Sundome

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So on the Richter scale of humanity, if 1 is the antithesis of emotion and 10 is bawling my fucking eyes out, this is probably a 9.9 because it's physically impossible to bawl your fucking eyes out. I've never read a graphic novel that made me so sad. Like, come *on*, industry. This is only porn.

That brings me to my first warning - Sundome is for all you deviants out there. If you can't deal with piss, snot, saliva, and post-climactic messes, then don't read because that makes up at least half of all the sexual content in this manga. The other 49% of it ... involves self-stimulation of some kind. And yes, I left out 1% on purpose...

Story - 8

Sundome means "stopping the moment before" (according to Wikipedia). This is the main, and only, solid plot device. The rest of it revolves around an amalgam of school clubs, ghost hunting, virginity, and one-sided breast popularity contests. Yeah, it gets kind of bizarre. It's a bit confusing and scattered. Some of the sideplot is rather lighthearted, involving UFO summoning and voodoo doll catfights, some of it is very moralistic and dark. But the crankshaft in this whole story - Kurumi's relationship with Hideo Aiba - is beautifully executed. It's hilarious and depressing and wonderful and deliciously multi-layered like a chocolate cheesecake.

Art - 7

Maybe I'm being generous here. This is obviously the weakest point of Sundome. The art is very, very cartoonish, and sometimes it almost feels sloppy. It works for our Roman Club neo-maxi-zoom-dweebies, but it kind of makes the MCs less attractive than they should be. And it makes the sexy scenes... well, less sexy. But - before I sound any more elitist - I'd like to say that, for me personally, it worked. It's not commercialized-ecchi grade, but it gives a very edgy, underground feeling to the story. Kurumi isn't like your conventional purple-haired talking tits hentai girl. She's almost sickly-thin, long-legged, and blue-eyed. On the other end of the spectrum, there's Kyouko, a self-proclaimed "masturbation idol," whose nips are permahard. Corny, but it fits. She also sports a cheap fake tan and a limp, blonde mop for hair; none of that ridiculous Lady Oscar weave crap. One guy has lips twice the size of Lana del Rey's. It's actually great.

Characters - 10

So good. Soooo good. At first glance, Aiba seems to be your prototype horny loser. Kurumi is the A-cup goddess of thirst. Coming here from Onani Master Kurosawa and Watamote, you know I already love flat-chested MCs and loners, but these two flip the whole tired setup on its head. For me, the girls + Aiba rule the show, but the male Roman club members (who serve as comic relief throughout the whole emotional ordeal), have their own multi-dimensional charms. Every single member of our main cast is fleshed out and easy to sympathize with, possibly excepting that one candyass motherfucker with the doll waifu.

Enjoyment - 10

What else am I supposed to say? I love Sundome. It made me laugh and cry. Like, physically. The ending is ambiguous, and it kind of leaves you with an empty hole in your heart yearning to be filled by... something. Something beautiful. Something life-changing. Go outside for a run. Donate to charity. Fall in love. Have a baby. Invent the next LSD. I dunno, do something amazing. You owe it to this manga.

A local bookstore of mine was closing up due to the hard economic times we're going through, but that didn't mean I'd pass up their huge clearance sale. So I came across this title in the mature manga section, and it apparently seems that someone before me got adventurous and opened the seal. Whoever, did it I wish I could thank them for doing it.

Sundome is very unique in terms of story, I don't think I've come across anything like it in all the manga that i've read so far. Basically you have the main character Aiba-kun who is pretty much an ... otaku, and he has very particular tastes in what attracts him, cue in Kurumi-chan who is a transfer student and very unique personality to go with it. Aiba is what you would describe has a shy otaku, but when he has something he wants, he's determine to get it. Kurumi, on the other hand seemingly realizes this, and takes advantage of it. However, you can't tell what her intentions are for doing it.

The art at first is definitely different from most out there, but it's not to the point where it's not recognizable, the quality is consistent throughout the entire volume (1). The fanservice does seep in from time to time, but I believe they are all well placed because they are there to give the illusion of seduction. I wouldn't go as far to say it's "dirty" or "tasteless" like some in reviews would say, because I've seen much worse.

Character development is definitely there, you learn more about who the main characters are, but at the same time you also get a nice amount of view into the supporting cast. Each chapter you can tell that Aiba takes another step in becoming a better person, even if his goals for completing them may seem silly, but what can you expect for a teenager of his age.

The enjoyment is awesome, It's one of the rare few manga that has actually made me laugh out while reading, and constantly keep a smile on my face while reading. There is tons of hilarious moments, all which mostly involve the club members in this story.

One thing that some people will note about this manga is that it's somewhat filled with nihilism so it's not something for everybody. I'd go as first to say that you either like this or you don't. I'd go as far to say this is the most realistic story too, as I can easily see these things happening in the real world somewhere.

Where will the path that Aiba and Kurumi take is unknown, but one thing is apparent in their behavior that almost entirely contrast with each other, is that they need each other.

Sundome: The first manga to ever make me cry.

