No one seems to understand high school student Kaito Niikura. Not his dad. Not his classmates. No one. That is, until he meets his teacher Ren Ando, who understands him better than he even knows... In this punk rock bi-shonen by global manga-ka Pink Psycho, can the possibility of a forbidden love survive teenage angst?
(Note: Pink Psycho is a pseudonym for two artists, Heath and Kai.)
Kai is a passionate artist who has lost his heart to music. In 2007 he joined a compilation album with his song Bakamono no Uta which was released by SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. In November of the same year, he started to contribute LIKE EVIL to the Japanese visual-kei music magazine CURE. Kai worked as a model for the Japanese fashion label HIDEROCK Design, which is also his favourite and beloved fashion brand. And he is also a vocalist and guitarist of a visual-kei indie project.
Starting the career as mangaka and freelance illustrator, his works have been published in Japan, USA, Germany and France. His art combines dark and visual kei asthethics with mythical, longing themes. The sceneries range from fantasy to the realistic settings with psychological elements. His latest Manga-shortstory 空般 伝説 won the award 2nd price of MIRACLE JUMP magazine.
Abuse in various forms, toxic relationships all over the place, declaring love after what felt like a blink if an eye (they'd NEVER talked before), obsession. Oh hell no.
Hm. Well. This is a thing I'm shocked was published stateside. lol I bought it many years ago, while I was in college, because I liked the art style. I still do. However...
This is a story about a married, pedophile teacher grooming his student. That is the entire plot. It comes across as extremely creepy and I'm not sure how the author could have intended it any other way. The new teacher at school first sees the intoxicated boy sulking in a subway station and immediately targets him. At school he stares at him to the point all the students notice it. He eventually lures the boy to his apartment and begs him for a kiss. He says things like he's the only one who loves and understands him. They end up in a sexual relationship (fade-to-black) and the boy moves in with him until they inevitably get caught. Things do not end well for the pedophile but you really don't know what happens to the boy. So I'm not really sure what the purpose of this manga was. I would assume the author processing his own sexual trauma (it is stated repeatedly in the manga that the main character is based on himself, or at least on his appearance), but I really think this was meant to be a sad, tragic love story. The thing is, there's no relationship development outside of the creepy. The man just decides this boy is his whole world just because he looks so pitiful yet attractive. lol And the boy mistakes their relationship for real love because the man has kind eyes.
The main character is very melodramatic throughout the entire manga, waxing poetic about how he's different and special and nobody understands him. Here are just a few examples of the thoughts running through his head at any given time:
The people who surround me are nothing more than shadows. Shadows that are trying to pull me into their darkness, never to return.
I try to move forward along my path...but the forest is filled with evil, wicked creatures, trying to impede my way. I can feel their fangs ripping me apart, tearing at everything I am. Devouring me whole, leaving only an empty husk in the end.
Someone as worthless and sick inside as I am can't afford to trust anyone.
I wanted to make the right decision...but the right decision seemed to involve erasing myself from life completely!
Another reviewer said everybody in this book needs to chill, and this is why. It's just so over the top with the melodrama. The art is so pretty but my god... This is just a steaming pile of NOPE.
i knew i had to have this when i saw how emo these dudes on the cover were. instantly obsessed…
this was so dramatic for no reason, but that’s what made it so entertaining. also this teacher guy needs to chill. everybody in this needs to chill actually.
anyways i had a bit of fun but personally i found the story to be not to my taste. i think this is something i would have maybe liked more in grade 7…? also not a fan of all the cheating lmao but this wasn’t exactly a happy go lucky story anyways.
and yes i know they aren’t actually supposed to be emo, but that was absolutely the vibe i was getting from the cover when i first saw it.
Die Zeichnungen im Manga fand ich richtig schön. Besonders die Details wenn es um die Kleidung von Kaito ging. Er hatte einen coolen Stil. Auch mochte ich seine Mimik. Sein Gesichtsausdruck war schön aussagekräftig.
Die Story mochte ich auch zu Beginn, man lernt Kaito kennen und ich fand ihn in seiner Rolle durchaus schlüssig. Unverstandener Teenager und so weiter... ich mochte ihn.
Doch dann kam der Lehrer dazu und die Lovestory konnte mich so gar nicht mitnehmen, ich fand sie eher seltsam. Der Lehrer verliebt sich Hals über Kopf in seinen Schüler, sagt Ich Liebe Dich nach gefühlten 10 Minuten, sein ganzes Leben ist ihm auf ein mal total egal...
Das wäre alles noch gegangen, aber dann kam das Ende. Ich möchte nicht spoilern, deswegen schreibe ich nichts dazu, aber nur so viel. Meine Reaktion danach war eine Mischung aus, was sollte das denn? Und Echt jetzt?
