Reviews

Escape Journey, Vol. 1 by Ogeretsu Tanaka

gwhg's review against another edition

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5.0

Trust me — shuffle Noah Kahan’s music, read this book, and enjoy crying your heart out.

CWs for SA, domestic violence, and homophobia

sbaccus's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

mysticjarjar's review against another edition

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emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

dynamicdylan's review against another edition

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5.0

This was honestly the most pleasant surprise I've read all year so far. I went into this knowing there is non con, and I expected to not like it. But dang it, it was too darn cute not to love it!
We follow Taichi and Naoto, two college students who used to date in high school. Now they're trying to rekindle their relationship.
This was such a wonderful manga. The art is stunning. The characters feel real. And it was so cute, I was brought to tears. This was exactly the manga I needed to read right now.

CW: Non consent, broken family, divorce.

lostboylit's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

heyjudy's review against another edition

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3.0

~3 Stars

This series had such potential. I'm a bit conflicted, but I think I'm mainly disappointed. It could have been so good.
Naoto and Taichi dated in high school, but it didn't work out. And when they bump into each other in college, they end up with the same friends, and then they can't help but start something again. They have an attraction, but ones a flirt and the other gets jealous/possessive. This causes conflict, and since they don't know how to talk to each other, they end up fighting all the time.
In the beginning, they think they've learned. The jealous one thinks he's got control of himself. But clearly nothing has changed.
This has an interesting set-up, and they've got really good friends. Fumi, one of the girls who originally crushed on one of them, ends up being really cool about the situation and moves on to another guy, and she's probably my favorite part of this volume.
But about halfway through the volume, they threw in a rape scene. It was rough and harsh, with crying and very clear protests of “No” and “Stop”, with the possessive one forcing himself on the other, after having a fistfight. I hated every second of it, and it read realistically awful. But afterward, there was no real acknowledgement of him being raped, and instead the victim apologizes for their fight.
I can usually deal okay with some non-consent, depending on the form and how it's handled. It was handled awfully here, and the aftereffects only made it worse. It left a bad taste in my mouth, and I really don't intend to read any more.


A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

mikeripley's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75


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amberly1997's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I enjoyed this book, the writing and paced of plot was fine. The chemistry between Naoto and Taichi's but I would have like the characters needed be flash out bit more also I don't like how Taichi's pushy is about sex. Both the cover of and art work was pretty good also the ending was okay

 

abelh's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


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sherrybomb's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5