Archive for the Matt Marcus Category


Assorted Entanglements, Volume 3

April 10th, 2024

A woman in pink hair and headphones sits in front of a keyboard, in a gaming chair, while a woman with blue hair leans on the desk next to her.by Matt Marcus, Staff Writer

Previously in Assorted Entanglements Volume 2, sparks and virtual bullets flew as we met mangaka Heke-sensei and her editor Shinohara, who not-so-anonymously play an online First Person Shooter game together while harboring mutual crushes. Meanwhile, Shizuku and Shiori slowly float closer to each other, somehow.

For Assorted Entanglements Volume 3, Mikanuji-sensei mustā€™ve thought ā€œhmmm the last new couple was a little too wholesome. Itā€™s time to spin the Wheel! Of! Problematic! ā€˜Ships!ā€ A giant prize wheel rolls in and is vigorously spun. Plasticky ratcheting sounds burst out then slowly decelerate as the selection arrow slowly passes over OL x JK, then Sister x Sister (Adopted), and finally Sister x Sister (Not Adopted) before landing on: Teacher x Student. A sizzle reel plays for the winning couple. For some reason they are riding jet skis at a Sandals Resort.

Thatā€™s probably not how it happened (Iā€™m sure there was an editor involved somewhere). However, it is less dire than you may be thinking. For now.

Our new pair of star-crossed acquaintances is the stoic gym teacher Kujou and one of her students, 3rd year Sugimoto. Every day after school, Kujou stands outside the door of a lesbian bar, too afraid to enter. Inevitably, she chickens out and instead frequents the maid cafƩ next door where Sugimoto works. Sugimoto, who is a bit of a misanthropic loner despite her good looks, decides seemingly on a whim that she is going to help Kujou on her quest to enter the bar and finally find herself a girlfriend.

It becomes clear pretty quickly that Sugimoto is on her way to catching feelings for Kujou; blessedly, her gym teacher doesnā€™t even register her as an option, despite noticing that her student is pushing the boundaries of a proper teacher/student relationship. (I hate that I find this refreshing.) Regardless, the comedic dynamic between these two works. Sugimotoā€™s acerbic tongue is a fun foil to Kujouā€™s sad puppy vibes. Iā€™m just mildly concerned about where the story is going to take them.

Aside from these two, there are still three other ā€œcouplesā€ to check in on. Not too much has changed between Minami and Iori, however the same canā€™t be said for their ā€œjiltedā€ hangers-on. In fact, Shizukuā€™s hard-assery has softened considerably towards Shiori, much to the latterā€™s chagrin. You can see the little dance they are doing, inching towards each other then repelling apart mostly because Shiori likes to throw Shizukuā€™s feelings back in her face to goad her into anger for a laugh. Despite that, progress is being made. For some reason, Iā€™m rooting for them.

Meanwhile, Heke-sensei and Shinohara begin spending more and more time with each other, often pretending to be lovers for ā€œmaterialā€ to inspire Heke-senseiā€™s storyboarding. Each time Heke-sensei tries to close the gap, Shinoharaā€™s bluntness and desire to hide her crush ends up unintentionally sending the wrong signals to her coworker/secret gaming buddy. They are the goofiest and most wholesome pairing in this series, so itā€™s always a nice reprieve when they show up.

I mentioned the artā€™s Same Face Syndrome in my review of Volume 2, but somehow the issue has now spread to entire characters. You canā€™t have your characters say a line like ā€œyou should be able to recognize your studentsā€ and then give multiple characters 99% the same face and haircut.

These are three different characters. Two of them are 12 years apart in age. No, I canā€™t tell them apart either.

Also, every now and then thereā€™s some weird body proportions. Thereā€™s one panel in particular where Shinoharaā€™s right arm appears to have grown 30% too big for her body.

