Starra

Contains spoilers!

NOTE: This manga also has non-consensual sex scenes and copius amounts of slut shaming by the bullies, as well as an almost self-harm attempt.

So like... I get what this was going for, but it was too short and too over the top for me to get invested. I know this kind of bullying does happen to people, and it's not that it felt unrealistic, it just felt... I dunno. I can't really describe it. Unsatisfying? Rushed?

Like, it's implied she just gets over it and moves on with her life because she's out of that school and has re-found her passion in drawing manga? There's no resolution with the boyfriend, either, which I think was a huge missed opportunity because it's entirely his fault that anything happened in the first place. Same with the guy who saw them in the classroom and spread the rumours.

At least she said "fuck you" to the girls, though, I'll give the story that. That part was satisfying.

Also, I'm all for saying fuck school and that there are more important things in life (there are!) but uh. I don't really think this was conveyed in the best way, what with her ripping up her diploma and all. I get that it's supposed to be symbolic (along with the hair cutting thing, which I do understand is very much a Japanese cultural thing) but I felt as though it was missing something during that climax scene.

Surprised the only self-harm attempt was the aborted stabbing attempt. I would've thought this kind of story would showcase more of that.

I really don't like how it ended with her seemingly moving on as easily as she did. If you were that badly bullied, it would stick with you for years. Things wrapped up far too quickly in that sense.

In general, it felt like it was trying to do too much in a single volume. I think it would have had more of an impact if there'd been more build-up to the extreme bullying or maybe have it go on for longer than, what, a few weeks? (Admittedly I wasn't paying attention to how much time passed, so I could be wrong on that estimate.)

But Sawako was kind of underdeveloped as a character before the bullying kicked in, so the story didn't sell me on why I should get invested in her. Should I feel sorry for her? Yeah, she's a victim, you don't need a reason beyond that. All the manga tells you is that she loves drawing manga and is struggling to live up to her family's expectations. She doesn't, in my opinion, have much of a personality.

Lastly, one thing I did find well done was Sawako's relationship with her parents. I get why she didn't tell them she was being bullied, and in my opinion it's a realistic dynamic. Her mother wasn't overly terrible, she was just a strict woman who ultimately realised she could've been a better parent to her daughter.