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Manga Talk: A Journal Of My Father · Dad Needs To Talk

0:05
What's up y'all and welcome back to Danny to talk, I'm your host,
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Robert. And today we're going to be
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talking about a journal of My Father by jareau taniguchi.
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Now this is a story that originally came out I believe it
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was around 94. If I remember the day correctly
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I know for sure is early 90s but this edition of all of the
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chapters all together and one which is 12 chapters came out at
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least over here in the US, some in 2021, so a year ago so This
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series. This story is about.
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Let me get his full name, yoichi Yamashita.
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Now, yo EG, he is basically going did this.
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This is a story of him, going back to his hometown.
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After over a decade for his father's funeral.
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And throughout this story, throughout this character
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turning back to his hometown for the first time in all these
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years, he kind of has time to pack a lot of fantasy and about
1:30
his father by his family in general and things that kind of
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led to him, you know, not wanting to go back home for so
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long, a period of time. But Also with the scenario of
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course, you know we all know you know with funerals and things
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like that. It's oftentimes a lot of
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reflection, a lot of stories told about that person and
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that's kind of That's kind of the core of this story.
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Now what I'll say, but before I dive a bit deeper into this,
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this review this discussion is very personal to me and many
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ways because for one hey this is your first time coming here.
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I'm Robert father of five, thus the name of this channel Danny's
2:26
talk but it is all is relevant is relevant for me both as
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Father, but also as a child myself as a son and with that
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being said, you know, there may be some heavier topics or
2:41
discussions brought up in this whatever.
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So just as a heads up for this because I will not only talk
2:47
about what their story and tales but also how it kind of
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connected to me in a very personal way.
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So just as a heads up you know for those listening or whatever
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that this might go, you know it's a certain discussions,
3:00
whatever they might not be sunshine and rain.
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Impose, but might be very deep and personal to me.
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So, with that being said, at the time of me, releasing this
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overview, it will be my mother's birthday August 15th.
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Now, I originally started reading this and was planning to
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get this review out in time for Father's Day because, hey, make
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sense, I'm a dad a story called a journal of my father, perfect
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timing. But life happened, things
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happened. I was at the weekend where I had
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got surprising, did a panel at Phoenix for Dallas so it was a
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busy weekend and so I didn't happen.
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And so here we are a few months later coming up on this very
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personal day to me as so, in a way it kind of felt appropriate
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that I finished reading this this weekend and put it out on
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this day. Like I said, it just so
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happened. I just type in my mother's
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birthday is going to fall on a Monday this year.
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And, you know, for those who do not know, the kind of the crooks
4:08
behind the feelings that kind of led to me to create Danny's to
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talk is because early last year I lost my mother just months
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after losing my older sister. And so a lot of things that are
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discussed in this story hits very close to home because It's
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lot of things, I kind of went through because just like your
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Ouija. You know, I grew up in a very
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small town to where everybody knew everybody, but eventually,
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I moved away as well like he did.
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But I didn't necessarily have like the same friction, you
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know, with my family and stuff that he did.
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But there were some long stretches of time to where I
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also didn't visit my hometown. So you Vici throughout the story
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and I guess I'll kind of touch on that a little bit more before
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I Having to like the connections with myself.
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So this story goes, through lots of Ebbs and flows of a lot of
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very big moments that happened throughout your, which is life.
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As so as you can see, on the cover of the book, it is.
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His father holding him when he was a toddler, his mother and
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his older sister and his father was a barber has had his own
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Barbershop and things of that nature.
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And His father was also very deep into his work and his
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craft, but something to kind of like lead to things kind of
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start to friction fall apart. And I'm not going and I don't
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want to spoil every single aspect of the store which I
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would not, but just touch on some of like some some like a
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couple just like a story points to kind of like, let you know,
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like where things kind of start to turn for your which is life.
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Is that in his childhood? And I can remember which event
6:03
happened first. We're basically there ended up
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being a very big fire that like ravished and Destroy like half
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of their little town. And so what they, you know, his
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family was pretty much homeless for a while.