When I first came across this manga, I didn't expect much. Even though the tags included "psychological", the ecchi elements of the first few chapters made me believe that it would just be a run-of-the-mill, borderline hentai manga with a few unique twists.

Oh, how wrong I was.

Story: 8
The story of a young, nerdy loser hooking up with a cute girl is pretty standard in ecchi manga. It has been recycled time and time again without fail, and for many people, reading one is like reading all of them. However, Sundome is different. Rather than using sexuality as ... a way to tantalize male (and female) readers, this manga explores sexuality in order to make a greater statement about the human condition. While there is plenty of fanservice throughout the story, much of it is used to heighten the raw emotions and carnal desire expressed throughout this manga. And rather than attempting to go for cheap panty shots and breast grabs, Sundome is not afraid to explore several darker sexual fetishes such as erotic asphyxiation. Much of the story plays on the dirty, gritty, and creepy side of sexual fetishes, but oddly it does this in a way that makes the romance between the two protagonists more believable.

The ending of Sundome can be seen as controversial for some, but I felt that it was the only "true" ending a story like this could have. Although the title, Sundome refers to stopping right before orgasm in a sexual act, the story itself becomes less about sex and more about love, and loss.

Art: 7
The art style for Sundome tends to fluctuate at certain intervals throughout the manga, which can be jarring for some. During the slice-of-life school scenes, the art is much simpler, without much shading or detail to body contours. But in the scenes depicting sexual acts and various perversions, the art is much more fluid and detailed. Obviously, due to the nature of this manga this change is to be expected, so I had no problem with it. Overall, the art conveys the story properly and I don't have too much to say about it.

Character: 10
This is where Sundome shines. Our protagonist, Hideo Aiba starts out as a shy, awkward, nerdy high school kid with no plans for the future besides the porn magazine he's planning on masturbating to tomorrow night. When he meets Sahana Kurumi, the "female love interest", it's love at first sight and his entire life is changed. Except...it's not actually that simple. Sahana turns out to be much darker than your average shounen romance female lead. She's not a tsundere, kuudere, or any type of dere, which was immensely refreshing. Although she's cute and upbeat at school, her darker side is only shown when she spends time with Aiba. Speaking of whom, Aiba also grows throughout the series, becoming much stronger and a better person. It was interesting to see his devolution into basically a sexual deviant, while at the same time becoming more assertive and responsible. The amount of character development seen in this manga is just amazing, as even two of the side characters grow into an interesting relationship. All in all, the characters in Sundome were portrayed very realistically, albeit with all the sexual tension. It's rare to see this amount of psychological character development in an ecchi series, and Love Hina this definitely is not.

Enjoyment: 8
I enjoyed Sundome immensely, despite being a girl and being bombarded with tons of fanservice. This manga is proof that a manga based on sexual themes can be very dark, thought-provoking, and almost tragic. Although the middle sections may have dragged a bit, Sundome was overall a very enjoyable and emotional read.

Overall: 8
Sundome is a manga I would recommend to anyone who isn't too grossed out by sexual perversions. Obviously, readers need to be mature enough to handle certain themes for this manga, but as long as that's not a problem, Sundome is a great read. There's something for the ecchi lovers, but there's also plenty of character development and dark romance for fans of those.

Sundome definitely left an impression on me, and it will surely do the same for you.

Having mostly dark gritty (depressing!) manga in my collection i'd thought i'd branch out and try something different and saw Sundome in my local bookstore. It wrapped up so couldn't preview it, mature series...has to be up my street!!

After reading the first volume (just finished the 3rd) the first word that came into my mind was - PAINFUL. Not in the sense it was a bad read, but due to the feeling i felt for the main character Hideo. His relationship with Kurumi is so fascinating to read, and to see how the guy started off in volume to what kind of guy he ... has become in just 3 volumes was entertaining to read. I keep questioning to why Kurumi behaves the way she does towards to Hideo, is it because she does like him, or is it because she is a sadist? And thats what keeps me hooked as you want to see how their relationship pans out and develops.

The book actually made me laugh out loud which is very rare. The supporting characters crease me up, but again its great to see their development too.

Is it perverted? yes! is it entertaining? hell yes! is it worth the read - if you dont mind the blatant fan service - altohugh not as bad say Battle Vixens, then give this a go, you'll either like it or hate from volume 1 alone. If you dont like masturbation (?!?) then avoid this manga like the plague!

Sundome is a touching, if very sexually depraved manga. It tells you about the power of love and how it can motivate us to becomes a better person. At least that’s what response to it led to me to believe. In reality, it’s just a brain dead ecchi comedy manga tells a terrible romance story, with a few tweaks could’ve passed off as satire.

Be warned as this review will be full of spoilers. I actually don’t want anyone to read it so I’ll spoil a fair bit of it to explain why.

If you’re already familiar with the setup of the story then skip ahead ... to the next segment.

One day a mysterious girl (Kurumi Sahana) transfers in the same class as our protagonist (Hideo Aiba), and he immediately falls in love with her. Luckily she is seated right next to him and they move their desks together to share a textbook. That alone makes him hard as a diamond. Unfortunately Kurumi drops her eraser and it lands right between his legs, next to a raging boner. She reaches down and picks it up while accidentally touching his penis yet she doesn’t seem to notice for now.