The thing that continues to hold my interest is the humor (again, shoutout to Eleanor Ruth Summers for the excellent localization). Unfortunately, there are still moments of ā€œyikesā€ that keep me from truly singing its praises. Itā€™s like eating that PB&J sandwich you packed with you to the beach: no matter how careful you are, you will get a bite or two of sand that feels like itā€™ll crack your teeth. In one notable case, Minami is acting passive-aggressively and Iori has no idea why, and it turns out that she is grumpy because the night before, Iori, who was blackout drunk, did something out of pocket in bed. Itā€™s supposed to be a reversal joke, but thereā€™s enough ā€œickā€ to it that it is hard to handwave, let alone laugh at it. The series continues to be one that has enough rough spots to make it difficult to recommend.

But despite my complaintsā€¦I am still reading it. This is perhaps the funniest volume so far, and thereā€™s plenty of joy to be had in cropping out panels as reaction images or meme fodder. You just have to be OK taking your Yuri with a grain of sand.

Art – 6 Seems like the art has regressed a touch, and the sameness of the character designs is not helping
Story – 7 A handful of questionable choices hurt it, but the humor stays sharp
Characters – 7 This really is a manga for people who like Women/Girls Who Suck
Service – 4 Iori and Minamiā€™s sex life is still present, and it is a little uncomfy in a couple places
Yuri – 9 / LGBTQ – 9 You did hear me say lesbian bar, ya?

Overall – 7 Iā€™d tell it to run a few extra laps

Volume 4 is currently available in English from Yen Press, with Volume 5 arriving in June. A twisted Yuri comedy with some punch.

Matt Marcus is a serial enthusiast whose range of appreciations include guitars, watches, and a particular genre of Japanese popular media named after a flower. Outside of writing for Okazu, he cohosts various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, where he frequently bloviates about video games, anime, and manga. He also hosts a blog Oh My God, They Were Bandmates analyzing How Do We Relationship in greater depth.





How Do We Relationship, Volume 10

March 13th, 2024

Two women smile at us, as they walk arm in arm in a city at night.by Matt Marcus, Staff Writer

The other day I attended an ā€œempty the barā€ party for a friend of mine who is moving to Hawaii. Naturally, most of the drinks served were tiki drinks, strong but easy-drinking concoctions of tropical fruit juices mixed with multiple types of overproof rum, often complimented with an earthy hit of allspice dram. The first drink I reached for, however, was not like the others: it was a Bardstown, a potent mix of apple brandy and rye, the kind of drink you nurse slowly as the ice in the glass melts, softening the bite of the booze. I took one large sip and nearly coughed it up onto the floor. I decided to set it aside and make the rounds through the other offeringsā€”a mai tai, a zombie, a painkillerā€”but I would come back and take a sip of Bardstown here and there. I liked it, but I was not looking for something so intense in such a large dosage.

I was thinking on how to approach this review of How Do We Relationship Volume 10, and as I mulled it over, I was thinking about the discussions Iā€™ve had within the Okazu Discord and elsewhere, especially after Ericaā€™s review of Volume 11 in Japanese. I remembered that Bardstown, and the thought rose in my mind that you can think of manga series like cocktails. Citrus is flashy and trashy like a tequila sunriseā€”a poor decision in a glass. Whispering You A Love Song is a virgin Shirley Temple: bubbly, sweet, and at worst will give you a tickle up your nose. How Do We Relationshipā€”when the mix is rightā€”is a negroni. Itā€™s complex, with top notes of herbaceous bitterness but lying beneath is a sweetness that carries you forward to the next sip. And if you have a low tolerance it will knock you on your ass. Itā€™s not to everyoneā€™s taste, and it may not be the right drink for every occasion, but those that love it will reach for it over and over again. The rub is, after all the heartbreak weā€™ve seen these girls endure, Iā€™m sure that a lot of readers are thirsting for some sweet relief. But Tamifull is the bartender, and their hand is getting heavier on the pours.

