Smells Like Green Spirit

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The story of the bullied, closeted gay high-schooler in a small town is a clichéd (but relevant) one in American media, and yet seeing this brand of narrative in the context of BL is refreshing. BL is considered to be the sphere of fantasy. Much of it is character-driven and chooses to place less emphasis on plot and setting, placing the main couple into a bubble. Nagai Saburou’s Smells Like Green Spirit is unique in that it explores both the characters’ impact on their environment, and how the small town and its inhabitants have molded the characters and their decisions.

Some of the characters and ... scenarios feel familiar at face value: the beautiful boy, the aggressively closeted teen feigning homophobia. However, the attention given to their presentation allows them to feel realistic rather than worn-out.

Facial expressions are Nagai Saburou’s strong suit and serve to set the mood of the narrative. Manic laughter, comically absurd faces that might be more suited to a gag manga, the poignant holding back of tears, blushing young love, and eerie smiles that slowly dig a pit of dread in one’s stomach: all are illustrated with equal effectiveness. The animated expressions breathe life into everyone from the troubled antagonists to the gossiping aunties of the town. The overlapping and shifting of emotions lends to an element of the unexpected that keeps the story engaging.

At its heart, this story is about love. Rather than the oft-glorified romantic love, it places equal if not more importance on friendship, familial love, self-acceptance, and the ways in which they conflict. Will placing your own happiness over that of your loved ones ultimately make you happy? To what lengths should you go to hide your true self to fit in and live life in a way that society dictates, and who will be hurt by this? What values should be prioritized and what sacrifices are necessary to have a life that you’re satisfied with? The main characters wrestle through the process of discovering their personal answers to these questions, while other characters suffer from the consequences of past choices.

This manga presents the different ways in which those who don’t conform can be themselves and exist in an environment that isn’t always accepting of them. It’s an amalgamation of humor, intense discomfort, romance, fear of the unknown, the joy of newfound friendship, and a bittersweet coming-of-age story. By drawing parallels between and contrasting the lives of the various inhabitants of one small town, Smells Like Green Spirit shows that navigating the convoluted branches of the journey of life doesn’t always turn out the way you expect or desire. But maybe there isn’t just one answer to finding your place in the world. 

So, I finished reading this manga back when I'm in senior high school, I was devastated cause of the rollercoaster ride of this manga. At first peek at the early chapter you may find that it can be a little humorous element of the drawing even though the story has started with rather dark material; bullying.

The story revolves around the main characters self-learning and self resolution. Watching how everyone tries to overcome their confusion, their fear and try to pursuit the best happiness to each of their own is really amazing. This manga shows a glimpse of reality that LGBT and queer people face ... every day, how it may affect themselves, their relationship with their family and also their social appearances.

This is a recommendation for anyone that feels bored reading the usual trope of shonen-ai manga and want to taste the emotional progress of a confused teen to a person who has a better grip of their identity

I like this manga for everything. it subverts in stories revolving gay characters. However, at the parts in which the manga follows cliches of the genre is where I have some issues.

I personally really liked the art. I liked how distinct it was and how well it captured emotions. It wasn't anything new, but it was very good regardless. I also think that considering this manga is more character and plot driven, and less focused on epic panels or detailed character designs, I think it does a good job. I also like how the things that the characters remark as important are also drawn ... dramatically so the audience can also see it for themselves. It's not just all talk, but also the medium of manga is used to enhance the story further.

The story, as I said, really surprised me when it subverted tropes of the genre. I'll try not to spoil by speaking vaguely, but will be spoiling some plot points, so I would skip this if you don't want to be spoiled, but also there are some triggering things in this manga which you should be aware if you are sensitive to certain topics. The things I enjoyed was the friendship between the two main characters and how they weren't forced into a relationship just because they have the same orientation. I also really enjoyed the exploration of each characters individual sexuality, and showed that not everyone's experience is the same and that gay people aren't a monolith.

One thing I'm really glad this manga doesn't normalise or romanticise is teacher student relationships, and older men preying on younger boys. It was always treated as creepy and never treated lightly. Even when we are meant to sympathise with the predator, it's never treated as something normal, but something that is morally wrong.

Two things I didn't quite enjoy was the representation of lesbians. Which in all honesty was a blink and you miss it moment, but it was distasteful especially considering the content of this story. The lesbian character was used to further prove that one of the main characters was definitely not interested in women. But the scene also enforced the idea that woman 'turn' lesbian after a bad sexual experience with a man, and as we know isn't true and a harmful misconception. I know the author wasn't interested in this character more than just to make a few jokes and not to develop her as a character, therefore I feel like she could've been omitted all together. However, she appears so briefly hat it doesn't' really affect my enjoyment of the overall story.

