Cover Image: The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up

The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up

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Member Reviews

Great addition to the growing empire of Marie Kondo!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

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This was a good book but the copy I received was flawed. The pictures were cute but separate from the text. I struggled to read it completely. It is an interesting book but better for those with the published copy. For an introduction to Marie Kondo, this is a good way to go.
Since I did not completely read a copy, I will not be able to put up a review on social media for it

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I thought this was such a fun graphic novel, that actually taught you while you read. I would highly recommend this one even if you only want to read this one and not the actual book.

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This was very cute and useful. I haven't watched her netflix series or read her book due to lack of time, so this was a quick way to get some insight without all the commitment!

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Although i recieved a free review copy i never had time to read it, so ended up buying the book from Amazon. Although i love reading, i find myself enjoying reading the story in comic format or watching films/listening to audio when i can these days. Life is busy so being able to have the same fun, and take less time is allways good.

The comic basically teaches you the authors way of tidying up, even since watching the netflix series "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" i've been intrigued however i didn't want to invest the time it would take to read an entire book. If you're like me this comic will be perfect for you, you'll understand the concepts, the journey and hopefully gain the same insight from reading this.

For me, i've often come home and just thrown things away to cut down on what i own, as well as occasionally doing large scale week long clean ups so i've incorporated elements from Marie's philosophy. My main takeaway is to stop keeping things i think i might need and throwing away things i don't really need however bring me joy. I'm balancing out my cleaning / tidying and evaluating what i throw away in a different way now.

The comic book is easy to read and doesn't take long to finish, highly recommended.

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The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up is a cute depiction of Marie Kondo's book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. It would be a good read for anyone who likes graphic novels or wants something easy to pick up that they will gain something from. This book examines our ability to clutter our surroundings and why we should be more careful.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I unfortunately was not able to read this before the publication date however I’m glad I still picked it up.

Her methods are so interesting and all the videos I saw of people using this method, they are found it useful and worth it.

I loved the format of the this and it didn’t feel like a simple boring step by step and I do recommend this for those who are interested.

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I have to admit, I've had the Marie Kondo 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying' book for quite a while now and having not read it yet I was glad to be accepted to read the Manga version!

The manga follows the story of Chiaki - a woman who lives in Tokyo and has a very cluttered flat. When she receives a complaint from her neighbour about the mess on her balcony, she enlists the help of Marie Kondo to help get all her stuff sorted. I really liked the story of the two neighbours - having characters who were going through the process was a great example of how to declutter properly, and I found myself invested in their story.

I think this book is a fun and accessible way of getting across the KonMari method. I've seen bits of the Netflix series, but reading this manga made me really understand the method properly in an engaging way.

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Having never read the original book, but having been on the KonMari method before the hype train arrived, I was very interested to give this little book a go. It took me a while to get through it due to the bad formatting, however, that was just because of the tech and not a fault of the book. This is a fun little book and may be a way to make MG age kids (8-12) join in more with the method. Overall, nothing amazing but a bit of fun.

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I requested this Manga a while back and I finally read it.

I loved this little Manga version. I still need to watch the show on Netflix but I like the attempt they've done for cleaning. It's not just cleaning out randomly...it has a system and I find the "only keep what brings you joy" part very interesting. The manga was also very cute in the art department and just the interraction and face expression. Definitely a cute little helper if you're in need of a proper cleaning in your home. I don't really need to clean anything at my place but I have the urge to clean out my books again haha

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Initial reaction on twitter: The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying up is really sweet and helpful! I think Marie Kondo is more chill in her books/TV show though, right?

(I feel immensely validated by the kind lady explaining how emotional tidying can be, okay, I see why my corner of the internet exploded about her last year.)

Review: As you may have noticed if you see me on any other form of social media, I spent November in what I'm calling The Grand Unfuckening. I'm slowly digging myself (and by extension everyone who has to live with me) out of the never-ending layers of STUFF that accumulates during years of undiagnosed/treated anxiety, depression, and ADHD. It's a difficult process! It comes with a heavy helping of shame and stress! And The Life-Changing Manga Of Tidying Up is incredibly kind and understanding of all of that. I've not read Marie Kondo's other books or seen the Netflix series, but the manga breaks down decluttering and tidying in a really accessible way, with a protagonist going through the process to demonstrate it better. The advice is mostly straightforward, and it's easy to see how and if you can apply it. (I promise, there is no cruel advice about books; literally her advice is that you want to end up with shelves full of books that you love, and I don't see a problem there!) It goes through step-by-step, and the basics of it feel intuitive enough that I could remember them.

The art is very simplistic, but it's cute and it works, especially the repeated image of the protagonist's living room slowly being excavated. It just feels very kind and respectful; the book acknowledges that tidying up and decluttering is hard and can involve a lot of emotions, and that's okay! There is space for the protagonist (and by extension the reader) to have those feelings! ... So yes, what I'm saying is that I did get very emotional about the book that teaches you how to clean your house, and I'm not ashamed.

[This review is based on an ARC from Netgalley]

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Marie Kondo’s bestselling book, the Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, has been beautifully transformed into a manga that entertains and educates. We follow the story of Chiaki who has a bad habit of avoiding all kinds of cleaning because she doesn’t know how to get started. On top of this, she has accumulated huge amounts of stuff by trying and then abandoning a gazillion hobbies. She contacts Marie Kondo, who flutters into her house to teach her to set things right.

