Back to Yaji_Black's Profile Yaji_Black's Profile

This series started off strong, especially the first chapter which establishes Kieto’s career as a child star and the immense pressures put on her that led to her feelings of ostracization, isolation, and absence of normality. Seeing all that compound and then eventually break her after the betrayal of someone she thought was a fried made for a immediately engaging opening that had me curious as to where the series would go. And within the first half of the series, I genuinely enjoyed it. Even if it dipped into the melodramatic at times given how intense the characters treated innocuous developments, it was perfectly congruent ... with their histories. All of them suffered from a mental condition, negative social history, or traumatic experience that gave them debilitating difficulties which transformed what would be innocuous, to the average person, into a major obstacle that could ruin lives. Watching the characters find a sense of belonging at El Liston and with one another and use their new found confidence and support to confront their insecurities and struggles is inspiring.

Unfortunately the second half of the series comes along and is of noticeably lesser quality. For one, and this isn’t necessarily the manga’s fault, but the translation I was reading shifted scanalations for the worst. Unfortunately this series has no official English release and this was the only way to experience the series. The downgrade in translation consisted of all personality and character being drained from the dialogue, characters constantly talking like robots (just random shifts to third person and non-sequiturs), and repetitive and poor grammer.

As it concerns the manga itself though, the series really loses focus in the second half. I knew the series would contain romance, it’s one of the reasons I was interested in reading it, however it is incorporated extremely poorly. The main cast are certainly interesting enough and seeing how the introduction of romance between them could strengthen/fracture their bonds would be a worthwhile development. However enough time is not given to make any romantic developments feel earned outside of characters’ attraction to one another. Within the 36 chapters of this series, in which the romance is secondary, there are multiple confessions, a love triangle, and attempt to initiate and follow two separate romantic pairings. But there’s not enough time given to fit anything substantive, interesting, or exciting into any of the romances. It’s very superficial and hamfisted, especially in comparison to the narratives surrounding the anxieties and difficulties the characters face in their lives. There’s a harsh whiplash when you go from a good and earnest, even if at times clunky, exploration to how the characters try to deal with themselves and their place in society to the most bland, flat, undercooked romances. And alongside these pitiful attempts at romance that derail what was previously good (the friend group) about the series while introducing some really tired tropes.

Outside of the romance, the second half also struggles with how rushed various developments end up being. The lives of the characters change but, because so little depth is given to their new status quo, the changes feel like an afterthought, like set dressing. And again, it stands in stark contrast to what came before in that the characters felt more grounded and responsive to their environments because there was a greater focus given to how they engaged with and interacted with same which manifested in their various neurosis and quirks. After the timeskip, everything feels very divorced from the characters, making them less interesting as well as the narrative developments (so of which are just over the top) that follow.

The series ultimately feels like it should have ended sooner (concluding with volume 3 would have been satisfying) or been significantly longer (to allow time for romances to develop and be explored in detail, show specifics of the characters molding/being molded by their new states in life post time-skip, etc.). All that being said, I enjoyed the series overall and don’t regret reading it. Seeing the characters find both internal and external motivation in continuing on and not letting life pass by due to fear, rejection, or failure and was satisfying and ultimately conveyed well. I only wish the second half of the series had been executed to the level of the first.

Drowning Love starts with a bang, maybe my favorite first chapter of any series I’ll read this coming year. Within chapter 1, Natsume (the MC) has been well introduced and intrigue surrounds her budding relationship with Kou (the secondary male MC). Early on, it doesn’t take long for additional aspects to be developed that make things more satisfying and gripping to follow. Natsume and Kou’s relationship, no matter how it changes, is very turbulent throughout the series. Their relationship and curiosity around one another explores a wide range, from negative motivations, to genuine desires for connection and acknowledgement, to uncertainty and assumptions leading to unintended ... consequences that spiral out control and explode outward impacting others - all of this creates a tension that just sucks you in. Even if how things ultimately concluded was rocky for me, the journey itself was well worth the read and I can’t wait to revisit this series with a greater depth.

While the relationship between Natsume and Kou takes center stage and is the most complex within the series, generally speaking the cast of characters, which is fairly small, have interesting dynamics that shift as the characters age, develop, and devolve. The progression of time was paramount to why I enjoyed this series as much as I did. Seeing the characters’ change over time as, with age, new experiences, feelings, emotions, and desires all led to alterations in their physical presentation, social circles, and goals which fed back into further fleshing out the cast and making them all worthwhile in following. It was so successfully pulled off that I didn’t mind the nebulous love line, evolving into a love triangle, before completely imploding into some nebulous shape as characters’ attractions, romances, and physical relationships with another constantly shifted in positive (and mostly) negative ways. Overall it creates a lot of intense suspense and drama which was, for the most part, very satisfying to be enmeshed in.

