I'll Give It My All... Tomorrow Volume 5 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”

I’ll Give it My All… Tomorrow is a manga series from creator Shunju Aono.  VIZ Media ends its publication of the series with the impending release of the fifth volume (in a week and a half, as of this writing).

I’ll Give it My All… Tomorrow focuses on Shizuo Oguro, a 40-something salaryman.  He quits his corporate drone job in order to pursue his dream of becoming a published manga artist.  Shizuo is also on a journey of self-discovery, which means that his high school-age daughter, Suzuko, and his father, Shiro, support him.  Shizuo lacks the talent, discipline, and skill to be a mangaka (manga creator), but he won’t let that stop him, as he tries to break into the manga magazine, EKKE.

As I’ll Give it My All… Tomorrow, Vol. 5 (Chapters 23 to Final Chapter) begins, Shizuo says good-bye to his playground friends.  He continues to submit manga to EKKE, but his editor, Aya Unami, continues to reject them.  Meanwhile, longtime pal, Miyata Osamu, reaches a pivotal moment in his life.  Now, that his ex-wife and son have moved to America, his bakery, “Mi Yata,” does not seem to matter much, and neither does life.

As his daughter, Suzuko, prepares to leave for Finland, Shizuo prepares his best manga to date, “Baking Bread.”  Will Shizuo finally get published?

THE LOWDOWN:  The I’ll Give it My All… Tomorrow manga comes to a very satisfying conclusion.  I’ve described the series as being like Bakuman in the sense that both series are character stories about people working to become manga creators.

Bakuman blends shonen and shojo elements and is about young creators trying to create shonen (and sometimes shojo) manga.  I’ll Give it My All… Tomorrow is a comedy and drama about people yearning, searching, and chasing.  Sometimes both seem to deal with the quest for manga as a subplot, while the primary plot focuses on relationships.

I have to provide a mini-spoiler.  I’ll Give it My All… Tomorrow has a happy ending, but in ways the readers likely did not expect.  Suzuko’s story is poignant and riveting, and I imagine that a number of readers will be shocked that they connect with her most of all the characters.  At only five volumes, I’ll Give it My All… Tomorrow is certainly worth the effort to read.  It is a real-world like manga that seems like an American alt-comix.  Simply put, it’s good stuff.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for a good life drama with lots of comedy will enjoy the VIZ Signature-IKKI Comix title, I’ll Give it My All… Tomorrow.