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The the mom's dad gave them some money to kind of hey here's some
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money. Get y'all a place to live
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because everybody's kind of like living on the street for a while
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cuz I cuz one of the only things that actually survived the fire,
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surprisingly was actually his one of his chairs.
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They used to cut hair and so there's a kind of set up and
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just like the husk of This Old House and he still would have
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people come by. He was still kind of Clean them
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up and stuff for then, I'll get them haircuts and stuff, but
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that event happened and then between his father being so deep
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into his work because his father was the type of person who made
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sure that he repaid his debts even though the father-in-law
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was like, no, you know, we want to make sure that Dad that our
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daughter, your wife, and our grandkids are fine, but the dad
7:17
was hell-bent on. Make sure you pay you for pay
7:19
back this loan on. On time every month or whatever
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the arrangement was, but him diving deeper into work, kind of
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caused, you know, him to always be away from home.
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Super late at night and gone a lot and thus the wife, she ended
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up basically meeting somebody which I think happened to be a
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teacher at one of the kids school, they ended up having an
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affair, and then eventually the mother leaves the family alike.
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Does not come back in a sense, but it's lot more deeper than
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that. But that led to a lot of of
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course, because you're with, you was like around like fourth
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grade or so when that happened and of course, him being so
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young and not really, you know, it was one of those things where
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it's like you know, everybody else in town adults in the
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family or whatever, kind of knew the situation that was going on
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with the mother and the affair and all this stuff whatever.
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But of course, And being, you know, fourth grade, he's like
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eight or something like that. He's for sure, under two years
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old. And so long story short, you
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know, his mother as up leaving and, you know, of course, him
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being a kid. He's like, man, did she leave?
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Because of me or yada yada yada and it just kind of just sort of
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this this Snowball Effect of different things as so
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throughout this story and at the funeral and you know, him
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talking to his old, his uncle. Who is he?
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his dad's on the brother talking about how Things kind of we're
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going on back then or ever and kind of given their perspective
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of stuff. Whatever of like, you know, the
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events and stuff. And then you know, like say you
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kind of hear Reflections from you, which is as far as like,
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over the years as he grew up, went to middle school, then high
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school. Then, you know, when I have to
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college and stuff whatever to where, like, you know, he came
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home one time for his sister's wedding, he came back after he
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had a small secret wedding to His wife to his family and stuff
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whatever. But even then, it was like five
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to eight years between when he left after high school and went
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to college before he came back and then like I said, like he
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came out like the other time and then after he came back for his
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wedding, it was like 10 15 years before what's going on now.
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And this story really hits close to home likes in so many ways
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because it kind of made me reflect on, you know, when I was
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running a lot of family and stuff during you know, my
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mother's passing and stuff and of course I with me, you know,
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like I said with my older sister already been gone, like being
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around my older brother, who my older brother is 16 years older
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than me and so of course he has a whole different other like
10:13
perspective and things of that nature.
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Then of course that I would, you know, so I'm you know, at the
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time that was like a year ago. So I was 33.
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One and my brother, he's in his mid-40s.
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And so here are just a few stories about my mother, my
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sister and just life, and family suffered, a kind of like
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recontextualized a lot of stuff. Kind of like, how, you know, how
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my brother or are they keeping the family felt, you know, or
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how they saw my mother in certain ways, or certain
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aspects, and different things like that.
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Compared to myself as so, in turn this story.
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Also, like says, it really makes me think sometimes like, what,
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which I thought, which I thought about this pretty often even
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before I read this, but it's like, you know, having my own
11:05
kids and it's like, you know, every now and then.
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I do kind of pause on my man like am I being too tough on
11:12
them or or how do they think of me?
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How, how would they remember me? You know, like once you know,
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either they're just growing up in out the house or something
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would have happened to me and I'm not Over here.
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It's just it's just it's just like a lot of just like
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self-reflection and a lot of times, you know, we might not
11:31
understand our parents and things like that because you
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know, except whether it be because of you know certain
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things happen at a certain age of our lifetime or whatever the
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case may be. But you know, your we should of
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course throughout this does have some regrets as far as like not.
