Shiro to Kuro: Black & White
Black and White: Tough Love at the Office

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This manga might be the best office drama ever written, though it's very hard to call in a romance or love story in any capacity, even a toxic romance. I would call it something like a "workplace thriller" with a lot of hatefucking.

What appears as the banal spats between two ambitious and callous career ladies who put up a facade of kindness in front of others at first, turns into a engaging struggle full of intrigue, lies, and manipulation. It it does this in a convincing fashion rarely seen in manga and really immerses you in a cutthroat office culture where every slip up is ... punished.

With that being said about the story, it is the characters which are the strongest part of the manga. The protagonist, Shirakawa Junko, through who's eyes we see most of the story, is without a doubt the best executed anti-hero I've ever seen in a manga. The lengths to which she goes to achieve her goals, especially in the final arc, left me awestruck, all while remaining completely believable. She and the other main character, Kuroda Kayo, are very similar and very different at the same time, the less said about that, the better.

The art is very good overall, I especially like Shirakawa's different facial expressions. There are some really memorable panels in here. Whether you are personally into physically abusive sex or not, I think in either case the sex scenes are fitting for the story. Either in a "wow, these women have issues and are fucked up" kind of way, or in a "wow, this is hot" kind of way. Either way, I don't think it fit's the erotica tag, this manga has on here. The heart of this manga is definitely in the characters, their (non-physical) relationships with one another, and the intrigue they engage in, not the smut scenes.

There are a few minor nitpicks I have, like how some of the side characters could have used a bit more characterization or how, for my taste, the plot progression relies maybe one time too often on one character overhearing another by coincidence.

Despite that, in conclusion I can only reiterate, that, unless physically abusive sex is a trigger issue for you, I absolutely recommend this manga to everybody. There will be new nuances you will pick up on a second reading and it all comes together beautifully at the end and I think the ending will be sticking with me for a while.

Personally, I think this work is an absolute masterpiece. I haven't given 10 even to works by my most favorite mangakas very often, but this time, I did. That said, I understand perfectly clear if many people would find this manga weird. This, however, won't ever make me change my mind. And I'll try to explain why.

If you read only the first volume, you will easily wonder, how come this silly thing could make anyone give it a ten. It does look stupid, indeed. A blonde woman and a dark-haired woman, both career-obsessed bastards beyond redemption, resolve their disputes by fighting and having sex at ... the same time. It looks like a manga specifically catering to the needs of people who have a fetish for catfights.

Over the course of just three volumes, this stupid premise evolves into a Dostoevsky-like tragic story of life choices, living with the darkness in your soul, and redemption through love. The actual struggle isn't between those women. The actual struggle happens in their hearts, torn between very strong urges, each with its own merits and demerits. And the choices they make are very different, even if the fight within them is very much similar.

Sal Jiang is known for her penchant for office settings, and this work in particular is in line with that. But, after all, it's nothing but a setting. I guess, showing this kind of story in a ruthless corporate environment is a wise choice. It brings to surface lots of subtle notions that would have been buried in non-professional realms.

In the end, I certainly don't have a slightest intention of spoiling you the fun. But this whole thing isn't just yuri. It's an ages-old concept of a struggle between good and evil told through a very intriguing yuri setting. I have rarely seen works in this genre as thought-out as this one.

The subject matter may be quite old and banal, indeed. But that's just one way of looking at it. The other way of looking at it is that, for the humankind, it is eternal and timeless. And in that sense, this manga gives a lot of food for thought.

Totally recommended, after all. But it still may seem weird. I loved it, though.