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Manga Diary of a Male Porn Star #1
Manga Diary of a Male Porn Star Vol. 1
Kaeruno is jobless, freshly divorced, and all out of dating prospects. When he decides to start a new life for himself in Tokyo, he has no idea what awaits in the big city. His move marks the first step into a bold new career path: male porn star! This memoir chronicles the ups and downs of one regular otaku's entry into the world of glamor, glitz, and money shots.
180 pages, Paperback
Published September 28, 2021
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58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
October 2, 2021
There are a slew of comics and graphic novels coming out right now that present what seems like a dull or problematic premise but present it from an angle that makes it really intriguing. This isn't that type of book.
There have been a few graphic novel memoirs that explore adult situations, particularly sexuality and relationships with porn that really delve into the psyche of the author, or the author's pov character which make what Could Be barely disguised pornography a fantastic look at our current anxiety about sex and culture. This isn't that type of book, either.
Is it a hilarious, satirical take on The Male Gaze? Nope.
It's ununspired wank fantasy about a divorced guy who completely stumbles into porn without us getting any back story other than He's A Divorced Guy Who Stumbles Into Porn.
It's not funny. It's not well-drawn. It doesn't make you think. It's not erotic. It's just D- Lonely Straight Man Fantasy Wank. If that's your thing, dive in. Otherwise, there's no reason to waste your time on this.
There have been a few graphic novel memoirs that explore adult situations, particularly sexuality and relationships with porn that really delve into the psyche of the author, or the author's pov character which make what Could Be barely disguised pornography a fantastic look at our current anxiety about sex and culture. This isn't that type of book, either.
Is it a hilarious, satirical take on The Male Gaze? Nope.
It's ununspired wank fantasy about a divorced guy who completely stumbles into porn without us getting any back story other than He's A Divorced Guy Who Stumbles Into Porn.
It's not funny. It's not well-drawn. It doesn't make you think. It's not erotic. It's just D- Lonely Straight Man Fantasy Wank. If that's your thing, dive in. Otherwise, there's no reason to waste your time on this.
April 18, 2022
I didn't care for this manga. I kept getting bored and setting it aside for a while, only picking it up with resignation about five different times until it was finally complete. These 150 pages seemed to last forever. It literally took me over 2 months to plod through this one book.
The main character of this manga is drawn (poorly) as a frog. It took me until the end to even realize that. The longer I had to look at it, the less I liked it. I don't know why he couldn't be drawn as a human being, even if he didn't want to look like himself to protect his identity. I guess it was funny at first but the "tadpole" joke grew tired pretty quick.
All the males in this book are drawn so ugly. All the women are extremely beautiful. I had the impression by the end that the author is homophobic because he also stated that when he was being filmed he would lean away and try his best not to touch another man even when they were having group sex as the script dictated. Then he patted himself on the back about no one realizing that he was trying to avoid contact with the other men.
The main character came across as skeevy. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes real-talk about the porn industry, which is what you'd hope for with this manga, but there was also his constant commentary about how much he liked watching, doing, etc. to the point he really comes off as a sex addict. I'd like to think I'm pretty open-minded about this subject. I don't judge or shame anybody for liking what they like, but his commentary really grossed me out after reading so much of it. Every single page was filled his objectifying all the female characters. It came across like he didn't respect them as colleagues or as people at all. He is only in the game for his own self-gratification.
This manga was annoyingly repetitive. It's just the same thing happening over and over and the manga came across as way too long as a result. He gets called in for a job, does the work, then goes home and waits for another call. The pattern just keeps repeating and his job doesn't vary much. If he had more to say on the subject (like dating a coworker, as the volume 2 teaser at the back of this book indicates), he probably should have just said it already and not dragged this out as a multiple-volume series. I won't invest any more time in this one.
The main character of this manga is drawn (poorly) as a frog. It took me until the end to even realize that. The longer I had to look at it, the less I liked it. I don't know why he couldn't be drawn as a human being, even if he didn't want to look like himself to protect his identity. I guess it was funny at first but the "tadpole" joke grew tired pretty quick.
All the males in this book are drawn so ugly. All the women are extremely beautiful. I had the impression by the end that the author is homophobic because he also stated that when he was being filmed he would lean away and try his best not to touch another man even when they were having group sex as the script dictated. Then he patted himself on the back about no one realizing that he was trying to avoid contact with the other men.
