My Broken Mariko

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Yiska

Japanese: マイ・ブロークン・マリコ

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 1

Chapters: 5

Status: Finished

Published: Jul 16, 2019 to Dec 17, 2019

Genre: Drama

Demographic: Josei

Serialization: Comic Bridge

Authors: Hirako, Waka (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.70¹ (scored by 15,904 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1698²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #552

Members: 32,635

Favorites: 909

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7.70

Ranked #1698Popularity #552Members 32,635

MangaComic BridgeHirako, Waka (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /1

Chapters: /5

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My Broken Mariko
Volume 1
$8.99

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Synopsis

Dealing with abuse and depression since she was young, Mariko Ikagawa sought solace in Tomoyo Shiino—the start of a friendship that continued until adulthood. Now a 26-year-old office worker, Shiino is baffled when she hears a newscaster report that Mariko has killed herself. Though Shiino doubts the news at first, she accepts the truth after being unable to contact Mariko and begins to wonder the reason behind her suicide.

Looking to free her from her despicable father, Shiino impulsively steals Mariko's remains from him. Reunited with her dear friend, Shiino travels to a certain location Mariko wanted to visit, all while remembering their happy memories together.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Included one-shot: Yiska

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Background

My Broken Mariko was awarded the Bros. Comic Award by TV Bros. magazine in 2020. The manga ranked fourth in the 2021 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! for the Female Readers division.

The series was published in English by Yen Press on November 10, 2020. It was also released in Italian by J-POP on January 13, 2021; in French by Éditions Ki-oon on January 28, 2021; and in Brazilian Portuguese by Editora JBC on March 5, 2022.

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Characters

Shiino, Tomoyo

Main

Ikagawa, Mariko

Main

Makio

Supporting

Tamura, Kyouko

Supporting

Reviews

Nov 13, 2020

tapewormslurper

Recommended

This is my first time writing a review so please bear this with me haha.
I personally believe that this is NOT a fetishization of abuse and suicide. The emotions are raw and the art only amplifies it. Do remember that the entire manga is 4 chapters long with an extra bonus one where it's just another cute flashback and you can practically read the entire volume within 40 minutes.

(Spoilers ahead? I'm not sure) Story&Character: 8 - Art&Enjoyment:10 - Overall: 9

Story & Character: 8 - I give the overall story and character(s) an 8 as with only 4 chapters you can really only do so much ... and it gives a great one throughout the entire run. We are introduced to the main character Tomoyo Shiino at the beginning just having a meal and hearing that her friend Mariko committed suicide. We are given flashbacks throughout the story that gives the readers the details between Shiino and Mariko's relationship. We are shown the beginnings between Shiino and Mariko where they start off in elementary school, then to middle school, then to high school, then adult life before and after Mariko passes. It's clearly shown that the love, whether romantic or platonic, between the two girls are true and strong between each other. We then notice that Mariko becomes obsessive sometime in high school and then develops the personality in which she loves/wants to make Shiino worry for her and to yell at her. I don't know how people can see this story as a fetishization of suicide in my opinion, as it gives a new insight to the change in personality between those who are abused and what could have led them to commit suicide. People like Mariko develop a twisted perspective and obsessive personality that makes them unable to really feel any emotions as they grow up. This can be seen when Mariko is obviously upset and crying when her dad beat her up during elementary and middle school, but sometime around the end of high school and adulthood she doesn't care anymore when she's beat up and seems to approach it as something she actually deserves and wants. Shiino on the other hand obviously cares about Mariko and still stays true to her love and friendship with her especially after Mariko's passing. OF COURSE THE CHARACTERS ESPECIALLY SHIINO ARE GOING TO BE CRYING AND YELLING, BECAUSE THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE UNSTABLE WITH THEIR MIND AFTER A LOVED ONES PASSING. Throughout the story, Shiino is the only one really crying and screaming besides Mariko's father though not as extreme compared to Shiino. This establishes the difference between Shiino and the rest of the world as she seems to be the only one grieving for the loss of Mariko(if you don't want to include her father). Shiino REALLY cared about Mariko and tried to make due with what they missed out on when they were younger and when Shiino was busy due to her job by taking her remains from her father and going out. There are several character interactions that I won't write since I don't want to spoil it for anyone.
- Reason why I'm giving it an 8 and not a 10 is because there are obviously more things that could have been added, and some parts become confusing in the story or are just unnecessary for it to become a 'perfect' read.

