This is an isekai manga that for the most part revolves around the main character Haru selling her body to men in a brothel, so of course it's alot different from your usual isekai plot, but it return for that you get a manga that actually feels more alive in my opinion compared to the thousands of other isekai with bland perfect MC's even though the world feels less "magical" and more "gritty" since it takes such a mature and sometimes almost pessimistic view of society in general as most of the time chapters take place inside of the brothel. I have come across lots of click bait articles and bomb reviews while looking for decent pages to read for Jk Haru, I think that's because feminists see men forcing themselves on Haru and the instantly dislike it and on the flip side some men are probably looking for porn and end up reading Haru rejecting a guy that reminds them of themselves while disliking her reasoning so they end up leaving a shitty reviews, so I am here to tell you there's more to this manga than that.
Let's get this straight... I am a guy and I don't think the target audience is men, especially younger men, since this is not porn or even ecchi. The sex scenes aren't necessarily pornographic or sexual, rather they serve as world and character building, some men are horrible and literally treat her like a tool while her regular customers who become recurring characters end up forming a bond with Haru and she begins to see the brothel and a place of safety and consistency since she also has other sex workers who she can relate to there too. This is one of the reason I personally enjoyed the read and why Jk Haru feels more alive compared to other isekai manga because no relationship is so simple in real life, Jk Haru does the opposite of harem manga, the isekai world of Jk Haru is a misogynistic place so few of the men who genuinely appreciate Haru can't actually do anything for her than have sex with her for money and help support her, Haru and the supporting cast of sex workers all care for each other, but they can't step in for each other since then all of the brothel would be a potential target, etc... there is no short cuts or easy solutions, Haru would rather be treated like an object in the safety of the brothel and support herself than wander around aimlessly hoping for a prince charming to show pity on her.
The manga does a great job of showing how misogynistic of a world it is without going too over the top in my opinion, women can't be adventurers, it's improper to eat alone without a man in public, laws are heavily in mens favour, etc... Men aren't straight up doing illicit things to random women, rather they use that society to keep them oppressed. The exception is when Haru and the other sex workers and being paid, they use that as a form of stress release and sometimes it goes a little far, but that too is realistic since they know they can get away with it. I know it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I tend to prefer more mature manga that has strife and struggle which is rare in isekai manga because they are typically aimed at younger male audiences. I look forward to what happens in the future chapters, I'm hoping Haru changes the world for the better.
All this leads me to say this... Haru is one of the strongest female characters I have seen for a while after being thrown into the world that is disadvantageous for her she makes a decision and secured safety, she does complain internally, but handles everything like pro and keeps her emotions in control, she genuinely cares about people worth caring about and is a decent judge of character, but if she judges that person to be unworthy she closes her heart to them, like Chiba for example. The story gives good reason why she is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Why doesn't she become and adventurer? Women aren't allowed, and even if she did it would cause trouble for her. Why doesn't she just do something else instead of those two things? It's not exactly a safe world for a woman to be alone, nevermind doing things that make her stand out. Things get shaken up toward the mid - late current arcs, but stuck with it and I found it to be rewarding.
Kinda hard to review without mentioning Chiba, but he's literally there since chapter 1 so it isn't really spoilers. I'm pretty sure alot of the negative reviews are from people who relate to characters like Chiba, myself included, but maybe they take things to heart, so I'll take the middle ground. Both Chiba and Haru are neither good people or bad people, they're only human, but it's hard to feel too much for Chiba since he is a man with decent skills in the new world, while Haru starts of low level and goes to what she knows best... being a JK for survival in a safe town. In the beginning their path diverges greatly, Chiba enjoys his new life and skills using it a means of forgetting his pathetic past self without actually doing any self improvement mentally meanwhile Haru's working in the brothel her stardards drop, she cuts her hair to stop men pulling it, she takes beatings and is humiliated, but not once do we see her cry or take her frustration out on others. Sometimes you hope things will work out for them and sometimes you think it would be best if they kept apart, but at the end of the day she is a sex worker and he wants to fuck her so it is inevitable.
Read it and judge for yourself. If you're sick of typical isekai stories/troupes and want a change then I implore you to read Jk Haru. If you just want to jack off or hate scenes of distress probably just leave it.
Pros:
Interesting story, interesting MC, art is consistently good, nice world building if a little simple, characters act like actual humans and challenges genre norms, mature approach to sexual content, comedy is subtle and doesn't ruin atmosphere.
Cons:
Limited fantasy aspects (No large scale battles, lack of fantasy races, etc...), lack of content (currently waiting on a whole volume to be translated and chapters missing online), lack of gore.
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