Dec 11, 2022
Ah, Futari Escape. Further proof you don't need a super complicated premise, plotline, or characters to come up with an entertaining manga. Somehow, I feel like these sorts of manga are even harder to make work (i.e. keep the reader interested) than your more conventional dramatic yuri.
Art -- A bit above average for a manga of its type. Characters are drawn consistently well, and backgrounds during the more travelogue chapters are well-rendered and easily recognizable. Great character expressions and slapstick, above-average panelling work eases the eye along. Senpai's pretty cute.
Characters -- Over about 30 chapters, there is very little character
...
progression. That being said, they do get fleshed out more as the series goes on; they feel a bit like flanderized stereotypes in the first few chapters, with rather one-note traits, but become a lot more rounded and realistic in later chapters. The series kind of hits its stride towards the end of the first volume, imo. Did I mention Senpai's really cute?
Misc -- Speaking of hitting its stride--the longer the series goes on past its initial travelogue phase, and the more the two main idiots kind of settle into their roles, the chapters get absolutely wacko. Probably Futari's selling point--the two MCs are simultaneously idiotic and psychotic, and their antics are just super entertaining. Maybe not laugh-out-loud funny like Nichijou, but with the same surrealistic, over-the-top, how-far-can-we-push-this-joke vibe. Pretty cool.
Great yuri subtext too. It's refreshing to see this type of yuri, actually--it's pretty clearly implied the two MCs are together, or at least interested in one another, but there's zero drama surrounding it. There's no dramatic love confessions, no over-the-top feelings, blushing's kept to a minimum--they're basically friends/roomies first, GFs second, sharing a kind of ordinary domestic intimacy together. They just kind of...are.
Futari Escape's a strange manga. Not really for everyone, but if you like the idea of a half-travelogue, half-SOL with two useless lesbians as MCs, then you'll probably enjoy it as much as I did.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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