Torch Song Ecology

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This manga, Torch Song Ecology is really different. Looking at it's cover, it's not what one would expect at all. The cover has a sort of BL vibe to it, but this manga is not that so don't let that put you off, this is fine for gals and guys to read. It's supernatural with sadness and tragedy thrown in. The feeling of it is sort of dark, because it deals with a lower ranked actor who is depressed due to deaths of those close to him, so it has a sort of heavy feeling but at ... the same time it is very funny. He is haunted by ghosts but the ghosts are quite funny.

I hand it to this experienced josei mangaka, she really throws some unusual twists into this one. There is a lot of abstract surreal quality to it to, as it's often his thoughts and dreams and memories that are shown not just the current time line. It's almost hard to tag this - I guess supernatural and tragedy fit the bill. A torch song is a song before death. Yet if you like unusual manga that are unpredictable I think this is a good one.

Obviously, it does not have a big readership, but the scores it's gotten are not indictative of the quality of this work. I think it has suffered from something common to josei - slow translations. It's apparently 3 volumes but josei are not translated quickly enough for those of us who like them. I happen to like it when I get something that is more than it looks like from the outside. The whole you can't judge by the cover thing really is applicable here. Anyway I give it a 9 for it's quirkiness. I'm not sure if I will change this further in, but after one volume I find this story intriquing.
~ reviewed by inzaratha for ~ reviews for the unreviewed.