We ended the year with a discussion of the best, so it seems fitting and balanced somehow to start the year off with, if not exactly the worst, then certainly one of the lowest. Eve’s Apple is waaaay down there.

If you haven’t already, you might want to catch up to us by reading my reviews of Eve Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3. Okay, now you’re ready to jump into Volume 4 of Eve no Ringo.

The manga begins with a very typical color-page type layout of Kirika in leather embracing a naked Mio. The next page is the two of them leaping out of the position and yelling at Miyamae sensei for getting them into that position in the first place. It’s actually quite funny. ^_^

The first chapter consists of the antics of one of Kirika’s school friends, who first makes a few quick bucks by flashing the boys in class, then drags Matsuda-kun to “help” her shop for a bathing suit. She encourages him to pursue his dream of being a mangaka, to be honest with Kirika, then kisses him to let him know that she has feeling for him. She runs off with a happy wave.

Kirika is sitting with Yurika, when the grumpy editor walks by. Kirika blushes and excuses herself, but once in the ladies’ room, she finds herself confronted by Miyamae-sensei. Miyamae tells her that what the editor meant by she doesn’t need him, is that she’s got a good story sense. Kirika admits that after the mad dash to get the new magazine off the ground, she’s hit a slump. To get Kirika back in touch with her S&M sense, Miyamae takes her to the landing of the fire stairs. There, she proceeds to defrock Kirika, stressing that the shock and embarassment that she’s feeling is part of the excitement. Kirika denies this, but the older woman uses her own body as evidence against her. This round goes to Miyamae, as she puts them in the path of any of the Blue Velvet editors who might happen to slip out for a smoke. Kirika admits that the fear contributes to the thrill, as well. As a “reward” Miyamae tells her that *this* is what he meant by her not needing him. Kirika, left once again all hot and bothered, is not amused.

Mio is still not *quite* getting the whole S&M thing, so she wanders around for a chapter trying to figure it all out. She ends up with Matsuda-kun, and gee, what a surprise they end up doing a little B&D play. Matsuda is quite surprised at how much fun being the top is and wonders if he’s got natural S&M talent. Mio corrects that assumption with a quick role reversal.

The beach episode! Bathing suits and other service. Mio almost drowns, Matsuda-kun rescues her, they have sex. It would be very boring, but when Yurika, Kirika and Miyamae find them, they basically sit around and watch and comment on Mio’s and Matsuda’s technique critically. ^_^ When Shimazu-san (Kirika’s friend from the first chapter) shows up, she’s all interested too, but they are spotted and Mio is not at all happy about it.

And in case we didn’t have enough sex and nudity, we head over to the hot spring resort after the beach. Miyamae gets in a little torture Matsuda time, and the girls all get naked and join gang girl Yano in the water for lots of breast grabbing. Then we all sit around and watch Miyamae become an angry and violent drunk. Kirika ends up outside with her evil editor, Mitsugu. He asks her for a personal favor, and gets very close, something only she can help him with. They end up in his room working on the magazine. Insert funny sound effect.

Kirika is asked to write a story that takes place in a soapland. She brings Matsuda with her to take reference sketches of the whole experience. We get walked through the bath and massage and hand job, which leads to blow job and, as Matsuda realizes he’s getting a little too close, Kirika expresses her desire to see him come – for the manga, of course. Embarrassed and feeling used, Matsuda run away. She apologizes to him, for not realizing how it made him feel, but frankly I don’t sympathize with him at all…

Kirika’s friend Mizuki calls her and asks if she’ll join her for a double date. Mizuki’s boyfriend has a friend, etc…Kirika says okay, and they go out for the day, ending in a karaoke box. When Mizuki and her boyfriend start getting it on, the friend plays up to Kirika, who’s not opposed to a little recreational fondling. Mizuki’s boyfriend starts to turn it all into an exhibition, and Kirika jumps up enraged. “THAT’S not how you do it!’ She yells and proceeds to explain what positions are the most vulnerable and appealing. By the end, she has the three of them hogtied by microphone wires and runs off home to incorporate her new ideas into a story. ^_^

The final chapter is a western, with Miyamae playing the part of the bad guy and Kirika the good guy, with a little Miyamae x Mio action in the middle.

Finally Mai, Kirika’s kouhai in the chado club, arrives for club activities. Kirika is not looking so hot (long night drawing, we’re led to believe) and she complains about Mai’s “sempai!” “sempai!” all the time. Mai thinks about it and apologizes to “Kirika-oneesama!” Next page is Mai all tied up and partially dressed and begging mercy, but rather happily. She says Kirika’s a great onee-sama and suggested they created a “sado club” instead of chado club.

Like all the other volumes of this series, this is trash. But it’s funny, light-hearted and amazingly emotionally unburdened trash. Kirika still gets off less than the rest of them, which is sort of sad, but there’s a sort of a indirect group sex thing going on among all the artists, where they all end up with one another at some point, which is kind of, I dunno…nice. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 6
Characters – 8
Service – 9
Yuri – 6

Overall – If you’re bent that way, 7. Otherwise….

You remember Kirika, don’t you? She was the high school student who wanted, above all else, to be a professional manga artist, in the goofball sex manga series Eve no Ringo, aka Eve’s Apple.. After several rejections, she was hired by the grumpiest, most miserable bastard of an editor ever, to draw S&M comics for a Lady’s Comic publication.

To understand the world she was drawing Kirika tried being a dominatrix, a man, tied up, spanked and learned about car sex and fetishes galore. All to become a better mangaka. Grudgingly, the editor from hell allowed a page or three of Kirika’s work into the magazine – but at the end of Volume 2, she had a long way to go before she could really consider herself a professional.

