It's never too late for redemption. Onani Master Kurosawa is a slightly disturbed, funny, heart-wrenching, heartwarming, beautiful story that seems like a perverted or erotic story at first. Although these appearances are often, they serve the purpose of characterizing Kurosawa as the soft spoken yet shrewd person that he is.
This manga will make you cringe, it will make you disgusted, and it will make you angry. But it will teach you a lesson that life often tries to make across, but few really accept: people change. Let's get to the story.
When you first meet Kurosawa, it is doubtless that he appears to be a despicable and perverted boy under the guise of a quiet student. His "habit" in the girls bathroom shows his true nature, and continues for some while until he is discovered by Aya Kitahara, an equally reserved student who is consistently picked on. Chaos ensues. Every action that Kurosawa makes, every step that he takes, brings him ever closer to shame and heartbreak. The plot twists will pull you out of your seat and leave you full of anger and despair.
Art is good overall, and the artist has improved considerably since his previous works (including Molester Man) but still keeps the habit of leaving poorly developed backgrounds compared to characters. This plays well into the manga though as backgrounds pull forward when they are needed in certain scenes.
The character development is outstanding and is the best I have seen of almost any manga I have read. Watching Kurosawa, Kitahara, Takigawa, and even the supporting characters change and react to the story really puts the plot and characters on the same plane. Kurosawa's development through the story (although initially this may seem impossible to the reader) is brave, uplifting, and heartwarming, especially as you watch him learn empathy and sympathy. As the reader, you can really relate to Kurosawa even in his strange circumstances. The author builds you up to break you down, and back up again, all the while you can fully feel his happiness and his pain. The author can make characters make 180's or reveal their true nature at unpredictable angles.
This manga is one of my favorites and was an extremely enjoyable ride, something no one who enjoys manga should ever pass over. Words cannot do the beauty of this story justice.
