By Toma
NETCOMICS, 232 pp.
Rating: All Ages

For everyone, relationships are a big deal. From personal to professional to romantic, relationships shape who we are as people and how we interact in the world. It’s no surprise that there are hundreds upon hundreds of books devoted to the subject. Though interesting, I have found many of them to be overdramatic, explicating the feelings and desires to a point where they are confusing and obnoxious. Only a select few, at least for me, have stood above the rest, portraying the actual struggles and rewards that come with handling a relationship. X Diary, a manhwa by an artist named Toma, is one of those. The story follows Mingo, a hotheaded 26-year-old comic artist, who recently broke up with her musician boyfriend Jerry. The two struggle to distance themselves from the relationship while still being close friends.

X Diary presents itself in a very colorful 4-koma style. Actually, the thing I most enjoyed about it was the rich, pastel color Toma used. All the images look pure and organic. The art is almost childish itself, with the characters in SD (super-deformed) form, with no shading or definition between male and female (except for the hair). This style works for the book, however, aiding the humorous and light-hearted tone of the story. The 4-koma style makes X Diary a rather quick read (it took me about an hour and half to get through all of it), but Toma does a wonderful job at capturing feeling in just four panels. You could say it reads just like a diary, hence the name. Most of the book is humorous, which I appreciated. Writing about such an important subject in a funny way seems therapeutic to me. Laughing at something that may be painful or hard is a good way to deal with it and definitely helps people to move on and grow.

X Diary also shows us the sadness behind many relationships. Inevitably, Mingo and Jerry experience trouble with just being “friends,” watching the other go on a blind date, or remembering that their birthday is coming up and they promised the other a gift. The book also deals with Mingo’s assistant, Jinjin, and sister, Sam. Jinjin, who offers Mingo romantic advice despite his own lack of relationship experience, finally falls in love with a girl who may or may not feel the same way. Sam, on the other hand, refuses to fall in love, still clinging to the fact that she holds feelings for Jerry. These subplots create a perfect context for exploring all aspects of relationships, which is the real strength of the book. There is something in there for everyone, whether you’re in a relationship or not.

As someone who is in a serious relationship and who has been in the past, I found X Diary to be really personable, resonating with a lot of things I dealt with. You see yourself in Jinjin, Sam, Jerry and Mingo, as they go about their daily lives, dealing with what gets thrown at them. I know I have been in a situation where it’s “just friends” but you know that there are still feelings lingering and you have no idea how to go about it. Toma offers an interesting perspective on this situation. She says, “Remaining friends encompasses any number of mysteries. I wanted to solve this mystery through two characters named Mingo and Jerry, but upon finishing I feel that I still do not know the answer. Because I feel that there is no correct answer to what we call love.” So, if you or anyone you know is in a sticky situation love-wise, I would definitely recommend this book as a guide to how to go about love.

X Diary is available in a print edition as well as online at NETCOMICS.com.