“Home Sweet Home.” Thoughts on TAIYOU NO IE

Taiyou No Ie (House of the Sun, たいようのいえ)

(Manga 2010-2015)

By Taamo

Family doesn’t always refer to your blood relatives. Family could also mean your friends, significant others, and pets. After the death of their parents, Hiro Nakamura and his siblings grew up in separate households. Hiro returns to the Nakamura’s family home; in hopes that his siblings could be reunited as a family. Mao Motomiya has an estranged relationship with her father, and feels like she doesn’t belong in her father’s new family. Thus, Hiro suggests to Mao that she should live in his parent’s home with him because when she was younger, she was always at their house. While living together, Mao and Hiro make it a goal to patch up things with their respective families.

What first attracted me to this manga is the art. The illustrations of each character look adorable, but also simplistic.

In addition, I like how this manga emphasizes the importance of the house and family dinner table. A home signifies stability and security. The Nakamura’s family home is an important symbol because it is where the past, present and future resides for the Nakamura family. In the past, the Nakamura family and Mao would gather around a six-person dinner table and chair set for meals. In the present, however, the family dynamics are broken when Hiro’s parents died; as a result, the Nakamura kids grew up in different homes, and the six piece family table and chair set was replaced with a two person dinner table. As for the future, let’s just say it’s a happy ending.

This manga focuses on the importance of family, blood and non-blood members. Although we may not see eye to eye at times, we should always know that our parents, siblings, and friends still love and care about us. For me, this manga reminded me of all the fun times I had with my housemates during college. For example, Hiro and Mao would share meals together. My housemates and I would always have family dinners and attend some fun events with each other.

4.5/5

4 responses to ““Home Sweet Home.” Thoughts on TAIYOU NO IE”

sooperkirby

February 14, 2015 at 12:52 am

Oh god, I adore Taiyou no Ie and am happy to see another fan! I just finished the last chapter yesterday, and am both happy and sad it is over now. The art was one of the main reasons I was drawn towards it also (that’s probably how I get started on most of the shoujo mangas I read–the art is always so pretty).

I especially liked how the manga handled Mao’s dad’s and Hina’s characterization. They’re both relatively reserved people, so they tend to not express their emotions/thoughts well, and almost unintentionally push others away. And though they might want to/try to change, it’s really hard for them to do so. The end of chapter 41 really captures their self-reproach really well (and really puts into perspective why they find it so difficult to make up with their families despite their desire to), and puts tears in my eyes every time.

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1. somethingaboutlynlyn
  
  February 14, 2015 at 11:52 am
  
  It is good to see another Taiyou no Ie fan! 🙂
  
  I love that chapter too when Mao’s dad and Hina talk about the difficulties of reuniting with their families.
  
  I also like how Mao’s stepmom tries her best to be a good mom to Mao. While reading though, I was kind of worried about whether or not Mao would move-in with her real mother. I was glad she didn’t though.
  
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sooperkirby

February 14, 2015 at 8:13 pm

Yeah, Mao’s stepmom is a great person. She sees the rift between Mao and her father and realizes that both of them need a good push before they can even begin to close that gap (and puts in the extra effort to make that happen).

With the issue of her real mother coming back, I actually thought she was going to move in with her (if I remember right, that was certainly the vibe I got when reading the chapters). I was really glad that whole situation was handled very tactfully by the author though (I 100% thought her mom was going to break out in an outburst).

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1. somethingaboutlynlyn
  
  February 14, 2015 at 9:53 pm
  
  That would have been interesting if Mao’s mom did have an outburst. While reading, I wondered whether or not the mom will meet the dad. If she did, it would have been a fiasco, and more drama to happen. I also wonder since the manga has ended, whether or not Mao will ever tell her dad about it.
  
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