After Japan lost the War, the country was thrown into devastation. No one felt this devastation as much as Japanese women, who, left with few paths to choose from, took low-wage jobs, fell into sex work, and wed American G.I.s. In their affecting graphic novel debut, Marina Lisa Komiya follows the lives of two Japanese women and the American soldiers they marry in this tumultuous time period.

Best friends (and possibly lovers) before the War, Haru and Yoriko are separated in the evacuation of their town during the air raids. As they search for each other afterward, Haru gets by as a waitress, while Yoriko sells her body at a brothel. Their fortunes change when they each meet respectful American soldiers, who take their hand. Arthur, a Japanese American, grapples with the inner conflict of his dual identity, while Scott is at once fascinated by Japanese culture and wracked with guilt over the destruction American forces have wrought.

Amidst the postwar desolation, love and understanding finds a way, in this powerful work of manga that explores sexuality, identity, and unlikely cross-cultural connection.

I received a digital ARC of this manga through NetGalley. Because it’s an uncorrected proof and the request is for us to hold off on quoting anything until the finished version is released, I decided to hold off on including illustrations from the book, too, because I think the speech and thought bubbles aren’t in their final form. So, this will be a text-only review. But you can get a good sense of the artwork via the cover.

The manga opens with young lesbian lovers and childhood friends Haru and Yoriko, and they are separated during the war due to evacuation. After the war has finished, Yoriko looks for Haru in Tokyo where she used to live, but only receives a letter saying she is off to marry an American man. Yoriko is heartbroken and doesn’t see much of a future for herself without Haru, and her circumstances are rough, so she starts working in a brothel servicing American GIs.

The manga is told from alternating points of view between Haru, Yoriko, Arthur, and Scott. Haru and Arthur (a Japanese American) pair up, and Yoriko and Scott (a white man) pair up. But it’s not as simple as that. The Americans feel an overwhelming urge to want to take care of these women–Arthur through marriage, and Scott through his presence (he seems to be not sexually interested in women). And both women are living through terrible circumstances where they are beaten, tossed aside, abandoned, and more.

It’s a heartbreaking story, because while the two young women have found their protectors, they haven’t found each other again, so the love they have between them is nothing more than a memory. The American soldiers are kind to them–and somewhat fascinated by Japanese women, or Japan itself–and there is guilt over the Americans’ role in Japan’s current state after the war.

I don’t want to get into spoilery territory as to how things wind up exactly for our two heroines, but it’s an emotional journey. The hardest choices are made to in order to survive, and it’s painful watching these women endure. But I don’t want to come right out and say the American men have fully rescued them, either–each woman has made the decisions they made in order to live.

The artwork is stark in its black and white style (typical of manga) and the lines are jittery at times, both light and heavy. It’s a very distinctive hand-drawn style that lays the emotions of the characters bare.

This was a bit devastating for me to read. I am looking forward to Volume 2 to see what happens to everyone, but I am also very, very worried for them.

I highly recommend this manga to fans of history, Japan, and darker stories of war and survival.

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On Their Frontlines Volume 1 will be available from a variety of online and in-store booksellers, in both digital and print. You can also get a copy directly from the publisher.