Later we are introduced to a roman club, it doesn’t have anything to do with the ancient empire or language. Roman alludes to romanticism of young boys and their desire to uncovered mysteries and chase after their dreams. The rumour has it that if you graduate without losing virginity or getting a girlfriend, the alumni of the roman club will fund your dreams. With high reward comes high risk in form of tests from the alums and assassins, women who are sent after the club members to rid them of their virginity. In this club there are 4 members: Hideo, who joined on a whim cause he didn’t think he’d ever date anyone while in school anyway; Ex-president, he has an anal fetish and mostly exists to make asshole jokes; Katsu Toshitsuku, a pervert with a peeping fetish who wants to become a lawyer and lastly; Tatsuya Yatsu, a cowardly otaku with a leg fetish who wants to becomes a politician.

Suddenly Kurumi comes to the club to check it out and joins them. When she’s left alone with Aiba she tells him to masturbate to which he replies that this is something people do in private but fearing to lose interest of a girl he likes he eagerly agrees and puts a nail inside his penis. After the attempt at masturbation with a nail failed Kurumi tells him that she will never have sex with him, she might do it casually with someone else but not with him, even if they were last two people on Earth, even he begged. Aiba doesn’t mind though, to him as long as she’s in close proximity of him. From there on the story is a slow trickle of what hardly qualifies of plot and character progression with and a lot of repetitive and forced comedy as well as very embarrassing ecchi.


What Sundome tries to be?

Now on to what this manga attempts to do, according to the writing and the presentation. The way story’s handled, I believe Sundome tries to be a tragedy centred around Kurumi. She seems to have some fatal disease and what little time she has left in the world she spends trying to make a better man out of Hideo in the most nonsensical and roundabout way possible. This all seems to be a part of the plan for alums or OBs as manga occasionally calls them, but it’s never made clear cause the whole thing about wish granting and evil assassins is nothing more than a plot device to explain some random coincidences. Most of Kurumi’s actions revolve around either setting up challenges for Hideo, for which he gets various erotic rewards or simply using him for her own enjoyment. Most of that ends up with Hideo being rewarded in way or the other, sometimes it’s the ability to touch or lick Kurumi, other times he gets a permission to masturbate or get pissed on. Kurumi’s challenges meanwhile can vary from something simple like fetching water or dragging furniture around to something life/health threatening like having to interact with a violent thug or enduring 20 second in an arm lock with a risk of his arms getting broken.

In the process of all this it becomes clear that Hideo will do absolutely anything, be it dangerous or humiliating, just for the opportunity to be close to Kurumi, let alone do anything more involved. For example there is a moment when he briefly gets an opportunity to live with Kurumi as her pet as long as he never touches his penis. Aiba eagerly agrees and comes to her house with a cardboard box to live inside of and as Kurumi leaves the house he promises to not set foot outside his box. Keeping his promise, he doesn’t even leave for a toilet break and pisses himself. Kurumi’s not mad though, she’s happy cause he’s such a good boy and Aiba is delighted by the result of his obedience.

To be ready for more dangerous or demanding tasks he starts to train and gets a bit stronger. He finds a job to get money he’d spend on Kurumi. His jealousy also makes him a bit more confrontational as he wants to have Kurumi all to himself. Generally all of his improvements centre around being able to make Kurumi happy and service her. In the end that leads to a weird development as author tries to show the payoff in a rather creepy way. The three instances of Hideo actually initiating something is when he forcibly steals a kiss from Kurumi, holds her down to suck mucus out of her nose and one time when lifts her slightly by the shorts to somehow make going uphill easier. That’s supposed to be his big character development and all it just comes off as his lust taking over.

Manga ends with Kurumi suddenly being hospitalized and Hideo breaking her out of it to make her see some special place which ends up being some boring beach. She gets inside a sleeping back and so does Hideo. Her final moments are spent looking at Hideo jerking himself off on top of her. Time goes by, Hideo becomes a doctor and is happily married while keeping Kurumi around as a happy memory.

What it actually is and why it fails?

The concept of their relationship by itself is good. I could be down with a romance story where the goal is to lure protagonist into improving himself as a person, but the way Sundome goes about it doesn’t make sense and is outright disgusting. How can anyone claim Hideo ever truly becomes a better person when up until the very end he is driven forward by nothing but lust? He loves Kurumi unconditionally with slavish devotion. He’s fine with whatever she might do to him even if it kills him, that’s literally one of the things that gets established at a point. Kurumi stops chocking him cause if it was up to him he’d never want her to let go. He didn’t even have a dream to asks OBs about until he met her and decided to be a doctor “so that even if they are last two people on Earth she wouldn’t be in trouble”. So, main theme of their relationship is a complete flop.

