Jun 5, 2021
At the time of writing there are no other reviews for this manga and considering the experience I had reading it I ought to write one.
I randomly founnd this series while browsing the young jump website looking for something new, and had no idea what it was about. The synopsis on mal is not really clear so here is the general structure: The main character (guy) is in high school and has a fetish for violence/seeing girls hurt, embarassed, or suffering (especially a girl he likes in his class)... to fuel this perversion he writes a doujinshi and publishes it online, where he gains
...
a significant following. Of course, his life could start to fall apart if someone were to find out...
Story 8+
The overall narrative is not that complex, looking from a distance it looks like your run of the mill romance/lovetriangle manga. However, it has a heavy psychological aspect to it which is the most interesting, on top of a constant feel of uncertainty, and suspense as to what will happen next. The pacing was really good overall and kept me wanting for more, and I ended up finishing the whole thing in 24 hours.
Art 10-
The art carries across the message of the story perfectly, on top of looking great in its own right. It reminds me a bit of oyasumi punpun (and so does the overall vibe of the manga). Some pages made me feel genuinely uncomfortable, just as much as the characters were supposed to be.
Character 10
This is what makes this manga special in my opinion. I am yet to see a piece of fiction investigate fetishes from the character's point of view, especially at the age where you try to accept and understand yourself like genki-kun. Genki is aware of his fetish, and that it's fucked up, he should never act on it, and despises this part of himself. But he can't do without it, and through the internet and going to conventions he realises there are 1000s of people sharing that same fetish and taste. Without spoiling the story has genki kun fluctuate between accepting, rejecting, nurturing, fighting his perversion and urges; while he is on the boundary between sexual arousal and being disgusted.
The other 2-3 characters (this story has very few, which is the right choice considering the length of the overall story) are also well written, they also have their fetishes, insecurities and are flawed.
This is another point, everyone in this story has a very flawed personality, in different ways, with very marginal redeeming qualities. This is not a manga about glorifying violence, or bdsm, or trying to guilt people into fighting their subconscious. It is a coming of age psychological story, dealing with sexual urges and misery, and from this perspective the characters fulfil their role perfectly. You might hate all of them, like all of them in a way, but it's hard to pick a favourite as they all make you feel uncomfortable in the way they were meant to.
Enjoyment 9+
Reading this was a unique experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as you may have figured out already. However it made me feel uncomfortable a number of times, so it was not pure, unadulterated, pleasure. So I am knocking a mark off there.
Overall thoughts
If you want a great romance story, or the manga adaptation of 50 shades... this is not quite it. If you enjoyed oyasumi punpun this story will probably suck you in. The manga covers a difficult, interesting topic from a refreshing angle, and is very unique. Please give it a shot especially if you like a heavy psychological element... or somehwat depressing coming of age stories.
Thanks for reading :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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