The Fall 2023 Manga Guide

It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too

What's It About? 

Yuya Aida (25) and Rio Aihara (28) are in their second month of living together. More than lovers but less than married, they're still more or less content.

It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too has a story and art by Suzuyuki. English translation is by Emily Balistrieri. Published by One Peace Books (October 17, 2023).

Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

The best example of how well this manga is written is when, toward the end of the book, Yuya's mother mentions that he's the youngest sibling; my thought was, “I thought he was.” For three-quarters of the volume, without ever mentioning that he had any siblings, the story still managed to convey that he was the baby of the family. It's a beautiful example of showing versus telling.

When we consider how gentle and meandering the plot is, that little reveal stands out. It Takes Two Tomorrow, Too is sort of like the straight version of the yuri manga The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This–it follows the day-to-day life of an established couple with minimal drama. Major plot points include Yuya eating Rio's milk pudding and then pretending he didn't, Rio panicking when Yuya's out late, and Yuya forgetting to tell Rio his mom is dropping by. It's low-stakes, low-key reading, and if it isn't always exciting, it succeeds in painting a picture of the leads' life together. It makes good use of a couple of recurring themes (that milk pudding is a major factor, which frankly feels very realistic), but it isn't exactly a tense story, and we never have cause to doubt that Rio and Yuya will be okay and stay together.

That's a triumph in and of itself. Rio is three years older than her boyfriend, and I love that that's unremarked except in the initial character intros. Each short chapter (the manga began its life on Twitter) exists within the larger framework of the story but is largely self-contained, simply providing a better grasp of who Rio and Yuya are as people. Recurring characters are limited to their coworkers, and the small cast keeps the book feeling nicely focused on its point, which is how Rio and Yuya function as a couple who live together. The art isn't great – it has some serious problems with perspective, especially when a character sits on the floor – but it's clean and easy to read, and the translation feels remarkably natural. This is a good, cozy read; slice-of-life fans should be happy with it.

MrAJCosplay

Rating:

It Takes Two Tomorrow is very simple and quaint. Living with another human being can be challenging whether you're friends or in a relationship. However, sometimes, there can be genuine intrigue in the little things that come with that adjustment. It might not be incredibly deep or fleshed out, but it can be enough to put a smile on your face like this series.

The volume focuses on our young adult couple in the early throes of living together, and while I've never lived with a partner, there were some genuinely relatable moments here. What happens when you accidentally eat your partner's pudding? What do you do when you just got used to living together, and your partner goes away for a day or two to take care of business? What does it mean for a place to feel like home? These moments aren't screamed in our faces, and when it looks like things might go in the spiteful direction, I'm impressed Suzuyuki goes with a more level-headed approach instead. The designs are incredibly simple to the book's benefit and charm. You read this on a nice laid-back day while it's raining outside. It's like a cup of warm milk: it might not fill you up, but it will warm your soul.