So... you're here. It seems the cliffhanger from last review, the hint of sex, privacy violation, peeping & japanese kinkiness has caught your eye, eh? Well, let's dive in it then!
First off, a common guideline for your better understanding: Japan does NOT value chastity. Different from the Western culture, heavily dominated by Christianity, or by the Confucian doctrine which also values chastity, largely prevalent in China & Korea, Japan is way cooler with premarital sex. As a matter of fact, Japan view sex as a common thing in life, as eating or other bodily functions. Sex is normal & nothing to be ashamed of. Even going to the insanity of the 60's where "evening entertainment", aka prostitution, were tax-deductible. Yeah... Which goes on the other tangent: prostitution in Japan is a very old & legal business. Even today, brothels are in existence and not seem as a immoral place. It's view the same as a massage parlour. Japan is OK with sex, talking about sex and sexuality. Even if you are gay, it's ok. The only have problems with "okama", effeminate men in drag. And even that is changing over time.
So yes, it IS common to read a hentai magazine on the train (you know hentai. I'm pretty sure of it. No need for explanations). What is not common in public demonstrations of affect. Yeah. It's pretty weird. You can go insane in the bedroom, do all kind of kinky shit, from S&M to scatology, but what the hell are you doing kissing in public? Are you insane? Yeah... It is a weird place. But hey, at least you can bang at will, without no one giving you an evil eye...
Now, Nozoki Ana is what is usually called Smut. Let's explain it: there is porn, which is mostly... well... porn. You go to xvideos or pornhub, pick an interesting movie, clip or compilation, do your business, close it and, in some cases, feel ashamed. Or look at what you were masturbating at and question your choices in life. Common, we ALL have been there. If not, I recommend it. And that's what porn is: you do you business, close it and never think about it again. Smut on the other hand, is very different. It usually has those parts you are looking for. But it also has a story, characters, intelligent dialogues and/or plot, developments. In fact, it's porn that you pay attention. And maybe, even think about it after. It is a very interesting genre with amazing stories... and REALLY crappy ones.
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| Exhibit 1: this kind of crap |
Nozoki Ana is a good example of a good story in this genre.
We start with Kido, a good guy, as he is commemorating his entrance in the Arts University with a friend, drinking in his apartment. He discovers a hole and they both peep on it, but no one is there. Latter, Kido wakes up and see lights coming from the hole. He takes a look and sees his neighbour masturbating in plain view of the peeping hole. He goes over to inform her of it, ashamed of what he did (privacy is a great taboo in Japan. What is done indoors should never be commented outdoors. Yes, unfortunately, lots of domestic violence goes under the radar because of this. Even nowadays, Japan is not a good place to be a woman). She acts very shy & don't want to talk to him. He tries to barge in and fall over her. She takes a picture of what looks like a rape attempt. And then we are introduced to Emiru kinkiness: she planned it all. She tells him: "let's 'show each other'". What does she means? That they both must peep on each other. She even has a schedule. She really want to see him in action and is very open for him to peep. He burst home, angry & vexed by the experience. As time pass by, he is taken by curiosity & peep... to find Emiru, once again, masturbating in plain sight. And when I say plain sight... well...
| Exhibit #2: REAL plain sight. |
OK, this is not the scene in particular, but you get the gist. Kido gets angry, because all he wanted was peace. Now, every time he's at home he's on edge. And yes, as all men in this situation, his first & biggest problem is: when will he masturbate?
Time out.
Let's address the elephant in the room: most men would love this situation and would enjoy the hell out of it. Some, would try to get some action with her. Others, as Kido, would react as he does. By the end of the manga, we will discover that Kido being one of the good guys is exactly why Emiru did what she did. The usual men, is also portrayed in the manga, with a very weird situation. The real catch in this manga is exactly that: no super powers, no bullshit. This manga is very, very realistic. No big eyes/Moe, nothing out of the ordinary, except the characters, that are a different brand of people, a little different from the norm. This is what make this amazing.
Back.