As for negatives, there are some moments when things feel a bit dragged out. I will lay some of the blame on how I read the series, starting out at a steady pace before binging the last 10 volumes over the course of two days. While it felt great in the moment, I do think that made certain developments feel more redundant than if I had paced myself throughout the entirety of the read.

Additionally, as mentioned earlier, the last two or so volumes were definitely weaker in their plot progression, character actions, and ultimately how everything concluded. While I wasn’t expecting the ending I wanted to come to fruition, and don’t think the actual ending is bad per se, the last four volumes did leave me wishing things didn’t feel so repetitive, and in a lesser capacity, to what came before.

Overall, this has been one of my favorite Asakura series (only Dance Dance Danseur is in contention with it) and one of my favorite shoujo series in general. It’s something I can easily imagine revisiting and dissecting to appreciate to an even greater degree. I have no doubt when I’m looking back on this year, this will have been one of my favorite reads.

This was an immensely engaging read. It takes a premise that could be very trashy or messy and treats the characters with depth and nuance by examining their conflicting feelings of grief, guilt, and desire. Feelings and behaviors are often recontextualized as the story progresses which results in a deep investment into the characters.

The story primarily focuses on three people - Natsumi, Togo, and Haru, all of whom are well-realized. The story starts with Natsumi distraught over the loss of the only person she's ever loved, her sister Haru. In an attempt to navigate her grief Natsumi enters into a relationship with Togo, her sister's ... arranged fiance, under the caveat he only takes her places he went with Haru. He agrees and what starts as a seemingly bizarre request evolves into something more beyond what either character expected. The story is all character focused, less focused on an overarching plot vs. the shifting relationships between characters.

Natsumi is very interesting because of how conflicting and contradictory she is. She's the character most unmoored and distraught but also the funniest and most boisterous, with her outgoing and jovial personality resulting in a lot of humorous moments. However she frequently struggles with feelings of isolation, self-loathing, and guilt which creates this powerful contrast and clash within the character.

Togo is also interesting in a different way, being much more composed, blunt, and direct in his thoughts and feelings. However he's a very numb character, having never formed any personal interest or dreams due to the status of his upbringing and family. He's internalized and made the entirety of himself the expectations and desires of his parents in lieu of his own. In his burgeoning relationship with Natsumi, he is forced to recognize and grapple with having his own desires and feelings for the first time.

Finally there's Haru who, despite being dead, is at the crux of the story and relationship between Natsumi and Togo. She's initially presented as more of an object of affection or narrative starting point vs. having much character depth. However more is revealed about the Haru over the course of the story which paints a more complex and detailed person struggling with her own issues and feelings.

The story focuses on the characters' burdens and how those resulting from outside forces feed into and birth self-imposed ones that result in even greater dismay and stagnation. It's a vicious cycle that the characters attempt to find relief, solace, or answers in their interactions with one another. Family also plays a significant role as the impacts of arranged marriages and the differing dynamics between the characters and their mothers vs. their fathers all contribute to the burdens they face.

Despite the drama and bleakness that the characters struggle with, there are plenty of funny and cute moments. Togo and Natsumi have great chemistry with her frantic and active personality playing well off of Togo's blunt and cool demeanor. The comedic moments are bolstered by good timing and humourous reaction faces. And despite there being few physical manifestations of intimacy, the romantic moments are satisfying as they feel genuine and honest to the characters and their experiences. The sweeter moments are all the more potent because they contrast with all the negative thoughts and emotions the characters struggle with.

It ends with an ending that feels earned, warranted and satisfying as the theme of the characters realizing that they're more than a singular (whether it be emotion, experience, etc.). That their multitudes, good and bad, known and unknown, etc. allows for the potential to progress and overcome or live with what may seem unfathomable. It's a really beautiful idea that I found incredibly well realized by the end of the story.

Outside of the characters and story, the series is very well paced with no chapter feeling superfluous. The art style is simple and straightforward and extremely consistent throughout. The somewhat thicker line work matches well with the grounded character designs and slice-of-life actions. Characters' faces do a great job at conveying emotions and the style complements the the tone of story well.

In terms of criticisms, if you don't buy into the premise of the characters and their emotions everything will come of as melodramatic and flat.

I could see someone finding the characters melodramatic if they don't buy into its premise and the characters emotional reactions. Everything, from the romance to the characters' personal struggles, hinges on accepting the characters' feelings as understandable and if you do not the entire thing will fall flat.

Physically, the volume feels very solid and comfortable to hold (like most Vertical releases). There are some nice color pages throughout the book featuring Togo and Natsumi alongside bonus pages that feature extra scenes or insights into the characters.

I really enjoyed reading this and highly recommend checking it out. It gave me a lot to think about and was a worthwhile and fantastic experience.