Reviews

Una vez más, me encuentro en un callejón sin salida con Ôima. Por alguna razón que se me escapa y que llevo intentando dilucidar seis tomos, sus personajes resultan muy poco accesibles. Donde el chico del primer capítulo, March y Parona lograban crear conexiones instantáneas, el príncipe de este nuevo arco narrativo y todo su séquito se me hacen intragables. Sé que muchos claman que, con este tomo, Ôima se mete de lleno en la transfobia y la homofobia; sinceramente, no creo que ese sea el problema. Sí, hay muchas frases y situaciones extrañas desde el punto de vista de alguien que quiere ver esa representación queer, pero no creo que su intención sea negativa y el resultado no es perjudicial; tan solo evade los temas cuestionablemente. Se intenta a medias con Kahaku una aceptación de Inmo más allá de la performatividad de género; el problema es que se represente como un pervertido cuando se mira tras la obra y se entra en el terreno del mensaje entre líneas.

Mi problema, decía, viene directamente de los personajes más allá de su género o intento por tratar lo queer. Simplemente, no guardan ningún interés. Son arquetipos con historias manidas o muy poco exploradas que, en consecuencia, hacen que quiera irme a leer algo más productivo. Una vez más, Inmo se convierte en la excepción, aunque tampoco demasiado (sigue anclado en el tomo anterior y tan solo se intenta avanzar en la parte más íntima de las relaciones). En general, si algo veo que le falta a este arco es tener un reparto original que permita explorar a Inmo al mismo tiempo que se tratan otros arcos de personaje. Por eso, hasta Gûgû, es aceptable; a partir de ahí, apártame a Inmo y vámonos.

Tema argumento. Pues está ahí, no mucho más. Tan solo entra de puntillas en el tema religioso y en esas identidades no normativas. Incluso el poder de Bon, que daría para mucho impacto emocional y explorar tanto a su personaje como a Inmo, se queda en un "so desu ka" de manual. Hace ya muchos tomos que he perdido la esperanza en esta serie y tan solo sigo por el dibujo (que es cuco y funcione) y, especialmente, por el personaje de Inmo, que es lo que salvó el tomo 7 y lo que, ojalá, salve los siguientes cuando Ôima se deshaga de la panda de impresentables que tiene el arco como reparto.

pip72156907's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I was going to stop reading after the last volume because I didn’t like where the plot was going, but i ended up continuing so that i could see more of my boy fushi. i have to say that this volume was very redeeming! one of my favorite things was that fushi, someone who has never learned about love before, doesn’t know about homophobia and was never wrongly taught that being gay was bad, so he (correctly) thinks that the gender of the people in a relationship doesn’t matter. it just goes to show that same sex relationships wouldn’t be seen as bad to homophobes if they were never taught that way:) keep it up fushi!!

AUGHHHH I ABSOLUTELY HATE KAHAKU WITH MY ENTIRE BODY AND SOUL. THE WAY HE TALKS TO FUSHI AS IF HES ONLY PARONAS FORM AND REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIS OTHER BODIES AND HIS ORIGINAL PERSONALITY. KAHAKU ALSO TRIED TO TEACH HIM THAT IF YOURE A BOY YOU LIKE GIRLS AND IF YOURE A GIRL YOU LIKE BOYS, AND THAT MAKES ME WANT TO DO UNSPEAKABLE THINGS TO HIM. FUSHI SHOULD BE PROPERLY TAUGHT ABOUT US GAYS SO THAT HE CAN FIGURE HIMSELF OUT. THE AUTHOR DID SO WELL MAKING KAHAKU A HATEABLE CHARACTER. ALL MY HOMIES HATE KAHAKU!!!!

Edit: I just finished volume 12 and Kahaku is kind of likeable now. He really risked it all for Fushi and I think he got in touch with and realized that he doesn't love Parona, he loves Fu :)))) I didn't think we'd be getting queer rep in this series but man, it was nice (and sad TwT).

Content Warnings

loop's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I feel like I keep saying this but this series just keeps getting better. There were a few subplots here that I feel could have been handled with more grace, but in general I love the direction the story is going. I loved Bon from the start, but he is really growing into a great character (which is unfortunately a red flag). And Fushi's emotional development should prove to be interesting too, as it'll provide more opportunities to philosophize not just about existence and life and death, but a wider variety of topics that Fushi will undoubtedly learn about - which will also inject new themes and new life into this already incredibly well-rounded story.

axelstudies's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Content Warnings

littlebookterror's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I was prepared to give this three stars.
I was unhappy how the plot was going, I didn't like the new light, kinda silly tone and did not think Oima could write herself out of that one.
Boy was I wrong.
Not only is prince Bon now one of my favourite characters, I was very impressed by how she handled him. Overall, the new story about religion and fanatics, what it means for Fushi to only have dead friends and the new revelations of his powers brought it up a whole nother level. Also Fushi learns more about feelings and love and it was the cutest. The short outtake of that love story he read broke my heart.

(Was the "suddenly slim now" plotline necessary though? Not really.)

More...