The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up

This is a fun read. Having read Konmari's original book, this served as a great refresher. I think I'm seeing the ideas more clearly than before and understand the ideas and concepts she is trying to teach. The hard part is to do it and enjoy it.

This weekend, I asked my boy what he would like to do with a certain part of the house. He quickly answered. I asked what we needed to do to accomplish his goals. I was amazed at how quickly he fell to work and got it going.

So, I have somewhat mixed feelings about this book. First, the positives: this is a sweet story that provides an accessible example of what the KonMari method is and how to apply it in your life. There isn't really any new information here per se, but presenting the information in a story format helps readers see how the KonMari method works. Having examples like this can be incredibly useful, and like I said, the story is cute.

That said, I cannot understand why the publisher decided to flip this book to read left-to-right. This is 2017, not 1997, and manga is mainstream and popular enough that reading a “backwards book” (right-to-left format) isn't exactly a barrier to entry. It wasn't terrible reading this flipped, but the art felt subtly off. Also...they didn't flip everything. Some panels are unflipped, and the floorplan of Chiaki's apartment at the beginning of the book is also unflipped (and it's obvious; you see her full apartment a page later). I want to get a copy of the Japanese version to get a better idea of exactly what all was changed.

I'm glad this manga is available in English. I'm glad I own it, even as I question the formatting decisions of the publisher. I wish it were available in English in an unflipped format.

This teaches you more than just tidying up. I'm not used to her idea of things having feelings though. I guess it's a cultural thing.