I enjoyed this manga only after reading it all the way to the end. While reading it, I thought it was a waste of time but it came together nicely in the end and clicked with me. One reason was the art, which was quite sketchy and devoid of backgrounds while the other one was that it drifted narratively & I couldn't quite tell where it was heading or if it was going to make a point.

The story is about the daily lives & sexual relationships in particular, of five 20-somethings (3 girls, 2 boys) in Tokyo. They mainly have sex with each other if you're wondering, at least as far as the story is concerned. I wouldn't put it past some of them to have multiple other sex partners at the same time.

The main character is a girl, Yuko, who came from the countryside and is trying to make ends meet. She has steady sex with a womanizer who stays at her place most of the time (if he feels like it) while she's trying to find someone she can call her boyfriend. In reality, she's confused herself as to what a boyfriend should be like in order to satisfy her. She only knows she wants a proper boyfriend, as she mentions from time to time.

In the end, it was a very mature & open-minded work about love & navigating your way though life. It deals with love & sex in a very forward-thinking way, way more than many other manga that deal with this topic.

I would definitely recommend it.

... Last updated on March 13th, 2023, 3:23pm

I think this is a story where I am not sure how I felt at the end. I don't think Yuko is dumb even when she's making poor choices. I don't even think they're poor choices -- she's kind of letting herself drift before realizing that being lost at sea, letting the tides take you, is scary. You don't know if you'll ever reach land or just float further and further out in the vast ocean instead. She tries to reel herself in but she finds it hard.

I enjoyed the ending. I think Yuko's gonna be fine in the end, even if this story is bittersweet. It felt authentic.

The summary is a bit off. Yutaka isn't her boyfriend but her lover--two different things.

That aside, this manga is a pretty good slice-of-life. If you don't know what that is, I guess you could compare it to a documentary. It has a slow, steady pace with no "drama"...although there are complications in the story, it doesn't ooze melodrama.

Yuko is a character I could easily relate to. At that age, you're often wondering what you should do with your life, which step you should take, what decisions you should make. She's a bit boring in that she kind of lets things slide and lets her lover take advantage of her. She isn't selfish and is almost too passive, but at the same time, I wouldn't say that she is weak.

In any case, you should give this manga a shot if you're into slice of life.