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A review by lastblossom
That Beauty is a Tramp V 1 by Hal Osaka
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
tl;dr
The art carries with beautifully illustrated characters and a rather lightweight plot.
Thoughts
For a book about a supermodel, the art definitely rises to the occasion. As expected, Aran is beautiful and sexy at every turn, but the other characters are also gorgeous, all rendered with clean, detailed lines and tones. The character designs are exceptionally appealing, with both leads leaning hard on androgyny. A handful of sexy scenes and moments of undress are appropriately salacious, but don't expect full spice on this one.
The plot itself is barely there: instant attraction paired with a series of coincidences push Nagi and Aran's lives together, allowing the reader to jump from one sexy scene to the next with very little friction. This is probably also where readers will find themselves split. Aran can be fairly possessive at times. He also moves in with Nagi without bothering to ask for permission. There's already enough discussion about these tropes that I don't need to weigh in on whether this is trashy guilty pleasure, or just trashy. You already know how you feel about this. There are a handful of discussions about gender expectations in society that might lead to more of a deconstruction of the tropes, but for now the story plays it straight.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for a review copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
The art carries with beautifully illustrated characters and a rather lightweight plot.
Thoughts
For a book about a supermodel, the art definitely rises to the occasion. As expected, Aran is beautiful and sexy at every turn, but the other characters are also gorgeous, all rendered with clean, detailed lines and tones. The character designs are exceptionally appealing, with both leads leaning hard on androgyny. A handful of sexy scenes and moments of undress are appropriately salacious, but don't expect full spice on this one.
The plot itself is barely there: instant attraction paired with a series of coincidences push Nagi and Aran's lives together, allowing the reader to jump from one sexy scene to the next with very little friction. This is probably also where readers will find themselves split. Aran can be fairly possessive at times. He also moves in with Nagi without bothering to ask for permission. There's already enough discussion about these tropes that I don't need to weigh in on whether this is trashy guilty pleasure, or just trashy. You already know how you feel about this. There are a handful of discussions about gender expectations in society that might lead to more of a deconstruction of the tropes, but for now the story plays it straight.
Thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for a review copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual harassment