Alabaster no Kisetsu
Season of Alabaster

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Despite giving this a 6.5/10 (which could have easily been an 8/10, sadly...), I'd recommend you read 'Alabaster no Kisetsu'.

First, the glaring shortcomings this manga has:

1) Unneeded plot points mid-way which, in my opinion, contributed to a degradation of the overall quality (pacing, plot points, character consistency). These 'developments' appeared just to disappear shortly, stirring controversy and feeling absolutely out of character for this manga.

2) Quite possibly related to 1), the series appears to have been soft-axed. It really feels like the controversial decisions led to backlash from an editor/magazine/whatever. The latter half feels rushed and while the mangaka manages to wrap things up, it's ... all too hectic. At least it's a better wrap-up than MANY other cases.

Moving onto the good points:

1) It's a short series. You don't need to invest a lot of time into it, so some of the plot point fiasco doesn't come after 60 chapters of stellar character building. No sunk cost fallacy issues, in other words. If you got 2-3 hours free, you're done with the series.

2) The topic/focus is interesting. Artsy manga that includes a healthy mix of drama, romance, technical details/terminology and pretty darn good explanations. This one also has a youthful atmosphere plastered all over it, in the good way (not too cheesy, not too infantilizing). A lot of things could have been better - but the series manages to score rather high on consistency in all its main points.

3) Art style. The big emphasis I put here is on the nudity, which the series has a lot of. It's presented in a very classy, introspective, you might even say analytical way. Sometimes erotic, never smutty. Toned-down, yet alluring or playful. A very nice strike of balance.

A part of me is sad how the mangaka decided to go for stray plot points that most probably cost the series a longer run/better story progression. It does feel like a rookie mistake, so maybe the author is still making baby steps. Hope that's the case and we'll see a better follow-up!

Related recommendations:
'Natsu no Zenjitsu' for a more dramatic, torrential story between two strong characters.
'Sen wa, Boku wo Egaku' for a more introvertive, shy, and romantic in a very soothing way approach.

7.1/10


A rather slow-paced and introspective manga about nude drawing — despite how weird the subject is, there’s nothing blown out of proportion with cliches and the unwanted antics that accompany it. However, this is also a small doubled-edged sword, since without the tedious, weird tensions created by the usual cliches, there’s not much happening while the drama or conflict becomes rather forced, creating a non-immersive and boring plotline.

To make up for the usual laughs and giggles that have been removed, the manga attempts to create rational/human-like characters that have room to develop and grow for the readers to find interest in. However, although there ... are some nifty characters here and there, the characters are boring and don’t have much the depth or rationality behind their actions, doing the opposite of creating the desired immersion.

There are some twists and turns inside of the plot, however, most of the time the author backtracks on his developments and premise while also not maintaining a continuous flow of conflict; in other words, he doesn’t have a clear idea of the resolution of the story, which is quite disappointing.

A somewhat beautiful manga that gets ruins by the lack of minuscule details that make up a great story; call it inexperience, but there’s certainly a longing for more that this manga does not fulfill.


Reading Rankings (Portnoy inspired + A Huang-Teizan Original)
10 - God’s penmanship
9 - Must-read. Drop everything else.
8 - Instant bookmark
7 - Entertaining
6 - Good to pass time
5 - Why are you reading this?
4 - Bad.
3 - Typical garbage.
2 - My head hurts.
1 - Retirement is a thought.
0 - “Did they even give you a story?!”

Season of Alabaster is one of those art about art kind of manga. Much has been said about these kinds of stories, but I will say it is always interesting and refreshing to reach about stories that the mangaka themselves have a genuine connection to. This one in particular I thought was well paced and well written enough to stand by giants of the genre like Blue Period. I liked the characters, I liked the pace and tone, and I liked the slight twist on the usual premise - a focus on nude art and youthful love.

I also felt it had a great grasp ... on drama and human dynamics. There's a particular scene where the protagonist 'grades' the work of his club members and he gets berated by the teacher for rendering other's creative work as numbers and scores, not encouraging the creative process. It's a good scene.

Season of Alabaster also stood out for its willingness to confront topics that are not as well discussed in mainstream mangas like prostitution and the complications of a teacher-student 'romance'. I was intrigued by the way it opened into these topics. It had an artful panache about it, with stylistic use of lighting and dark inks. I was always curious how it would confront or resolve these very serious issues but that is where Season of Alabaster dips in quality. It really sidesteps the social severity and psychological consequences of these very real problems and doesn't address them well at all.

Not to mention, the manga has a really rushed ending, and a very contrived reason to have the teacher and protagonist thrown into a romance. I always felt the manga had a more mature tonal quality that would look into the complications of relationships more... something like Natsu no Zenjitsu. I don't know if it got cancelled, but this one kind of dropped the ball.