Title: Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible Vol. 1
Author: Nene Yukimori
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 168
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Romance, Comedy
Publication Date: May 3, 2022
The Story
Shiraishi has both a gift and a curse… he doesn’t have the ability to be noticed by anyone. This allows him to live a quiet life where no one will bother him; however, it also means living with the inconvenience that if he needs something, it’s hard for him to get noticed. The only person who seems to be able to see him all the time is a girl named Nagisa Kubo. The painfully obvious reason as to why she always notices him is that she’s in love. Instead of just flat out admitting it, she decides that it’s best to tease Shiraishi every single day.
Her teasing doesn’t really come off as bullying like we are used to in other series; however, she can push the proverbial envelope sometimes, like when she made Shiraishi stand up on his chair in the middle of class because she thought that nobody would see him. However, there are other times where it was rather cute like when Shiraishi went to a bookstore but the automatic doors wouldn’t open because the sensor couldn’t detect him or when Kubo wanted to take a selfie but the face recognition didn’t sense Shiraishi until she was up close and very personal with him.
The volume is laid out in episodic chapters although there is a sense of an over-arching story. I would liken the first volume to a 4-Koma manga that’s not really a 4-Koma. In other words, we get full chapters but once a new chapter starts, it’s a new topic/new situation but it does reference past chapters to create that sense of progression.
Outside of these episodic situations, the story is pretty straightforward to explain. Shiraishi is invisible most of the time. Kubo is in love with Shiraishi but can’t really admit it but makes it painfully obvious. Kubo hangs out with Shiraishi as much as possible and just teases him/enjoys her time with him. That’s it. That’s the story of the manga thus far!
Characters
Junta Shiraishi is our main character and I have to say that I’m pleasantly surprised with him. Typically, when you have a character that’s invisible, they seem to be completely self-reserved and introverted but Shiraishi is merely aware of his inability to get noticed. He has no problem going out in public to the convenience store, the bookstore, or even trying his hardest to score a free pack of tissues. He embraces his “curse” and does his best to live his life day-to-day with it. He has a couple of qualities that you would see in a character such as this, though.
He doesn’t seem to mind that people think he’s not there. While it does get annoying for him on occasion, for the most part, he enjoys it because it means that the teacher will never ask him to answer a question in class, or he won’t get inconvenienced by other people when he wants to go and do the things that he enjoys. However, there are some instances where he hates it because people will randomly sit on his lap thinking that his seat is empty, or they will simply brush by him because they don’t realize he’s there. For someone like that, he seems to have a pretty decent attitude but I think that’s because it’s due in part to our other main character.
Nagisa Kubo, as aforementioned, is in love with Shiraishi so she hangs around him as much as possible. It’s hard to nail down her character type because she acts very girlish but, at the same time, has tomboy-like qualities to her. She’s more outgoing than anything but she loves to tease Kubo in light-hearted ways. Despite the title of the manga, Shiraishi doesn’t really mind being paid attention to by Kubo because there are instances where he, too, may actually be in love with Kubo although his feelings are much more hidden and questionable than hers.
The way Kubo acts and the things that she does adds a major cuteness factor to this series. Even though she has a teasing nature about her, it’s very warm and makes you want to root for the two of them to get together. Other than that, she shows some flashes of her girly side when she interacts with her sister who can clearly see that she has a crush on someone. The fact that she gets embarrassed adds to her cuteness factor. She’s both sweet and fun at the same time and makes for a great main character!
We also get introduced to a couple of siblings. First, we have Akina Kubo who is Nagisa’s older sister. She’s more sly and crude than Nagisa is. Not really to an extreme but you can tell that she has some sass to her, which is great. Then there is Seita Shiraishi… Junta’s (much) younger brother. I really think Seita is aiming to kick Anya Forger off the top of the adorable mountain. This show is getting an anime so we’ll see how the anime community reacts to this little ball of adorableness!
Final Thoughts
The first volume of Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible was quite the surprise. The characters didn’t feel over-the-top and yet they also felt well-balanced and enjoyable. Both Shiraishi and Kubo commanded the spotlight each time they were alone or together and neither one seemed to outweigh the other. That’s not really seen too often in series today so I’d have to say that the series did a fantastic job setting each main character up while establishing the premise.
The only thing I fear IS the premise for the series. Typically, a comedy like this that relies on the same gags over and over will tend to fizzle out fast when it comes to keeping things interesting. There are just so many times Kubo can tease Shiraishi or hint that she likes him before it gets painful to read. I know I can’t judge this series after just one volume; however, the series has done well enough in Japan to net itself a television anime so I’m hoping that it mixes up the formula later on down the line. Don’t get me wrong, though… the premise and the first volume was great. It provided amazing entertainment in an episodic format if gave you a sense of progression for the story overall, and proved that you can do so much more with less. It’s very simplistic but the simplest things are often the ones that entertain the most and that’s the case with this series.
It doesn’t need to get complex. It doesn’t need a massive addition of new characters. It just needs to know when enough is enough with the base premise and maintain it while doing something new. A confession? Start their relationship? Maybe add someone that can also see Shiraishi and NOT have it turn into a predictable love triangle? There are a lot of ways it can go so I hope that it can. All the while you can still keep the main gag going and try to explore more creative ways to implement it.
I’ll be interested to see how this series fares in that regard but… so far… it’s off to a great start and I’m already hooked on it! You should give it a try, too!
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This item was provided for review by Viz Media