The way it’s achieved thought is by far the worst. I have no idea who thought that a flat out abusive relationship can be painted as something good yet Sundome tries real hard. Whenever Hideo gets his reward after being hurt or humiliated is shown as some moment of romantic privacy and unity between the two main characters while in reality it can be Hideo drinking piss as thanks for servicing Kurumi. It’s almost as far from being a healthy relationship as it can be cause Hideo is such an unreasonable person. He shows doubt about his relationship multiple times but it all comes down to him living for the sake of Kurumi and her happiness without ever considering himself. There is even a subplot about Kurumi sleeping with some older man, he’s later revealed to be her doctor and even though it’s not actually said that he didn’t sleep with her it’s what reader will most likely assume. Either way Hideo never actually does anything to change the situation, he never asks Kurumi about him and two times he actually talks to the guy he tells him that Kurumi pisses on him and only him and allows him to drink her piss. So we have this protagonist who’s a massive pushover and constantly gets used in his uneven relationship. He will risk everything to gain very little yet this process is framed as him growing into a better person? That makes about as much sense as clobbering some nerd into a mental breakdown and then saying “well I only wanted to help him become stronger and more confident”. It’s ridiculous but in Sundome it works for no damn reason other than the writer trying to assign some depth to a shitty fan service manga.

And it’s not even good at that either. None of the fetishes in the manga really intersect with mine, so it’s not surprising I didn’t find the erotic part of it all that arousing. But at least I was willing to give it credit for variety. At first it seemed like the author put effort into creating a wide variety of different situations that are both interesting and capitalize on some of the taboos Sundome flaunts, but after a while the scenarios and actions start repeating. Aiba keeps trying to lick some part of Kurumi, he keeps trying to touch a different place or licking her wide variety of body fluids. It all starts to wear off and blend together rather quirk.

With all of this I didn’t expect Kazuto Okada to try and cram in a separate gag manga in all of this. The comedy largely revolves around roman club activities and character interactions that usually awkwardly flow into Aiba and Kurumi doing something perverted before everything is reset back to normal. Personally there were maybe 2 or 3 times Sundome made me laugh across the whole thing. Too many of the jokes just rely on terrible running gags that usually coincides with single defining feature of each character. Kyouko is a gyaru who asks money from people for anything she can, that’s hilarious cause instead of reacting normally she tries to extort money. Ex-president is fascinated with anuses, that’s funny cause haha anus. Aiba is excited about any opportunity to get pissed on by Kurumi and that’s funny cause haha ain’t that weird.

Worth mentioning that there’s also a completely pointless romance subplot between Kyouko and Katsu. Kyouko who used to be an easy lay starts hanging out with nerds at the roman club and eventually starts dating Katsu instead of asshole jocks cause Katsu is just such a nice guy. Their entire relationship could’ve been torn out of the manga and it wouldn’t impact the narrative in any way. If anything it would improve it cause the faster it ends the lighter the torture.

Lastly, the art.

The style is an inconsistent mishmash of SD and stylized but more or less realistic designs that are usually switched up depending on the tone of the scene. Except for ex-president, Katsu and Tatsuya, who are permanently stuck in joke mode even when they’re involved in serious scene, which is jarring as hell.

The general quality of drawing is way below average. At times the proportions are so out of whack that it made me think that any half-decent looking panels in the manga were heavily references and I still think that the author wouldn’t be capable of drawing them without that. There’s also a ridiculous amount of reused expressions and perspectives, it’s pretty obvious that Okada is not a very versatile artist and it really shows when all his emotional scenes usually just feature two or three same faces over and over. It doesn’t help the dramatic impact of those scenes and it looks terrible. There’s also a weird reluctance to draw one of the eyes in many of the shots, sometimes it’s common enough to think that the characters are actual cyclops.

When it comes to ecchi shows the art can make or break it and Sundome breaks fast. Despite all the feedback about this manga talking about how perverted and ecchi heavy this manga is, it’s gonna be one of the tamest I’ve seen. Okada rarely draws characters fully unclothed and when he does I start to understand why. He’s anatomy is not bad enough to be laughable but it’s nowhere near good enough to be titillating either. Erotic drawings are usually about realistic anatomy meeting halfway with exaggerated style and proportions to make the erotic parts stand out more than figuratively and neither is present here.

In conclusion you get Sundome, a terrible romance manga with not a single fleshed out character and a tragic story that makes about as much sense as cutting off your legs to run faster. As if it wasn’t bad enough it’s a comedy without wit and a manga without art worth looking at. I sincerely hope nobody reads this trash.

This is not bleach. This is not naruto. Sundome is great because of its unique story, and its ability to keep high levels of suspense while at the same time having constant character and plot development. People who have only read the first 2 volumes will probably call this a cocktease manga, but if you have looked through the moonrunes of volumes 3 and 4 you will find it is anything but. 4 volumes are out, 2 of them have english releases, the third comes out any day now (sep 20ish 2008 right now), and random scans of chapters from volume 5 are popping up ... on /a/. If you are looking for endless powerlevels and ILL PROTECT YOU, or huge harems with fanservice galore... Sundome is NOT for you. If you are looking for a romance that is unlike anything you have read before, you will really enjoy this series.

