You may have come across something so vile and twisted that you feel a bit
of your sanity slipping away as you indulge in something truly grotesque and
disturbing. Ibitsu happens to be a perfect example of this as it draws you in
with it's truly messed up story.
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Story
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Ibitsu tells the story of a girl called Madoka being groped on a train by
the main character Keigo who happens to have a fascination with creating
lifelike dolls. From this incident the story spirals into a dark psychological standoff between dignity ,lust and companionship.
Madoka blackmails Keigo into living with him and they end up sharing a
symbiotic relationship where Keigo is allowed to use Madoka as a model for his doll making while frequently Madoka forces him into some very questionable and messed up SM(Sadism and Masochism) situations with Keigo being forced into the masochistic role.
Despite nudity being prevalent and being portrayed erotically the dark and foreboding atmosphere keeps you on your toes and makes you weary rather than aroused.
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Characters
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The main characters from Ibitsu all suffer from deep psychological wounds
that form who they are as people and only begins to touch upon how messed up and deep the relationship between them truly stretches turning into something akin to a convoluted mess.
The side characters only aim to add fuel to the fire and don't bring any
form of relief to any of the main characters and only adds more to their misery.
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Art
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The art itself is dark and this greatly adds to the overall atmosphere of Ibitsu.
The characters themselves often have their faces shaded darker than other manga while the backgrounds are usually drawn quite dark and simply without much detail unless specific objects are meant to be emphasized. This adds to the foreboding feeling that something is just waiting to happen.
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Enjoyment
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To say that reading Ibitsu brings more displeasure than enjoyment is an understatement. Ibitsu is just not the type of Manga most people can enjoy , yet you still find yourself captivated by the sliver of beauty that it shows every so often.
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Overall impressions
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Ibitsu is not for everyone and not without it's flaws and if you cannot handle things like urine drinking , public humiliation, BDSM (Bondage and Submission) , nudity , sex and overall depressing events befalling main characters then I advise you to stay away to maintain your sanity.
However if you can accept if for what it is I would recommend this one to the more messed up crowd.