Kido went to college the day after, to find that Emiru also study there. They even have some acquaintances in common. Kido get really nervous, but Emiru act normally. Their secret is safe. A little more relaxed, both ended going to a mixer party, where Kido caught the attention of Yuri. Yuri & Kido ended together and Yuri wanted to have a little "fun", if you know what I mean. She cooks for him, while he tries to talk to Emiru to end this madness. Obviously she don't answer & Kido has to go back. Yuri takes advantage of the situation, wanting to go all the way, while Kido tries to defuse the situation... till he gave in & started to enjoy the situation.
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| Emiru also enjoyed the situation |
His relationship keeps going, till he catch the attention of a scumbag: womanizer/rapist/gang member. Incredible enough, this kind of trash is still in vogue over there. He tries to get into Emiru pants, with some lies about Kido, which make Emiru laugh. He tries to rape her, with Kido struggling to not get involved, but almost doing it. But our girl Emiru is savvy on her stuff and make the creep go away. Kido then goes there, but Emiru is alright and even give him a pussy shot...
Next day, it's as if nothing happened. Once again they go to a mixer, where Kido & Emiru were kinda forced to exchange numbers, since both are living alone, different from the others. After the mixer, Yuri grabs him & give him head in an alleyway. They ended in a lovers hotel and while Yuri is taking a shower (yes, it's weird. Even if you're going to fuck, they usually don't bath together. Bath sex is not a thing in Japan), he's thinking why he's not as happy as he should be. He keeps going back to Emiru, worries about her, think of her safety & why she is the way she is. She called & first of all, thanks him for checking her out & telling her to call him if the scumbag goes back. She also says that if it was him, she would bang his brains out. And that she cum 3 times while entertaining that idea. Kido gets angry & asks Yuri officially as his girlfriend. She accepts & they bang.
For a while we get what is usually called "slice of life",a very common type of manga, where we follow the life of normal people & their normal problems. The only difference is the lots of sex these stories go on about. Some are touching, some are not. It's great, since there's a lot of character development, also a lot of the way Kido keeps going back to thinking about Emiru, while having a surprisingly good relationship with Yuri. Things go like this for a while, till Emiru caught the feeling that something is not right. She discovers that in fact, Yuri is cheating on Kido. Not exactly, more like Kido is the other, but wasn't informed. Yuri's boyfriend doesn't give a shit to what she does, only that she spends the weekends with him. But the lack of affection made her seek comfort in Kido, which is a good & honest guy. (Not like the guys that says they are nice guys... those are usually ass holes). We got a very touching & sad scene. Yuri commented that she always wanted a music box. Emiru acted strange & Kido decides to check if she's ok, but ended stalking her. In the middle of it, he finds the music box & buy it. Back to trailing her, he goes into a club. She finds him & sends him away, but suddenly she grabs him and tries to hide something. He goes to look... and find Yuri fucking hard with the other guy. He keeps staring at it, peeping, furious, but when he decides to barge in... he has a boner. Since he's so used to peeping by now, it happened. He crashes the present, probably on his own dick (ouch!) and leaves. The couple hears him & stop. The guy go check & find the box. Then it hits Yuri who it was... Kido is destroyed, but Emiru comforts him. Then.. Yuri came by. Kido grabs her and they bang. Then after, she shows the music box & confess everything... and they broke up. She says lots but to no avail. After she leaves, it really hits him, specially that he couldn't confess his own doings as well. Emiru comforts him & thy sleep together. No sex. Just then, Kido smiling till he falls asleep on the naked body of hers. If the manga ended there, it would be an amazing story. But it goes on. And get even better.
He wakes up, they talk a little and he left.On the following days, peeping her is his comfort. He's not alone. He starts to really like her & go for it. All end wells, right? NO.
Even almost having sex, she says that the peeping rule will continue, that she's filming it, just to see him lusting after her body. Our little devil smiles in crooked way, while Kido gets furious. She IS a broken one. And as another broken one, I kinda understand her. It's hard to let go of yours habits. Of your ways. And with that, their first year in college ended.
