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minimicropup's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Okay, so technically I didn’t like this because so many awful things happened. But I think it was well done.
Energy: Visceral. Compulsive. Devastating.
Scene: 🇯🇵 Set in Tokyo, Japan.
Perspective: Observing the day-to-day struggles of a cast of high school students.
🐩 Tail Wags: The startling, sad, but believable storylines. Illustration style.
🤔 Random Thoughts:
Throws every bad thing that could happen to someone as a teen at the reader, but it didn’t feel gratuitous. It seemed plausible.
Check content heads-up as a lot of it is graphic especially when you can watch it play out on the page.
Check content heads-up as a lot of it is graphic especially when you can watch it play out on the page.
This was originally from the ‘90s and it feels that way. Some of it didn’t age well, but the topics and outcomes aren’t irrelevant for today. Footnotes provide context when popular media is referenced from that time.
----
🤓 Reader Role: Watching the scene unfold getting to understand the group dynamics and backstories.
🗺️ World-Building: Immersive, sensory, gritty.
🔥 Fuel: Character de-evolution, parallel plots, and atmospheric tension. Who will survive, who will succumb, and will there be justice?
📖 Cred: Hyper-realistic to plausible.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
Stagnant water. Canadian goldenrod. Factory smoke. Steam whistle. School bell. Tears. Faint ocean breeze. Sewage. Ozone.
- 1980s/’90s high school drama
- Coming of age tragedies
- Harsh life struggles
- Dark foreboding atmosphere
- Teen psychological horrors
Content Heads-Up: Homophobia, homophobic slurs. Outing (by friends). Bullying (physical assault, humiliation, name-calling, threats). Toxic relationship. Adult/minor relationship. Fatphobia. Sexual content (consenting; graphic, on page; rough off page). Corpse (discovery, disposal). Eating disorder (bingeing, purging; on page). Violence (attack, strangling). Murder. Cheating on romantic partner. Pregnancy. Abortion (discussion of). Obsession, unrequited love. Animal cruelty (cat torture, death; on page). Fire (fatality). Suicide. Blood. Miscarriage. Rape (on page). Vomit. Body fluids (semen). Drug use.
Rep: Japanese. Gay. Lesbian. Heterosexual. Cisgender.
📚 Format: Advance Reader’s Copy from Kodansha Comics, Vertical Comics, and NetGalley.
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Fatphobia, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Miscarriage, Blood, Abortion, and Pregnancy
sandramarinis's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed reading this book, but I don't think I would rate it higher as it felt like the storyline was a bit unclear from time to time.
Positives:
Even though it's a sad story about sad people I think the book brings forth good examples of toxic relationships and self sabotaging behaviour and mental illnesses in a way that gives people something to reflect on. The problems and issues of the characters in the book aren't solved, which makes you feel as hopeless as them, and I think that might be intentional. We get to see examples of a narcissistic romantic relationship and how the main character felt compelled to stay in a hopeless relationship due to fear or hope. We also saw how everyone were living lies and longing for more, yet finding comfort in old and bad habits that would prevent that change from happening. I think that part was well done.
Negatives:
In the beginning I struggled differentiating between the characters as I didn't see the difference between several of them. Eventually I did though. Some parts weren't as good as others. I also didn't like that it was unrealistic when it came to the wholedead bodies-storyline . I think the quality of the drawings varied a lot. Sometimes it was very good, and other times it looked unfinished.
Positives:
Even though it's a sad story about sad people I think the book brings forth good examples of toxic relationships and self sabotaging behaviour and mental illnesses in a way that gives people something to reflect on. The problems and issues of the characters in the book aren't solved, which makes you feel as hopeless as them, and I think that might be intentional. We get to see examples of a narcissistic romantic relationship and how the main character felt compelled to stay in a hopeless relationship due to fear or hope. We also saw how everyone were living lies and longing for more, yet finding comfort in old and bad habits that would prevent that change from happening. I think that part was well done.
