Scenes from Awajima Volume 1
Writer and Artist: Takako Shimura
Publisher: Yen Press (print & digital)
Translation: Andria McKnight
Lettering: REBECCA SZE
Publication Date: Jan 20, 2026
Rating: Teen
Genre: Manga (JPN), Drama, Slice-of-Life
Takako Shimura‘s Scenes from Awajima is a series with five volumes in total, and despite the serialization starting in 2011, the series wrapped up in 2024. And now fans can read it in English thanks to Yen Press! With the anime adaptation announcement and a trailer fresh out of the oven, you may want to consider checking out the source material!
Takako Shimura, as a creator, has a diverse body of work with an immediately recognizable core to it. Her works range from BL to GL, slice of life to drama, from character designs to illustrations. Two of her manga, Wandering Son and Sweet Blue Flowers, got themselves successful anime adaptations. Shimura’s career spans almost two decades, and while it’s hard for me to gauge how widely known she is, she has surely cemented a place in the canon.
True to its name, Scenes from Awajima is a collection of vignettes that center around Awajima Revue School, a vocational high school where young girls train to become a revue actress. This school seems to mirror Takarazuka Revue, an all-female musical troupe where actors specialize in either male or female roles. Anime and manga fans may be familiar with Takarazuka through Kageki Shojo!!.
The first volume opens with Wakana Tabata, who’s just moving into the dorms, and her meeting with Kinue Takahara, Tabata’s roommate-to-be. We get a glimpse into how the dorm and school operate, the anxieties of newcomers, and the general air surrounding the students. The following chapter tells the story of how Takahara became interested in revue and what pushed her to pursue it as a career.
Each chapter focuses on two characters, whether their story is set in the present or the past. They are all related to Awajima in some way, and focusing on pairs is an intriguing choice. I knew about the anime adaptation going into the first volume, and there is no way I wouldn’t get excited about a Takako Shimura work, but a part of me wondered how this ensemble cast and short vignette style would work as a one-cour anime, structurally. Otherwise, I’m sure the evocative and scenic pages will translate perfectly, as we’ve seen in previous Shimura adaptations.
In that sense, I’m not sure whether this introductory volume would appeal to fans who expect a main character, a standard introduction to a setting, and a progressing plot with a cliffhanger at the end.
This doesn’t mean that the chapters feel lacking or that the individual stories of characters who attend or have attended the school, or outsiders who are fans of the revue, fail to bring closure. On the contrary, each story is charged, emotionally compelling, and in limited space, manages to deliver both insight into the characters and their circumstances.
The interpersonal drama is infused with, or partly related to, Awajima and revue in general. In the manga itself, the stakes don’t feel like they are high for some of the characters in the present time yet. However, the air is filled with palpable tension and the competitive spirit of the budding actors, aiming to rise above the others.
This is a masterfully executed introduction to a group of characters that I’d really get to know more, delving into bitterness, missed chances, passion, talent, and a cast that spans at least two generations. However, before giving this series a chance, you should keep in mind that your experience may vary depending on how interested you are in interpersonal dynamics, emotional or circumstantial tribulations, and the interiority of the characters.
The beautiful rural scenery of Awajima is the backdrop that brings these individual characters from different walks of life. As the reader, you feel the quiet but insistent presence of its beauty, just like its characters. Shimura’s panels are mostly minimal and sleek, leaving room both for each character and feeling, and for them to shine in another’s presence.
The highlight of the current anime season, an adaptation of Tomoko Yamashita’s Journal with Witch, is a series that turns its eyes to the workings of the emotional and psychological interior. It’s both interesting and heartwarming that such a series, which usually gets lost under the towering popularity of the seasonal action/battle shonen anime, is making waves and garnering mainstream attention! So I sincerely hope Takako Shimura’s Scenes from Awajima enjoys a similar success and has a good run! A big thank you to Yen Press for sending me an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
Scenes from Awajima Volume 1 by Takako Shimura is available digitally and in print on Yen Press’ website and other retailers.
