Smells Like Green Spirit

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The story of the bullied, closeted gay high-schooler in a small town is a clichéd (but relevant) one in American media, and yet seeing this brand of narrative in the context of BL is refreshing. BL is considered to be the sphere of fantasy. Much of it is character-driven and chooses to place less emphasis on plot and setting, placing the main couple into a bubble. Nagai Saburou’s Smells Like Green Spirit is unique in that it explores both the characters’ impact on their environment, and how the small town and its inhabitants have molded the characters and their decisions.

Some of the characters and ... scenarios feel familiar at face value: the beautiful boy, the aggressively closeted teen feigning homophobia. However, the attention given to their presentation allows them to feel realistic rather than worn-out.

Facial expressions are Nagai Saburou’s strong suit and serve to set the mood of the narrative. Manic laughter, comically absurd faces that might be more suited to a gag manga, the poignant holding back of tears, blushing young love, and eerie smiles that slowly dig a pit of dread in one’s stomach: all are illustrated with equal effectiveness. The animated expressions breathe life into everyone from the troubled antagonists to the gossiping aunties of the town. The overlapping and shifting of emotions lends to an element of the unexpected that keeps the story engaging.

At its heart, this story is about love. Rather than the oft-glorified romantic love, it places equal if not more importance on friendship, familial love, self-acceptance, and the ways in which they conflict. Will placing your own happiness over that of your loved ones ultimately make you happy? To what lengths should you go to hide your true self to fit in and live life in a way that society dictates, and who will be hurt by this? What values should be prioritized and what sacrifices are necessary to have a life that you’re satisfied with? The main characters wrestle through the process of discovering their personal answers to these questions, while other characters suffer from the consequences of past choices.

This manga presents the different ways in which those who don’t conform can be themselves and exist in an environment that isn’t always accepting of them. It’s an amalgamation of humor, intense discomfort, romance, fear of the unknown, the joy of newfound friendship, and a bittersweet coming-of-age story. By drawing parallels between and contrasting the lives of the various inhabitants of one small town, Smells Like Green Spirit shows that navigating the convoluted branches of the journey of life doesn’t always turn out the way you expect or desire. But maybe there isn’t just one answer to finding your place in the world. 

So, I finished reading this manga back when I'm in senior high school, I was devastated cause of the rollercoaster ride of this manga. At first peek at the early chapter you may find that it can be a little humorous element of the drawing even though the story has started with rather dark material; bullying.

The story revolves around the main characters self-learning and self resolution. Watching how everyone tries to overcome their confusion, their fear and try to pursuit the best happiness to each of their own is really amazing. This manga shows a glimpse of reality that LGBT and queer people face ... every day, how it may affect themselves, their relationship with their family and also their social appearances.

This is a recommendation for anyone that feels bored reading the usual trope of shonen-ai manga and want to taste the emotional progress of a confused teen to a person who has a better grip of their identity

Smells Like Green Spirit is an absolute mess of a manga. The plot swings from one thing to another fast enough to give you whiplash. There is a lot of simply absurd stuff that happens, with no real build up except the author deciding that this is what was happening now. The characters' motivations are bizarre and unpredictable. There are some really troubling yaoi/BL tropes that are used as a fall back to create drama, with literally no fall back or substance at all. The whole premise on which the manga opens (a gay kid being bullied) ends up having little to no bearing on ... the characters involved and their course through the story.

Honestly, the series is not great. It's not even good. I didn't give it a rock bottom rating, however, because of the last few chapters. They really confused me because they became, if not good of themselves, then like they had been taken from a better, altogether more grown up series. They didn't fit with the ridiculous tone set by every chapter previously, but they were actually pretty good. They made me feel emotions for the characters, where none of the earlier dramatic hijinks had done.

There are a couple of good side characters, and a few funny bits. There's a lot of abysmal stuff to wade through, but it's a short series. Read it if you fancy something that's not going to demand a lot, but also isn't going to give a lot.