Apr 26, 2011
This is one of the earliest BL mangas out there, I believe, and you can definitely see the striking differences between the shounen-ai emerging 30 years ago compared to today. The visuals especially are different. Boys look like boys (kind of. Still have bambi eyes, still hairless. And Ian, who appears a bit later, is a definite bishonen.) There is a nice amount background and not a lot of skimping on the characters' details.
What struck me most about this manga was how disturbingly realistic it is. The abused protagonist is not a helpless creature. He's just a normal boy with normal friends and a normal
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life, and barely realizes it when his world is turned upside down. You can really see him progress down the path of insanity too, as the manipulative stepfather continually gives Jeremy the illusion that he is free, when really he's practically digging his own grave. The story is a bit slow in progression, but I think that's for the best, because it emphasizes that pedophilia doesn't just magically appear and you can spot it like that. It's skillfully hidden, starts from the smallest thing and spirals into a living hell.
The sex scenes show very little, but the theme is definitely disturbing enough in itself. The author doesn't try to make it hot, but she definitely conveys the emotion behind it very well.
Warning, there's still a lot that needs to be scanlated and its age does not make it the most popular manga. While it's a good read, it might be said that anything you might wish to happen in to the characters will be a long time coming.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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