Kimi wa Midara na Boku no Joou

nathandouglasdavis Mar 19, 2019

9

This is a short but sweet manga, with several unexpected plot developments that kept me intrigued.  I think one of the most erotic types of story you can tell involves two people both wanting to have sex, but not being able to for whatever reason--it creates a great buildup of tension of desire and action. This manga pulls this off beautifully, having Subaru lose feir self-control for an hour a day and beg Akira for intercourse. And though Akira wants it as well, fe struggles with the ethics of it, especially since Subaru would be pissed at fem if fe took advantage of feir time of weakness. It deals with the importance of sobriety in consent. The manga also deals with social expectations and how people have multiple personas and roles they play depending on who they're interacting with. Subaru, even with self-control, acts differently with feir classmates, with feir sister, with Akira at school, and with Akira in private. It also deals with the negativity put onto having sexual urges and implies that sexual "purity" shouldn't be seen as more virtuous, that everybody has urges and shouldn't have to feel ashamed of them. The world felt pretty insular--largely only focusing on the two main characters in one room. While there are several scenes in classrooms, the other students never rise above being background characters. Some of Subaru's family is introduced, but Akira's family is never seen or even talked about, beyond being poor. Perhaps the story was best served by focusing entirely on Subaru and Akira's love story, but I found the most fascinating scenes to be when Subaru lost control around people other than Akira (and reacted in ways other than horniness), so I would have loved to see the story expand and open itself to including more varied scenes of loss of self-control.

ahou Feb 17, 2013

8

The story is about a young boy who was really good friends with a young girl during theyre childhood, but when the girl enters elementry school they loose contact until they meet again in high school. However she is from a super rich family and acts very cold against him, pretending that she doesn't know him. However he is still very much in love with her as he has followed her and worked hard to get into the same high school. One day some girls are talking in class and are over heard saying that if you ask the "Observe god" for a wish he will grant it at a price. When the boy gets back to his dorm he trys it, asking the god to connect his room with hers. Then she walks right into his room. Now faced with an awkward situation they make due. The next day however the same gossiping girls are over heard saying how they tried it and it didn't work. Then they say how they're is another conditon. Both partys must have wished for the same thing... Starting a nice 5 chapter, but kinda long at 40 or so pages each, comedy/romance/school life/smut story.

kilrazan Feb 18, 2019

6

Don't misunderstand the medium score I gave this; I wholeheartedly enjoyed it. It's quite entertaining, but the problem is that I can't really justify calling it "good". The plot revolves around a pair of highschoolers who share a love for each other that neither feels is appropriate given their circumstances. One night they both make a wish that their rooms would be joined together, and a deity known as the Obverse God grants their wish, but with the caveat that the girl will lose all sense of self-control for a full hour every day. Romantic and familial drama ensue, riddled with teenage hormones. Story: Honestly this is the weakest part, and I kind of have a hard time even giving it a 5 out of 10. There's less plot here than most romance stories have, and honestly less story than some actual Hentai have. They love each other, her family gets in the way, they 'do their best' to overcome it (largely off-screen)... that's basically it. If you take out the sexy scenes, there's maybe 2 chapters worth of actual content here, and it would be a totally bland and by-the-books 'nobility' romance. That said, I do have to give it props for purusing an actual story rather than just stringing a bunch of H-scenes together and calling it a day. There's a clear starting point and ending point with dramatic and emotional tension at the climax that concludes the issue and leaves the characters in a different place than when they began, so by all rights it checks the boxes for 'being a story'. And again I'd like to clarify that despite my grievances with the story, I did enjoy reading it and I was quite happy with how it ended. Art: Easily the best part about this manga. Gorgeous detail in every panel, in both foreground and background. Everything is done nicely and cleanly. Probably some of the best art you'll find in this genre. There's very little wasted space or plain backgrounds, everything is properly proportioned and stays in its panel frames appropriately. When things get exciting and the action picks up, the typical 'action lines' and squiggly textboxes that comes staple with manga are properly subdued - clear and present, but not obstructing the ability to understand or see what's going on. Characters: Surprisingly above-par for a work of this genre. The main characters feel like they have genuine motivation, and are given enough background to be believable. Their actions are clearly guided by their established personalities, and so nothing they do feels out-of-character. Both of the main characters are also quite robust in terms of unique traits and quirks that make them feel more human. The only weak part of the characterization in this one is the side-characters. We see the father, the sister, and a few other side-characters who have prominent interactions with the MCs and the story, but they're all pretty one-dimensional characters that basically just serve to thrust drama and development upon the MCs without doing anything interesting themselves. I would have really like to see more characterization here. Overall: A really enjoyable, if simple, romance that's well worth the read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I wouldn't really give it any special awards. Note on tags: This absolutely deserves the Borderline H and Explicit Sex tags. The MCs are quite often and quite clearly engaged in a wide variety of sexual situations, with as little censorship as the artist could get away with.