'Onani Master' or in English: 'Master of Masturbation'. That is one misleading title for this series and it might scare off a lot of potential readers. When I read the description, I did not feel like reading this manga, it was only when a friend recommended it to me, that I gave it a try. And damn, I'm so happy that I did read it.
Story:
The story evolves in a very natural way and goes from a comedy to a parody to a authentic drama. More than a scheme, the story feels like a river. It flows on in a very natural and beautiful way. The plot twists do not seem forced but just come in the right time to keep things interesting. Kurosawa’s view of the world changes slightly on his way and his relationships with the people around him evolve like growing flowers. They become more beautiful and more real on the way. In the beginning Kurosawa is just a sarcastic prick, but through experiences he has in this manga, everything changes for him. There is just enough humor, just enough love and just enough deepness in this manga to be enjoyable for nearly everybody. Yes, there are some gross semen-jokes (which might only be enjoyable by males) but mostly the manga is very discrete. What I liked best about the story is how the magaka makes you love the characters so quickly: in only 31 chapters I really had warm feelings for all of the people in this manga. Funny references (as to Death Note and Catcher in the Rye) keep the tone light, while on the other hand some serious matters are discussed. Such as: what are friends? How should we decide what we should do? What is 'love'? And most of all: how to encounter guilt? It is a brilliant story, with enough laughs to be entertaining and enough story to be touching.
Art:
The art is quite sketchy and fits the story well. It is not remarkably well drawn, but it is really unique, to say the least. It might be seen as a symbol for the unclear period of life that adolescence is. Just like the drawings, not everything in the life of a teenager is as clear as it seems.
Characters:
As I have said before, the characters are perhaps the best bit of this series. I do not like the typical high-school romance setting, and OMK plays with the clichés of those series – as a matter of parody. It starts off as a satire but later on, it surpasses all the clichés it is making fun of and turns into a genuine and beautiful story. The characters that seem hyperbolic in the beginning, turn out to be real and caring people. This is the true beauty of the manga: they over-friendly and kind characters find their way straight into your heart.
Therefore I would recommend this manga to everybody: those who like action-manga’s as well as to those who like romance manga’s as well as to those who like psychological manga’s. It is a unique, touching and truly beautiful manga. As is suggested in this manga itself, it is the ‘Catcher of the Rye’ of the mangas and it deserve a place in everybody’s list.
