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The light-hearted and bizarre premise of an alien masquerading as a female 24-year-old temp employee is a relatively obvious metaphor for having to hide one’s identity, in order to present a more acceptable front in a society where conformity is expected. The story is essentially about navigating this society while camouflaging to the point where one can lose hold of their true desires and feelings, as well as learning to forge a path for oneself.

The manga was originally a webcomic with weekly episodes, commissioned by a cosmetic brand to advertise their media dedicated to poems. This was an opportunity for author Haruna Lemon to depict ... a story that young women could relate to, based on her own negative experiences of work.
The protagonist works as an “Office Lady”, a job typically held by women in Japan and elsewhere (where it can be called “secretary” or “assistant”), consisting of menial administrative tasks and services. The first volume tackles the need to mimicry in the office and the misogyny faced at work, but also the comfort found in trusting female friendships (that could be called “sorority”). The second one focuses on Daru-chan’s romantic relationship as well as her journey to an artistic work that is more fulfilling for her, and the hurdles that come with both.

“Daru-chan” feels like an honest and realistic depiction of the experiences of young women, filling a gap as some of those specific issues are rarely depicted. The heroine loses grasp of her true wants when hiding behind a mask that society finds acceptable, but also when conforming to the ideals of selflessness taught to women, to put the desires of others (particularly those of men) before their own. Her lack of knowledge as an alien of the human world and its social norms, represents the inexperience of young adults when it comes to work and relationships. The manga doesn’t shy away from difficult and heavy topics (loneliness, sexual assault, abusive relationships etc.), but juxtaposes them with lighter moments, and is overall rather hopeful. While the focus remains on Daru-chan, the other supporting characters are also interesting and some of them, like Satou, are very likeable.

Art-wise, the style is simple but effective and cute. The entire manga is colored with a pastel palette inspired by Takano Fumiko’s manga “Ruki-san”, that helps to balance out the darker themes at play. While it is mostly depicting daily life in regular settings (at the office, in the streets, in cafes and restaurants etc), sometimes more abstract and artistic pages come up to represent Daru-chan’s feelings and state of mind. I sometimes wished that the backgrounds were a bit more detailed (a white backdrop is often used once the setting of the scene has been established), and that it went more often in the less realistic direction the manga takes when delving into Daru-chan’s psychology. That being said, it has to be reminded that Haruna Lemon worked on it completely by herself without any assistants, with the constraints of having to colorize everything and deliver the content weekly.

All in all, I found “Daru-chan” to be a very touching, thoughtful and engaging read, that deals with issues and themes that feel relevant today as they did a few years ago when it was first published. I am of course a little biased, since I am in the demographic targeted by this manga and some of my experiences resemble those of the protagonist. Despite that, I think a lot of people outside that demographic could still relate to it for different reasons, and I’ll add that the experiences specific to women aren’t less universal than those specific to men.

In my opinion, this manga is well worth your time if you have the opportunity to read it.