I also didn't enjoy the reinforcement of the trope that men who're homophobic are actually gay themselves, but even more than that but the coupling of the bully with their victim. I do not enjoy this trope especially considering how relentless and how brutal the bully was willing to be to the victim, I didn't think they should've ended up together. It's a trope that is so prevalent, and is showed so often in queer stories. I just don't like the idea of not only forgiving the person who caused one so much suffering, but also awarding the abuse with love. However, this manga is bit old, and I can give it the benefit of the doubt that these conversations weren't being had at that time.

Smells like green spirit is a small peek into the lives of closeted gay men in the deep countryside of japan.

Story - 8
The story's refreshing, short and bittersweet. It follows mishima, a closeted and bullied gay boy. He comes across an unlikely ally, who also turns out to be gay. From there, an exploration into sexuality and the many ways in which people hide it, and the consequences of discovery ensues.

The story can be a bit jarring, because it feels fast-paced, with some events happening seemingly out of nowhere, with little lead-up and not much of a resolution. But, I'm not sure this story intended ... to invoke excitement over the daily lives of countryside boys. Reality often doesn't have much of a lead-up, or a resolution. In that way, this story did a wonderful job capturing the somewhat disappointing, and jarring events in life, in all its bittersweet forms

Art - 7
Now, imma keep it real. The art wasn't much to write home about. the only reason why i rated it at a 7 is because any BL that doesnt have yaoi hands is actually a godsend

Characters - 8
I think this is where the real charm of this manga is. I'll keep this brief
None of these characters are anything special. But I think that's what makes them so charming. They're not meant to be these wild, outlandish people who try to save the world or start a movement. They're just regular guys being dudes

The beauty of the characters though, more than anything, is the actual friendship that blossoms. The act of coming out to your first friend who shares the same experiences as you do is an indescribable one... And one that I feel this manga captured perfectly.

I gotta say, I was a bit disappointed in the extremely quick individual 'character development' that seemingly comes out of nowhere, but at the same time, this is a 14 chapter manga, so it's hard to expect too much.

Enjoyment - 10
Now, I fucking loved reading this. It's so rare to find manga that actually address the issues of being gay in a semi-realistic way (not that this was perfect, but still!). More than anything, I felt that the relationships that grow and develop where so comforting to read...

Overall - 9

If u just wanna see guys being dudes, then read this.

Smells Like Green Spirit is an absolute mess of a manga. The plot swings from one thing to another fast enough to give you whiplash. There is a lot of simply absurd stuff that happens, with no real build up except the author deciding that this is what was happening now. The characters' motivations are bizarre and unpredictable. There are some really troubling yaoi/BL tropes that are used as a fall back to create drama, with literally no fall back or substance at all. The whole premise on which the manga opens (a gay kid being bullied) ends up having little to no bearing on ... the characters involved and their course through the story.

Honestly, the series is not great. It's not even good. I didn't give it a rock bottom rating, however, because of the last few chapters. They really confused me because they became, if not good of themselves, then like they had been taken from a better, altogether more grown up series. They didn't fit with the ridiculous tone set by every chapter previously, but they were actually pretty good. They made me feel emotions for the characters, where none of the earlier dramatic hijinks had done.

There are a couple of good side characters, and a few funny bits. There's a lot of abysmal stuff to wade through, but it's a short series. Read it if you fancy something that's not going to demand a lot, but also isn't going to give a lot.

The ending was absolutely wonderful, I love it so much. Reading yaoi isn't just about smexy scenes and romantic gestures, but it's also about discovering oneself and pursuing the path that makes you happy. This story is every bit amazing. The way the topic was introduced slowly that you personally could relate to (I am never a homophobe), about a person's struggles of accepting oneself despite what other people think. The scene was pretty good, living in a rural area where everybody know everybody's business makes it really hard for you to move and be yourself that's why our three precious protagonists dealt with their ... emotions and feelings differently than what they truly were. It was purely a satisfying read till the end because everyone lives the way they really wanted and they were very happy and it makes me so happy I could actually cry. I just want people to experience happiness and contentment in their lives without holding themselves back and just be proud.