This manga has a very "underground" feel to it. Not much going on plot wise, but the pictures held my interest. Yes, I sometimes buy books just for the art.
Zum Inhalt (Booklet): Der Schüler Kaito Niikura gerät ständig in Konflikte mit seinem Vater, der keinerlei Verständnis für die Lebensweise seines Sohnes aufzubringen vermag. Derart allein gelassen sucht Kaito nach dem Sinn seines Lebens - bis er eines Tages dem Lehrer Ren Ando begegnet, der eine fast schon krankhaft erscheinende Liebe zu dem Schüler entwickelt.
Cover: Das Cover sagt für den ersten Moment nicht viel aus. Wir sehen hier einen Mann, scheinbar ein Anhänger der Gothic- oder Emo-Szene, welcher dem Betrachter entgegenblickt. Ich weiß nicht warum, aber als erstes kam mir in den Sinn, dass es sich bei diesem Manga wohl um eine Person drehen könnte die psychische Probleme hat, vielleicht depressiv sein könnte. An sich schon recht passend, aber da ist eben dann auch noch mehr.
Eigener Eindruck: Kaito ist depressiv und mir Shingo zusammen obwohl er für diesen nicht empfindet. Dass seine Eltern an seiner Depression nicht ganz unschuldig sind liegt daran, dass sein Vater nichts auf homosexuelle Menschen hält und er seinen Eltern somit nicht die Wahrheit sagen kann. Hinzu kommt, dass er in der Schule immer schlechter wird und sein Vater das Ansehen der Familie in Gefahr sieht. Als Kaito Stress mit Shingo hat und sein Lehrer Ando sich ihm aufdrängen will, scheint seine Welt völlig aus den Fugen zu geraten. Kaito muss sich entscheiden wie sein Leben weiter aussehen soll. Doch das hat auch weitreichende Folgen für seine Umwelt.
Dieser One Shot stammt aus der Feder von Pink Psycho und setzt sich mit Themen wie Homosexualität, Homophobie, Depressionen, Beziehung zwischen Schülern und Lehrern sowie Selbstmord auseinander. Das sind eigentlich alles wichtige Themen, aber sie werden in diesem One Shot sehr schlecht beziehungsweise sehr lasch umgesetzt. So kann man Emotionen nicht wirklich greifen und auch eine Spannung kann nicht gehalten werden. Man bekommt die Tatsachen mehr oder weniger einfach nur so hingeschmissen und das ist dann doch sehr enttäuschend. Eigentlich hatte der Manga wirklich Potential, denn die Zeichnungen sind nicht unbedingt von schlechten Eltern. Aber das reißt den Fortgang der Geschichte dann leider auch nicht mehr rum und so bleibt zu dem Manga einfach nur zu sagen, dass er doch recht enttäuschend ist. Er wirkt unausgereift in seiner Story und sprunghaft in der Entwicklung. Schade.
Fazit: Leider konnte mich die Story so nicht überzeugen. Manche Handlungen lassen sich nicht nachvollziehen, wirken sehr übertrieben und einfach zu krass. Von mir gibt es keine Leseempfehlung.
I don't like this book. It's dark and edge but it centered around a teacher and his student being in a relationship that didn't seem very health. Also there were parts that were hard to read since the words were in very dark Grey areas woth black text.
Emorumgeheule, was nett aussieht *snort* achja und n shitton of triggerwarnings, typisch für die Zeit. Ich weiß nicht, warum ich mir das damals überhaupt gekauft hab XD
Today I saw a shounen-ai manga (there's a panel of implied sex) that almost made me cackle from how bad I thought the plot was and how stupid I felt the characters were, but I was in Barnes & Noble, so I stayed silent. It's In the End by Pink Psycho (Heath and Nheira).
Kaigo is so oppressed by his salaryman father because Dad yells about Kaigo skipping school all the time and wearing alt bishie clothes. It's so unfair, and Kaigo is dying for someone who will love him unconditionally and understand him. Yeah, the dad's such an ogre that when he grounds Kaigo for skipping all school ever, the guy just further goths up and walks out to a club without any consequences.
There are no bullies at school, and the dress code appears to be really laid back because everybody's alt-goth-punk-bishie, even some of the teachers, so I don't get Kaigo's hatred of school. Unless they don't understand him there either.
So what is Kaigo's salaryman dad holding him back from that's so important to Kaigo? I have no idea. Because Kaigo doesn't appear to care about anything or anyone but himself. His friends wonder if they could reach him if only they'd cared more. I doubt it, guys. Kaigo is trying to put off a stalkeriffic guy he was casually dating but aside from saying he doesn't want anything committed if the guy whines enough he goes along with him.
