REVIEW: A Starlit Darkness, Volume 1 & 2

Who knew the world of writing could be so dark and twisted…

About A Starlit Darkness

A Starlit Darkness is a manga series by Yuu Toyota, published in English by Square Enix Manga & Books. Yuu Toyota is also the creator of Cherry Magic: Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!. In this new series, Toyota-sensei takes us back in time to 1920’s Japan. Subaru Karasuma is at the end of his rope, ready to end it all. Once a prominent writer, he’s now faded into almost obscurity and hasn’t written in over three years. With a mountain of debt he won’t be able to repay, he decides to head to his neighbors to borrow a heater to take his life. In a turn of events, he gets roped into helping a literary group meet a deadline, unaware this act will change the course of his life.

My Thoughts

This review will contain spoilers for volumes 1 and 2.

I was inspired to write a story about people struggling through the hell known as the creative process…

Yuu Toyota, author notes

Volume 1

In volume one of A Starlit Darkness, we follow the story from Subaru Karasuma’s perspective. He’s down in the dumps, almost literally, and has given up all hope for his life. When his contemporary Geppo Yagira taunts him into writing a short story for his magazine, he’s momentarily enraged enough to do it. However, once the moment passes, Subaru loses writing steam again. After Geppo pays his debts in exchange for a 30 page story, Subaru admits he “lost his talent” because he lost his muse, theater actress Tsubaki. Much of this first volume is Subaru’s relationship to his writing as it relates to his muse – having “having” her, losing her, finding her again, and ultimately losing her once more.

What stands out to me in this first story is Subaru’s almost contempt for himself. Although his peers and the literary world regard him as talented, he thinks that he created because of Tsubaki’s inspiration. Yet even from his recounting of the events and his internal monologues, he oozes talent and creativity. His entire worldview is that of someone who can see a world that others can’t. But he lacks confidence and ownership, which nurtures his self-loathing.

You’ve been in the abyss, in the darkness, this whole time.

In the climax of the story, after Subaru sees “Tsubaki” with Geppo, and feels as if they’re laughing at him, he breaks down. The “Tsubaki” of his imagination is calling him out for using her as a tool, which he admits he did. In this moment Subaru is confronting the deepest, darkest parts of himself. The part that admits he almost enjoys the torment he feels because of his projection onto “Tsubaki.” It’s fascinating to see someone come face to face with the part of them that brings them much shame and decide to lean into it instead.

Volume 2

In volume two of A Starlit Darkness, we are now experiencing the story through Geppo Yagira’s perspective. He’s just released a new story, which is a hit with women. However, the literary critics are tearing into it, claiming Geppo’s stories only pander to feminists. This volume feels like a mirror to the first, reflecting the reverse of Subaru’s life.

Geppo’s life has been everything but easy. At the age of twelve, he and his sister are sold into a brothel after surviving a house fire that killed their drunkard father. They had lost their mother easier. In order to spare his sister, Geppo is forced into prostitution. One day, an older girl working at the brothel encourages Geppo to learn to read and write and to use that knowledge to get himself and sister out of this world. Geppo eventually makes his escape and is taken in by a journalist who mentors him in writing. This mentor also happens to mentor Subaru.

Through this flashback, we see that writing has been a lifeline for Geppo. When he meets Subaru, he’s jealous that such an insecure loser is a much better writer than him. This disdain and jealousy for Subaru ends up pushing his writing to greater heights, thus thrusting him into a lucrative writing career. However, now with Subaru as his rival, the career isn’t enough. He needs to see Subaru drown in failure.

In reading volume two, I kept thinking of the author’s note from volume one about the “hell known as the creative process” and how that creative process also encompasses one’s personal hells. Geppo’s entire life has been hell and that hell has been his sole motivation for creating. Meanwhile Subaru’s creative process is his hell, his projection and his obsessions produce inspiration and talent, which disgust him. Two sides of the same coin, with different hellscapes. Neither knowing how deep the others hell can go.

I love that volume one and two of this story showcase the contrast between Subaru and Geppo. They both are jealous of the other, believing that the other has “had it easier” when neither of them know the truths about each other. Now with this information, how does this story move forward with them both? I’m curious to see if these two will reach a point in which they must face each other and lay bare all their anger, jealousy, and secrets.

---

Thank you Square Enix Manga & Books for a press copy of A Starlit Darkness, Volume 2!