In Volume 9, Saeko went through a rough stretch leading up to her coming-of-age ceremony only to be saved serendipitously by Miwa. Saeko opens up to Miwa about her past, and the two connect more deeply as friends than they ever had as lovers. Meanwhile, both are having mild struggles with their respective girlfriends, but with each otherā€™s support they should be able to weather these small bumps in the road. The volume ended with a potentially awkward run-in with Tamaki that may blow their ā€œweā€™ve only ever been friendsā€ story.

Of course, if youā€™ve read the series this far you know that Tamifull loves to set up a cliffhanger to end a volume only to lead to an anticlimax at the start of the next. Despite a little bit of sulking, Tamaki ends up making use of the knowledge that Saeko used to date Miwa, because sheā€™s in need of some advice. Miwa wants to have sex frequently and she just canā€™t understand why. But even knowing the ā€œwhyā€ does not answer the ā€œhowā€ she will handle it.

What it boils down to is that Miwa and Tamaki have completely different feelings on sex. Miwaā€™s sex drive is high but has yet to be satisfied; Tamaki mostly feels like sex a chore, albeit one she can sometimes enjoy in her own way. They do have a conversation about it, but you can tell that they are not really understanding each other. Tamaki isnā€™t really being honest with herself about her needs and wants, and she is definitely unaware of the mixed signals she gives to Miwa. Miwa for her part is letting her anxiety overpower her ability to listen. The tension continues to simmer throughout these chapters.

Meanwhile, it turns out that Yuria struggles with depression (surprise!) and does not want Saeko around when she is in that mood. Adding to her feelings of personal failure at work, she feels miserable about Saekoā€™s decision to aim for a high-paying office job to help support her dream of starting her own salon. Saeko feels like sheā€™s acting with the best of intentions, but she canā€™t convince Yuria to accept her choices. The injection of this point of conflict feels like a hard left turn for Yuriaā€™s character in a way that seems calculated. On a metatextual level, I can feel the hand of the mangaka planting the seed of destruction for the relationship, which is a bummer especially after all the work and growth that those two have accomplished together. Nevertheless, it is darkly funny to me for this turn to happen right after I sang Yuriaā€™s praises in my last review.

Thatā€™s not to say that this volume is all doom and gloom. When Tamaki reaches out to Saeko to talk about Miwa, it is a nice moment of vulnerability for her and an opportunity for Saeko to help her friend. Miwa also runs interference with Yuria and helps smooth over the current rough patch with Saeko, demonstrating how much she cares about Saekoā€™s happiness. Yuria and Saeko have a fun onsen trip together, and at the end of the volume they visit Yuriaā€™s hometown to meet her twin sister and her fiancĆ©. All of this great character growth building off of the last volume. That said, there isnā€™t much relief to be had because of the festering undercurrents that are flowing beneath both relationships. Think of it like replacing the Goslingā€™s in your dark & stormy with the Reedā€™s Extra.

Iā€™ve noted in past reviews that the way this series tracks time is quite loose, and in this stretch I felt it most acutely so far. It was surprising for me to realize that by the  end of this installment over a year has passed since the end of Volume 8. (Someday I will map out each volume on a timeline for the blog, which I will update eventually I swear.) That leaves an awful lot of time that we donā€™t get to see. In particular, we donā€™t really spend any time with Miwa and Tamaki enjoying an outing without some kind of tension undercutting or tempering the proceedings. What Tamifull choses to show has always leaned towards scenes that drive the plot forward, which naturally means conflict. It can be exhausting, unless you are someone who has a high craving for drama. After all weā€™ve seen Miwa go through, I think we deserved to have her be happy and satisfied on the page for more than a few fleeting moments.

