ぼくは麻理のなか 3

ぼくは麻理のなか [Boku wa Mari no Naka] #3

by Shuzo Oshimi

Genres: Manga, Comics, Mystery, Seinen, Drama, Graphic Novels, Fiction

193 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 9, 2014

About the author

Shuzo Oshimi (押見修造, Oshimi Shūzō) is a Japanese manga creator.
Drawn in a realistic art style, his comics tend to be psychological dramas exploring the difficulties in human relationships and often touching on disturbing situations and perversions.
Oshimi debuted in 2001 with the manga series Avant-Garde Yumeko, appeared in Kodansha's 'Monthly Shōnen Magazine.' Most of his works since then have been published by Kodansha and Futabasha.
Among his first successes the single volume manga Sweet Poolside (2004), later adapted into a live-action film, and the series Drifting Net Café (2008–2011), also adapted for TV.
Oshimi reached international acclaims with The Flowers of Evil (2009–2014) and Inside Mari (2012–2016), both adapted into successful anime. Other notable works are Blood on the Tracks (2017–2023) and Welcome Back, Alice (2020-2023) .

Reviews

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm willing to try anything strange at any time, and Shuzo Oshini has never failed to satisfy my needs.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man, what a trip for our main character.

See up until this point he wanted to try and make Mari's life good still. But when he (or she really) gets their period the reality hits. Not such an easy life for a girl, huh? The pain, the look, the view, everything alters. It actually is great they show it in full display so you can feel it. It helped a lot to show the difference between his old life as a guy and his new life as Mari.

The fact the character is slowly going crazy and feeling like shit about his choices tus far is great. The end result of him having a mental breakdown is so good and unexpected this early on. On top of that, the ending made me anxious to see where we'll go from here.

A 4 out of 5.

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hiroki is a jerk! I can't believe I actually liked him back at the karaoke place, but augh, he's disgusting!! But because of him, Komori finally breaks in order to be whole again. The much-awaited enlightenment! When Komori went to see his body, he found out that Yori was there too and was actually watching his body every night. And such a turn of events, when they also found another lead that told them the real Mari indeed has a connection between Komori—and had actually been watching and idolizing him from afar. This pushed Komori to change and get on the game. And now, the real Komori is joining the team!

Oshimi series are really engaging. I keep on turning pages, literally devouring this! Dull moments just doesn't exist to him.

[Alex Fyffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

This is where the young male fantasy of being in the body of a beautiful girl turns into the body horror reality of being trapped inside a foreign body, having to live the life of that body with no means of escape back to the safety and comfort of your former reality. The object of desire becomes simply the vessel through which you perceive the world, no longer a distant obsession but all too close.

Oshimi takes the somewhat silly concept of a young man finding himself awoken in the body of an attractive girl and runs with it into uncomfortable territory. He makes his audience--his male audience, at least--confront the "male gaze" in a very real way that forces empathy and understanding. This theme of confronting the oversexualization of young women continues into the next volumes, turning a camera on the audience, asking them to look at themselves honestly, to step inside the life of another human being, and to transform themselves accordingly.

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isao is reaching his breaking point as Mari as things start to fall apart.

Interesting reveal at the end.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected, more stuff about being a girl is thrown at poor Isao, as if he didn't have enough to worry about. This time it's the period, the discomfort of stomach pains, which leads to buying a tampon - an adventure in its own right. This time he has to see what he is doing down there, so he looks at Mari's 'equipment'. Hell, might as well see the top part too, right? Every boy's dream.

She gets a phone call from Hiroki, Momoka's boyfriend, who is concerned about his relationship. Momoka interpets it as Mari and Hiroki getting closer, considering he asked her out before dating Momoka, but was refused. Later he visits Mari in her home and surprises her with a kiss that Isao does not welcome. The experience makes Isao snap. He feels like he betrayed Mari for allowing her to be kissed. He completely breaks character when Mari's mother joins them to see what is happening and finds Isao/Mari punching Hiroki and refering to herself as a boy - remember, this is Isao talking. Mari's mother stoically refuses to believe her daughter's lamentations.

