Boy's Abyss
a review by steinn
a review by steinn
I was just lamenting on how much I miss being a hater when I remembered this piece of shit. The day is saved :)
As the summary suggests if you're a fan of Domestic Girlfriend ironically, you'll love this because it's a dumpster fire. Actually even if you're a fan of Domestic Girlfriend unironically you'll love this because it'll be the deepest thing you've ever read in your life. Also if you're 14 I have great news for you!!!
I'll just dive into the bulk of the review because it's been a hot minute since I read this, but wow. WOW. I'll discuss all the awful things about this story first and then launch into the good. The story follows some guy named Reiji (I forget his last name and I'm not going back to check) who meets an idol named Nagi Aoe and she offers to have sex even though she's out of his league because it's anime. Also she's 20 years old even though he's 16 because we love pedophilia apparently ! ! ! Anyway, he has erectile dysfunction at first, then they have a conversation about how their lives suck, then they have sex. Then she asks him to do a joint suicide but they're saved by Reiji's teacher. The rest of the story is essentially chalked up to having one extraordinarily twisted and sometimes tragic event happen for shock value, without actually delving into anything substantial. The author keeps throwing plot twist after plot twist after plot twist at you -- which admittedly makes for a VERY entertaining read, but none of these plot twists actually mean anything because the story continuously follows the same loop without ever actually progressing. If this story wanted to actually delve into darker, more adult themes, then it would need to spend time developing and exploring these themes. Instead, it just introduces 128734987298 shocking and "dark" twists. This character is actually this character's father who murdered this other character who had sex with this character and... At one point I had to make a flowchart to keep track of the relationships in this story.
As for the characters... WELL. Every character in this story is the worst person ever. I don't mean that as an insult -- stories written in this way can be very compelling! -- but Boy's Abyss sure likes to do this in the most shallow way possible by making each character do cartoon villain things. Remember the aforementioned teacher who save Reiji and Nagi? She's actually a pedophile who's deeply obsessed with Reiji and eventually begins using him as her sex partner. This twist would be FINE if it wasn't played for cheap shock value and perhaps even depicted the teacher as a more realistic character as opposed to some crazy yandere. Also, this manga likes to use the pedophile twist a lot. Reiji's mother is a pedophile. Esemori, the writer that Reiji, his childhood friend, and Nagi admire is KIND'VE a pedophile. I can't remember whether or not he actually has sex with Reiji's childhood friend but he definitely acts way creepier than an adult should towards a child. Hell, Nagi's a pedophile, but apparently that one's okay because she's hot or something?? Man I truly could not tell you. I don't even wanna hear that it's only a 4 year age gap or whatever because if you're an adult having sex with a high schooler then you need to be decapitated bro. Not even put in prison just decapitated.
Every character in this story is also miserable ALL THE TIME. I understand that depression is real!!! But as someone who has experienced it I can confirm that you are not constantly going heh... *stares into the distance* all the time. Not everything in a dark story has to be gloomy all the time. I would argue that any story that attempts to do this is always bad, because of a few reasons:
Look at Berserk!! Look at Attack on Titan!! Both of those are fantastically dark stories that still incorporate lighter elements which in turn helps establish a connection to the characters and make the tragic twists significantly more impactful. I've not read Oyasumi Punpun yet but based on reviews I've heard as well as snippets I've seen it seems much the same as the two examples mentioned, if you want something more grounded and realistic.
NOW. With all of that being said, if you choose to read this as a comedy manga? Fucking hilarious. I laughed out loud several times while reading this and I generally don't do that with anime or manga. This manga just takes itself so absurdly seriously that it becomes extraordinarily funny. Nagi is an incredible comedic character specifically because of the way that the author draws her. She'll be talking about suicide and how she wants to die with Reiji all the while her giant melon tits are fucking LUMINISCENT. I understand boobs being drawn unrealistically in manga but they are GLOWING. Girl has the greatest skincare routine known to man and you know what?? Good for her.
BUT IS THE COMEDY WORTH IT? Erm.... Not really!!! You know when you read something and you can physically feel your neurons dying and your brain diminishing in size? Yeah. That happens here. I believe I lost several years of experience and wisdom reading this manga. Even just remembering it now I can feel my cells degrading. Am I exaggerating for funnies? Perhaps but it isn't worth it UNLESS you're a young boy because this manga is very much geared towards the youth and boys specifically with how it handles its topics (around 12-15 I'd say). Then you might enjoy it but for your health I would recommend you refrain :(
Finally!! Let's get into the good parts of this manga as promised at the beginning of this review. Firstly, the art is actually really good!! The illustrations are very appealing and what drew me into this manga.
Secondly,
Ok so that's it for the good part of the review!!
Overall I would rate this 15 whole points for funnies. It could be a great manga to do book club with with your friends. Unfortunately it loses 85 points for brain degradation. I did not appreciate that very much :(
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