Danica Davidson
May 28, 2025 
Stardust Family is an interesting and provocative manga, published as an omnibus so that the whole story is in one book. It takes place in a future Japan, and the country has responded to issues of its declining birth rate (which is a real thing going on) and instances of child abuse and neglect by totally overhauling the system. People are no longer allowed to have a child on their own, the way it’s been done since time immemorial. Instead, they have to get a license, with kids deciding who is worthy.
Hikari, the main character, is one of these kids. Time and again he spends two weeks with a person or family unit, and judges whether or not they should get the license. Sometimes the people are loving to him, but he still has to leave them after getting attached. Sometimes the people are abusive to him, and that stops them from getting their own children, but he still has to put up with the abuse in the meantime.
Society expects people to want children and pretty much views them as non-human if they don’t. So Hikari is very surprised when he goes to see his latest family, the Hirokawas, and the would-be dad asks Hikari to fail them, saying he doesn’t like kids and doesn’t want them. However, things end up being much more complicated than his initial statements would lead one to believe.
Stardust Family brings up a number of issues, from the meaning of family to what a government’s role is to how children are viewed and treated. Who hasn’t seen a parent who’s an awful parent, someone who shouldn’t have had kids? At the same time, pushing Hikari out to family after family so they can get licenses feels so cruel, and parents who are good parents but who didn’t get their license right can end up arrested and hated by society. The manga manages to be thought-provoking, sometimes humorous, sometimes sad, sometimes emotional, and always pretty unique.
Story & Art: Aki Poroyama
Publisher: Yen Press
Translator: airco
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