This is one of those smutty mangas that really gets away with a lot; It's very close to being classified as a hentai. I actually came across it one day in an anime magazine and decided to give it to a go, it’s pretty bad in terms of manga but a good read if you want to get away with reading something dirty i suppose.

In the end it's nothing special but worth it if you want to have a decent laugh.

as many others said, if you want a story with horny girls, hentai-style and a bunch of fun service, this isn't for you.
I enjoyed reading sundome quite a lot, mostly because of it's rather unique story and complicate relationships.
the unique thing in the story doesn't of course come from the background or anything, on this shore we find what we are supposed to find, a kid in school always off the group till the day he meets "her". till now we are still in the well-known territory. what makes it so unique is that it isn't the story where the guy is rejected, but not ... the one where he is loved either.
through the first chapters we will just see some teasing where she looks like she's making him suffer just because it's fun, nothing more. but slowly we discover that she is enjoying it not only for that, but we even have the feeling that she feels good when she makes him feel good (those who read it surely noticed that the main dude suffers less in the 4th volume).

I will skip the story part so that I won't spoil you (though I think am too late already) and talk about the rest. the characters are attaching, they won't make you weep but they will make you cry from laughter (hell the hilarious moment of the doll-strip, I had such a good laugh). they got the regular personalities of the school-kids, yet their style is quite out of it (talk about the one who loves rectums, or the 1.000 yen phenomenon xD). The drawings are what you could expect from modern mangas, nice stuff, that's all.
right now I am wishing I could find the 5th volume, got interrupted in an interesting part, but oh well, nice mangas always make you suffer, that's part of their charm, I guess.

it's not to be missed, you have to judge it yourself.

I started this manga expecting "Kanojo X but they drink piss", what I got was more like "Punpun but with BDSM".

Anyhow this isn't the regular jerk-off ecchi harem stuff with no clear goals or story, it's a complete and gripping story about fantastic characters that only gets better thee further it goes and the emotional roller coaster went straight off a cliff. It's more committed to raising the readers cortisol rather than penis.

This also isn't very long, like any good story with a clear view of what it wants to be and to tell, rather than circlejerking for 300 chapters before getting abruptly axed.

In my opinion, it's really hard to classify this manga. There are so many elements to it, and some of them are quite conflicting. Mainly the comedy and tragedy.

When I first started reading it, the first thing that appealed to me was that it was quite different, in comparisong to anything else I've read.

There is the main character, he's an Otaku, that's nothing exceptional. But then comes around a girl - Kurumi, and they start developing their relationship.
To be honest, the sexuality also had a strong appeal on me, because I am a sucker for mature romance. But mature romance might be an understatement.

The ... psychological aspect is excellent, seeing how Hideo's mind works, and seeing what things his devotion(and Kurumi) can make him do and endure.

There was a lot of comedy, but I did not laugh, not even once, because there was this dreadful atmosphere, this feeling that something dark, something bad is going on in the background, and this is, in my opinion, the strongest point of the manga. The uneasy feeling, that things are not going to end well.

There were two very strong moments in the manga, that were like a kick in the face for me.
1. Kurumi saying to Hideo, that she actually was a boy before.
2. Kurumi saying to Hideo, that she actually is his sister.
I am not sure why, but moments struck me really hard.

When I am reading a good manga, I am able to feel for the characters, maybe even get myself to think I am one of the characters. And Sundome certainly managed to achieve this. After finishing it, I felt unbelievable sadness.

I also felt angry at the Mangaka, for not explaining what exactly happened to Kurumi in the end, and also for forgetting about her, so to speak. He just skipped the part right after when she died. I wanted to know more, and I wanted to see the other characters missing her.

But after thinking this through, I realized the author did a good thing. It would've been just too sad for me to digest.

For me, the characters and the story are far more important, than the art of a manga. But the art had it's very strong points, for example the title pages with Kurumi on them.

Sundome is a definitive 10/10 for me.

I saw this mentioned in the same breath as Oyasumi Punpun in a few online circles, and that made me want to check this out. Those people speaking so highly of this manga are completely mistaken.

This manga has weird kinks throughout (pissing, mostly. drinking piss. anal. degradation.) but I overlooked how much dissatisfaction the portrayal of these kinks gave me. I was assured that the initial ecchi content would become more complex as the story progressed and it would become more than simple baseless hentai. But that never happened.

I see what the story was going for, showcasing the bonding of these two characters. But ... the impact of this manga would have been stronger if the two main characters bonded in ways that didn't involve weird sexual acts. Any time the two characters became closer, something sexual immediately followed. It was aggravating. It was unnecessary.

Some of the characters were endearing and would have made a cute friend group if not for the overbearing perversion that overtook everything about this manga. You couldn't go 3 panels without something grotesque or unnecessary being shown.

Would not recommend.

My ratings may seem a bit disjointed or exaggerated, but truly, Sundone does Character to a level that it becomes the new textbook, and its Story is an absolute magnificent masterpiece in how it creates, uses delivers, and all at once burns anticipation in one hot, fiery, and at the same, cold and dark ending.