Yori is looking into Isao and discovers that Mari was stalking him before her body was switched. Isao confronts his old self, but gains no new insight.

[The Wrath of Eleny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the best one out of the series so far, things are getting real. Great series.


I mean getting his period for the first time and finally looking at his body that was something... He clearly wasn't turned on so I think now he's starting to actually become accustomed to the body he's now living in. Things are definitely getting more dark, they chose a good manga art cover for this volume.

[amine~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

mama…

damn it i should’ve just taken the whole series at the library

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its weird and interesting but I feel like this is moving almost painfully slow. If I wasnt reading these volumes back to back to back I think I would lose interest pretty fast.

[Bonnie_Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things have really come to a head in this volume. Tensions have boiled over and hidden longings have come into the harsh light, with Mari spinning out of control. It was a difficult volume to read because in a short span of time (we are only on Volume 3!) I have come to feel for this character as she fails to navigate the social structure in her high school. People's feelings about her have real consequences for her social standing, her personal boundaries, and her mental health.

Hiroki doesn't come across as a bad guy to me. He definitely crossed a line in kissing Mari - though I get the idea Hiroki has this idea of how things would go in his head. He would confess his feelings, kiss her, Mari would be totally receptive and express her mutual desire but instead he gets smacked and attacked. Which yeah, you gunna jump on a girl like that you will have to deal with the consequences.

It is revealed that Mari has been stalking and observing Isao Komori for a very long time, even writing these little journal entries on trash scraps. She seems to posses an intense jealousy of his life - he gets to shut himself off from the world while Mari is stared at, accused of emotional sabotage, and is kissed against her will in this volume. She is dealing with all this pressure of existing as a teen girl in highly taut, tense environments at home and at school and she wants what Isao has. And it is revealed that the character we thought of the antagonist is in fact a secondary character who seemed to have no idea Mari existed, which is an excellent twist.

Yori has been grating on my nerves for awhile now, since she is showing herself as a voyeur and a creepy, judgmental one at that. She has been barking orders and admonitions at Mari. I have read reviews where people believe Yori is trying to help Mari navigate through her environment, but her methods aren't helpful or even kind.

The mom is also creeping me out. Shuzo Oshimi is very detailed in how he draws people, their faces, their body language/poses... and the small but odd smile she has after she gives Mari pills (what were those pills anyway?) and is standing outside her door was concerning. She is also refusing to deal with or even acknowledge that her daughter is having a mental breakdown. She tells Mari she told her absentee, neglectful father Mari has a cold and that she will be back at school next week. So, we are not going to talk about what happened between Mari and Hiroki?

I am going to be talking out two sides of my mouth here: I want to praise the way Shuzo Oshimi depicts period pain as this throbbing, debilitating, messy thing. He shoes us Mari's body but not in a way that feels exploitative to me. Periods suck and they hurt and he nailed it perfectly. But also, did Mari not think to take an ibuprofen and get a heating pad!? Like, I know in this part of the manga Mari feels her body is occupied by the soul of a man who has never experienced anything like this, but why is Mari wallowing in pain when she could be trying to alleviate it or deal with it in some way?

[Sai Fighter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for the whole series:



I read this series because of a video essay by ceicocat called "The Incel to Trans Pipeline and Inside Mari" which I highly recommend.

I read "Welcome Back, Alice" first, which I am glad I did because it really helped me understand the author's ideas about gender before diving into "Inside Mari." Inside Mari definitely feels like a gender exploration manga, but it isn't as straight forward about it as Oshimi's other manga.

