Sora & Haena Volume 1 goes off in every direction, creating a start to the series that struggles to connect.
Sora & Haena Volume 1 has sweet moments in this yuri but also feels out of touch with what constitutes consent. Nor does it do enough to create engaging main characters that hook the reader. Some of the conversations feel clunky and incomplete, and the side characters hold the attention more than the two girls taking center stage. This volume takes on too much, trying to show both girls’ lives at school and including too many side characters who are there one moment, gone the next. So, the story drags because there is no connection built between the reader and the characters. Sora & Haena Volume 1 goes off in every direction, creating a start to the series that struggles to connect.
With story and illustration by Jackbull, this Inklore series starts at a his-and-hers karaoke where a sweating Sora wonders how she wound up in this situation. Sora is the typical shy girl who overanalyzes everything, fearing that she will say or do the wrong thing. But she wants friends. Then one day, trying to connect with her classmates, Sora lies that she has a boyfriend. Instantly engaged, the girls want to know everything.
While stressing about that situation and dreading a confession that could cost her whatever fledgling friendship has begun, she encounters Haena outside who needs a girl plus one for a guy/girl karaoke get-together. Thus begins their relationship. There is still promise, but this volume does not do enough to foster anything related to the main characters.
Sora & Haena Volume 1 Falls Into Old Tropes
At least the hilarious and awkward, falling on top of someone and accidentally kissing them, has the element of comedy without assault. That’s what it is when you kiss someone without their consent. Even if it’s between two girls, the same rules around consent apply, and it’s disappointing that Sora & Haena Volume 1 chooses to have that with Haena kissing Sora. Sora being, for the most part, okay with it does not change the fact that it is assault and, in any other situation, we as readers would curse the character and wish for their inevitable demise. It’s upsetting when stories seem to believe that if it’s two women or girls in the story, it is no longer assault.
While there is still hope that the series can foster engaging, fun characters without toxic tropes entrenched in its pages, the Sora & Haena Volume 1 seems bloated with too many negatives. It has typical characters and does little to distinguish any of them. One character attends a school considered “bad,” while the other not only attends a top-tier school, but is also at the pinnacle of it. Unfortunately, the first volume does not do enough to move past these stereotypical characters and actions, making it a challenge to get through it.
One Highlight is a Side Character
Sora’s competition in tests, Jae-In, is the one interesting character that raises questions and adds the most genuine laugh-out-loud, what-in-the-world moments. Jae-In reminds me a little of Makino from His and Her Circumstances, also called Kare Kano. When she reaches high school, she plans to announce her greatness after getting number one, but Arima knocks her down to two. However, Jae-In’s logic is another level of laughs as she determines that Sora’s a god, while she is a top-tier human. How she made those leaps of logic is unknown, which makes it all the more hilarious. Thanks to Jae-In, Sora & Haena Volume 1 has entertaining moments.
Sora & Haena Volume 1 struggles with the two main leads, building a muddled first volume that feels all over the place when it comes to them, but has one fascinating side character that could maintain reader interest. At least, I am interested in the next volume and hopeful that there will be more character development with both Sora and Haena. The volume isn’t perfect by any means, but Jae-In is hilarious, with her inner thoughts and determination to ensure Sora can give school her godlike energy.Sora & Haena Volume 1 may be a weak start, but there is still potential, making it worth checking out.