I love how positive and kind this manga is – it is filled with the sentiment that also comes across in the Marie Kondo Netflix TV-show that Kondo is a lovely, non-judgmental person who respects everyone. Similarly, Chiaki doesn’t need to be embarrassed by her situation in this manga, she can just strive to do better! The tidying techniques are communicated with clarity, and it was easy to understand all of them. Having not read the original book myself, I definitely felt like I could easily rely on this manga to Konmari my own apartment.

The manga also has a weak sub-plot between Chiaki and her neighbour which was slightly cringey. I wish the book had focused more on other aspects of Chiaki’s life becoming better and I would have loved to see her passion to cook instead. Also, my second problem with this manga were the short written passages at the end of every paragraph. They gave the reader more information on tidying, but I found them unnecessary. The manga plot communicated everything clearly enough. However, this is a lighthearted and mood-lifting read that is well illustrated throughout!

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KonMarie has been a way of tidying up that has been around for a while, and is one of those that lots of people rave about!

A Netflix series came out in 2019 called Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, and I really enjoyed starting it! You could tell who had watched it from Instagram posts about folding clothing!

This is the manga (graphic novel) about how to implement the KonMarie method, as you follow along Chiaki, a young woman with a super messy apartment, who is helped by Marie Kondo with how to tidy her apartment, and see the magic of it helping her life.

I really enjoyed the manga, seeing the uncertainness of Chiaki, saying the things that you know clients and others who have put the method into practice will have said! It showed exactly what you should do, making it clear, and giving you the reason why you do this.

The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up was published on 17th October 2019, and is available to buy on Amazon and on Waterstones. I've found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!


You can follow Marie Kondo on Twitter, or through her website.

You can follow Yuko Uramoto on Twitter.

If you're interested in self help books, then here's some others I've reviewed:

An Edited Life: Simple Steps to Streamlining Your Life, at Work and at Home by Anna Newton 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Hinch Yourself Happy by Mrs Hinch 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Pan Macmillan (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

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This manga is the perfect companion to Marie Kondo's book and even the tv show. It is simple, yet gives loads of tips to tidy up in a light and humorous way. I can see it as a nice present for someone that really needs it!

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I love Marie Kondo and her konmari method. I love the focus on what you want to keep, versus what you need to get rid of, and the whole idea of surrounding yourself with things that spark joy. We do differ in opinion on how many books to keep (there is no way I'm getting rid of all the unread books I own, my reading track record shows that I do get round to them eventually), but other than that I have found her method very useful.

This manga doesn't give any new information if, like me, you have read her previous book. But it was a nice refresher of her method. It gave me motivation to keep going, after the initial rush of tidying and sorting had worn off. The characters are so cute. Chiaki is adorable. The manga reads like a story, reiterating the konmari method as Chiaki learns how to part with things she has kept. It's a quick, easy read. It's also a nice book to dip in and out of. It has the folding instructions for clothing in picture form, which I find very useful, as I am much better at learning things like that visually.

If you're a fan of Marie Kondo, or if you want a gentle introduction to the konmari method, this book is for you.

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I got interested in this manga after previously reading Maria's book and watching her Netflix tv show.
The manga itself provides us with a lovely short story about young women struggling with her life. Characters are simple and easy to sympathize with. Although they don't play important part and would be easily exchanged with any other. The main point here is to show Marie's cleaning methods in a shorter, easier to understand version. I think she manages to do pretty well. I especially liked the visuals - instructions of folding clothes etc.

I think the manga works as an invitation/ welcoming piece to the techniques of Marie. Although it doesn't provide as many insights as to the book itself I enjoyed it and I would recommend it to all fans of Marie Kondo as well as to people who never heard of her before.
Copy received thanks to Netgalley.

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This is a very cute manga and a great introduction into this method for people who haven't read any books by Marie Kondo before and I think especially for young people. I liked the art style and think it's a very fun idea. Since I already read both her other books, there wasn't any new information for me in here.

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This is a really interesting way to present the guidance of Marie Kondo in a easier way to understand. Through seeing her techniques employed by our story's protagonist really helps to show how her steps work in practise. It is a really beautiful heart warming story with really important messages about how it is important to understand what you want in terms of yourself and your lifestyle before you start on your tidying up journey and also it is important what you keep rather than what you get rid of to ensure your life is full of as much joy as possible. I throughly enjoyed this!

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For those with a small attention span and who haven't quite yet managed to give the Netflix show a chance yet, this book is for you. A heartwarming story that stays with you for a while and has helpful tips written in fun manga form. I defintely started organising my clothes differently after reading it. What struck me most was how clutter can accumulate, it was explained by Marie in a very honest and non-judgemental way which is what us sloths need. Absolutely wonderful and a feel good read.

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This is a brilliant manga book explaining Marie Kondo's methods of decluttering. The information is presented in an accessible and enjoyable way alongside an engaging story about a young woman trying to declutter. The story really demonstrates how Marie's methods can improve people's lives and gives inspiration for the reader to start their own tidying project.

Unfortunately, it isn't appropriate for my school libraries, but I would definitely recommend this to adults.

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