Inside Mari Volume 8

ぼくは麻理のなか [Boku wa Mari no Naka] #8

by Shuzo Oshimi

Without Isao in Mari's life her body is just a shell. But what caused this catatonic state is more than a disassociation from that college dropout. A peek at Mari's past reveals another side of her life that her family kept secret. Is that where the split truly began?

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

192 pages, paperback

First published May 9, 2016

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

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

Oshimi is the goat 😭 this is really killing me!!

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mari seems to have finally completely lost it. Yori is desperately trying to help her friend.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't even know what's happening anymore...

This trippy volume basically has Mari have multiple people within her body and we don't know who the real one is anymore. A crazy ending though, which will lead to the final volume now. Overall weird as fuck series gets weirder.

[Yvette Qiroz · Rating 4 out of 5]

LESBIAN LOVERS 💜

[BlerdyMama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever since I picked up the first volume, I’ve found this manga to be captivating and mentally stimulating. It’s a slow build of tension and mystery, that leaves you yearning for more.

I’m this volume we finally get some answers to the question that have been living in my head rent free, who is FUMIKO? We also see the true nature of Mari’s mother, let’s just say she reminds of the mother in “Blood On The Tracks”.
Shuzo Oshimi really took it away with the facial expressions in this volume. I’m wondering if her mother is the root of her mental problems? Also, why is her father so nonchalant about everything? Counting down until final volume to see how it all comes together, it’ll be bittersweet.

[Audrey H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series frequently makes me stop and think about it's themes and the extremely personal connections to the author that make me think what they could have been working through when they wrote it. Like having the mother as the one who fracture’s Mari's identity when real life Oshimi had an abusive mother. Or how Oshimi depicts perversion as a rebellion and escape and then has his protagonist be a self loathing disgusting pervert that increasingly seems like a self insert. At one point I was like. Fuck this series sure revolves around jerking off a lot huh. The series oozes sexual shame and confusion. It also wasn't lost on me when he depicted his young happy self innocently getting into manga as a little girl. One of the most heartbreakingly honest mangas I have ever read, possibly the most profound and disturbing.

[Max Gu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je pense que ce tome 8 est mon préféré pour le moment. J'aime l'espèce de sérénité qui se dégage des derniers chapitres. Sérénité qui se transforme petit à petit en mélancolie...

[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.

[47Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is by far the most confusing, but the series has some potential to end on an entertaining note. All the characters have gone through emotional stuff, so I have high hopes for the ending.

Yori is worried about Mari's catatonic state. She visits Mari, calls out for Isao and even for Fumiko. Hearing the name Fumiko makes the mother twitch almost uncontrollably. She too was traumatised by the name. She never liked it, primarily because her mother-in-law chose it, so after the latter passed away, she renamed her daughter to Mari. When Yori refuses to leave, Mari's mother becomes violent and kicks her out.

Later Isao 'wakes up' inside Mari again. He welcomes Yori's love. Mari's mother just picks up and leaves, but not ever her husband is too worried about it. The house is a lot quieter and happier without her around.

[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.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find this manga series very fascinating. It was really slow to start but weird enough that I wanted to know what was going on...then it got really compelling and interesting. Looking forward to the next, final volume to see how it all comes together.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I’ve lost what the goal of this series is but Oshimi continues to be really good at building atmosphere and his art is always a treat. Maybe it’s ultimately a 3 star read but I love all the hatch marks.

[Thomas Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things finally come to a head, and it's exactly the heightened drama and catharsis I was hoping for. The whole series has been full of gender-feelings, and this volume does enough with Mari/Komori's subjectivity to push that to the fore. Excited to see how Oshimi wraps things up.

[Alex Fyffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Brianna Jo♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dissociative identity disorder???

Also, Mari's mom freaks me out A LOT...

[Sanne Blomme · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dream state makes the end slate...

[Valerie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review is gonna be on the volume 9 log lol

[KarleeXx0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting...ready for the final volume.

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

Things seem to be resolving, I'm super glued to find out how it ends

[Fabiana Valentino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Komori se envuelve en la personalidad fragmentada de Mari, intenta revelarla y al final se reencuentran. Las relaciones entre las chicas se intensifica aún más. El suspenso llega a su cuspide.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

penso di star impazzendo

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Bonnie_Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oshimi you can't keep throwing curveballs like that at me!

Plus, imagine being such an awful mother the rest of your family feels happier and lighter in your absence. Whoof.

[Ivy~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I teetered between a three and a four on this one, but eventually settled on a three. I'm very curious to see how things wrap up!

[Crystal Odelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

How is this series maybe the most moving and tender trans girl story of all time?

[Shizeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

j'avoue j'ai pas tout compris sur ce tome mais je kiffe toujours autant

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being honest mate, idk what just happened

[sarah ingram]

my heart bruhhh

[Rhys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok so Isao did turn his life around I do like that. I still don’t like yori she sucks. I don’t think Isao was ever In Mari and I really want to see what’s in the journal. 8/10

[notjoshy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The little brother is lowkey the one suffering the most out of everyone