Stardust Family

I'm not a big manga reader. I occasionally remember it exists and read some volume of something, and then go back to forgetting all about it and only reading books with ZERO pictures. Like some kind of freak. 

But today, spurred on by having watched an anime movie (Your Name, and I don't want to talk about it, I despise it), I ended up perusing a list of recommended manga series, and I was immediately drawn to Stardust Family by Aki Poroyama.

What got me here was the premise, plain and simple. The story takes place in a future Japan, which has introduced a licencing system for parents, i.e. you have to pass an approval in order to have children. This means inspections are carried out on couples who want the right to have a child, and these inspections are carried out by a special class of 'inspector' children.

Wow. That's crazy.

It's a two-volume manga, so it's very short, and what I loved was the pacing here, which is really rapid and steady. It just goes. I also think the characterisation is really well done. Each member of the main trio has their own complex emotional world, and the way they interact and unravel is masterful. 

There's some twistiness within the story which is somewhat abrupt given the space it has to work with, but I felt these were weaved in adeptly and really kept that pace speeding along.

There's some really cool moments across the story, and the enticing dystopian premise held its weight throughout. And I love to see a sweet, nice boyfriend character. As all boyfriends should be.

Four stardust pieces out of five.

★★★★☆