There is one other pattern in Tamifullā€™s writing that I am starting to notice, which is that relationship developments for side characters function almost entirely to comment on or signal something about the main pairings; in this volume, it is Mikkun and Rika who serve that purpose. It can feel a touch on the nose, like when Tamaki voices her empathy for Mikkun’s old ex-/current/soon-to-be-ex-again girlfriend, who is described as  sex-repulsed. Tamifull does mention in the author commentary that there are lots of dangling threads for the secondary characters that had to be cut to keep the story moving, and this is one of the consequences.

Personally, Iā€™m still enjoying the story even if moments started to wear on me. There are plenty of elements of Tamifullā€™s writing that I continue to appreciate, such as the continuity of character. I briefly turned into Leo DiCaprio pointing at the TV when Tamaki observes that Miwa has a preference for romantic clichĆ©s, something that goes all the way back to the beginning of the series. Also, Saeko’s tendency play caretaker makes another appearance as she tries to keep Yuria from falling deeper into a self-care spiral. The dishwashing scene is a very well observed moment of caring for a partner who struggles with depression that really hit home for me. It’s the depth and nuances of small moments like these that constitutes the sweetness that lingers after the bitterness fades.

Apropos of nothing, I am always amused when a series sums itself up in a single panel

If nothing else, How Do We Relationship continues to serve up the most potent dose of painfully relatable love in the Yuri/GL space. If youā€™ve missed that stinging sensation on your palette from earlier in the series, youā€™re going to be savoring this volume.

Art – 9 You know youā€™re in too deep when you start to notice how the way the characterā€™s noses are drawn has been subtly changing over the past few volumes
Story – 8 You can start to feel the needle move back towards the negative, which may be fatiguing for some
Characters – 8 There is some unevenness with Miwa and Yuria in the service of drama that feels a touch heavy-handed
Service – 6 Yes there is sex but Iā€™m also counting Saeko in her job hunting suit in this score
LGBTQ – 10 Is there really any doubt at this point?

Overall – 8 The bitter top notes are starting to overpower the other flavors, but it is still plenty potable

Volume 12 is currently available in Japan and you can catch up completely with the simulpub chapters on the VIZ Manga site or app. A college LGBTQ drama so real, you’d swear you owe tuition. 

Matt Marcus is a serial enthusiast whose range of appreciations include guitars, watches, and a particular genre of Japanese popular media named after a flower. Outside of writing for Okazu, he cohosts various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, where he frequently bloviates about video games, anime, and manga. He also hosts a blog Oh My God, They Were Bandmates analyzing How Do We Relationship in greater depth.





Kiss It Goodbye: The Complete Edition

February 7th, 2024

A girl in a green coat over a school uniform and a girl in a sports jacket . holding a bat, sit under the same tree, not looking at one another.by Matt Marcus, Staff Writer

ā€œSo, how did yā€™all meet?ā€

Ah, this old chestnut. You think back to the countless times youā€™ve told this story, each iteration becoming more and more exaggerated and elaborate. Itā€™s not that you are trying to fool anyone, youā€™re just tired of going over the same beats time and time again so youā€™re trying to have a little fun with it. As you recount the story, you sneak glances at your partner, watching them roll their eyes as you enthusiastically assert how impressed they were over tales of your prowess at Magic the Gathering. OK, you were terrible at flirting, and still are. But no one else has to know that.

Kiss It Goodbye: The Complete Edition is the story of Aruka and Yukimi, two women in their mid-twenties. One night, a friend of theirs asks them to tell the story of how the two, who are of very different temperaments, got together. Aruka is a rough-and-tumble tomboy with a penchant for throwing fisticuffs while Yukimi is a studious girl with a love of fashion. They meet as children, grow close together up through middle school, have a falling out in high school, but reconnect before graduation. A couple years later they realize their feelings for each other and begin dating. The end!

If that were all there was to this story, you wouldnā€™t be reading this review. There are a handful of things that seem like small pieces but add to a story that reads better than its synopsis. The framing device adds so much character to the telling. Aruka tends to puff herself up only to be brought back down to earth by Yukimi. They talk honestly about their feelings and how they evolved over time. Itā€™s a nice way to spice up what could be a pretty standard story and doing so in a way that allows the characters to express themselves.