The second year begins, and obviously, the mixers starts again. In one of these mixers, Kido knows Madoka, a shy girls without much experience with men, since she spend most of her time in a female-only school. Kido & her starts to fell for each other & ended together. Madoka is also a virgin & one of the most touching characters. Her purity, insecurities about her body & lots more are all addressed in the story, and it's a very charming way of showing something that we all been thru: first loves, first intercourse, insecurities. At the same time, different from Yuri, we see that our girl is suffering on this relationship. Kido is a lot colder to her, understandably, and his relationship with Madoka grows a lot. One beautiful scene is when Madoka went to his apartment & Emiru is peeping & Kido make an speech, that trows Emiru out of her ways, even stop peeping for a while. In that moment we see that she's suffering, believing that the only true connection she has is with Kido & thru the peeping. It's more sad than disturbing, at least to me. Things went like this for a while, with some minor occurrences, that kinda bring them together & Madoka kinda discovers that they had a past, which made her jealous. Then Emiru "older sister" appears.
In a very strange confrontation, Emiru is sick & her sister starts to torture her. This time Kido intervene. Emiru collapses & her sister goes away. Kido take care of her & during his care, starts to recognize some things about Emiru. He undresses her to take the sweat away, waking her in the process. Emiru admit that this woman is not her sister, she's seeking vengeance since Emiru killed her lover. She don't talk anything more on the subject. Meeting Madoka, Kido doesn't lie like with Yuri. He tells her, making her more jealous. They are interrupted by a friend of Madoka, that likes her & tries to scare Kido. It's kinda cute the way this guy tries to do that. While going back home, Kido thinks about Yuri, Madoka & her friend, and Emiru. The sister came back, he invited her in & she drugs him, undresses & go for it, just to hurt Emiru. But Kido knew of her coming & Emiru is there! She confronts the woman & tells that she won't let her hurt Kido. They argue & she leaves, leaving Kido drugged & Emiru, who still are sick. Either way, Emiru breaks down about how that woman soiled & dirtied Kido. And she decides to clean it up, by licking biting & rubbing herself on him. Still drugged, Kido opens up with her, complaining of the unreality of the situation, how he had fears of being discovered and the discomfort of the whole situation. Emiru apologizes, but before collapsing, Kido admits that it wasn't all that bad, in fact, it was not bad at all. Emiru starts to talk about how she feels about the situation, getting excited & masturbating over the collapsed Kido, till she climaxes. Then she went to his dick, to make it clean again. Kido climaxes on her mouth, she swallows it, and then she says this is the last time.
The following day, he wakes up & discovers that nothing was a dream & hurries to see where Emiru is. She's right there. They talk a little & Emiru says that she was empty for a long time, but their connection made her full again, to the point of overflowing. Graduation is around the corner & Kido go back inside. We cut to Madoka, she & Kido are on a break & she's masturbating thinking of him. Sad, but I've been there. Going back to classes, they meet & she runs away. Kido tries to pursue, but her friend interrupts & they argue. He says that he is making Madoka sad & should just dump her, since he's not suited to her. This hits Kido hard & he went home. The peeping rule is kinda over and reminiscing on it, he discovers that the peeping hole is closed. He tries to get inside, but the landlady won't have none of this. An old friend shows up & they get inside. Kido is thinking a lot of all the things that happened between then in this room. Opening the peep hole again, they find a letter. A letter from Emiru to Kido.
The letter is very strong both on him & us. Finally our girl is being totally honest with us. She confess that before they meet, she was dead inside. Then he moved in, she discovered the hole & started peeping. She is comforted by his presence & while he is masturbating there, she masturbates while watching him. As she climaxes, she finds out that this made her feel alive for the first time in a long time & she decided to make a move to what is the beginning of this story. She tells that till the moment that he discovered about Yuri, she was fine being only an observer. But that changed everything. She wanted to hold & protect him. When he approached her, she panicked. She has nothing to offer being broken as she was & pushed him back. She wanted to watch his happiness from afar, believing that she couldn't make him happy by herself. And she concludes that his happiness & kindness made her better, even a little kinder. She reminisces of the "last session" of peeping & says what she always said to him: I love you. This is a farewell. She is going away. Which made Kido realizes that he, also, had always loved Emiru. That he always put her as a strong & tough woman, when in fact, she was a very fragile one.