But! There's a bishietastic teacher who becomes obsessed with him, with the deadness in his eyes and how he doesn't care about anything, with how Kaigo fails a test that even a moron could pass on one day he happened to be in school. Bish Teacher is married when he invites misunderstood Kaigo to move in with him as his lover (after stalkeriffic guy reveals to Kaigo's parents that their son dates boys) and keep skipping school, but how can she stand in the way of true love? He told Kaigo he's separated from his wife. When everything comes out, Bish Teacher is just sort of "What do you want me to do?" about it. It's not like he could make an actual stand to his wife.
His wife reveals all to the school board. The parents are understandably pissed and move the whole family away. The school board cans the teacher's ass.
Kaigo comes back later to find out that Bish Teacher killed himself. Oh, if only he'd been more mature and loved Teacher at the time! If he'd been more mature and hadn't been one of Teacher's supposed students, there might have been less of a problem. The End.
Me: "...*snicker snort cackle bwah*!"
Also, POV often changes without warning, so badly at times that I had to wonder, "Wait, who is this narrating at the moment?" But the art was very pretty!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This is a song fic. This is a published song fic. It's that one fic on Fanfiction.net you find that uses that damn Evanescence "Bring Me to Life" song to describe the relationship whoever the big fandom yaoi pairings are these days. And it's very overdramatic, and when you read it you roll your eyes because sure, they're angsty in their respective anime series, but the fic has them cutting their wrists and crying out their lover's name on a rainy night.
I didn't expect much from this story. At most I thought the "teenage angst" and "punk rock bi-shonen love story" would be over the top and I'd have a good laugh. But the story is just bad for a lot of reasons. Kaito is trying very, very hard to be emo, and the book randomly spits out reasons for his "deep and powerful" angst. Not only does his father not understand his failing grades, missing class, and partying into the wee hours of the morning... but randomly, he hits him, and has apparently been hitting him since he was a child. In the middle of the story we get an image of a young Kaito crying and asking his dad why he hits him. This wouldn't be an issue if it were brought up more, but after this one scene the subject is never addressed again. It was trying to make me feel bad for Kaito but it didn't work at all. If anything, I was more annoyed with the constant barrage of angst, especially the child abuse turn it tried to take for less than half a page.
The story does a horrible job with the different relationships presented in it. You don't find out until the end that Kaito and Kyou have been friends since childhood. There's no real sense of "best friends forever" between the two of them until Kaito is moving away at the end. I have no idea why Ren is even married to Megumi because he obviously can't stand her. Worst of all, I don't see the point in the manga where Ren's curiosity for Kaito turned into mad love and devotion. But in the end, it doesn't even matter, because Ren is so torn apart about Kaito leaving that he shoots himself in the head.
Wow.
Word of advice: if you're going to have the guy kill himself over losing his loved one, then I better feel that undying love, especially in the boy's love genre, which is known for having some pretty angsty couples who don't always make it to the end of the story.
Das ist so schlecht! Die Zeichnungen sind OK aber die Geschichte... die ist einfach schrecklich! Es gibt einen Junge, dessen Namen ich schon vergessen habe, der so hart versucht, alternativ zu sein. Aber ich glaube, dass das moderne Wort "Emo" ist. Der hat einen Freund aber er mag ihn nicht und es sieht aus, dass er ihn nicht austehen kann. Er hat einen besten Freund, der am Ende versucht, . Er hat Eltern, die sehr streng sind und die nicht verstehen, was mit ihm passiert ist.
Dann haben wir die love interest. Er ist ein Lehrer am dasselbe Schule, das Junge #1 besucht. Er kümmert sich nicht darum: er liebt Junge #1 aber der Leser kann nicht sehen, wie die Liebesgeschichte begonnen hat, weil all zu plötzlich ist. Er versucht vernünftig zu sein aber seine Liebe zu groß ist. Und er hat .
Das Ende ist völlig unglaublich. Junge #2 scheint nur kindisch und verwöhnt aus.
First of all, I love the artwork, It's lovely and looks very detailed and pleasing to my eyes. The storyline on the other hand is a bit laughable and over-dramatic though and the flash-speed romance happened too quickly for me to give a damn about it. This has the feel of being written from the mind of a fifteen-year-old who feels like his parents and everyone else is out to get him and ruin his life.(honestly, who hasn't been there?) The ending wasn't nearly as dramatic as it was what I thought a humorous attempt at drama or tragedy. I initially give it three stars at first for artwork and detail, but I take away one for the storyline and plot.(or lack of, in my opinion.)