There are other unique factors. I like how instead of opting to settle for maximum drama, the big turning points in Aruka and Yukimiā€™s relationship are worked through in awkward, vulnerable conversations. OK, there is definitely SOME drama, but plenty of the development happens beyond that. I like that the two are not the same orientation: Aruka is an allosexual lesbian however Yukimki is biromantic and asexual. Itā€™s rare to see a pairing to see partners with different needs manage to work things out. The two even have different socioeconomic class and career backgrounds.

Although this story takes place in Japan, it is drawn by Ticcy, who hails from Italy. I find it is interesting to look at a work that borrows heavily from manga but is shown through a different cultural lens, which puts this book in the same bucket as the works that have been reviewed on the site such as Alter Ego, Just Friends, and Mahou Josei Chimaka. All of these works vary in how much they borrow from manga, with Kiss It Goodbye sitting somewhere between the latter two in that the setting is clearly influenced by Japanese media but the art, paneling, and dialogue have a more Western flavor.

What drew me in right away was the art. The character designs are clean and expressive, there are plenty of detailed backgrounds, and the whole comic is rendered in beautiful color. The whole package The series originally published on the online comics platforms Webtoon and Tapas, but was adapted into print through the publisher Hiveworks (who coincidentally also published Chimaka) after a successful Kickstarter in 2022, which I backed. Itā€™s one of the nicer printings on my growing yuri shelf, in a large format with stout glossy pages. Thankfully, physical copies are now publicly available on Hiveworkā€™s website along with an eBook option. KIG was released typically one page at a time, but thankfully it was storyboarded in such a way that you would not be able to tell its webcomic origins in print form. (Also, regular GL webcomic readers may spot a familiar face or two in some crowd shots.)

I would say the biggest criticism I have is false advertising. See, this is called the Complete Edition, however there is more comic out there! Ticcy has written two additional bonus chapters to date that are not collected here and supposedly there is more to come down the road. The book also lacks any additional commentary that came through Q&A segments Ticcy posted during the comicā€™s run that help flesh out some details on the characters that didnā€™t make it into the main body of the story. I would suggest anyone who picks up the book also go find the comic online in order to get that extra content. Ticcy has hinted at the possibility of a second book down the road, but at the moment there are no plans for release and new bonus chapters have been on a hiatus as she focuses on her newer series Dragonā€™s Mercenary that she posts on her Patreon page.

Really, the biggest sin is that there is criminally little time spent with Arukaā€™s softball club-cum-girl gang, especially their leader Saori. Would love to see more of them in a future bonus chapter. Did I mention there is a softball club that beats on street toughs? Yeah, gimme more of that.

Ratings:

Art – 10 Really gorgeous front-to-back, especially in print
Story – 8 The flourishes in the delivery make an otherwise standard story stand out
Characters – 8 Aruka and Yukimi bounce off each other well in both the comedic and dramatic moments
Service – 1 Would be higher with more girl gang escapades
Yuri – 10 / LGBTQ – 9 Would like to see more atypical identity pairings like these two

Overall – 9 It is high! It is far! It isā€¦GONE!

I met my wife on New Yearā€™s Eve having just driven 6 hours that day to move to a new city without a job, an apartment, or much of a plan to get either. If you ask nicely, I may tell you the rest of the story someday.

Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network. Any tales of his exploits as a teenage delinquent have been greatly fabricated.





Does It Count If You Lose Your Virginity To An Android, Volume 1 Guest Review by Matt Marcus

December 20th, 2023

A gynoid with purple hair undressed her nonplussed mistress on the cover of Does It Count If You Lose Your Virginity To An Android, Volume 1 Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network. He is still on the hook for a Xenosaga KOS-MOS x Shion fanfic for their next Patreon goal.

