Taiyō no Ie

Taiyō no Ie (たいようのいえ, House of the Sun) is a Japanese slice of life romance shōjo manga series written and illustrated by Ta'amo, serialized by Kodansha in Dessert magazine.^[1] The series has completed with 13 volumes. The first volume was released on September 13, 2010^[2] and the final volume was released on June 24, 2015.^[3] It won the 38th Kodansha Manga Award for Best Shōjo in 2014. The story revolves around the life and difficulties of Mao Motomiya and the Nakamuras. The series received a drama CD adaptation bundled with limited edition pressings of the fifth and sixth volumes.^[4]

Plot

Mao liked to spend her time with the Nakamura family ever since she was a kid. Having troubled circumstances at home, she found happiness at the Nakamura household. However, the feeling of ease disappears when Mr. and Mrs. Nakamura die after a tragic incident. Currently, Mao is a high school student who has lost her sanctuary. Her parents are divorced, and her father has decided to remarry. Hiro, Mao's childhood friend, learns of her parents' abandonment of her and offers Mao to live with him. Mao decides to stay there until she is ready to return to her original house. As they spend their days together, Hiro and Mao grow closer once again. They wait for Hiro's siblings, who have parted ways after their parents' death, to come back and live together. Mao's goal is to turn the home into "the house of magic, a place filled with both laughter and tears" once again.

Characters

Main characters

Mao Motomiya (本宮 真魚, Motomiya Mao)

Voiced by: Aoi Yūki (Drama CD)

The main female character. A 17-year-old girl whose parents divorced and after her father remarried feels unloved at home. After meeting up with Hiro after years of not seeing each other, she decides to start living with him. She writes a cellphone novel titled "Taiyou no Ie" under the pen name "Kuukai". Hiro is a fan of the novel series, but doesn't know that it's written by Mao for quite some time. As the series progresses, she comes to accept her new family situation with her father, step-mother, and step-sister, as well as confessing her feelings for Hiro.

Hiro Nakamura (中村 基, Nakamura Hiro)

Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura (Drama CD)

The main male character. A 23-year-old man who works at an office and lives alone in the Nakamura household. He offers Mao a place to stay after knowing her family circumstances. He has feelings for Mao but holds back because of their age difference. At the end of the series he says he would like her to be a part of his family, implying a confession.

Daiki Nakamura (中村 大樹, Nakamura Daiki)

Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya (Drama CD)

Hiro's brother, who joins the main cast later in the series. A serious youth who goes to the same school as Mao. He has feelings for Mao and works at the samurai cafe with her.

Supporting characters

Hina Nakamura (中村 陽菜, Nakamura Hina)

Voiced by: Ayaka Saitō (Drama CD)

Hiro and Daiki's sister. After the death of their parents, she moves away to live with relatives. Towards the end of the series Hiro convinces her to move back in with him.

Chihiro (千尋) or Chī-chan (ちーちゃん)

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa (Drama CD)

Mao's best friend and confidante. She has a crush on Oda, whom she ends up dating.

Oda (織田)

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino (Drama CD)

Mao's classmate who has a crush on her. He later dates Mao's best friend, Chihiro.

Ai Sugimoto (杉本 愛, Sugimoto Ai)

Voiced by: Megumi Itokana (Drama CD)

Hiro's coworker and a fan of Mao's novel. She develops a crush on Hiro, but can't bring herself to confess. Like Mao, she also loves samurai.

Parents

• Yuzuno Hironaka

Mao's biological mother. Apathetic and cold, she left Mao and her father after she decided to marry her boyfriend, whom she was cheating with for a couple of years. Towards the end of the series she attempts to reconcile with Mao, who eventually denies her, understanding how she coldly abandoned her and her father.

• Kaitou Motomiya

Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa (Drama CD)

Mao's father. Ever since his divorce with Yuzuno, he pushes Mao away, causing her to be alone. The reader finds out that he truly loved his ex-wife Yuzuno, but she cheated on him since the beginning of their marriage. He reconciles his relationship with Mao towards the end of the series.

• Mrs. Motomiya

Voiced by: Yurie Kobori (Drama CD)

Mao's step-mother. Extremely kind and caring, she patiently waits for Mao to accept her as her own mother.

• Mr. Nakamura

Voiced by: Takayuki Kondō (Drama CD)

• Mrs. Nakamura

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara (Drama CD)

Other characters

• Yui Motomiya

Voiced by: Rina Hidaka (Drama CD)

Mao's step-sister, an innocent and cheerful elementary school student.

• Fujita (藤田)

Voiced by: Kenji Akabane (Drama CD)

• Aoi Matsumoto (松本 蒼, Matsumoto Aoi)
• Otoha
• Kokoa

Animals

• Wakaba, a turtle
• Croquette, a shiba inu

Volumes

• 1 (September 13, 2010)^[2]
• 2 (December 13, 2010)^[5]
• 3 (May 13, 2011)^[6]
• 4 (October 13, 2011)^[7]
• 5 (February 13, 2012)^[8]
• 6 (June 13, 2012)^[9]
• 7 (November 13, 2012)^[10]
• 8 (April 12, 2013)^[11]
• 9 (September 13, 2013)^[12]
• 10 (February 13, 2014)^[13]
• 11 (July 11, 2014)^[14]
• 12 (December 12, 2014)^[15]

Reception

Volume 5 reached the 19th place on the weekly Oricon manga chart and, as of February 19, 2012, has sold 36,674 copies;^[16] volume 6 also reached the 19th place and, as of June 17, 2012, has sold 40,564 copies;^[17] volume 9 reached the 44th place^[18] and, as of September 22, 2013, has sold 44,131 copies;^[19] volume 10 reached the 6th place and, as of February 16, 2014, has sold 39,452 copies.^[20]

It won the award for Best Shōjo Manga at the 38th Kodansha Manga Awards.

References