As someone who also grew up in the countryside of a conservative country, this manga was amazing, a great representation of what growing up somewhere like that when you're any flavor of queer is. It may be triggering for some people though so be warned, this manga portrays severe bullying and an attempted rape (which, unlike many many many other mangas, it portrays it in a realistic and serious way, which I guess only makes it more triggering tbh).

This story doesn't really revolve around romance almost at all, as some others have pointed out on their reviews, but that's what makes this manga ... stand out from the pile of BL out there. I loved the friendships that were built and lost and I love how all of the characters the story focuses on, had major development. This author really knows how to show how nuanced we all are as human beings, no one is perfect, we all struggle with something and sometimes we can be morons one way or the other, but it is on us to grow and change.

Truly an amazing read and the only reason why I don't consider this a masterpiece is because the author made some… choices on how to portrait some characters that was a bit too sympathetic for my liking (and they also gave the worst character a spin-off for some reason and well, I'll just reserve my comments on that one). But the majority of this story was really good, the first chapter almost made me stop reading, the beginning threw me off and the art was also a bit rough in the first half of the story, but the art and story improved tremendously and I couldn't stop reading this! I loved the MC's mom, best bad-ass character, I love her so much.

The ending was pretty good, although quite sad at the same time, but I liked the realism. Not everyone gets a happy ending in real life, so it was a bit refreshing to see it reflected in this story.

Smells Like Green Spirit (named for the Nirvana song, which is appropriate for a coming of age story, although I don't know where 'green' comes from) is something most BL manga cannot ever aspire to be: real. SLGS accurately represents what it is like to be queer in a small town as recent as even ten years ago, where everyone has their eyes on you and expects you to be what they want you to be.

The main character is one of those kids who, while never having "come out," is obviously gay and everyone knows it. By the time the story starts, he has resigned ... himself to taking the bullying and harassment because that's just how it goes—a sad truth represented right on the page. Things start to change, however, when he realizes that one of his main bullies might not be so different from here is.

From there is a very honest look into what it is like to come of age as a queer person—especially a young gay man—in an unsafe place, finding love and happiness and themselves amidst all of the pain and struggling.

This manga is a romance, but it makes the really interesting choice of having the main couple not consist of the leads. Rather, they remain just friends throughout, and the main character's love interest is someone else entirely (who is also going through many of the same struggles in his own way). This is an unconventional choice, but it's one I appreciated. Oftentimes, friendship is more important than romance—especially during such a difficult time in one's life when they're struggling to figure themselves out, and what they really need is a friend who understands them.

It also takes the time to acknowledge the overlap between gay men and transgender women that does and has always existed. The two communities have never been separate and never will be, and a lot of people find themselves identifying with both—similar to lesbians and transgender men. Obviously not everyone will identify with both—there are gay men who are not genderqueer in the slightest and heterosexual transgender women—but there *is* an overlap, and seeing that represented here is really important and special.

Also, fair warning, this manga has a very bittersweet ending, and that may be a controversial decision to some, but I think it's perfect. This manga is grounded and realistic, and it is not afraid to shy away from the painful truths of the queer experience, even if it also shows the happiness that can be found in it. Not every queer person gets a happy ending. Sometimes a queer person finds themself and who they are but they have to resign themself to a life of unhappiness because of outside factors. Many queer people sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of other people, and seeing that in the ending of this manga may be a tough pill to swallow, but it's the perfect conclusion.

There's one main reason I haven't rated this manga higher, however. There's something of a sexual predation problem amongst gay men because, well, gay men are certainly still men, and I could go into detail about socialization and the patriarchy to explain why men tend to commit sex crimes but I am not going to assume you are stupid and need it explained to you. The point is, it happens and it sucks. This manga seems to propose that the reason for the problem has to due with matters of homophobia, and while I am open to that idea, I am a bit soured on it due to how this manga presents it.

Sexual assault is very important to the middle of this manga's story. I respect it for trying to address such a pressing issue in this society, as addressing societal issues seems to be the main goal of this manga, however I don't think it handles it with tact and grace. It's decently graphic, and once it's over the story moves on from it much too quickly in my opinion. It is almost entirely about the assaulter and not the victim, and I think telling stories about assaulters is still important, but the victimhood of the character he assaults is essentially disregarded for the sake of proposing society is the reason he molests young boys. I might have been willing to listen to that last point, but I'm not in the mood to be open to it when presented in a rather tactless way. The mangaka then went on to make a spinoff manga about the attempted rapist, by the way.

All in all though, this is a very poignant, thoughtful read that represents queer issues much better than most BL I've seen, and I would really recommend it.