Negatives:
In the beginning I struggled differentiating between the characters as I didn't see the difference between several of them. Eventually I did though. Some parts weren't as good as others. I also didn't like that it was unrealistic when it came to the whole
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
jenniferforjoy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Recommended sure
for a look at a darker piece of life for the time, for a "slice of life" story where the slice is pretty grim and dirty
Thoughts:
Look, this is not for kids just because it's a graphic novel. It's got full naked bodies and corpses and violence and eating disorders and animal abuse and lots of other dark and heavy stuff. Please, be ready for it if you read this. I had to take some breaks after certain moments that pierced me through.
My best description of this is that it's like slice of life, but the life is shit. Everyone is unhappy in some way in this story, and it's all very dark and sad. There's no resolution; things don't get better; people don't change. You just stay with them for a while and see how they live, and you end it knowing that's still how they live. Don't come here looking for an arc of "learn and grow" because it's not here. This is not an indictment at all, it's just not the kind of story being told in this. If I understood correctly this is a story based on a poem, which is included at the end and was a bit harrowing (which made sense after reading the story that was meant to reflect it, I believe).
If you asked me what's the point or the takeaway of this story, I have no idea. The randomness of life is what I felt from this, and particularly the randomness of the pain that some people just get dumped with over and over. It's just kind of like "this is how it was and how it continued to be" even when it was shitty. And hey, maybe that *is* the point, you know? Things don't always get better. Things don't always work out. You just have to keep going. And in that, it was darkly compelling.
While the story is ugly, the art is not. There's a tinge of wildness to it that matches the desperate wildness of the characters, each showing it in their own way at some point in the story. Sometimes I had to really pause and see the whole panel, which made the story that much more poignant and piercing because I would have to really focus on a scene of something inevitably terrible. I couldn't just glance at it and turn away because I had to pay attention in order to really *see* it, and I feel like that mirrors what life needs to be in order to accomplish anything: really look at the ugliness and pain, or else you'll never be able to understand those things in order to move past them. Maybe I'm reading too much into it all, but that's kind of how this book made me feel. Somber, reflective, a touch morose.
Overall I do recommend this but only if you know that it's a darker vibe and filled with pain (and triggers).
Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review.
for a look at a darker piece of life for the time, for a "slice of life" story where the slice is pretty grim and dirty
Thoughts:
Look, this is not for kids just because it's a graphic novel. It's got full naked bodies and corpses and violence and eating disorders and animal abuse and lots of other dark and heavy stuff. Please, be ready for it if you read this. I had to take some breaks after certain moments that pierced me through.
My best description of this is that it's like slice of life, but the life is shit. Everyone is unhappy in some way in this story, and it's all very dark and sad. There's no resolution; things don't get better; people don't change. You just stay with them for a while and see how they live, and you end it knowing that's still how they live. Don't come here looking for an arc of "learn and grow" because it's not here. This is not an indictment at all, it's just not the kind of story being told in this. If I understood correctly this is a story based on a poem, which is included at the end and was a bit harrowing (which made sense after reading the story that was meant to reflect it, I believe).
If you asked me what's the point or the takeaway of this story, I have no idea. The randomness of life is what I felt from this, and particularly the randomness of the pain that some people just get dumped with over and over. It's just kind of like "this is how it was and how it continued to be" even when it was shitty. And hey, maybe that *is* the point, you know? Things don't always get better. Things don't always work out. You just have to keep going. And in that, it was darkly compelling.
While the story is ugly, the art is not. There's a tinge of wildness to it that matches the desperate wildness of the characters, each showing it in their own way at some point in the story. Sometimes I had to really pause and see the whole panel, which made the story that much more poignant and piercing because I would have to really focus on a scene of something inevitably terrible. I couldn't just glance at it and turn away because I had to pay attention in order to really *see* it, and I feel like that mirrors what life needs to be in order to accomplish anything: really look at the ugliness and pain, or else you'll never be able to understand those things in order to move past them. Maybe I'm reading too much into it all, but that's kind of how this book made me feel. Somber, reflective, a touch morose.
Overall I do recommend this but only if you know that it's a darker vibe and filled with pain (and triggers).
Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Gore, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, and Pregnancy
yellowbinge's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Publishing date:
27.06.2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC. My opinions are my own.