Art: 10 - The art is expressive and Waka Hirako is amazing at portraying raw expressions even while adding some humor in the mix.

Enjoyment: 10 - As I said, the story can be read entirely within 30-40 minutes. As a short story and a quick read, MY enjoyment rating is a 10 because it delivers emotions nicely and the art and interactions between the characters are great and albeit realistic. I think what also made the story enjoyable is its humor. There are times where topics about suicide and abuse tend to be fetishized by making the characters too pitiable, too sad, and the story being outright depressing to the point where the story becomes unbearable to read just because it focuses heavily on the sad part and not anything else. My Broken Mariko does a good job of adding humor and other emotions such as anger, confusion, love/compassion in the mix while staying true to the subject matter. The humor is added to lighten the mood and to make the depressing moments even more sad. The anger, confusion, and love/compassion etc. are added in a timely manner when they matter the most.

Overall: 9 - OBVIOUSLY this is not /the/ best manga there is especially when tackling the subject of suicide and abuse, but with all my heart I can definitely say that this is one of the best that I've read so far about the topic. I feel like a lot of people forget that depressed and suicidal people have more emotions that being sad and happy in the past. Not all depressed and suicide people are pitiable and empathetic, there are people such as Mariko who become unlikeable and tend to be one of the people you want to avoid. This story was refreshing to read due to it's content that involves more than the sad and negative tones often displayed in depressing manga. I'd give this a 10/10 just for the enjoyment alone and making me cry. The funny part is, the parts where I cried where also the supposedly funny parts in the story. Do note that this story isn't really supposed to be a manga that "teaches" about suicide and abuse, but more so on a different perspective/outlook about the effects it has on certain people. There are times where people REALLY want someone to be the bad guy where they feel nothing at all, and there are times where people want to show a different side of someone who is supposed to be a bad guy. This doesn't ruin anything but add on to how even if you feel remorseful about what you've done to a certain person and regret your actions, you can and will never be forgiven whether fully or partially as your past actions are too heavy and too sinister to even ignore.

Side note: This manga as well as several others are very personal to me as someone who is also suicidal and depressed. Even when there are people who love us and care about us, in times we just really don't care about anything but ourselves no matter how many times we're reassured with something. Even if we're having fun, even if nothing bad is happening, it still lingers in our mind. And it's only a matter of when and where that we'll actually go through with it. Not all depressed and suicidal people think and feel the same way. But as someone who is part of the 'category' that acts and behaves like Mariko, I can truly say that this is a great manga even with it's minor flaws (just like any other manga to be quite honest haha).

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Jul 9, 2020

hcoctopus2

Mixed Feelings

Story 3: this whole plot is about suicide, so beware. i thought Mariko's backstory was tragic but the whole plot seems to be about how tragic it was so i got really bored. my brain was moaning. the main character is mariko's best friend who goes on a bizarre adventure of sorts but it was kind of boring and cliche(but this could be a biased view)

Art 10: i like the artstyle, it's very unique and gave me more enjoyment while reading it.

Character 4: affected by the story. the main character is kind of likeable but again, this whole plot is about suicide and ...

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Feb 21, 2020

Robinne

Not Recommended

Considering that Kadokawa has recently announced the release of "My Broken Mariko", you might be tempted to buy this, especially since it deals with suicide in a seemingly realistic manner, but if I have one advice to give, it's to just stay away from it.
This is just another blatant attempt at fetishizing suicide and at trying to create undeserved pathos by having all the characters literally constantly SCREAM at each other and calling that characterization.
Not at any moment does it give any believable reason as to how any of them act the way they did, the shred of backstory mariko is given is in the ...

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Poll: My Broken Mariko Chapter 5 Discussion removed-user - Apr 22, 2023	0 replies	by removed-user »» Apr 22, 2023 4:07 PM
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