Oh god, I love this author. This author knows how to flesh out the characters by giving them life without holding back and using stuff along the line of euphemism. Ciguatera and the author's other work don't shy away from vulgar topics, instead, the story is illustrated freely using bold scenes that a kiddy copycat would no joke become startled at the taught of writing/drawing such explicit stuff.

The story could be liken to real life. All the crap that happens is actual misfortune people have been faced with: rape, kidnapping, bully, etc. For some circumstances, I can relate. People go to bars, party, camping, friend's house, or elsewhere, and the most unfortunate things can happen in a second. It's chilling and true.

... Last updated on March 23rd, 2010, 10:08pm

A stagnant manga about an ordinary boy's growth.
This is so ordinary in the way it flows, kinda like most seinen, only more plain somehow (and it's even lampshaded in the manga itself).

(+)
It's acceptable basically, but I give salute to one thing. Most of all was its guts, using the narrative technique to show something other manga didn't use (or clouded it with a cloud of pretty sparkles, dramatic backstabbings and fiery passions); anticlimactic changes. To everyone. Within the limited vision of the protagonist, it adds a very sense of poignancy. People slipped in and out through the protagonist's life. People prevalent and important in first volume wasn't even mentioned in the future, etc. The same as events that, in other manga, would be depicted with the hottest dramatic impact.

Everyone came in, came out, came back in, rarely told, rarely missed, rarely remembered until when it's convenient. Sure, totally dramatic for the protagonist at that time. Afterwards? Nothing. The manga itself don't make any big deal about it, neither did he. He goes on. Just as how his life is.

(-)
In expense of that, however, things get really.......stagnant, I have to say. No, not that it's not growing, or that nothing really happened. It's just nothing FEELS like happening. In these 6 volumes, there aren't any single dramatic change within the storyline. Even as his condition in life changed, nothing has really changed.

It's realistic and very life-like, but OTOH, his condition in life wasn't very good since the beginning, so all in all it's kinda high-strung in terms of teenage angst, and there aren't any significant change to change the mood. And after 6 volumes, it could be tiring. It is, IMO.

Then there's the 'in and out' thing; in reality, this seems very important. In fiction tho, this seems like a unending storm of plot devices, entered only to create some unnecessary dramas at the moment. Everyone feels unimportant. And after some cycles of that, I myself began to wonder when will it end.

And mostly I find it bizarrely realistic that people the protagonist had seen the most in his life were people with the most personality in the first sight, while the girlfriend seems very flat in surface. Ordinary seinen trope, but a very enigmatic case because of its selfish implication.

In the end, still a solid read, but not for the narrative value.

... Last updated on March 22nd, 2010, 11:28am

Last chapter .. final chapter slap in your face and you don't feel it and saying ..WTF?

... Last updated on August 13th, 2010, 8:19am

I was really enjoying this manga until I finished VOL. 4!! My rating for this was probably an 8 and now its dropped substantially. Vol. 4 was horrible... I think the author was attempting to show the dark side of a realistic relationship but went way overboard and actually made it disturbing and unrealistic to me..

At one point in reading chapter four I actually became so angry at the female character I punched my bedroom wall... That was the first and only time I've been so angry over manga.... Nothing even remotely similar has happened.

wow I just finished reading chapter 4 and I feel so bad.....
I hope nothing bad is going to happend. The manga is getting really dark right now. A lot of rape and sexual stuff. It makes me horny but idk i hope nothing bad happend to the girl

this manga is one of those, regular day mangas about an awkward guy that gets a hot girl. in that respect its been done over and over, but how its done is great and original, and its a bit more complex than that. over all its a fun read, for the oddball romance, and for the comedy. theres also some slightly twisted characters in there too. pverall its a fun enjoyable read

The manga has the subtitle "17 - fuga of youth" (I take it, "fuga" means "fugue"), and it's just that: a realistic story about a normal dude's life in during the last grade of high school, with various events intertwining just like voices do in a fugue. It's not 100% slice of life - the mangaka stretches "normal events" pretty far now and then (kind of like GTO), but it's still to "school mangas" what Watchmen is to superhero comics - a seinen take on a shounen genre, and a damn refreshing one. A great read, even despite the protagonist's inner dialogue is no less annoying than that of the I''s dude (tho' much more convincing).

... Last updated on March 21st, 2009, 7:19am

I've read 4 volumes so far. Vol 1-3 were awesome. Vol 4 was very different.. I'm not sure I like it, it really rubbed me the wrong way. I'll have to read the last 2 volumes before I can give judgment.

I have just read a few chapter however i think its great, i mean its seinen it must be good. At first i hated Ogi but know i start to like him.

What i dont like is that ogis problems are solved by them selves so ogi never does anyhing (i just read 20 chapters, hopfully it changes later)

I like this manga, it is enjoyable and feels real which is what a seinen manga should be like. But like ranmaru said, he really shouldn't smile or even get excited...it looks horrible. Haha. Anyways, it is very a nice slice of life/seinen manga.