The art was very well done and helped bring the story together. There was never really and detail lost on confusing the background or environment, and many different angles bring about not just life to parts of the story, but the tone of that point.
It could have been improved in ... that, of course, there was not really a focus in on art and developing new backgrounds and atmospheres. However, the art gets major points for focusing exclusively on drawing out and focusing the story's aspects: art for story's sake, not for art's sake alone.

I would have enjoyed this more if halfway through the story had not already begun its irreversible and slow and careful rise into a real foreboding darkness.
Earlier in the first 4 volumes or so, there is some comedy to Sundome, but the suspense and tension slowly take all precedent whether or not it is a part of the current bit of storyline.
If the the story had drawn out its more fanservice-y early have to balance the length of its dark end half, it might be more enjoyable overall. I suppose it would cause some people to not feel the smooth and constant, not to mention careful, transition that the mangaka makes throughout though, and some might abandon the risk they took in terms of risque-ness to try to find the story behind what some call the 'tasteless' aspects of the story.

I recommend, to all who look for a new romance-related story, to take reading this story into careful consideration: if you are not familiar with what some may call more extreme ecchi content, not intercourse of sorts but basically most everything before it and only eluding to those things immediately before it, then you might just maybe be ok with this manga. Everything is consensual, in fact a character developement point of the lead character is how he gives and eventually kind of find reconcialition, in his giving consent (while completely avoiding using the word which I personally appreciated, as it the western concept of this more or less legal term does not exactly naturally pervade Japanese culture, or even other other Asian or European cultures.) There is never a scene I can recall when both sides do not want exactly what is happening (besides comical otaku upskirt shot etc, which are usually deleted anyway).

Much of this plot revolves around the consideration (and some times lack their of) that character give in enormous amounts to sexual-related choices, this manga does use ecchi related content for fanservice to any really practical extent, it is used, in fact, as a central plot device.

Overall I gave this manga a 10 because, honestly, the story is very well developed, carefully and meaningfully resolved, and anything that is lacking is due to the storyteller wishing to bring out the strength of the story as much as is possible (which it has by itself in spades to start with).

This is my first review, so bare with me on this one.

Before I begin to write this review I would like to say that this manga captivated me so, that I read the whole 76 chapters in one sitting, I started with the premise that before I went to bed I would read 3 chapters to see if it would interest me, I then spent the following 7 and a half hours reading it, I could not put it down, so be aware its highly addictive!

I’m trying not to put any spoilers in the review, because it’s such a good story I don’t want ... to ruin any of the surprises
=============== Story= 10 =============
Where to begin, I guess I should start off with saying, that Sundome is not a mangafor everyone, it contains severe graphically almost sexual scenes that are borderline hentai( To make this clear, this manga is NOT HENTAI, but close to it ) . I would dare to say it’s not for most people, seeing as that the main story basically revolves around a high school boy masturbating in front of a high school girl, granted that would scare the most people away, but if you look past that unique and quite odd part of the story you are left with a romance drama comedy mix, there are parts where I could not stop laughing. Anyways as I was saying, the story focuses on the somewhat twisted relationship between the main characters Aiba, Hideo and Sahana, Kurumi. The story is mainly focused on Aiba, Hideo the male lead, and his growth throughout the relationship with Sahana, Kurumi. Throughout the story there are small stories about the supporting characters.
The progression in the story is a the only thing that I didn’t really agree with, the story escalates in the start and mellows out in the middle and then when reaching the end it feels just a bit rushed would have liked to see an extra 10 chapters or so, but that might because I really fell in love with the story and didn’t want it to end. That’s the only thing that bothered me about the manga.

=============== Artwork= 8 ============
The artwork is real crisp and sharp, well drawn and everything is in good proportions, movement is well drawn, as well as the emotions the characters have are drawn good.
The “graphic” scenes in Sundome are well drawn, every time one of the “graphic” scenes came by I could kind of feel the emotions the characters were feeling.
As I stated before there are some real “graphic” scenes that are not suited for people under 17 or sensitive types.

=============== Notes ================
I have enjoyed reading Sundome so much, I’ve ordered the complete Japanese set from Japan. Just so I can enjoy the quality of the product.

A extra note is that if you are reading it via a scanlator group, the quality will be great for the first 30-40 chapters and the last 55 to 76 , there are some chapters that seriously lacking quality, be it bad raw scans, translation grammar and spelling errors , poor cleaning and type stetting.

=============== Final Verdict ===========
I’m giving Sundome a big fat 10, because I enjoyed it so much, this is so far the only manga (of more than 10 or so chapters) that’s made me pull an all nighter, I’m basing my score off of the enjoyment I had while reading the manga.

If you have any suggestions as to my review or you want to know more, shoot me a message or leave me a comment on my profile.
I hope you enjoyed my review and I hope you take the time to try out the manga.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. READ SOMETHING ELSE LIKE YOUR LIE IN APRIL. For more detail keep read if you wish. I had to write a review about this manga after seeing how popular it was and the praise it received from a bunch of people who truly seem to enjoy this manga.

