Sweet Poolside

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While reading Shuuzou Oshimi's popular Flowers of Evil manga, I took a look at the rest of his works and noticed recurring themes of adolescent sexuality. Some premises had more of a... questionable nature than others, and after sharing a few with a friend we each decided to read a different one volume work from the author. Curious if the rest of his works would have the same nuance and tact as Flowers of Evil, I decided to give the most absurd premise a shot: Sweet Poolside, a manga ... about a hairless boy shaving a hairy girl. And thus, my life sank further into the abyss.

The manga's largest issue is not its controversial subject matter, but rather its lack of focus on the motivation behind it. In stark contrast to the Flowers of Evil, Sweet Poolside doesn't use its premise as a means to share philosophy with any depth. For the most part, this is an atypical framework for a typical romance plot. It's organically cute in how embarrassed the two main characters are of their bodily problems and how they learn to support each other in the way that only they empathetically can. This relationship and also the characters' contemplation of their own self-consciousness are the highlights of this coming-of-age story, but what could be further detailed is covered with an overgrowth of hairy exposition. The shaving scenes are given far too much attention to the point where they almost seem fetishized, and as a story element they rarely serve any point other than to demonstrate the boy's nervousness and the girl's shyness. The only point of this is beaten over your head as these scenes are dragged out for far too long. The initial shaving scene was the only thing that needed to be shown in full, and after this the manga should've focused solely on the characters growing up now that they've found someone else to trust. This element is there, but buried under this worn, dull razor blade of storytelling. Seeing multiple pages of shaving and only one of the main female character reflecting on what that meant to her is kind of lousy and a waste of a possibly pure-hearted intent by the author.

Beyond that, the art is decent but frequently cartoonish in a gag manga-esque way rather than the detailed realism of Flowers of Evil. There's also a one-shot manga chapter included in this release entry, but I can't find it anywhere. Fine enough, I suppose, as MAL grouping unrelated stories is stupid anyway. If that bonus chapter exists, please let me know.

So what can i say about this masterpiece..
Not much to be honest but i can say one thing straight this manga was the first and probably the last that i absolutely loved (considering i like to watch not to read..)
i never seen such a unique story with such a unique characters.
The environment and characters development is just breath taking despite this manga being poorly drawn.
But with story like that i think it fits perfectly.
For people that don't like awkward moments and a little bit of ecchi i wouldn't recommend reading this.
But for people that do i definitely recommend reading this and i swear to you ... that you won't be disappointed.
Story itself revolves around two characters that have something special to them that others don't.
''Girl has a body that grows hair unnaturally and boy that doesn't grow body hair at all''
And what really kicked me in was that boy actually decides to help her shave even though he has no experience in it what so ever.
A bond that is growing between these two characters is a main the reason why i loved this masterpiece.

In my opinion this manga shows that doesn't matter what your appearances are you'll still find ''that'' someone that will help overcome the obstacles.

Overall i give this manga 10/10 definitely worth reading.
(Can't really say much about the story itself because this wasn't a long manga only 8 chapters so it would mainly only be spoilers)

Story : 4/10

Well, there really isn't any story in here. A guy who has never had a single hair on his body shaves for a very hairy girl. That's it.

Art: 8/10

I may be biased because this mangaka is one of my favorite ones out there, but I really love his art. It's very smooth and clean and so well done. The body proportions are realistic and the facial expressions are on point. Needless to say, I love it.

Character: 5/10

The manga is just 8 chapters long so there really isn't any development at all and we don't get to know the characters that well. Also, ... as known from the mangaka, the characters have ... weird tendencies or are just not normal. You will understand what I mean if you check out some of his other works (Aku no Hana, Marie..).

Enjoyment: 6/10

I read this during my lunch break to pass time, so I can't really say that I enjoyed it to the point where it made me skip a few spoons of my food to see what's going to happen.

Overall: 5.75 = 5

It's a very fast read (15 minutes or less) and it leaves you like (Um.. what did I actually read? no.. WHY did I read this?).
Enjoy reading about a guy shaving for a girl.

P.-s; I've made a promise to myself to read all of his works so this was the beginning of executing that.

It is a very original way to normalize the hairs on the skin, it is totally normal in both boys and girls. Hopefully people who read this work and have this peculiarity feel more comfortable after this.

I think that girls with hair should not feel bad or weird, they are beautiful. In addition, they will always find someone to support them.

On the part of the boys, it does not seem to me a reason for bullying that does not have hair, 21st century please.

This is definitely different than what I expected from Oshimi, it is a style that seems to me a mixture of Kazuto ... Okazada.

Short review for this short manga.

---------------------- No spoiler in this one !----------------

Look, if you like slightly ecchi and embarrassing moments with humor, this one is for you!
But if it's not your cup of tea, skip it.

By the same author of Aku No Hana and Inside Mari, you will find similar themes and atmosphere with every page. Though the art isn't as good and mature, it's ok. Not good but not bad either. Though I did notice some anatomical errors on some pages.

I enjoyed it since I like this type of comedy. But I totally understand why some other reviewers graded it so low.
...
Overall enjoyment : 7-8