“My Broken Mariko” dives deep into how suicide can affect those around you. Photo by Yen Press.

By Luis Gutierrez, Staff Writer

“My Broken Mariko” is a heartbreaking story by Waka Hirako published through Yen Press, it follows the story of Tomoyo Shiino as she deals with her best friend’s Mariko Ikagawa’s suicide. In this story, it covers a lot of issues that some women, unfortunately, have to face such as physical abuse, mental, sexual, etc. We see the struggles of a young woman trying to carry on after the death of a best friend and has to come to terms with what had happened even when the signs were there all along.

This manga wastes no time with getting right into the story, we’re greeted with Tomoyo sitting down at a restaurant and as she looks up from her meal to watch the news, she’s stunned to hear her best friend Mariko has taken her life. The news hits her hard as Mariko and she confides in one another with every aspect of their lives.  And it starts to affect her job so she takes time off to come to terms with what has happened. She makes a plan to steal her ashes from her parents and take a trip to the beach like they always wanted to as kids.

As the story progresses we start to see Tomoyo and Mariko’s relationship start from a young age. Tomoyo realizes that Mariko’s life wasn’t always so great. 

The author’s ability to deal with sensitive topics respectfully and honestly made the manga stand out to me and made me love the story. We quickly find out that growing up the only good thing Mariko had her in life was Tomoyo, and Tomoyo was the one thing that kept her going throughout the hardships of her life.

The manga shows the impact your actions can have on young children for better or worse throughout their life. As the story progresses you see how the trauma Mariko endured as a kid carried onto her adulthood by loving men who take out their frustrations on her by physically abusing her. But no matter what Tomoyo was always right there by her side to help pick her up.

As cheesy as it sounds, the manga does a great job of showing the power a friendship could hold. Throughout the manga, you see how much one person can mean to someone. see how much one person can mean to someone. Sometimes love makes you blind to the struggles someone may be going through. And that’s it’s extremely important to cherish the ones you have now before it’s too late.

As the story comes to its end it has a heartwarming message. Even though Tomoyo endured so much, from beginning to end, she learns that the best way to honor the memory of a lost one is to keep moving forward.

This manga covers a range of sensitive topics but doesn’t stray from the truth of them. At times it can be a hard read because of how much is thrown at you, it all feels worth it because you see the growth of Tomoyo. And because you were there throughout her journey you feel at peace to see her grow. Because of the way it’s written you can truly understand what Tomoyo is feeling. The ending is one of those things that will leave you in tears because of how it strikes your heart. There isn’t a slow moment at all with this story and with that being said I’m giving it a 10/10 be sure to pick it up on Oct 20th when it drops.