This isn't your typical situational comedy gender swap manga (Ex. Ranma 1/2). This really feels like a more nuanced exploration of what it would really means to swap bodies with a teenage girl and all the stuff that would naturally come with it: complex female relationship dynamics, unwanted advances of men, social pressures of filling the role of a woman, school pressures, menstruation, etc. Not to mention at one point, it starts to feel somewhat like a trans narrative. The main character Isao Komori is struggling to decide if he wants to save Mari, be Mari, or just wants her sexually. It really reminds me of another manga, Until I Become Me by Satou Hatsuki which is another gender swap manga that slowly starts to take on a more trans story line. But Inside Mari feels a lot more abstract. The ending is honestly, ambiguous, and has more of a DID vibe which I didn't really enjoy. I would have rather it stayed more on the trans narrative track, but I also get that Welcome Back, Alice fills that narrative a little better so at least there is that. The "mystery" of where Mari is gets solved but its still pretty confusing.

This is definitely interesting. Not totally sure I would recommend but still pretty good.

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still find this series a compelling read, but this volume disturbed me... which was the point I suppose. This comic contains what was easily the most graphic depiction of a young woman’s period I have ever seen in any medium, with very detailed illustrations of a teenager’s bloody pubic area and icky strings of menstrual discharge. I’m just writing this here so if you are disturbed, you’ll know to stay away or at least that you will go in knowing what’s coming. I bought the whole series, so I guess I’ll finish reading, but yikes. Especially since the girl depicted is underage, I’m surprised this got published in the USA.

The story as I noted before is still compelling, as the main character reveals to the family that he is living with that he is a boy stuck inside heir daughter’s body. Of course they don’t believe him. He finds a clue that Mari had been obsessed with him too. And she/he confronts his former self to try to make things right. He also has to deal with young boys chasing after him, and a forced kiss...

Weird and disturbing, but I like that it pushes the overdone silky premise into a more realistic and horrifying version of what such a switch would probably really be like.

[Brianna Jo♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume really stuck the landing for me. Oshimi had the guts to draw what most artists certainly would not have been unable to, and capture it in such a profound way. In the opening chapter, Isao fully transforms into Mari, seeing her body finally for what it is. A body. Not a stationary object. The sanitary napkin scene really shocked me because I was so taken aback by how realistic of a direction the story was heading. I really applaud the artist for not shying away from some gory details. I think in that scene, Isao finally sees Mari as this real person and not just a phallus fantasy. Not just this object of pleasure, but merely a normal girl.

In the scenes when he is changing, the atmosphere of the panels immediately shift. Nudity doesn't always equate to sex. And when Isao looks at Mari's breasts ( his breasts) he had little to no reaction. This volume was definitely saying something about women's bodies and how they are traditionally viewed. Everyone should be taking notes. I truly wasn't expecting it.

As for the storyline in regards to Mari watching Isao...I wonder where that's going. Why was Mari watching him? We know why he was watching him...what if she is the one responsible for the switch...

[Sol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, this volume was definitely a step up from the other two in my opinion, but that author's note is so weird once again that I can't help but keep this series at 3 stars. XD
Even though the art is a bit gratuitous, I feel like it displays some of the more miserable parts of teenage girlhood in a really raw and understanding way. Yes, being a 15-16 year old girl can really, really suck. Komori has to face friend group drama, the pain of his period, having a creepy boy shove his feelings on him and harass him + steal a kiss... it's just kind of miserable all around. I think he's understanding that the grass isn't necessarily greener, and it's understandable when he stops pretending that he can hold this facade together.

The thing that bumped this up a bit more for me is when Komori realizes that he has to face himself, both literally and figuratively. He has to face what an absolute gross, creepy, bum ass loser he is. It seems also like Mari wasn't willing to face herself either -- she was unhappy with her carefully-constructed life, and envied the life that Komori himself was living.

[Ivy~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things are really heating up in this series. There were some really interesting developments in this volume, and I'm very curious and excited to see how things continue to unwind.

