Rolling with disability: Reflections on the manga Perfect World

Recently, I read the manga Perfect World by Rie Aruga. One might assume that this manga is personally relatable to me. And you’d be right! As a sometimes wheelchair user, I certainly relate to the many depictions of mobility limitation in the manga. A certain someone has been BUGGING ME to write about this subject because of my connection. There is also already an article describing the manga’s plot on Anime Feminist. Instead, I will talk more about the research performed by the mangaka as described in the afterwords. The manga really is something special to witness because of its devotion to illuminating disability.

Briefly, for those unfamiliar, the manga focuses on the wheelchair-using man Itsuki Ayukawa with spinal cord injury and able-bodied woman Tsugumi Kawana. They are reunited by working for the same company – Ayukawa already there as an architect, and Kawana joining as an interior designer. Through the series events, they pursue a romantic relationship while becoming involved in barrier-free design work as professionals.

Simply put, Aruga-sensei’s intensive research brings many aspects of life with disability into the forefront. I really enjoy this grounded approach for two reasons: 1) disability studies is more focused on real life than feminism and 2) this normalizes living outside of the norm. To draw Itsuki’s wheelchair, for example, she painstakingly studies how to draw a wheelchair from reference materials. Notably, Aruga-sensei works with a wheelchair-using architect from Aichi Prefecture to help develop the character of Ayukawa as a professional. Many other people contributed to this manga, which is another thing I love about this series. The mangaka interviewed caregivers, social workers, and people with mobility impairments. Even more unusual situations – such as the devastation of strong earthquakes – appear in the manga, which also came up in interviews.

This attention to detail comes out in very well framed art. Frustrations, hospitalizations, falls, and more are depicted beautifully but realistically. Some may see these depictions as “unflattering”, but I see them as critical portrayals. Life is not always perfect or clean, and many people see disability as a horror show. But it’s life, just like the rest of living beings. Sometimes the depictions do feel a little *too* on the nose yet it’s never from the art itself.  I’m glad that the manga goes for tough depictions instead of leaving things implied, indirect, invisible.

 Without going too deep into plot details, I especially enjoyed the story of Keigo and Kaede. There are many, many other cool examples but you should just read the manga yourself. In particular, Kaede has a prognosis of only several years to live – but they hold a dream of living in an accessible house together, complete with a restaurant inside. This plotline does such a nice job of decimating the idea that people with disabilities are owed less because they are ‘less able’. Truly a wonderful thematic throughline.

I most appreciated the sixth volume’s afterword where the mangaka talks about her mother passing away during the serialization of Perfect World. Aruga-sensei reveals that her mother acquired a degenerative brain condition in early childhood, giving her an intimate relationship with a chronic condition. She recounts losing friends, missing important milestones, and sometimes having a tough relationship with her mother. Despite these challenges, Aruga-sensei lovingly recounts supporting her mother all the way. In a way, though my condition is muscle-based, I relate to worrying about how I impact others through my disability. I feel a little lighter knowing that someone else worried about the same circumstances and even put them into a manga.

Thanks to a manga like Perfect World, we see all kinds of “normal” life beyond the able-bodied norm. Whether a character has a terminal condition, lacks a limb, or is paralyzed below the waist, they are all welcomed in this series. One small critique I have is that there are few characters *born* with a condition, which ignores how many people have disabilities from birth. The manga also sometimes struggles with balancing romantic plot with exploring disability – ultimately, though, the fact it shows the romantic lives of people with disabilities is still huge. Rather than worry about things Perfect World could have done better….I simply want even more insightful stories about disability. Please read this one.