Boku wa Mari no Naka
Inside Mari

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Inside Mari is a piece of art which, like any art worth experiencing, is challenging, moving, horrifying, and ultimately controversial. I know I found myself disgusted with every main character and then pitying them. I knew the whole story before reading it, but even so, I was still just as invested in every plot beat. The art style is also some of the most visual I've ever seen. At one point, a character makes a face that genuinely makes me feel like she is looking with hatred at ME, not Mari, ME reading it. There are sexual themes in this story, but every scene with ... them is 100% about building on characterizations and plot beats and not driven by merely arousing the audience. In the same way, the statue of David is sexual but not erotic; this art is as well.

I recommend everyone read it. It is one of a kind in manga and resonates with me deeply, as it will resonate with quite a lot of people.

Oshimi’s concept of identity disorder is interesting, especially in a gender swap setting as it allows the examination of conflicting behaviors between males and females. The manga’s title is a double entendre, the metaphysical implications of which are gradually made apparent as the manga progresses. Most of it functions as a mystery, as Komori attempts to find the true inhabitant of his new body, Mari, all the while trying to adapt to a teenage girl’s lifestyle. Being placed in a body of the opposite gender is disorienting, and Komori soon realizes the stark differences between two individuals’ lives, especially of another gender altogether. It’s an ... uncomfortable situation, even for the readers as there are quite a few sexual interactions that are repulsive, yet I consider the incorporation of these one of Inside Mari’s strengths. Oshimi inserts the idea of the male gaze across chapters, mostly around the earlier portions where he dedicates panels that focus on intimate parts of Mari’s body along with suggestive glances from people that clearly indicate degenerate intentions. It’s a portrayal of hedonistic desires, how everyone is only interested in a person’s exterior as long as it continues aiding their selfish fulfillment.

Satisfaction with oneself is rare, as it’s extremely easy to compare ourselves to others who lead lives we’d rather have too. This is a prominent motif in the manga, and Oshimi suggests how a person we envy might very well not be content with themselves. It’s difficult to understand how someone feels inside unless there’s an active effort to do so, without which a person’s suffering goes unnoticed until they’ve completely changed for the worse. Inside Mari explores an unbothered world and its ramifications on the mind of displeased individuals. Although, despite having a lot of thematic virtue, the plot progression is not exactly crisp, and the character drama towards the latter half of the manga is superfluous. The ideas here would’ve worked much better if the manga was shorter and more contained, but Oshimi’s paneling and art are consistently ingenious, which is a plus. The character expressions are phenomenal, he often adds panels with just eyes and it’s enough to realize the emotions on display. His backgrounds seem like doodles but in context, they work well; in one of the later chapters he implements surrealist artwork too, which is a neat addition. Inside Mari falls short in its execution, but the concept it outlines is a thought-provoking one.

It was the same as scrolling through Twitter; banal, toxic, boring but in the end I'm satisfied that I saw some titties. Even though the art style of this manga is good asf, reading something that is this unraveled made me almost faint. As we say for the most mangas that are like this, the term
"good drawn, not good written" also applies for this manga but I'm happy that I read and felt at least even if a little bit satisfied in the last chapter. I'm no critique for mangas and I don't even claim but the hard-work to prolonge the story can be ... seen by anyone. As for the characters, there are literally no interesting characters except for the main character whose motivation behind her is too abstract to be understandable but this is the thing ,I guess, that makes her interesting. Anyway, in the end it was mostly boring, I can say, but the art style makes this manga really something else and remembering some chapters still gives me goosebumps.
My recommended reading style for this manga is to skip everything that you have no interest of because in the end it fucking nothing but cliché for the most part.