Yuri Manga: Heart Gifts

Sometimes when you are done reading or watching something you feel like you will never find anything like it ever again and that nothing will ever top the experience that you’ve just had. That is kind of how I felt after finishing the short story Heart Gifts by Hattori Masahiko yesterday. It was only three chapters long, but it really impacted me and it did not pull any punches when it came to being dramatic.

The story follows two girls named Shiro and Kuro. Shiro had a weak heart since birth and one day she is on the verge of death. That is when Kuro offers to have them transplant her heart into Shiro, saving her life, but leaving Kuro with a mechanical heart that needs charging to keep her alive. This leads to a very strong friendship between the two or maybe it’s something even deeper than that.

I’ve said before that I like short stories because they take a simple premise and runs with it until the end. The focus is on the relationship between Shiro and Kuro and not much else, which is good since there are only three chapters to work with.

The art here is also very beautiful and super detailed. Sometimes while reading I would stop and look at a single panel for a couple of minutes because of how much there was to look at in the background. The characters themselves are of course just as detailed and very expressive. Out of all the manga that I’ve written about so far, Heart Gifts has set the bar very high when it comes to characters and backgrounds!

If I have to name any problems with this manga and there is not many mind you, it would be that sometimes (we’re talking two or three panels over three chapters here) the mangaka tends to sacrifice the characters being on model in favor of being super detailed or pulling off a dramatic angle. But this is honestly such a minor thing that it barely matters in the long run.

So would I recommend Heart Gifts? Yes, because it would almost be a crime not to! Since it is only three chapters long, I really think that you should put aside some time, relax and read this very good yuri manga. It is seriously one of the best that I have had the pleasure to read in a long time and I really hope that Hattori Masahiko does more work!