- Last OnlineDec 17, 2023 4:56 AM
- JoinedSep 27, 2015
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Oct 9, 2019
I’ve been reading BL on a daily basis for a number of years now. I generally forget a lot of titles I’ve read though there are only a dozen manga that I could remember even the finest details like how the art panels looked like, how the story made me feel, and how it impacted my life. This manga is one of them.
It is the culmination of what it means to love someone as both parties grow towards their old age - whether it is to grow closer or further apart. It explored the naïvity of the two boys as they discover this love
...
that was slowly blooming. This manga explored the hope-crushing reality as they grow into adults and their love is challenged by society, to the point of not believing that they can live with what they have together. It is a bittersweet tale, full of their happiest and lowest moments. Definitely a more realistic approach when it comes to portraying a queer relationship, which is something that is hardly conveyed in major BL titles.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
May 10, 2019
What do we get when we add Fashion, unrealistic airbrushed bodies, and capitalism? We get Liliko and her story in Helter Skelter. This manga is a repulsive commentary of how people go to such lengths to fit themselves into a box that is expected from the unattainable beauty standards imposed by the media. From make-up, clothes, behaviours, life-style; young women were pressured to conform into this idealised, youthful beauty.
Liliko is Japan’s most loved model. She appears in billboards and magazine covers and tv ads and has her own make up line. She has the smallest waist line, smoothest skin, perfect breast size, striking yet
...
gorgeous face and a wonderful career life ahead of her. Are we really sure that this image of hers are in fact a reality? This manga unfolds as we are told behind this impossibly perfect woman lies an assortments of devious acts committed in order to preserve this less arbitrary and materialistic definition of beauty.
Quoted from the manga, ‘youth is beautiful, but beauty is not youth’, was a wise word by a police who was investigating cases of deaths and violence among celebrities. Liliko became incredibly obsessed with this idea of beauty to the point of risking her life and harming others. Young and upcoming models were her biggest threat, she had to get rid of them before they get rid of her. This manga does not only portray Liliko as the bad one, since we see other models and celebrities stomp each other off to gain popularity.
In short, Helter Skelter is a culmination of the vile business that goes behind every magazine shots, beauty product ads, and the extremely attractive individuals shown in media. A vicious cycle that ruins models and consumers too.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Aug 1, 2017
Nakamura Asumiko is known for her dark, dramatic-themed works. While Utsubora, even though it is both dark and dramatic, feels different than her other works. It is strange why it was never nominated for any notable awards despite its many praises from Western publishers. Nevertheless, this was Nakamura-sensei's only English-licensed manga.
To describe elaborately about the manga would ruin its ‘thrill’. Utsubora is a story, about the story itself, which blurs in lies and truths. What happens to a creator if creativity is taken out of the equation? This story is just like a plagiarised work, where we often think how trustworthy the content is.
...
As a result, the unreliability of narration plus the convoluted truths (that are possibly lies) allows for readers to read it multiple times and would come to different conclusions every time. As well as questions raised with answers that are probably unreliable too. Should we trust Mizorogi Shun the narrator? Who and how trustable is Aki Fujino? Why?
One notable character is Mizorogi. He is mainly the eyes of the story’s narration. At times the story does not add up, which is questionable to say that: a) He had been lying to us, the reader, or, b) His situation in his career results the deterioration of his ‘vision’.
Despite it not having the genre tag 'horror' it personally felt like one. Because of the ambiguous truths, readers reflect back and are haunted with its ending. But one thing is for certain – Mizorogi Shun was an author.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Mar 22, 2017
This manga had been sitting on my plan to read for so long that a weight was lifted off my shoulder when I opened the first page. And I'm glad it did.
//I don't know what counts as a spoiler, so I might have flashed a teeny bit that I shouldn't in this review. But I promise nothing major.//
Story (7/10): The plot itself is a happy-go-lucky one when you look at it at a glance. This manga is about our optimistic main character, Sakura, who lives in a supernaturalistic world along with her friends. Despite the peculiarity of the world Sakura lives in, there was always
...
a common ground that our world and their world has. At first, I couldn't understand why the world she lived in was very strange. So, almost reaching her adolescence, Sakura becomes intrigued with how the way things are, including this very peculiar object, called a 'dick', that was mentioned in a book she had read.
Art (8/10): When it comes to Fumi-sensei, she knows how to sweeten things up with her art. The fusion of cuteness and horror which creates a surreal universe in which our characters live.
Character (8.5/10): This is probably the one category that this manga has given me a bone-chilling feeling. If you look beyond the strange setting, I strongly believe that Sakura's character was a euphemism for an awakening. She's at the age where she's almost no longer a child and notices things don't occur like she had thought it would have been. After meeting a certain person, her outlook on reality had significantly shifted. The abnormal world she had perceived has become her norm, and yet 'our' norm seems abnormal to her. She realises the existence of the opposite sex's genitalia, for example. A sort of 'childhood ruined' moment that we've all experienced before.
Enjoyment (9/10): If I could use a word to describe this manga, it would be 'warm' - as in the comfort of warmth, a reassuring and warm hug. I found this manga to be a therapeutic read.
This is sort of out of topic, but I enjoyed re-reading this manga while listening to Kikuo's 'Kaleidoscope'. Bizarre and yet aesthetically beautiful.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