Furthermore, I really loved the depiction of menstruation in this volume. The way it was done was so interesting. There are multiple panels that focus on female genitalia, but they are not sexualized in the least. Instead, they are framed the way that panels of a monster would be framed. The female body and its functions are framed as something horrifying and abnormal. Obviously, at face value, this is a very bad way to frame the female body. But in context, it becomes fascinating. 'Mari' is completely divorced from and unfamiliar with 'her' body, which has become monstrous and physically turns on her. This entire section ties into the story's larger themes about gender so well, and was so interesting to read.

I'm excited to see what the author has in store next.

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I binge read volumes 2 - 9 so this is a generalized review until finale. The story was weird, and uncomfortable and funny at times. The eros commentary at the end of earlier volumes was probably creepier than any single moment in the books. The first volume described this series as having a "scifi" twist, but every volume after that stays a "dark" twist. There is no sci-fi. That mischaracterization made me form a theory that was way off the mark, but I caught the change early and let my imagination take over. I tried more to enjoy the story rather get than figure it out. Without spoiling anything, I did enjoy the entire series, am glad I opted to collect the effort series, and and satisfied with the conclusion.

[Audrey H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series has a great pacing where tension is never really absent. It's constantly distressing and in this chapter it gets the worst it got so far. Nearly every chapter of this series evokes constant fear and each page lingers a lot. I often stop and stare at a page while thinking about what questions it raises, and thinking about what's gonna happen when I look at the direct next page. It's bleak. The series raises questions about identity for me as a new transgender woman who always had alot of hangups about the subject, but until about 2 years ago from an insecure male perspective feeling constrained. I disassociated almost completely for an hour after a certain scene where he talks about what he wanted to do with Mari. The series has mostly made me feel profoundly terrible but I haven't had a piece of media command such attention and emotion in me in a long time.

[Robert Pierson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The artwork is very good in this and I could imagine going through what the main character Hass to be going through would be pretty scary especially if you’re in a man being in The body of a woman when she goes and having a period would probably be a pretty scary scenario and I couldn’t imagine it being very comfortable for a woman either then confronting yourself who you think you are but it’s not really you and having to find out about everything that’s going on and all the changes in your life this is definitely a weird story but it’s getting pretty good I can actually relate to some of the struggles of the main character in someways.

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things actually get really interesting and weird in this volume. Plot beats take the series from a vaguely strange/humorous body swap story to a much stranger exploration of identity and gender dynamics.

Love that the main protag basically gives up on trying to live as a girl within the span of a week lol. Sly commentary on how men don't understand the quantity or nature of the daily difficulties faced by women and girla lmao accurate

[KarleeXx0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series. It is super uncomfortable..BUT, I feel like we are really starting to get to know these characters and I am invested. I feel that we are getting hints that Mari may have some secrets and issues of her own. I am intrigued to find out more!

[Fabiana Valentino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me agrada como las compañeras del instituto lo rechazan y como todo se va saliendo de control, ya que descubre, básicamente, las dificultades de ser mujer. Sigo preguntándome si Mari está dentro del cuerpo del muchacho, fingiendo no saber nada.

[Bryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so much weirder than I thought it was going to be! I would really like the next volume soonest.

[Sanne Blomme · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very dark and troubling end for the first arc of the story...interested in more.

[Anna Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jillian -always aspiring- · Rating 3 out of 5]

2020 Read #550

The unraveling part is what really makes this story tick.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

- oh god it just keeps getting worse for him.
- this series has weirdly kept me on my toes.
- I’ll keep reading bc the art is so good and I wanna know wtf is going on.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

the mystery continues...and won't let me go

[hənē · Rating 4 out of 5]

the percentage of nudity cannot fathom all the scenes we’re going to lol

[Phou · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.7/ or 3 stars (barely)

Found the afterword interesting.

Can't see where the story is going at all.

Liking the illustrations. Not so fond of the story.

[Litwithlove · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume felt shorter than the others, but that is just me perhaps? More answers and more questions seems to be the theme of this series.