corkboard

It took me more than a little time to work up a love for this manga, and had I not been in a situation that left me with a lot of time on my hands and nothing else to do, I probably would have dropped it after the first chapter. With that said, this is a really wonderful manga.  Erotic, cringe-worthy, poingant, and occasionally even funny.  The story leaves more questions unanswered than I would like and the art took some getting used to.  The "humor" had a tendency to interrupt some of the most emotional moments in a way that was off-putting.  But I don't know that I have... See full review

This story (~spoiler alert) is about a man who rapes a teenage girl, but it's okay because he doesn't kill her and, upon reflection, she probably liked it anyway.  I realize that kind of rape-victim-wants-it pathology might actually be an attraction for some people, but I just felt dirty after finishing it.  Because it's a one-off, there is no place for further development of the lead character and how she comes to terms with what happened (although, I don't know that I'd be satisfied with how the author would answer the darkest questions being proposed here), so the result is a story that feels... See full review

It's really a shame, because this is one of the most beautifully drawn manga I've read in a long time (if you can call graphic depictions of dismemberment beautiful).  There is a lot of compelling imagery here, and the story starts out with some really intruiging set up and characters.  About halfway through, however, it becomes confusing, rushed, and predictable.  All the best plot elements, all the most ominous characters, just sort of fade into the background.  You get some hastily conceived back story, some more or less useless revelations, and then a shallow effort to tie... See full review