This week's manga
Wataya-san no Tomodachi (Wataya-san's friends)
By Chiharu Oshima (Tokuma Shoten)
The teen slang "KY," which stands for the phrase "kuki yomenai" (unable to read the situation), became a popular buzzword around 2007. It is used to describe someone who ruins the atmosphere by saying something that is insensitive to other people's feelings. Shinzo Abe, who was leading his first Cabinet at the time, was also called "a KY prime minister," so the intent of the slang must have been mainly to ridicule. On the other hand, the word "komyu-ryoku," meaning communication skills, was beginning to be widely used in a positive sense around this time as well. Companies and businesses sought prospective employees who could read any situation correctly and had excellent communication skills. Thus came an age when everyone was afraid of being labeled KY.
The protagonist of "Wataya-san no Tomodachi" (Wataya-san's friends) is Shoko Wataya, a high school student and a natural-born KY. She can't understand jokes and sarcasm, and can't let conversation run its course without confirming or questioning every word or phrase that bothers her. She cannot "wisely" choose between what Japanese people call "honne" and "tatemae," or her true personal opinion and a publicly accepted, uncontroversial stance. "Words exist to express what you feel or think. What is wrong with saying what the words really mean?" says Wataya-san. She is always perfectly serious in dealing with people around her, but for some reason, they become irritated or angry with her.
"Wataya-san no Tomodachi" reminded me of the TV drama series "Doki no Sakura" (Sakura the contemporary), which was the talk of the town. The personality of its protagonist Sakura Kitano, played by Mitsuki Takahata, closely resembles that of Wataya-san. Sakura is newly employed and yet she offers her personal opinions and advice directly to the president of the company. Such a person is nothing but a troublemaker in any business organization, and Sakura is subjected to harsh treatment that is quite heartrending to watch.
Contrary to the TV drama, the situation in "Wataya-san no Tomodachi" is more relaxed and warm. Wataya-san does not become isolated, and her friends gradually accept her. While initially irritated, her classmates begin to realize how they themselves have become so used to "reading the situation" that they only say what is expected, and acknowledge that they are actually tired of doing this.
Recently, it has become known that KY people are not necessarily insensitive. Those who are diagnosed with a type of autism called Asperger's syndrome often can't tell lies or comprehend the double meanings of words. Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swede who made a hard-hitting and vitriolic speech directed at the world's leaders at the U.N. Climate Action Summit 2019 in September, has publicly admitted in her book that she was diagnosed with Asperger's. Greta's blunt frankness may be KY in a way. Even if this is so, however, the value of stating something true in a straightforward manner must not be devalued.
If making an honest statement is considered a "loss," I feel that it is society that is unhealthy even when that statement may cast a slight chill over the situation. "Wataya-san no Tomodachi" is a gentle school-life comedy of friendship, but I feel that her remark, "What is wrong with saying what I mean?" actually reaches something deeply meaningful.
Ishida is a Yomiuri Shimbun senior writer whose areas of expertise include manga and anime.
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