Ranked #1373

Mondaiteiki Sakuhinshu (Manga)

Well, let me start by confessing that fact that I’ve only read the first volume. Not out of a lack of interest, but out of a lack of access. I’m still trying to either hunt down the others or save money and get them shipped.

I love what I’ve seen so far though. The mangaka seems to be trying to provide an unbiased view on things like sexual harassment, drugs, and suicide. The cold, brutal, truth, so to speak. None of that Moral Ed stuff where they practically brainwash you and tell you exactly what to do in what situation, but the things that really happen to teenage girls, and from their point of view. It’s a bit melodramatic at some points, but the characters are great and easy to sympathize with.

It’s a collection of short stories, each handing a different issue, so there’s not much I can say about the plot. But if you like oneshots, then this is great.

It’s something you should read if you can ever get your hands on it. I’d recommend this to just about anyone actually, because it’s awareness stuff people should know about.
read more

"We were dying from the moment we were born..."

Confidential Confessions chronicles the lives of corrupted adolescents as they deal with their complex struggles. The interventions of fate has carved a path of destruction for the youth. This manga illuminates what is seen in our post-modern society. Teenagers young and old are encountering issues dealing with civil rights, economic dilemmas, and social pressure. We've seen it all before. The suicidal tendencies of teens and the clash of the sexes. However, this manga is capable of causing an emotional impact in its audience by using fine examples of what we've seen in the past and what we see now in the present time: the corruption of tomorrow's youth.

~[S T O R Y]~ [10]

The length of the chapters was acceptable and utterly satisfying. The proper length was able to allow the drama to develop. You could taste the tears, the anger, and the vehement frustration in the expressions of each character - particularly the main ones that each chapter focused on. Manatsu's suicidal tendency, Satsuki's tug-of-war between her duty as a "woman" and her privilege as a Woman. Suzuki's discomfort with sexual harrassment, Ayumi and Hiro's indecision between what they want and what they need to do, and Kyo's drug addiction. We encounter the troubles with love, lust, dreams, fame, fortune, self-esteem, gender rights, the future, the past, and the present. Indeed, the complex stories presented within the manga display slices of life that the reader can understand or even connect to. The streaming of the plotline was not choppy at all. It ran well enough to tug the heartstrings and spur great thought as to the valuable of every minute that this life grants us.

~[A R T]~ [7]

The art is not impressive. It merely implies the general designs you would often see in most cliche animes. However, the expressions of the characters were drawn well. You could feel the drug effects, the emotional agony, and the intense feelings of violation within each character. Though it would have earned a higher grade if there was more detail added onto each character. Then again,the art does not need to overpower the story whatsoever. The words and the feelings express speak crystal clear as it is.

~[C H A R A C T E R]~ [9]

Because of the lengthy chapters, we are able to understand the character's background fully. Parents always make an impact. Our peers always make an impact. Strangers in the street always make an impact. The manga clarifies that social pressure is inevitable. The reader is able to acknowledge the emotional corruption of each character due to a certain substance they are consuming - whether it be suicidal thoughts, depression, obsession for perfection, or terribly high hopes for a brilliant future. Truly, the characters in C.C resemble the characters that walk across our streets, sit in our classrooms, and even linger about in our homes. That's what makes this manga special. The proper plot development has enabled the reader to acknowledge the origins of the characters in order to understand why they do what they do.

~[E N J O Y M E N T & O V E R A L L]~ [9]

In all its entirety, I award this manga a 9. It's not everyday that we see a controversial yet striking manga released into the Japanimation realm. What makes the manga attractive is that the issues presented do not only occur in Japanese culture. They can occur to diverse cultures around the world. The cultural and emotional impact of the series been given a high rating for releasing a train of thought that may forever run in everyone's mind. Why do people talk, act, and think like they do? We are not in the position to say, but we still have the privilege to wonder just as we, according to Manatsu, have the privilege to take control of our own fate. read more