. The book contains the story\u2019s first four chapters plus a seven-page-long \u201cchapter 2.5.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ultimately, the first volume of creator Ken Saito\u2019s manga Tales of the Tendo Family<\/em> may be described as a version of Mark Twain\u2019s Prince & the Pauper<\/em> with Watashi no Shiawase na Kekkon<\/em> or Taishou Otome Otogibanashi<\/em>. Despite exhibiting some slightly weak illustration, the first book does a great job of introducing its characters and story. And the first book wraps up as a complete, satisfying introduction that lays groundwork for the story to continue in earnest. The story does deal with and depict some disturbing themes including suicide and domestic violence. These themes may offend or upset some readers. However, the manga is deliberate to never linger on its dark themes, instead concentrating on a hopeful and lightly romantic attitude. In that sense, Tales of the Tendo Family<\/em> will appeal as much to fans of Fruits Basket<\/em> as fans of My Happy Wedding<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Historical shoujo romantic drama is a relatively common subgenre of manga, and one that\u2019s well-done more often than not. Veteran shoujo manga creator Ken Saito\u2019s Tales of the Tendo Family (Tendou-ke Monogatari) premiered in 2014 and told its story through 14 volumes. Although the first book\u2019s illustration doesn\u2019t set new standards for shoujo art, its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tendo.Family.banner.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38326"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38338,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38326\/revisions\/38338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.animenation.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}