Woman - "I wanna lick your back"
Man - "And I wanna eat your hair"
"Then let's live together".
What you just read is a simple summary of what happens in the first chapter of this Manga, "Fechippuru". If you thought "Fechippuru" means *"What I like about you or Our Innocent Love"* as the English title seems to suggest, then all I want to say is that, it's not as innocent as it sounds. "Fechippuru" means a "Couple in love because of their fetishes" and that basically describes the entire premise, so let's start with Art style.
- Art Style
The art style looks really clean, is what I thought when I read the first chapter. The author might have some hair fetish cause god damn! He really knows how to draw silky hair. The female character-designs really get to shine in this Manga, well that's kinda typical for a romance setting but still worth the praise. Since the Manga dwells on fetishes, it uses it to it's fullest advantage by showing some really well drawn hair, backs and expressions, but the full effect can only be seen in the single page moments, like the ones I showed above. In the Yonkoma format, you can't really see the it's full appeal considering the size, so the Manga uses it for the gags/comedy.
Now with this being said, I can finally start the talking about the heart & soul of the Manga. The "Story".
- Story
If you've seen the Manga cover, read the summary and thought, "Maybe it's about these two adult looking man & woman's love story and their fetishes", well you aren't completely right. Because halfway through, the story shifts it's focus to different characters. Simply put, there are two different stories in this Manga.
Story 1/First half is about romcom between "Tatsu", a 23 year old who have a hair fetish and "Kotoka", a 23 year old (& a month older than Tatsu) who have a back fetish, and they started to like each other because of these fetishes but their relationship changes while they start to grow as characters. Story 2/Second half is about a high school love triangle between a fetish trio; "Mugi" with smell fetish, "Miori" with 'little ones' fetish (Don't worry as it isn't anything illegal, so far) and "Noi" with hair fetish. I haven't completely read it but as of now, their are have been some strong changes in their relationships and starting to see each others more than objects to satisfy their fetishes.
[Story 1/*The Adult Romcom* (Chapter 1 - 73)]
Tatsu and Kotoka's story had 3 phases in the entire runtime.
1. The Funny gag intro
2. The Cringey comedy middle
3. The Romcom Drama end
The funny gag intro is just as it sounds. It introduces all it's characters, fetishes and relations between each other. The fetishes are something I don't really see going this much into a relationship and there are quite a lot. Back, Hair, Hands, Legs & Voice. It shows what these looks like as silly as possible, with some funny gags and jokes that work out pretty well. For the most of the time I thought, "Hahaha.. This guys are hopeless".
Then comes the cringey comedy middle, and while it hints for some progression, it's comedy part was a little unsettling to read like how they 'indulge' themselves in each of their fetishes that it felt really gross & disgusting at times. "These are f&#%ing hopeless!", is what I thought. But the good thing here, is where I really started to acknowledge them as characters, and just some plot machines that exist only to deliver a joke that can you can forget the next few minutes.
And then comes the Romcom drama part, and this is where the series really shines, in-terms of story and art as well. The gags are slightly reduced as now we focus on characters who are willing to change, showing some growth and tackling obstacles to make their relationship, healthy. Getting to like someone just because of one of their body parts, didn't really sit well me and the fact that these two working adults started living together just to satisfy their fetishes felt worryingly bad. But thankfully, this drama section answered all those concerns I had, they started to see the other person more than just their hair/back and this is really rewarding to watch, so much so that I don't mind giving this story a "8/10". I realized how much my jaws hurt me because of how big of a smile I had while reading this.
[Story 2/*The Highschool Trio* (Chapter 74 - 147)]
For the fetish trio/high-school love triangle tho, I haven't read their complete story yet but so far there are only two phases in the story.
1. The intro comedy phase
2. The drama phase
The comedy at the early chapters will entertainment & also give everything you need to know about the main characters three-some relationship, it's as simple as you expect from every high school romcom you've probably seen so far except with a fetish twist. And the drama phase will take things a little seriously as for who needs to end with the main guy, it's almost like a harem. Except now, we also have another fetiple outside the main characters where the boy has glasses fetish and the girl have a bondage fetish.
Now this story is really problematic cause not only it's boringly dumb but it also takes away all the magic the first story had by repeating the same jokes and drama elements all over again, making it look pale in comparison. The art, and the the cameo appearance of the first couple in this story are the only reasons this story is still going strong cause there isn't anything interesting anymore, unless you are rooting for someone. Weak storyline, repeated jokes that range from 'cringe' to 'mildly funny' and drama as boring as every other highschool romcom which is slightly interesting, makes me give this a "6/10" so far. It's a shame cause it really had a complete & solid story in it's first half but ruined it by prolonging the manga and adding another average high school story. While this story fits with the basic premise & explores a little how it would be among highschool students, it's just not satisfying to read anymore.
Not sure how far story 2 can go, but it's quite reasonable if you ended up dropping this at chapter 73, i.e., the end of story 1. Story 2 is really isn't anything special or great and I surely didn't enjoyed it as much as story 1, but it's 'not bad' actually. It's just not as satisfying in comparison to story 1.
To give an analogy, this is slightly equivalent to **Death Note** Anime. Sure, the second half isn't as great & enjoyable as the first half, but it's still not bad and also had a good ending. While I still haven't read the ending for this Manga yet, I do hope it to end on a goo note.
- Summary
An amazing first half ruined by an unnecessary second half, but still worth the read for the highly recommendable first half.
- Update
I've completed it and I think you're better of skipping the 2nd story. The love triangle relationship was so boring and fell apart real quick. The art is there but everything else... Nah.
Story 1 - 8/10 (Solid)
Story 2 - 4/10 (Pretty Bad)
Overall - 6/10 (Above Average)