Story: The story makes no sense. It starts out with a group of boys go to high school and have fun together in some sort of mystery/folklore/alien finder club that they formed. However the ridiculous thing is they are tied to some organization/scholarship/society that will basically make sure they're life after high school ... is filled with opportunities to go whether they want in college, life etc IF and only IF they remain virgins to any form of sexual intercourse. It opens with one of the members/friends returning to his friends having given up his innocence when "the organization" sent a spy over to offer him anal sex (his fetish) to which he agreed (all this retold by the friend). In comes the main female lead, a transfer student or something, who joins they're club and without any explanation tells the main character whose in the club that she will never have sex with him or let him cum ever. The whole manga is the club + one other girl whose kinda the dumb school slut who joins the club going on random adventures while the main character who is in love with the transfer student becomes her bitch and does whatever she wants and is basically her slave out of his love for her and she cockteases him and only gives him permission to cum when she feels like it. All the while there is forshadowing of her having some sort of illness that progresses of the course of the book.
Its total non-sense in the way the information I told is presented to the reader and the fact that you don't even realize just how real/serious the organization somehow is or how it can tell when a guy has sex. like... honestly its just total nonsense.

Art: Horrible. Bland. The other draws every girl with a massive vagina/camel toe that is so visable even in jean shorts that it looks like it was just painted on them after they were kicked in the pus and now its swollen to all hell.

Character: There is zero character building or development other than maybe the slut girl and one of the guys as their relationship sort of forms? The main girl (transfer student) is a total sadistic bitch and yes, you know that she can't have sex with him b/c she wants him to get that scholarship/acceptance/support of the organization but god I just don't understand why they made her so cruel for no reason.

Enjoyment: Did not enjoy at all. I kept waiting to be grasped and fall in love with this like all the high praise reviewers but just like our main hero, I had blue balls for enjoyment the whole time.

Overall: It is honestly aggravating to me when I read that people rate this garbage a 10 and say that they cried so hard and this and that at the end. Maybe they are 14 years old and this manga was deep to them or something but honestly I'd be insulting 14 year old's by saying that. DO NOT READ THIS MANGA. I understand what they were trying to go for but this is complete and utter trash. I've read a lot of manga was looking for something emotional and gripping after reading Oyasumi PunPun (read that!) and came across this. BIG mistake.

Go read Your Lie in April. It has all the emotions that this story attempts to bring about (according to what the readers say I guess b/c how the author thought this book would elicit those emotions is beyond me) and so much more, minus all the poorly drawn vaginas, camel toes and boobs (Your Lie in April is not an ecchi).

we have pathetic male protagonist, those the japanese love so much, who submits himself to some random female that someday is transferred into his school, and from that point on the manga revolves around the sexual adventures of pathetic man a generic bland anime girl, where the former does everything the latter demands because yes, apparently the author believes men are pathetic creatures without brains that act solely on the possibility of sexual reward, this shits borders in Misandry. Besides the shitty plot there is little, mediocre drawing in both characters and backgrounds and cast of characters just as forgettable as the main character, there ... are better ways to waste your time, spend some hours watching paint dry, it will be more enjoyable than this shit

I'll just say this right off the bat. Sundome does have some really perverted and frustrating elements to it. If you can't stand a main character that is a masochist or any manga that depicts fetishes that are on the extreme side, you probably aren't going to be able to make it through this manga. If you can put that aside though, you'll find that Sundome deep down is actually a beautiful story of love, growth and friendships.

Sundome has plenty of foreshadowing, subtlety, character growth, drama, comedy, ecchi, ups, downs, etc...that you would expect from a good story. I think as long as you aren't ... turned off by the S&M elements this is definitely worth the read.

“Sundome” is a unique and thought-provoking manga that tells the story of a high school boy named Hideo Aiba, who joins the school's “Roman Club” and falls in love with the new transfer student, Kurumi Sahana. The manga explores themes of love, obsession, and power dynamics, and has been described as a dark romance.
The plot revolves around Hideo's masochistic relationship with Kurumi, who denies him sexual gratification and exerts control over his every move. The manga delves deep into the characters' psyches, exploring their motivations, fears, and desires, and the complex dynamic between them.
One of the strengths of “Sundome” is its character ... development. The main characters are fleshed out with unique personalities, backstories, and quirks, and their interactions feel realistic and nuanced. The manga also touches on broader themes such as the pressure to conform, the difficulty of finding one's place in the world, and the search for meaning and purpose.
However, it should be noted that “Sundome” is really close to contain explicit sexual content, as well as themes of BDSM, domination, and submission, which may not be suitable for all readers. Additionally, the ending has been controversial, with some readers finding it satisfying and others feeling that it undermines the message of the story.

Now first and foremost, I must tell you that I absolutely adore Sundome. It's raunchy, it's ridiculous, and it's surprisingly touching.

I found it through the recommended section from the manga series Mysterious Girlfriend X (another one of my favorites) and upon reading the first few chapters, decided it wasn't really for me. And then its tab sat open, on my phone, for a few months. One afternoon I was really bored so I decided to pick it back up, and I'm so, so glad that I did. Sundome is surprisingly deep with complex characters and really well-written relationships. Its humor is very bawdy, but if ... you're into that or can at least look past that fact, then I totally recommend it. I can't say much more without spoiling it since it's the kind of story that's best knowing as little as possible. It also helps to be into at least one of the fetishes in the story (it's mainly s&m and piss) but it touches on a lot of different ones. Then again, if your threshold to put up with weird shit is higher than most other people, then you shouldn't really have any problem with the content of this manga.

