Just a few days ago a friend posted some avatars/icons at Livejournal. The series was After School Nightmare and it was *gorgeous*. I figured that and her word that it was a good series was enough to justify tracking it down and reading it. (Note at the bottom over accessibility.)
STORY (9/10):
The originality of this story is really one of it's strongest points. Just reading a plot summary may make it sound like any of the gender-bending shoujo titles available right now, but it's more creative than any other I've read. The idea of this after school nightmare course where a person has to bear their scars for others to see becomes more and more intriguing as the series continues.
ART (10/10):
ASN's art is magnificent. While it resembles Setona Mizushiro's other works such as X-Day in some ways, Mizushiro's style has really matured. The compositions of the pages and character designs are beautiful. The protagonist, Mashiro is portrayed painfully well in her style--caught between his feminine and masculine self.
CHARACTERS (9/10):
The three main characters of ASN are incredibly well developed and fleshed out. Mashiro, Kureha, and Sou each have their own scars, traumas, faults, and relationships with others. Their motivations make sense and are executed well. Especially when it comes to the love triangle between the three, the story gains much pain and anxiety. However, despite how well these three characters are done, when reading ASN, one gets the feeling the rest of the students are fairly ignored. Some, like Midori, get their side story, but after that drop off the face of the world. While some of this is contributed to the plot and mysterious "graduation", the minor cast could really use more fleshing out.
ENJOYMENT (9/10):
This series is very enjoyable. I really never expected to like it as much as I do--and I've heard many people say things similar to this. Setona Mizushiro uses a lovely mix of romance, drama, suspense, and anxiety to keep the reader interested!
OVERALL (9.2/10)
- Spiffyish
NOTE ON FINDING THIS SERIES: This series is somewhat hard to find. At the time this review was written, volumes 1-5 have been scanlated, but due to the fact it's being serialized in American and France, the scanlations have disappeared. So, if you are interested in the series, the best route will probably be to purchase it (it is available on both amazon.com and amazon.fr under the title "L'infirmerie après les cours". Also, of course, it is available in Japanese raw.
NOTE ABOUT THIS REVIEW: Also, if you find this review unhelpful in anyway, send me a private message saying why (please) so that I can improve it for future readers! :D
