Wasted potential :( The first 12 volumes are fantastic. Tomoko is such a popular character because she's relatable, duh. But on top of that, to see such an unabashedly disgusting loser painted so earnestly was really refreshing. Much of the comedy came from the misunderstandings and awkward situations she would find herself in, giving the manga endless fuel to create comedic situations. You felt for her as she navigated through this world while clearly suffering from mental illness. It had a simultaneously tragic and comedic tone while never compromising one over the other.
Sadly, the manga loses serious steam around 12 volumes in. The story
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Apr 15, 2024
Nov 29, 2023
Okada has a talent for potraying sexual deviancy in an extremely empathetic manner. Ibitsu has this standard slice of life atmosphere to it, which is juxtaposed by these scenes of extreme sexual strangeness, until it isn't. At a certain point they feel like they become routine for these characters. Okada is trying to get us to understand sexual deviancy from the eyes of the protagonists, this is helped by the tenebrist lighting he uses in many of the sexual panels, where the characters are illuminated against a black background as if the sexual act is something beautiful and shining. It's only until the final act
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