Sometimes, you come across a piece of media that really strikes at the heart of humanity. What does it even mean to be human? To have emotions? What if there were beings that look like us, feel like us, act like us, but are wholly man-made? Is synthetic love stillā€¦love?

If you are looking to explore these heady ideas, then may I suggest Pluto by Naoki Urasawa and Osamu Tezuka, now with a fantastic anime adaptation on Netflix (who did not sponsor this post).

However, if you are looking for something less Philip K. Dick and more, say, Philine K. Shlick, you could pick up volume 1 of Does It Count If You Lose Your Virginity To An Android? by Yakinikuteishoku. Now, I hear you saying, ā€œBut Matt, shouldnā€™t the title say ā€˜gynoidā€™?ā€ Well observed, dear reader! In fact, the referenced lovebot uses the term herself, but alas, it seems that it failed in focus testing, much like my alternate title Is It OK To Objectify A Sapient Sex Toy?

Hereā€™s the rundown: in a near future where AI isnā€™t about art theft and Google Glass manages to succeed, Tsuda Akane is an office worker in her late twenties who is very reliable and professional on the clock, but outside of work sheā€™s a complete slob who drinks heavily every night and has no real romantic experience to boot. During a drunken stupor, she places an order for a cleaning robot but what arrives the next day is a super advancedā€”and very illegalā€”sex gynoid named Nadeshiko. Akane spends the volume constantly at her witsā€™ end trying to keep herself out of jail and her incorrigibly horny new companion in check, however much to her chagrin she is very much putty in Nadeshikoā€™s skillful hands.

I expected this manga to be hornier than a buck hunterā€™s trophy wall and, sure enough, page one opens mid-coitus. Hell, the central point of conflict is Akaneā€™s refusal to register herself as Nadeshikoā€™s owner via a fingerprint scan, and Iā€™m sure you can infer what that entails. The premise is so nakedly (ha) transparent in its aims that even when a gag is eye-rollingly contrived (of course thatā€™s where the power switch is! Of course!) I find myself unable to find it distasteful. Donā€™t get me wrong, itā€™s pandering as all get-out, but it doesnā€™t rise to a significant level of grossness unless you give any thought to how rank that apartment must smell.

What really made this volume stand out as more than just I, Robot After Dark is the snappy writing. Huge credit to the localizer Casper Kazor, who really punched up the dialogue to great effect. There are a lot of really fun little turns of phrase that got me chortling, none of which I will deign to spoil. This is one to pick up for tits and giggles.

So, back to the titular question: does it indeed count?

Ų±Ų§Ų±Ų§ I Evess

(all apologies to KC Green)

Thank you to Seven Seas, who also did not sponsor this post, but did provide a review copy.

Art – 8 All the character designs are cute but the fluids are a touch excessive
Story – 7 Itā€™s a gag comic were sex is The Joke, but the flourishes in the writing elevate it
Characters – 6 This ainā€™t Bladerunner 2049, but Iā€™m sure no one needs it to be either
Service – 9 Docking it one point for the few services that Nadeshiko will not provide
Yuri – 7 / LGBTQ – 7 Akane seems to be a clueless ladykiller with a cadre of admirers at the officeĀ 

Overall – 8Ā 

You cannot fathom how disappointed I was that Seven Seas beat me to the Electric SheepĀ reference–and on the back cover, no less. So many jokes lost to time, like tears in the rain.





Assorted Entanglements Volume 2, Guest Review by Matt Marcus

September 20th, 2023

A school girl wearing a sweat jacket with uniquely braided hair, straddles another girl in a blazer uniform, with pony tails, looking mischievously up at her.Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, as well as the writer for the blog Oh My God, They Were Bandmates analyzing the manga series How Do We Relationship.

In Assorted Entanglements volume 1, OL dirtbag Iori drunkenly hooks up with a delinquent with a heart of gold, Minami, and the two begin dating thereafter. Also in the mix is Ioriā€™s yandere siscon younger sister Shiori and Minamiā€™s old juvvie friend Shizuku, both of whom are problematic in their own ways which means they make prime secondary ā€™ship material, I guess.