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I guess not at least like not even trying to build that
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connection whatever which I'm also not saying that everybody
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needs to because everybody situations are different and so
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sometimes you know regardless of if a person is your parents or
12:11
your Elder, whatever, you know that conversation might not even
12:16
necessarily need to be a thing. But for you we just case like
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sit with him with certain things happening when he's with when he
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was very small and he kind of had a different perspective of
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what he thought or who he thought his father was compared
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to the reality and, you know, hearing from his uncle and other
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people about have I. Yeah, your father, you know, was
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always very proud of you and best kind of always hoped that,
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you know, that you would come back home at some point or he
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waited for you, so to speak. And that, that is a very heavy
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weight and just kind of a reminder that sometimes like to
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not know, Take, for granted the time you may have with people
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with family, especially if they're within Arm's Reach so to
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speak. And so, you know, sometimes we
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kind of take for granted that oh, no, my family or my
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hometown, or whatever I do, it's just an hour's drive away or a
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couple hours away, or whatever. I can go there anytime and you
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think that I know I'm young, my parents or whoever they're
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still, they still got a long time to come whenever but
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sometimes, you know, life in the reality of stuff happens and
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then it's like you kind of, we kind of have those regrets, you
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know, because I definitely do. You know, cuz I'm especially
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now, you know, having having kids, you know, with my stepkids
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and then of course what my what my baby boy bash.
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And it's like, you know, with my mom and my, and my sister been
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gone or whatever, you know, he's just now for about to be five.
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And so at the time, you know, he was what two or so, 23 years
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old, when both of them passed. And so it's like, I wish that I
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would have made more effort, you know, to take him out to my
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sister who only live to our were barely an hour away.
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Or even though my mother was eight hours away in a different,
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several States over still had made that effort to do that.
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Because as I always say, got plenty of time.
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I'm in my thirties, my sisters in her 40s, early 40s, we good,
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but then it's like, you know, the reality of Life didn't
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happen that way. And so, It's like, you know,
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much like you Ricci reflecting in this story.
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I hope that I leave a positive impression and memory for my own
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kids, and things of that nature. And that, you know, I do my best
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to try to make sure that that that those Avenues of dialogue
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or there, you know. So that you know, We don't end
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up in this situation to where it's like, you know, my kids are
15:12
all. I gotta get out this house, once
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I'm out, I'm never gonna look back, which, hey, you know, like
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said, sometimes it happens, you know, sometimes we're all in
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different situations and stuff because that's at least how I
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felt. So, I like with my home town, I
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grew up in like, you know, I graduated high school in 2008
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and in the 12 or so years since then I've been back maybe five
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times. Or so.
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And over, you know, 10 to 15 years asked, which part of that
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is because you know my my immediate family is no longer
15:48
down there. You know my mother move.
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We got my mother out of the years ago and my sister.
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She was up in my area whatever. So I also like not much of a
15:57
reason to go back but like I said, all this to say is just,
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you know, cherish your family, your friends, cherish those
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connections, Has those bonds why you have them and you know, to
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to to the children out there, you know, if if if your parents
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are still around and if you do still have that Avenue available
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for that dialogue to happen or whatever, at least try, you
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know, to to to make those connections or maybe try to at
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least get to know your parent on a different.
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Level a different perspective from just the idea you have of
16:44
your parents from when you were a child growing up like I said,
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hey if your situation is different of course I
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understand. But like I said if you were in a
16:53
situation to where you can have those connections and stuff
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whatever do that and you know because like I said you know
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like so special with with my son bash just like IO.
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Just just want to do my best to, to leave a great Foundation, a
17:14
great memory of him and things like that.
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So but but this story it is this one.
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I definitely highly encourage you all to pick up and to check
17:27
out like I said it was a Twelve chapters long.
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And one thing I did appreciate was like each other at the start
17:38
of each chapter, you kind of get like these kind of like
17:40
different portraits and stuff. And some of them is like, you
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know, you like family, portraits, like that and
17:45
different things of that nature. And I don't know, like I said,
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maybe, you know, maybe it's just the fatherly side of me but You
17:54
know, I just really appreciated those images and, you know, the
18:02
likes of for for something that was raining like in the early in
18:05
the early 90s or whatever they are and stuff is really nice.
