In Translation | "You Dropped Your Shadow" by Masako Yashiro

Hey everyone! We have a real treat of a manga: a Masako Yashiro penned one-shot from the April 1969 issue of COM as part of her then running short story series (this being number nine of the bunch).

If you aren't familiar with Yashiro, I'll spare you my typical long-winded ramblings this time, but I've translated another of her works, the absolute stunner "Keep This a Secret From the Laughing Kookaburra" and gave a tiny bit of information about her there, so go read that as well. (And as a side note, I've recently rescanned that one and hope to redo it soon now that I'm SIGNIFICANTLY improved at translating and typsetting and...generally everything lol)

The only thing I'll add today is that the more I read from Yashiro the more clear it becomes how astounding she is. Besides being an important, influential figure in the world of shoujo manga, she was also, when this story was published, operating on a level VERY few artists could match. She was absolutely holding her own with the ultimate titans of the medium like Tezuka and Ishinomori, blending incredibly expressive drawings with a willingness for experimentation and the bravery to dive headfirst into wildly complex themes--stuff that feels only more relevant today. She's solidified herself as one of my all time favorite figures in manga, and I think today's story, "You Dropped Your Shadow" will do as good a job as anything at convincing you why.

Enjoy!