Sundome

Sundome

Mangaka : Maputo Okada

Not everyone's cup of tea.
The drawings may give the impression of a shounen type gag manga. Later illustrations give it the impression of an erotica focussed upon BDSM.
In the end it's a manga that defies categorization. A story of a high school love story that is unique, and very weird.

It is plenty weird, but the overall feel of it hopefully will make you look past it.
By the way the name means ,"to stop the moment before". Yeah......

Plot: 3/5
Hideo  Aiba is a virgin otaku and a member of the schools 'Roman Club' (literally the Romance club), a club which tries to focus upon the Romantic nature of a boys heart i.e. interest in the things that are impossible, ghosts, supernatural, aliens etc. Simply put a club of weirdos.
Criteria for membership _ person must continue to be a virgin throughout their tenure Those preserving their chastity end up using the connections of the alumini to further their ambitions, whatever it may be.

It's weird, I know, it's weird

Anyway, the story begins with the arrival of a female transfer student to his class named Kurumi Sahana. Wonder of wonders she ends up sitting next to him.
Things happen in a ridiculous way and she ends up taking control of his life telling him that, she would never let him cum. In no uncertain term she tells him that he is her toy.

Although it starts with her displaying the aptitude of a venomous dominatrix from them on she becomes almost kind.

The story progresses like a weird amalgam between a shonen and an erotic manga. The pacing seemingly like any other high school manga with ghost seeing trips, graveyard and tunnel explorations while creating situations where the main lead end up together. From then on the mood changes and instead of a pure hearted love story you end up seeing a pure hearted master slave relationship.

Heavy focus on golden showers by the way so.steer clear of that is not gonna be OK.

All things considered it reads like the represed fantasies of a male submissive, a relationship which.satisfies his need for dominance and his desire to be loved, in spite or even because of it. maybe that's what the Mangaka was going for.

Characters 2/5

The most notable character here is the narrator, Hideo Aiba. One of the unseen and unheard members of his class and bored of his idle existence he is completely unprepared when Kurumi comes crashing into his life. Weak and weak will is the summation of who he is. As the Manga progresses however he strives to better himself so that his mistress may rely on him. I honestly do not like characters like this especially the type that seems to be capable of only thinking with their dicks when they get excited.

Kurumi Sahana on the other hand is like no living girl. I guess she embodies that mysterious girl you knew in class back in high school, someone you ended up idolizing. So it would probably resonate with the demographic. Anyway for the most part she is demure and selfcontent. At others she is a genuine tease and you know Hideo simply does not stand a  chance. Her motives have never been completely shown as to why she chose to take him as her sub, but she has no malicious intent against Hideo.

The other characters provide a good degree of background noise and allows the story to be slice of life novel at times. Katsu Toshitsuku and Kyouko act as a minor foil in the 2nd half of the Manga where they end up going out with each other, their relationship growing organically over time.
The other members are just 2 dimensional characters that add to the jokes in the series.

Art 2.5/5
Dramatic changes in art depending upon circumstance.
Generally the art is willfully simplistic, even the character designs were fuck all, with each Roman club members being given a random shape for a head. Later on it becomes a bit more balance but the club ex-president ends up having a fuck all bobble head.

When the eroticism begins however the background becomes black. Like as if these two end up in a world of their own. Their, no her body a almost hypersexualized. When you remember that you are reading about high-schoolers it gets awkward. Nevertheless you get sucked into the deep obsession that Hideo falls into over this girl.


Recommendations:
There are a lot of shitty mangas out there, but this is not one of them. The story is a bit weak, and yes the weirdness factor is there too but give it a shot if you have a hard stomach. Who knows, it might grow on you.