Ranked #928

Octave (Manga)

It's always good to dream, to dream big and to follow your dreams; but those dreams don't always seem to work out as planned... Octave is a Mature, Yuri, Romance that clearly deals with such things as how innocent aspirations can bring forth such disdain, bitterness and unexpected joys.

Yukino Miyashita is the kind of person that felt the need for attention and to adored and it’s that mindset of hers that propelled her into the entertainment industry, as an Idol. There she thrived on the attention and admiration but as the saying goes; “what goes up must come down” and having returned back to earth, from her quick flight into stardom; Yukino now lives a humble life but her dream to be beloved by someone is still there in the corner of her mind. So that’s how the journey began for Yukino and there are just a number of life’s journeys that Yukino will embark on during the duration of this manga, such as the life of a career woman and the hardships that come with loving another person so dearly. As you’ve probably guessed, this manga focuses on same sex relations; but unlike your typical yuri manga set in a predominantly female environment, where lesbianism is considered the norm, Octave is as real as it gets (well almost) but that can also takes away some of the enjoyment.

At least being able to see such a relationship bare fruit is enjoyable enough for any fan of the genre. It’s also more worthwhile since the 2 main characters are thoroughly developed and you’ll see how they struggle with their internal problems; like Yukino being such a self-conscious individual lacking self-confidence. Unfortunately not enough time and care is spent on other characters and they are used as mere tools for progressing the story and developing the main characters. But overall I consider the characters to be a strong aspect.

Even though the characters had a fair amount of depth, the artwork was quite the opposite. This manga had a very minimalistic look to its design and some may appreciate that, however this reviewer is all for: effort, detail, stylizing, etc. Yet none of those words corresponded with the art style found here. The art was still adequate in portraying what it needed to portray and is one of the better looking yuri manga I've come across, but it still felt somewhat lacking in my opinion.

In the end, what was found in Octave was a fairly realistic portrayal of a same-sex relationship, filled with hardships and insecurities. This manga deals with such issues in a profound and mature manner, never sugar-coating the issue but getting straight to the point. Sure I did find myself not enjoying some moments but life’s never guaranteed to be full of pleasantries and this manga clearly depicts that.
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Proof to me there’s nothing exciting in the Yuri genre. After all, Octave was just another drama with no merit what so ever. Sure it might be hailed for its realistic representation of a same sex relation, but does it make actually better? Author Haru Akiyama had dozen possibilities to venture the ground of Yuri at an interesting level, but instead she stubbornly decided to remain in the same circle of drama over and over again after each volume.

What I mean by having no merit is that the story itself doesn’t push itself any further when it should have. Simply put, Setsuko and Yukino will often be in a fight for various reasons such as misunderstandings, jealousy, “do you love me or love me not?” or “let’s move together”. Quite so, nothing here is a situation that a normal couple wouldn’t have. Don’t get me wrong, I do admit that a same sex couple will have the same problems as any couple in the world, but my problem is how the manga actually deals with dilemmas directly related to lesbianism. The author did dare to venture carefully into some subjects such as what would the others think or the impossibility of having children. Yet, these problems are simply put aside to bring us another uninteresting and dull dramatic situation. After the last volume, it really shows how much nothing really happened in Octave other than awesome sex scenes. That is not surprising since the characters never had the chance to be well developed and never had the possibility to push the story into something enjoyable.

The characters of Octave lacked the depth that this manga actually needed. To put it in simple words, the couple of this manga were after all straighter than a fast lane. This shows a lot when almost everything in the manga relies on their relationship. Sure their relationship progressed in a realistic way, but there has to be something more than that. I admit that the author did develop the characters individually, but it was either rushed or completely uninteresting. After all, Yukino would be the most well developed character of the two since the manga is told from her perspective, which is to my eye the biggest problem that this manga had. Since she always hides from her problem and almost refuses any form of communication, Setsuko is still as mysterious as she was in the beginning. I am not against characters with a lack of confidence, but in this case it was more a burden than anything else. As for the side characters, let’s just say that they don’t really matter other than giving the story more chapters.

For having average characters, there is also an average artwork to support it. However, unlike the characters, there’s nothing wrong with the art since I actually think it’s the one reason that made this manga an easy read.

In the end, some may scratch their head and still wonder what the whole point of Octave is. Actually, it is nothing more than your typical SOAP, but even though, that is not a reason to ignore this manga after all. More precisely, the drama lovers will appreciate this manga since it is an easy read and it is relatively short. The male audience can also find a liking since there’s a lot of lesbian sex scenes. And as we all know, men totally approves of this.

As for me, let’s say I wasn’t the target audience.
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