- Last OnlineApr 11, 2024 6:00 AM
- GenderNon-Binary
- JoinedSep 28, 2022
Also Available at
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Apr 9, 2023
(What does it mean to “like” someone?)
Having thrown into the complicated world of a romantic relationship, a young girl gets washed over by an overwhelming dreaded feeling. Is this what it means to “like” someone? Will things really get better after a few kisses?
(If I learn to like someone, will I be like everyone else?)
“Is Love The Answer” is a manga that questions. As someone who always felt like she’s an alien, Chika is determined to ask those questions and demand a clear answer on what it means to love. Is love truly the answer? If it is, then how can she figure out a
...
way to be “normal” just like everyone else?
The story closely follows Chika’s journey. Through her perspective, we get to explore and learn about the complexities and various set of hindrances that comes with different sexualities. It asks us to look a little closer at ourselves and the concepts of love that we’ve surrounded ourselves with. It’s a story that requires openness and an incredible level of understanding, which, I think, is something the manga has successfully achieved.
Isaki’s writing here is sentimental. It asks for us to look at ourselves a little closer. It asks us to question the things we’ve deemed as “normal” and what does it really mean for something to be considered as a norm. Even for those within the LGBTQ+ community, it asks us to dismantle certain ideas that we’ve confined ourselves into.
I appreciate the manga highlights nonconformity and fluidity in various identities. Despite its short length, it manages to do so poignantly in every chapter. As the story emphasizes over and over again, there is no definitive answer to things. You decide what life you want to life, what makes you happy. Although the manga does read mostly as an educational exploration of these ideas, I still think it is an incredibly important read.
It is short and it is most definitely sweet.
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
![]()
Dec 26, 2022
“The Summer Hikaru Died” deals with loss. In the face of loss, it asks this: how do you grief when it wears the face of a loved one? How do you deal with the loss when it stares at you directly in the eyes?
The summer Hikaru died, something else stood in his place.
Following the story of two childhood friends, Yoshiki and Hikaru, as strange things begin to unravel in their small town ever since Hikaru’s mysterious reappearance from the mountain. Strange and menacing spirits posing threats onto the peaceful livelihoods of those around. And Hikaru is no longer Hikaru. This Hikaru merely wears the
...
face of him, speaks the way he does, and acts like him almost to a tee. But it is not and will never be Hikaru, that much Yoshiki knows.
“The Summer Hikaru Died” is a different kind of horror. It is a bit of drama, slice of life with elements of horror in it.
The horror aspect itself doesn’t feel like something that strikes your heart with fear. If anything, it lingers. It sits under your skin, in the way that you’d curl up under a blanket for warmth. It does have its solid moments of horror that demands every bit of your attention and quite possibly creeps you out, mostly thank to the incredibly detailed and surreal art style. However, for the most part, the horror aspect feels strangely intimate. Plenty of it has to do with the very thing that exists in Hikaru.
The relationship between “Hikaru” and Yoshiki is also compelling. It is complicated relationship between an entity that is essentially performing as someone and a person who is grappling with the reality of having lost that someone. Also, being the only person who is aware of it. How can someone carry a burden that heavy? It creates an interesting push-and-pull dynamic between them that leads to some of the uncanniest yet strangely touching moments in the manga. Ones that’ll leave you craving for more.
It is a horror, BL manga with an intriguing concept and so far, incredibly executed! Looking forward to see how the story unravels and witness the developing relationship between the two.
(Please do bear in mind of the warnings because the manga does have its graphic grotesque, body horror moments.)
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
![]()
Nov 14, 2022
Akino Matsuri’s “Petshop of Horrors” brings forward a set of episodic stories packed with narratives that explores the complex nature of humanity, presented through a gorgeously distinct art style lavished in the horror and supernatural.
The plot follows the ever so illusive Count D who runs a mysterious pet shop at the heart of Chinatown. Every story tackles the different patrons that ventures into the pet shop, seeking some sort of solution to the problems they have. The horror aspect of the manga is equally incredible as the manga’s more quiet, intimate moments.
It lends itself to tackling darker yet more complicated ideas of the nature
...
of humanity. The depressingly repetitive destructive behaviour shown by humans become more and more evident as the story progresses. Count D’s dismissive behaviour towards humans is shown to be more complicated as his own character goes through his own journey. However, there are heartwarming and lighthearted moments that shows glimpse of hope, allowing us (the readers) cling onto the idea that there is a sliver of good amidst all the hopelessness.
Furthermore, the visuals are mind-bogglingly gorgeous. There’s an otherworldly quality to Matsuri’s art style and character designs in this manga that it’s very difficult to not feel mesmerized by the creatures that resides in the pet shop. The art maintains this horrifically beautiful quality even during its more light-hearted, comedic moments, which creates a consistent feeling of unease throughout.
Overall, this gem is an incredibly peculiar masterpiece that deserves a lot more attention and love! From the incredible art-style, to the intricate tales of horrors to the equally charming set of characters. While the manga is quite of-its-time, it does not hinder its quality whatsoever and maintains a timeless quality thanks to the stories it tells. “Petshop of Horrors” offers not only a look at our own destructive nature, but also our own capability of changing that. To always choose to be good, to forge a better path of ourselves.
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
|