The art in it is... eh. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. On my second read-through of it, I didn't mind it as much as I did the first time I read it. The chapter cover art is usually a pin-up of the main character Kirumi, and that's always really well-drawn. And within the actual story, most sexual moments are drawn really dark with striking highlights on the characters. It makes them look weirdly shiny at times, but I wouldn't write it off as completely terrible. I think this artist uses contrast amazingly, in fact. So while the art isn't the best at times, it's not terrible and should not be a reason to not read this manga. The one gripe I do have with it is how when the girls wear their casual clothes, the shorts always are really tight around their.. area. And I mean like, *really* tight. I think someone in the comments on one of the chapters put it best, saying: "Goddamn, whenever they are in their casual clothes they really make that fucking cameltoe look like double mountain meat."

Alright, spoiler warning for the next two paragraphs. Nothing major, but if you want to truly appreciate Sundome how it should be appreciated then maybe skip this part. Again, it's read best knowing as little as possible.

Sundome is devastating. The buildup and the foreshadowing in this are perfect. Even though you know the ending is coming, you can't help but feel crushed when it actually comes. I think that's what surprised me the most on my first read-through of it, I was not at all expecting to be *that* sad. For what it is, it does its job well and gets its point across. It's about teenage relationships and how nothing lasts forever. The first time I read it, I was a lot sadder during the buildup. I cried at all the hints leading up to the final few chapters and then all through the few final ones. On the second readthrough, I feel like the final few chapters hit me a lot harder, even though I knew what was coming. It seems the main criticism for Sundome is that the main two characters are in a toxic relationship, and that's just not true. In fact, their relationship is incredibly endearing. They really love each other and you can tell, and I think that's the main cause for the last few chapter's impact.

However, I feel like the last few chapters can be interpreted very differently. The manga ends very sexually. I mean, the main chick [spoilers] during intercourse. If this manga is more stimulating for you then maybe the last few chapters would be interpreted differently. Still sad, but differently. I was crying so hard the last few chapters, but then again I was also listening to sad music to enhance the story. The first read-through I did I had listened to "My Blueberry Life" by the Current Joys, and then for my second read-through, I listened to "Hello-Sin-Nation" by The Red Pears. I feel like both songs did give a slightly different tone to the ending, so I feel like if you're going to listen to music towards the ending, then go with "My Blueberry Life." "Hello-Sin-Nation" seems more of like a reflection on the final chapter's events rather than the emotions at the moment, which lends well to a second read-through, but not so much the first.

Alright, spoilers over.

To wrap up, I love Sundome. It achieves exactly what it's going for, and it achieves it perfectly. It's gross, it's funny, and it's moving. If you're willing to put up with weird stuff or are into any of the stuff in Sundome, then I highly, highly recommend it. You'd be surprised how good it is.

TLDR; Book good! Book sad. Read book.

Where to begin! After reading the first couple of chapters you get the feeling that it is definitely going to be a story unlike anything else you may have read before, and by the end of it you truly realize what an epic saga it was.
Not going to spoil much about the story, but I am going to warn that even though it is ecchi, it is a very mature look at human sexuality and psychology. If all you're looking for is cheap trills, this is not for you.
This is an emotional roller coaster that'll have you laughing, cringing and crying from page to ... page... and the ending, all I can say is that the mangaka could've gone with the complete opposite ending and it is still would've been perfect.
If you are looking for a smart, dark, mature look into the human psyche, sexuality, and love, with very thorough character development and have no hang ups about your own sexuality, then I highly recommend Sundome.
~WiruSempai

Sundrome is a manga that is harshly judged beacuse of the way the book is. Sundome is a very pervy book there masterbation gaint di** and even a golden shower(R-kelly style) but if you are mature enough you can see that Sundome is a funny book that will make you cry and has a very brilliant story line.
Sundrome main characters are Kurumi Sahana and Hideo Aiba. Hideo is a high school student and is also in a club that is run by former club member that all ready graduated.(The club members must follow one important rule they are not allowed to ... have sex though their high school life.) Hideo is not very popular because of this club, no girl likes him and he does not like any girl in the school because the dont meet his expectations but then he meets the new student and club member Kurumi. Kurumi is a skinny girl with black short hair and is often not in school.
When Kurumi Sahana and Hideo Aiba are alien in their club room Kurumi make it very clear she will never have sex with him and that's where the story begins.
Though out the story we see many different people and the club takes many trips and we can see that there is somthing going on with Kurumi. While I was reading this I kept a ski g the same 3question does she really like Hideo or not, does she have something going on with that man and what is wrong with Kurumi.
This manga became my favorite manga after I finished it. Its funny romantic beautiful pevry and a real tear jerker this manga is awesome more people need to read this