⚠ This article contains information about unplanned pregnancy which may be upsetting to some readers. Discretion is advised.
I have a deep appreciation for shojo manga. Written primarily for middle and high school aged girls, manga under this label cover every genre imaginable, from drama, comedy, and romance to action, fantasy, and horror. Shojo manga often features universal themes like love, school life, friendship, and other topics that appeal to its targeted readership. But shojo manga isn’t afraid to explore heavier issues, too, as seen in today’s manga review.
In late April 2023, the English edition of Mamoru Aoi’s shojo drama, My Girlfriend’s Child (あの子の子ども), finally hit US retail shelves. First published in Bessatsu Friend in 2021, this manga is a major success in Japan. It even won the 47th Kodansha Manga Award in the shojo category! If the first volume is any indication, it’s not hard to see why My Girlfriend’s Child has received so much praise.
Because the series is new to Western readers, I don’t want to go too deeply into the plot or give away any major spoilers. So let’s focus on the basics. High schooler Sachi and her boyfriend Takara are in love. Naturally, sex plays a large role in their relationship. But lately, Sachi hasn’t been feeling right. She scarfs down snacks, yet the sight of certain foods makes her nauseous. She can’t seem to get enough rest, sleeping in class instead of studying. As her suspicion grows, Sachi takes a pregnancy test, and to her dismay, it’s positive. Sachi must decide whether she wants to tell Takara, the person she trusts the most, or deal with her situation alone.
There’s an understated elegance to this manga. With stark lines and beautiful use of screentones, Aoi’s art plays well into the theme of isolation present in this volume. Much of the background art of the city streets, buildings, and train stations has a soft photorealistic quality, like it’s rendered from real locations. In contrast, Aoi draws her characters with simple, sketch-like strokes and bolder shading, making them feel almost intentionally out of place. Sachi often appears detached from her environment, in many cases casting no shadows on her surroundings.
Dialogue is kept to a minimum in many sections. Instead, slight facial expressions and small gestures reveal Sachi’s complicated state of mind. But don’t let the subtlety fool you. Her anxiety is palpable, especially in the restaurant bathroom scene. If you’ve ever taken a pregnancy test, you’re probably familiar with those heartracing minutes waiting for an answer regardless of the result you wanted. And even if you haven’t, I’m sure you’ve had a moment in life like this, where you learn of some terrible thing and get that sinking feeling in your stomach. All it took was a sudden flash of white in her eyes for me to know her fears came true. I didn’t even have to turn the page; frankly, I felt so nervous that I didn’t want to.
It’s this undertone of trepidation throughout the book that seized my attention. Readers need to share Sachi’s unease to fully understand the gravity of the situation. Aoi’s realistic depiction of Sachi really drives this point home. Because we see everything from Sachi’s perspective, we really only know as much about her condition as she does. Sure, you can guess where things are going if you know anything about sex and pregnancy. But Sachi doesn’t. She’s going incognito to buy a pregnancy test. She’s frantically googling symptoms, trying to figure out if bleeding is a bad sign. She’s avoiding her family, too ashamed to reach out for help. She’s doing everything that a scared, overwhelmed girl would do.
In an interview with women’s publication FRaU, Aoi explained she wrote My Girlfriend’s Child as a way to teach readers about the realities of sex. She said that frequently in shojo manga, sex is romanticized as an expression of affection between partners. While she believes there’s nothing inherently wrong with having consensual sex as an act of love, young people need to know about potential consequences in order to stay safe and make informed decisions in the real world. In her opinion, sex education in Japan doesn’t adequately cover issues like contraception, pregnancy and childbirth.
There’s no doubt that shojo manga readers, like Sachi, have questions about sexual health. But talking about it, especially in a classroom setting or with adults, can be weird. Maybe they’re already intimate with a partner. Maybe they know someone who went through a pregnancy scare or had a baby at a young age. Maybe they are that someone. Manga like My Girlfriend’s Child can help start conversations about these subjects in an accessible and honest way.
Some Western manga audiences might dismiss My Girlfriend’s Child as just another “social issues” book. Some might write it off simply because it’s a shojo manga. But they’d be missing out on something truly amazing. Despite its subject matter, this first volume of My Girlfriend’s Child never felt like it was touting some moral message. Rather, it presented a sophisticated narrative brimming with genuine emotion.
If you’re a shojo manga fan (or manga fan in general) looking for a light read, My Girlfriend’s Child might not be a great pick. But if you enjoy works that tackle serious problems like Keiko Suenobu’s Life or Yuki Obata’s We Were There, then this manga may interest you. As for me, I’m waiting patiently to see where Sachi and Takara’s story will take us. Volume two is scheduled for release on July 11, 2023.
My Girlfriend’s Child, Volume 1
Original Title: あの子の子ども
Author: Mamoru Aoi
Release Date: 2021 (JP); April 25, 2023 (EN)
Publisher: Kodansha (JP), Seven Seas Entertainment (EN)
From the publisher: Sachi and her boyfriend Takara are your average high school couple. They go to school together, hang out, and even engage in the more intimate side of dating. However, as time passes, Sachi starts to get the feeling that something isn’t right and decides to buy a pregnancy test. Later, in the bathroom of a family restaurant far from her home, she sees the two red lines that will change both her and Takara’s life forever…
Hakutaku 
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