Most folks, after spending years honing their craft, improve at whatever they set out to do. Some with marginal skills may never be great, but can at least reach “competent.” For instance, I was never going to be a concert clarinetist, but when I was practicing 4 hours a day, I got better.

Some people, though, become less good, for any number of reasons. There may be less of a drive to excel; time crunches, over-extension, professional commitments, life all take their toll on some people. And a few just run out of something to say. You can see this in bands, particularly. They start out life all young and angry and edgy, but by the third album extolling the virtues of fatherhood and married life you’re ready to vomit at the blandness of their work. ^_^

And some people…well, some people just get worse.

All of which is to say that the “creative” team known as Kaishaku has absolutely surpassed themselves in crappily executed crap with the creation of Zettai Shoujo Seiiki Amnesium (絶対少女聖域アムネシアン).

I won’t bother summarizing the plot because, frankly, there is no point. The plot serves as the thinnest possible frame around a series of service-y violence, much of it sexual, against the ever-popular punching bags of Himeko and Chikane.

Amnesium is a blivet of a manga, filled to the brim with fetishes, rape, mostly-nude, but you know, not *totally* nude nudity, sexual harassment, more rape, more fetishes and more sexual harassment.

Kaishaku’s writing has regressed to the point that I either have to imagine them chained to desks, staring helplessly at an editor holding a whip, mumbling, “rape Himeko, okay, rape Chikane, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay” or sitting around in the asylum slavering. Because, frankly, this iteration is just…sad. Himeko had a sister Chikane, but she died and now a person who looks and sounds *just* like Chikane-oneesama, with the name Chikane, has arrived, but isn’t Chikane-oneesama, has unsisterly intentions, but may have been the one to kill her sister. /mumble/okay, okay, okay, okay/mumble/

The art is no better than it ever has been, so any action scene is hard to parse, but since they are all the same – attempted rape, Himeko’s and/or Chikane’s clothes are shredded (crotches are miraculously never visible, of course) fighting occurs, Chikane wins when Himeko commands her to – it doesn’t really matter anyway. Whee.

Ratings:

Service: 10

Overall: 2, but only so there’s somewhere down to go for Volume 2

Today’s book was sponsored by LFB-in-training and Okazu superhero Dan P.! You are so getting these Dan. You need them. You *want* them. ^_^