This might be a good opportunity for people to chime in with what they’d like the book club to be: we don’t want to be too strict, but it would be nice to hear ideas of the kinds of themes people would or wouldn’t feel comfortable with.
The description from AL is “primary aim is to heal the audience through serene depictions of the characters’ daily lives”; I think anything that includes action or conflict beyond a situation played for comedy (think Yotsuba vs. Yanda) might fall outside of the kind of stories we’re looking for.
From your list, the ones I think look like they would be suitable are:
マグメル深海水族館 1 | L24 (from an amazon review: 心がほっこりする系のお話なのですが、泣きながら読んでいました。)
ホテル・メッツァペウラへようこそ 1巻 | L23 (from the AL description: “The kindness of the people living in the harshness of nature will melt the heart of this awkward young man.”)
椎名くんの鳥獣百科 1 | L24?? (from an amazon review: 内容は特に重たいテーマがあるわけでもなく、全体的にほのぼのとした印象で、サクサク軽い読み心地でした。)
I might have a look at the others later if no one else has read them.
獣の王国 1 | L25 and MOON・TRICK 1 | L25 I feel are strong candidates, though I’m still hesitant to nominate. Moon Trick gets more iyashikei as it goes iirc, so maybe just reading v. 1 wouldn’t be a good representation?
Honestly I feel like this shouldn’t be an automatic disqualifier, depending on the situation. :S Like if it’s played for humor? Man, this is all very fuzzy, and not in a good way, haha.
Hilariously, the Yanda interactions were always the worst for me. I just wanted to punch the guy, haha.
Warm and fuzzy? Because that’s what we’re going for!
It’s difficult to make strict guidelines because it’s more about the impression that the work gives you than specific content. If you’ve read something and you feel like it was heartwarming and left you feeling happy, I think that’s enough of a reason to nominate (as long as there’s not a grizzly murder or something). If you haven’t read it, but the description/reviews give the impression that other people think it’s heartwarming, I’d say that’s fine, too.
I think most people will only read the first volume of a series in a book club, so you’d definitely want that volume to fit the vibe.
That’s fair; I may need to revisit a few candidates personally and see if I re-acquire any wholesome feelings or if it’s just rose-tinted glasses on the ol’ memory.
Having lost his wife, math teacher Kouhei Inuzuka is doing his best to raise his young daughter Tsumugi as a single father. He’s pretty bad at cooking and doesn’t have a huge appetite to begin with, but chance brings his little family and one of his students, Kotori Iida, together for homemade adventures. With those three cooks in the kitchen, it’s no wonder this dinner table drama is so delicious.
Content Warnings
None
Reason(s) for nominating: I got the first 3 volumes some time ago, yet never got around to reading them. Nothing a book club can’t fix!
I love stories about strong family bonds, and this family seems particularly cute
And it got a well received anime adaptation back in 2016!
I think it’s his character introduction and doesn’t really come up later… It is also just that one panel, and no violence is depicted otherwise, but who knows It is about yakuza in the end.
Maybe I will read the first chapter next week and decide based on that if I want to nominate it.
I don’t remember if it was in the first volume, but there are discussions of depression and suicide. I actually just checked and there’s also realistic depictions of blood (main character just inadvertently injured himself, but that’s a lot of blood)
Not in the first volume, but flashbacks show violence and blood.
I’m not an expert, but those seem kinda disqualifying for 癒し系? The main character is getting mentally healed as @bibliothecary said, which may heal the reader too? I’m kinda unclear on the definition of the genre myself.
And here I thought this would be an easy book club idea.
Obviously people can discuss their ideas of what constitutes iyashikei, but in the end I’m happy to leave it up to the individual as to whether they think their nomination is suitable.
I’ve read some of the manga in English, and I think that would definitely count as iyashikei - he may be a villain, but it’s his day off, and all he wants to do is enjoy cute things and avoid conflict!