The book as a meal: I am eating out, but somehow my ex found me and disturbed my meal
The book left me: Feeling pretty horrible
Negatives:
Trigger warnings galore, be warned
Positives:
Very realistic portrayal of teenage/young adult troubles
Doesn't shy away from horrible things
Interesting story
Features:
Content warnings in the millions, interesting artstyle, dislikeable characters, themes of growing up, different situations for the same age group
Why did I choose this one?
I have heard stunning things about this manga, so I thought I should dive into it.
At the time I was in a mood for more comics as well. The cover is also very eye catching to me.
Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?
Devourable. I finished this one one sitting. I had to see what would happen next and how they would handle their current situation. The way these characters keep getting into the most avoidable trouble is outstanding to me.
What was the vibe and mood?
This had the vibe of watching a dramatic tv show. Everything went wrong, everyone got into trouble, tragedy after tragedy occurred. Almost like a car crash you can't look away from
Final ranking and star rating?
S tier, 5 stars. This is a read I know will be living rent-free in my mind for a long time. A read I think a lot of people should try out. However, it has every trigger warning under the sun, so please check which it has before diving into it. Great story with a lot of drive. Fitting artstyle. A lot of personality. Very good read. Will recommend.
S tier, 5 stars. This is a read I know will be living rent-free in my mind for a long time. A read I think a lot of people should try out. However, it has every trigger warning under the sun, so please check which it has before diving into it. Great story with a lot of drive. Fitting artstyle. A lot of personality. Very good read. Will recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia and Vomit
hazelwood's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Very dark. (Kittens get murdered. People die.) I'm not sure what the point of it is. Something about desire. These kids are fucking each other up the whole time. Nothing really gets resolved either. It just didn't really speak to me, specifically. Interesting story, but kind of depressing. Heed the content warnings, lots of heavy topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Suicide attempt
brogan7's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
This is a difficult book to give a number to. I thought it was too disturbing for my taste, but there were interesting things about it, it felt like a cry of distress, a request for human kindness in a world that's full of human brutality...
It's just hard to read about the brutality and understand it will have no resolution, there will be no moment when people stand up for themselves, set boundaries, extend kindness, ask difficult questions... they're all just muddling along in their suffering and deep dysfunction.
Also, it was almost impossible to keep track of the characters (at one point the author helpfully inserts "this is Takahashi's first appearance")--the characters' features alter in moments of heightened emotions, which makes telling them apart quite challenging.
Mature content, a difficult read.
Someone should tell the translator Solidago Canadensis is referred to simply as "goldenrod" in English, though "Canadian goldenrod" is very sweet.
Don't recommend.
It's just hard to read about the brutality and understand it will have no resolution, there will be no moment when people stand up for themselves, set boundaries, extend kindness, ask difficult questions... they're all just muddling along in their suffering and deep dysfunction.
Also, it was almost impossible to keep track of the characters (at one point the author helpfully inserts "this is Takahashi's first appearance")--the characters' features alter in moments of heightened emotions, which makes telling them apart quite challenging.
Mature content, a difficult read.
Someone should tell the translator Solidago Canadensis is referred to simply as "goldenrod" in English, though "Canadian goldenrod" is very sweet.
Don't recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
deerling's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Dark and distressing manga about students whose lives are connected in a somewhat twisted way. The art style wasn't my favorite, but it didn't hinder the reading experience.
Check out content warnings before reading!
Check out content warnings before reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide attempt
kaiyakaiyo's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
yeah this was incredibly fucked up in the name of “showing real issues” or some bullshit like that & im really wondering why manga is so obsessed with teenage girls suffering, specifically sexually
lots of rape and sexual assault, near murder, a very badly handled teenage pregnancy storyline, and some sort of cobbled together point about self-esteem? so much of the violence was gratuitous; the author could’ve made these points without actually illustrating a rape scene, strangulation, etc…
weird as hell
lots of rape and sexual assault, near murder, a very badly handled teenage pregnancy storyline, and some sort of cobbled together point about self-esteem? so much of the violence was gratuitous; the author could’ve made these points without actually illustrating a rape scene, strangulation, etc…
weird as hell
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
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