I found the first two volumes of this series in a used manga store, so I was pretty convinced I’d never ever see the rest of it. I am thrilled to report that I was wrong again. Bizarrely, this series has been *reprinted* and is available through Amazon JP. You can click the picture above to reach this particular volume.

So…what adventures will befall our delightfully, no longer naive young artist, you may ask?

Well…

In Volume 3, Kirika experiences a little remote control vibrator research, thanks to Yurika and the school doctor. During a test, of course. :-)

Kirika’s self-proclaimed beautiful rival Mio, in between sex with her editor and some “assisted studying” with Kirika’s friend and assistant Matsuda-kun, learns a little bit about the appeal of S&M comics. (Matsuda, btw, is filled with remorse immediately afterwards, which I personally find quite irritating – especially as he appears to be an excellent lover. How obnoxious would that be – the best sex of your life and then the guy runs off crying….)

We meet one of Mio’s sempai, another manga artist who is a cool, sexy, stylish woman named Kaoru. Kaoru meets and wows Kirika, (who is a bit swept off her feet by the older woman) but it’s Matsuda who really floats her boat. Matsuda is perfectly okay with this, until midway in the act he discovers that Kaoru is a sexy, stylish and incredibly beautiful *guy*. One more guilt-filled night for Matsuda, I guess….

Kirika decides to visit a fetish shop to play dress up. Of course she drags Matsuda along to get his opinion on her dressed as a dominatrix and a maid. The shop owner turns out to be the sexy sadist from a few volumes ago, who promptly ties her up and proceeds to make her learn a bit more about her needs – in front of Matsuda. Kirika is fascinated by the whole idea of being watched and runs home to incorporate her new knowledge into her art.

While Yurika and Kirika work on Yuri’s new soon-to-be published piece, Matsuda and Miyamae-sensei (the older mangaka who was seriously hardcore from the first few volumes) engage in some “study” for her work. He tries to draw some S&M and it rapidly becomes a Disney-esque fantasy with him and prince and Kikira as princess – as all his work is wont to.

Another kouhai is added to Kirika’s stable, as provincial gang girl Yano appears, with a thick accent and wackified antics, which involve her taking hers and the other girls’ shirt off alot.

Kirika gets yet another assistant when first year student Mai joins the chado club at school and asks if she can, you know, help Kirika in any way. She and Kirika get an intense session in and Kirika is motivated to draw, while Mai is motivated to get Kirika alone in a dark room again.

The final few chapters tell of a big party that the publishing house holds for all the mangaka and editors at an onsen, so we have the usual nudity and sex play – but because these are all people who draw and live S&M, it lack coyness or fanservice, really, and is refreshingly uncloying.

In a freak accident, the editor from hell is hurt and Kirika finds that she’s ALOT more upset about it than she would have thought. She overhears the editor and Miyamae talking about her. When she hears him say that she doesn’t need him, Kirika finds herself unexpectedly hysterical. Matsuda comforts her, but there’s definitely a sense that something deeper than just her need to succeed is going on.

Regardless of the trashiness of the subject, I *really* like this series. because the sex is part of the plot, there’s so little ingenuousness, or immaturity about it. And as Kirika and the others become more mature about human sexuality, so does the series.

It’s still goofy and fun, but if you’re not afraid of it, Eve’s Apple has the least objectification of women I’ve ever seen in any sex-heavy manga.

Ratings:
Art – 7
Characters – 8
Story – 8
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

This isn’t a Yuri story, not really, but its pleasantly omnisexual and has some Yuri service, no goggles needed.

Obscure Yuri Manga
Part 2

This time, blowing the dust off the cover was totally worth it. Onegai Suzune-chan is the kind of dire crap that I really enjoy.

Not to be confused with Onegai Teacher/Twins/Friends, and brought to you by Wani Comics, the same folks who also ran Ikkitousen, you can expect a ton of fanservice and sex, with a soupcon of plot thrown in for good measure.

Amagi Suzune is the 23rd Onmyouji of the Misora Shrine, the scion of a long line of court wizards, if you will. Her ardent, and often horny, girlfriend Karen and she make love just about every freaking place they can.

That’s the plot, so don’t expect much else.

Oh, there’s some demons and spirits and the like, and some of them have sex with Karen and/or Suzune too, but mostly this manga is a gigantic fanservice-y lesbo lovefest. I quite like it, if only because Suzune and Karen absolutely totally love each other to pieces. There’s no assumption that the lesbian sex is the appetizer for either of them – they are totally, 100% a couple.

There’s another lesbian in school, who is a bit over-the-top with her “I like to have sex with girls” attitude, but I’m probably just jealous that she’s so open and annoying at so young an age. She and her girlfriend, and (Karen and two straight female friends) are bewitched by a horny old shrine spirit into having a lesbian pileup, but Suzune beats the crap out of the spirit and everyone has a good laugh and moves on.

Even the inevitable hermaphrodite chapter is fun. A sakura tree/sex spirit that had been previously captured by Suzune makes a deal with Karen – she gets a male appendage for the evening, he gets to go home to his tree. It was a really sweet moment, even if it was utter filth. ^_^

As you can see, literature this ain’t. But for an utterly meritless trashy roll-in-the-hay manga, it’s brilliant. One more reason why trawling used manga stores is, indeed, worth the time and effort. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Ha. Ha.
Characters – 8
Yuri – 10

Overall- 9

An excellent piece of crap. Yay!