Makoto, who came from Yokohama with Chito, a black cat, started living at a relative’s house in Aomori. Actually, she is a witch. I can only blow up the sky now, but I’m also living in good life with my cousins Kei and Chinatsu every day.
Makoto Kohata, 15 years old, came to Aomori from Yokohama with a black cat Chito. I’m a normal girl with a little no sense of direction. From now on, I will live together at my cousin Kei and Konatsu’s house again. I started attending high school in Aomori and made pleasant friends. I made a field and the witch’s training is going well.
Content Warnings
Alcohol (only in the later books I think), dog chase (no one is attacked though)
Reason(s) for nominating: I’ve enjoyed reading through it and found it very relaxed and wholesome with sprinklings of humour.
I think it would fit, I find it to be a very relaxing and sweet read. It does occasionally touch lightly on some themes like life and death but it never feels heavy. Plus cute sea creatures
After losing his mother at a young age, Nekota is taken in by family friends…who happen to be a couple of human-sized walking, talking cats. Not only do his new parents have paws, tails, and furry pointed ears, but now he also has an adorable little sister, Neneko-chan! As a high schooler, he’s integrated well into their household, and his precocious adoptive sister has fully accepted him as her big brother. Whether she’s showing him things she brought home from elementary school, purrsistently asking him to play with her mouse toy, or waking him up at the same early hour every morning for breakfast, life with this charming feline family is never dull!
(Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)
Content Warnings
The MC is taken in by the cat family because his mother passed away, although this is only briefly mentioned at the very beginning of the manga.
Reason(s) for nominating: I’ve read the manga in English and loved it, so I bought the first volume in Japanese. The MC’s new little sister is completely adorable, his adoptive parents are so sweet and supportive, and he himself tries really hard to be a good big brother and son. It’s really heartwarming and lovely!
(DeepL) Magumel Deep Sea Aquarium is the only aquarium in the world located at a depth of 200 meters in Tokyo Bay. Here, visitors can closely observe the creatures that lurk in the deep sea. Kotaro Amagi, a part-time cleaner, is a young man who loves deep-sea creatures and is a bit withdrawn. One day, he meets Minato Osezaki, the curator of the museum, and his life is changed–and then. A heartwarming story of one young man’s growth and the fascination of deep-sea creatures living at the bottom of the ocean begins.
Content Warnings
None known
Reason(s) for nominating: Another one on the TBR. I really like aquariums, and being able to visit a deep-sea one sounds amazing!
Nishimura Akane is a black sheep in her class, and not a day passes without her classmates picking on her. But Takada Taiyou is new and has no clue why they would treat her that way. Will his straightforward nature become a ray of sunshine in Nishimura’s gloomy days? Let their wholesome story bring you back to the carefree times of your youth!
Content Warnings
Bullying, parental death
Reason(s) for nominating: I’m about halfway through the anime and it’s sweet and wholesome and would totally fit the vibes of this book club.
I don’t read a lot of manga, so will probably not participate, but I have one series I can nominate because I loved it and it fits this perfectly, imo.
It’s quite expensive, so I’d wait for a sale.
Title:
Book type: manga Available formats: physical / ebook
A sweet shop tucked away in a town. This store, run by a bear and a salmon, is only open at night.
All they serve is hot tea and a sweet dish. Tonight, too, people who are tired and want to cry wander into this store.
The night they gave up on their dreams,
The night they think of their loved ones,
A night when you hate yourself.
-On those nights, it’s okay to shed a tear in this store.
In addition to 52 pages of newly illustrated stories from another point of view, unknown to the main characters, 11 recipes for sweets are included.
Reason(s) for nominating: I loved it and I think everyone should read it if they enjoy iyashikei.
I don’t think there’s any reason why someone couldn’t nominate a novel or LN, right? Manga is probably just a lower-hanging fruit to pick from, is why I figure all the noms are manga so far.
It is about yakuza in the end.