Sorry... this part always made me a little mellow & sad.
Kido goes back home, thinking of what to do. If he really wants to continue with Madoka. He's interrupted by a ghost from the past: Yuri. She asks him to drink together & he goes. They talk a lot & Kido show us why he's truly one the good guys: he interrupts Yuri, tell her that she doesn't have nothing to apologize. They just met at the wrong time & that past is past. This meeting also triggers Kido's decision: he wants Emiru. As Yuri leaves, Madoka calls him. Yes, this last part of the manga is practically a Deus Ex Machina. He goes to her apartment, she's naked & wanting. But he talks. He tell her everything, including that he loves Emiru. It's a very sad break up, but... Madoka accepts it & didn't even get angry at him. As he leaves, he finds her friend. He tells him they broke up & the guy says that he will go after her. He has only one thing to ask: if he can punch Kido once. Kido accepts, get punched & the guy fells disgusted. "Don't look so relieved after getting punched". Kido goes home & meets his friend. She found out a friend from Emiru that may help him find her! Kido goes after this girl immediately.
We find this girl has a guest. Two guests: her client & Emiru. Yes, she's a prostitute. And a long time friend of Emiru. Kido calls & Emiru told her to make him go away. We see Emiru arriving home. Her dad comforts her, her mom looks like she hates her & the woman/sister is there also. Emiru goes to a part of the house & undresses. She came to peep at her own past. And we discover that the lover that died & who she's showing herself to is a shrine for her dead brother!!
Kido arrives & Emiru's friend tries her best to make him go away. But Kido is changed. He would do anything to see Emiru again. This... broke the girl resolution. They start to talk & we discover what exactly broke Emiru.
We're show our Emiru as a teen, living happily in her home. All is good. All is love. Her brother is alive & that woman is there. She's Emiru's sister in law. One day, Emiru find them making sex & peep a little. Her first peeping. She is fascinated by sex & starts to explore her body. We all been there. Her brother is... strange. And then... one day he makes a hole on the wall between then & starts to peep on her. Yeah...it's disgusting. One day, Emiru discovers the hole. She confronts her brother about his wicked feelings & she barges from the house. He keeps close & calls her, pushes her away from a truck & is run over. In his funeral, her mom made it clear: she preferred that Emiru was the one to die. Emiru talks to her sister in law & shows the hole, which was probably the worse thing she could do. This is what made that woman so angry & vengeful on her. That's the point of when & how Emiru starts. Kido goes there, with all this in mind & meets the sister. They talk about Emiru & how they both tried to hate her, but in fact, loves her. The woman is touched & points to where Emiru is. Kido runs for it & yes. There she is. They both confess a lot & in the end, Kido turns her around & tell her that he truly loves her. At this time, something broke in Emiru. Her mask, her armour, breaks & she trows herself into his arms & they finally kiss. They go to a lovers hotel & yes, finally make love. It's very touching, specially the conversations they had. And they fuck & foreplay a lot.
Next day, they wake up & go to pay respects to her brother, meeting her sister. All is forgiven & they went on good terms. Emiru asks that they be together in front of her brother grave, to say goodbye to him once and for all. They went for a walk, where Emiru disappears for a while. Sensing something amiss, he tries to find her, only to get a call from her. And yes. As a broken one, I get what she does. She was broken, empty & going thru life as if nothing matters. Till Kido shows up & kinda healed her. Now... she has to get thing together & she don't want to be a bother to him. Then... Kido gives her one year. He will wait for her, for a year. And then she departs.
In the last chapter, we find Kido living alone. In a post-work mixer, we find that Yuri is ok. Going home, he passes thru Madoka and her friend, now boyfriend. Finally, Kido goes back to his old apartment. He sees a light thru the hole, goes for the door & yes. She's there. They talk, kiss & it's the end.
Damn this manga. I'm really moved by it. It's such a great love story. It even made me shed a few tears. It's a great work & yes, you should read it. Oh boy. Such a good ending...
Next week: I really wanted to skip it: Zero History from William Gibson. Let's finish the Blue Ant trilogy, and if it goes as it was last time, never talk about it again... seriously not looking for it.
See ya
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