Title: Burn the House Down Vol. 1Author: Moyashi Fujisawa
Series: Burn the House Down #1
First Published: December 13, 2017
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Pages: 167
Genre: Drama, Josei
Format: Web
Source: Web
Rating:
Synopsis:
Shizuka Yamauchi, 25, housekeeper. Makiko Mitarai, 46, amateur model and perfect housewife. Though strangers on the outside, the two share a past -- one Shizuka feels she needs to set right, to bring her mother justice. But Makiko has secrets of her own, and Shizuka will need to tread carefully if she's to get to the bottom of it all without getting burned.
Review
WOW. This manga has one of the most engaging domestic thriller plots that I’ve read in a while! Burn the House Down is a josei manga about a woman investigating a house fire that tore her family apart thirteen years ago. As far as everyone knows her mother had carelessly left a stove on which sparked a fire. Her parents divorced, and her father ended up marrying a friend of her mother’s. Now an adult, the main character suspects that there is more to the story and sets out to find out the truth by becoming a housekeeper in her former home.
Volume one lays the foundation of the plot and main characters. Her mother suffers from amnesia and has completely blocked out all the terrible memories of the past, a convenient plot device that I can’t stand, but it’s better than a story where characters intentionally withhold information so I can forgive it for that. Makiko is already presented as a villain right from the beginning, a jealous single mother that envied the picturesque life that the main character’s mother had. As much as I hate it when single mothers are villainized in stories, I can’t deny the juicy jealous friend plot and I’m willing to see where the story goes.
The story also briefly introduces Makiko’s two sons, who were family friends and classmates to the main character and her sister when they were younger. I’m a little surprised that no one has recognized the main character at all, she was twelve when the fire happened, but I’m willing to suspend my belief. Either way I’m excited to leap right into volume two!
Quote
“We had a great deal taken by this woman. That’s why I’m taking it back. I’m taking everything back.”
Content Warnings
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