Boy Meets Maria

PEYO’s debut manga—and the artist’s only full-length title published before his death at 23 in 2020—waltzes with grace between tender romanticism and tragedy. High school student Hirosawa Taiga has two dreams: become a famous actor and a romantic hero. He hopes to achieve both when he glimpses mysterious dancer Maria performing at an exhibition on his way to drama club auditions. Soon after, Taiga learns Maria is Arima, a moody young boy who performs onstage as a girl. As the two grapple with what their connection means to both of them, and to who they want to be, PEYO’s emotive use of shading and perspective heightens the tension. Taiga’s easygoing acceptance of his feelings for another boy serves as a poignant counterweight to Arima’s struggle to untangle complicated feelings about gender (the character also uses shifting pronouns) as both work through the aftermath of difficult childhoods—Taiga with his strained relationship with his distant father, and Arima with the profound betrayal of a childhood assault at the hands of a trusted teacher. PEYO perfectly captures a common question facing queer protagonists and their readers: is this a crush they want to pursue, or a hero they want to become? (Oct.)