Girlfriend

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Gilfriend is an ecchi, romance manga made up of really smutty stories on different teenage relationships. Well it's supposed to be an "ecchi" title but I felt that this manga was borderline "hentai", with all the pointless sex. The stories are entirely sex-driven, which leaves no room at all for character development, making the characters the weakest aspect. Another problem is that after the first volume only some of the stories were revisited later on but at least the good ones were revisited.

The artwork is pretty decent for this romance, and was really good ind depicting the explicit scenes however the characters were very indistinguishable, ... as there was very little detail put into the character designs.

The problem with this being on different stories is that it's easy to forget what just happened in one story however at least you're not burdened with learning the character's names. One serious problem I had with this was the sheer amount of sex and it was just missing one thing to be classed as a porn (genitalia). This manga could have done so much better, if only it focused on 1 or 2 different stories and developed the relationships but I guess the horny teenage boys who read this wouldn't mind.

The title of the series is "Girlfriend" and the author makes a few attempts to link the title with the content. In my opinion this link is unsuccessful -at least in a western context- since a title like "f*ck buddies" or "Friend with benefits" would do for most of the stories.

Don't get me wrong, it makes an interesting read and it can make you root for a character... it can disgust you a lot too. If you feel uneasy about cheating boyfriends/girlfriends or adult-teenager relationships, be ready to feel very uneasy at some points. There are however some bitter-sweet stories (never entirely sweet) that ... are worth the while. Also, be ready for a lot of sexual scenes depicting various poses. The author is specially attracted to bj's, but worry not, the male reproductive organ is only implied.

The stories are rarely revisited and never conclude entirely. It's like a feeling of a lot of knots being tied and problems that arise without ever being resolved (I can only think of one or two stories that do reach an ultimate conclusion). There are of course a lot of cliché stories being exploited. Of how realistic they can be I guess depends on what sort of sub-world you live in: there is without a doubt teenage sexuality without love, based on self esteem problems or even loneliness and curiosity. However, being in my late tweens, I don't really think I've ever been in a relationship that twisted or at least never really thought of them in this depressive angle.

The art is good. It may not be extremely beautiful, but it fits the realism the author wants to imprint the stories with. Still, it's not realistic enough as to draw fatty girls, for some reason all the girls in the series seem to be pretty and the one complain is to be plain (then again it's mostly a guy's point of view).

The characterization: Yes, there are horny girls in the world and I can identify myself with that (not all of us are so crazy about bj's, though). Men can be sometimes more prudish. The author seems to enjoy portraying women using men for their status, their vulnerability, their shyness, etc. Women in the series mostly want to use the men to experience sexuality without strings attached or for selfish reasons (eg. boost their self-esteem so they can chase after another guy). The one exception to the rule I can think of is the only story told in the girls pov. Guys are masochists: be ready for a lot of "I know she's playing with me, but I can't help it".

You will be drawn to the series. You will want to read more to see if you'll finally learn what happened with x couple. As the dread pirate Roberts said: Get used to disappointments. It will make an impression on you, whether good or bad depends on how much you feel related to the story and how much offense you take on the chosen topics.

I can't say I enjoyed it, I can't say I suffered it. I certainly would have chosen NOT to read it if I knew how most the stories would turn out. I would not read it again either.

All in all: inconclusive storyline, nice art, semi-twisted but possibly lovable characters, will make an impact on you.

I think, this series show why teenagers or not mentally adult people shouldn't play with sex. And that sex isn't way to show or perceive a love. It can be fun but it's not enough to fill the heart's content.
But for those who can understand this moral there not necessity to read Girlfriend.
Though, even if it has few sweet moments, mostly it was sad for me to read.
It's a shame that parents wasn't guide their children through puberty and didn't explain them what real the love is. So that children was pushed on the painful way of raising experience by method ... of efforts and mistakes. And yes, they got experience, some of them understood their feelings but... they never could again start relationship with someone as pure, innocent human being....