Library Wars: Love & War Vol. 1: Yumi Kiiro

[Alycia Bailey]

 

In 1989 the Japanese Government passed the Media Betterment Act and created an army known as the Media Betterment Committee who have the task of locating and destroying any materials deemed to be potentially harmful. Local governments opposed to this act have empowered libraries to create an elite task force of librarians known as the Library Defense Force (LDF).

 

The story follows the life of new recruit, Iku Kasahara, who has joined the Library Defense Force after being inspired as a high school girl by a LDF agent who protected a book in her possession from censorship.

 

The story is trite in places, and like most manga features romantic elements. After I initially swallowed my professional hubris, I was actually quite pleased with how the dedication to freedom of information (within budgetary constraints) was depicted. It's a cute manga and one I will be looking forward to continuing with.