Before I dive into Assorted Entanglements, volume 2, I do want to go on a Brief Rant about the series generally. I feel that the series has a very conflicting, and dare I say irresponsible, approach to the topic of violence. This is a series where two of the main characters have suffered through traumatic childhood abuse, who both end up in pairings with partners who physically abuse them–but this time, itā€™s for comedy! I can understand what Mikanuji is going for, which is the role reversal of these two Bad Girlsā„¢ who end up dominated by two ā€œnormieā€ ones, but the tonal whiplash leaves an awful taste in my mouth. When Minamiā€™s coworkers see her bruised face and say ā€œyou should leave your partnerā€, I go yeah, actually. Whatā€™s worse is that the most common cause of Ioriā€™s violence are times when Minami is expressing how little she values herself, which is a result of the abuse she suffered from her parents. The whole conceit becomes very difficult to stomach the second you put any thought into it.

Whatā€™s probably best about this volume is that a good chunk of it is not dedicated to Minami and Iori. A new couple is introduced: the mangaka Heke-sensei and her editor, Shinohara. Professionally, theyā€™re in constant friction, but they get along swimmingly when they play online games together while hiding behind their gaming handles. Itā€™s a tad contrived, sure, but itā€™s a nice panacea to the grimey undertones that haunt our previously established couplings (also props for making this scenario not a coincidence). The way Mikanuji ties their story into the broader picture is one of the most hilariously paper-thin excuses, which is that Iori and Shinohara are old college friends. Of course, neither admit to each other that their love lives involve other women. So it goes.

What we do see of Minami and Iori is still the mixed bag of good sexual chemistry, some warm tenderness, and the occasional smack across the jaw. We get a glimpse into what led to Minami landing in the detention center and hoo boy, is it a doozy (thankfully it is only described, not shown). Meanwhile, Shiori and Shizukuā€™s relationship continues to develop. They are both so terrible, they deserve each other.

Mikanujiā€™s art is attractive to look at but it does suffer from the worst case of Same Face Syndrome that I have ever seen. The delinquent characters have an aesthetic that I dig–lots of piercings and tattoos, funky hairstyles–but I find it really difficult to tell apart any of Minamiā€™s or Shinoharaā€™s coworkers. Another odd habit of the art is how Mikanuji often completely skips bouts of action between panels which often leads to a disjointed flow when reading. The most egregious example is when Shiori breaks into Shizukuā€™s apartment by smashing a window: in one panel, we see Shizukuā€™s face with a small crash sound effect hiding in the corner, and in the next panel Shiori is standing in the room holding a rock with glass on the floor. Mikanuji is not incapable of drawing action–see Shizukuā€™s punch in volume 1–but they have a habit of not drawing it when the action is meant to drive a joke, such as the countless times Iori has punched Minami in the face between panels (no I will not let this go, it happens a lot).

The thing that keeps bringing me back to this series is that when a joke lands, it lands well. The way Minami texts with Shizuku? The weird phone charm that Shiori is interested in? The argument between Iori and Minami on who should top? All good gags. I would credit translator Eleanor Ruth Summers with keeping the dialogue snappy. When the characters are bouncing off of each other with things other than their fists, itā€™s a pretty good time.

Art – 7 I like it, but the craft of it could use some improvement
Story – 7 Better than volume 1 but the violence issue still persists
Characters – 7 Every character has their moments of likability. Yes, even Shizuku
Service – 4 Iori and Minami still go at it from time to time
Yuri – 8 / LGBTQ – 6 This is the first time Iā€™ve seen ā€œpillow princessā€ used in a manga, so thatā€™s neat

Overall – 7 Iā€™m still willing to play a round or two

Donā€™t involve your children in your crimes, but if you must, at least make it a fun crime