18:09
And this this hardcover is also like really nice as well.
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It is a freaking Big size, I guess, just for comparison.
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Look how much bigger this is in this volume of Sakamoto days,
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but my like said, hopefully, this talk this discussion.
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This, this slider, followed fatherly ramble.
18:37
Hopefully, it makes something to somebody out there and hopefully
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I said, it kind of encourages you to nollie pick up this a
18:44
journal, a journal of my father, but like I said, to, maybe also
18:49
to reflect on your connections. Whether it's just you as a
18:54
child, looking at your parents, grandparents, or whoever raised
18:58
you, or you as a parent, like myself and kind of looking at
19:03
your children and being like, man, you know But overall that
19:09
likes to this was just a it was a it was a very, very good read.
19:13
But like I say just like definitely hit very close to
19:17
home and some of the aspects of it.
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And like so that's one reason why I didn't want to like
19:22
diamonds, like every single detail that happen along the way
19:24
because there's something, I feel like it's best experience.
19:28
Once you read the story itself but like I said, this was just
19:32
kind of more so away from me to kind of Express myself and just
19:37
kind of like, see like like I said, I reflect on some things
19:40
in my own life and this journey of fatherhood that I have been
19:47
on for for a while now-like. So I've kind of gotten to do it
19:51
from a couple different perspectives.
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Like say you know, I was I was a stepfather for a handful of
19:58
years before, you know, I had my own son and now even he is about
20:04
to be five. And so, you know, just looking
20:10
and watching him grow and things of that nature.
20:14
Me means a lot to me and like say just kind of just makes me
20:19
reflect on. My relationship with, with my
20:23
mother and and, you know, my older siblings and just people
20:28
who helped raise me and were there for me on my journey
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throughout life and how yes, things might not have been
20:35
perfect and life isn't always going to be perfect.
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But, you know, there were definitely, there's definitely
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lots of great memories to be had along the way and I hope that,
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you know, I have given my kids, some great memories and stuff.
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The way and I guess I'll close out this by saying if somehow
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some way some point in the future, you know, if any of my
21:03
kids, you know, Jay nee-naw Andre and baby boy bash.
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If at some point in the future, any of y'all are watching this.
21:12
Just know that I love you a lot. Thanks mom.
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I've always been perfect but you know, Me and mommy did I best
21:23
try to make life, you know, good and stuff for y'all and I hope
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that you know, from this point in time, you know, mid-august of
21:35
2022 that between now and maybe years from now in the future.
21:40
When y'all are watching this that you know, life and
21:43
everything, you know, got even better than what it is now but I
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just want all of y'all to know that I love you a lot from from
21:54
from the bottom of my heart and Just now I'm always here for you
22:00
and you know, and this video is instead of, this is another
22:04
reason why I want to have why I enjoy having this, this podcast
22:11
feed this YouTube channel, all these videos and stuff,
22:14
whatever. It's just another way to kind of
22:16
like documents myself, not only for my, for my own personal
22:24
reasons. But for my kids family, whoever
22:27
might see this Song stuff, whatever.
22:30
But like I said to my kids just know.
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I love you so freaking much. And yeah, I'm on my end is here
22:42
before I get a tattoo, too sappy and to teary-eyed and stuff,
22:45
whatever bomb. But like I said, just know that
22:49
are drawn over. Father is a fantastic read and
22:55
rest in peace to the author because I saw the he also he He
22:58
passed away. It's in 2017, which was the year
23:01
that Bachelors born. So thank you for doing this.
23:07
Awesome work. And I look forward to checking
23:09
out some of his many other works that he did over the years and
23:12
stuff. So but with that being said, as
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I always say, treat yourself to some nice, recent manga, watch
23:22
some anime play some video games and live your best life, and
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cherish your family. And with that, I'm out.
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I love y'all. Peace.