The main character came across as skeevy. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes real-talk about the porn industry, which is what you'd hope for with this manga, but there was also his constant commentary about how much he liked watching, doing, etc. to the point he really comes off as a sex addict. I'd like to think I'm pretty open-minded about this subject. I don't judge or shame anybody for liking what they like, but his commentary really grossed me out after reading so much of it. Every single page was filled his objectifying all the female characters. It came across like he didn't respect them as colleagues or as people at all. He is only in the game for his own self-gratification.
This manga was annoyingly repetitive. It's just the same thing happening over and over and the manga came across as way too long as a result. He gets called in for a job, does the work, then goes home and waits for another call. The pattern just keeps repeating and his job doesn't vary much. If he had more to say on the subject (like dating a coworker, as the volume 2 teaser at the back of this book indicates), he probably should have just said it already and not dragged this out as a multiple-volume series. I won't invest any more time in this one.
October 7, 2021
An interesting look into how the industry works. Just be ready not to like the narrator.
January 12, 2022
Has an overall good and interesting approach to AV production. Very funny.
Read
May 5, 2025oh my god this was the funniest shit i’ve read in a WHILE thank you kaeruno erefante
June 30, 2023
1: Why did you read THAT??
A: because no one can stop me
2: He describes working with directors Miyamoto (my name, ha...), Sakurai (...huh), and Kojima (OK I SEE WHAT YOU DID), so mentioning that first so the two people who will also appreciate that will see it immediately. :D
3: It's even more "ban-worthy" than the Sex Ed series, but I'd argue if your reasoning is based on "pornographic content"... yeah, in the same way sex ed is, because if you read this for pornography (other than the generalities behind the industry), you're going to be disappointed... even something like Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma (about making food) has more pornography than this (a journal).
3a: ...ok, it's less "erotic" than Shokugeki no Soma, I suppose would be a more accurate way to put it (can't imagine getting off to someone's diary, basically)
4: His "name" is "Frog's Elephant"... :o
5: It's actually kind of cute how he draws the hot actresses as Very Anime-style Girls while everyone else is a simple caricature!
6: undecided if I'll read more (this is vol 1), feels like this covers a lot of ground
A: because no one can stop me
2: He describes working with directors Miyamoto (my name, ha...), Sakurai (...huh), and Kojima (OK I SEE WHAT YOU DID), so mentioning that first so the two people who will also appreciate that will see it immediately. :D
3: It's even more "ban-worthy" than the Sex Ed series, but I'd argue if your reasoning is based on "pornographic content"... yeah, in the same way sex ed is, because if you read this for pornography (other than the generalities behind the industry), you're going to be disappointed... even something like Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma (about making food) has more pornography than this (a journal).
3a: ...ok, it's less "erotic" than Shokugeki no Soma, I suppose would be a more accurate way to put it (can't imagine getting off to someone's diary, basically)
4: His "name" is "Frog's Elephant"... :o
5: It's actually kind of cute how he draws the hot actresses as Very Anime-style Girls while everyone else is a simple caricature!
6: undecided if I'll read more (this is vol 1), feels like this covers a lot of ground
June 28, 2022
Firstly, if you are looking for lewd heavy content that has come with a lot of these ghost ship releases, this one contains no nudity. Might be a bummer for some. Instead, this one surprised me with its clever comedic approach told in an autobiographical manner. Furthermore, it also gives a lot of insight into the Japanese porn industry from the perspective of a male actor.
This is nothing groundbreaking, deep or 'sexy' here but it is a highly entertaining and informative title I had a blast reading--second volume is one its way in the mail.
This is nothing groundbreaking, deep or 'sexy' here but it is a highly entertaining and informative title I had a blast reading--second volume is one its way in the mail.
February 17, 2023
Not my usual read for manga but when I realized it was nonfiction? I got curious.
This manga covers the journey of a male porn star in Japan and is actually relatively tame as far as art goes, which I personally prefer. While I definitely wouldn’t read it in public, the main concept is how porn is made rather than any sort of erotic theme. Sex comes up a lot but usually the focus strays to acting or some small detail that no one but the people on set would consider.
This manga covers the journey of a male porn star in Japan and is actually relatively tame as far as art goes, which I personally prefer. While I definitely wouldn’t read it in public, the main concept is how porn is made rather than any sort of erotic theme. Sex comes up a lot but usually the focus strays to acting or some small detail that no one but the people on set would consider.
January 14, 2022
An interesting look at the behind the scenes of the porn industry, the art is silly and suits the storytelling.
Compared with other autobio manga that have been coming out recently this one wasn’t quite as engaging, the protagonist is very immature but made me chuckle at a few points.
Overall it was a fun read!
Compared with other autobio manga that have been coming out recently this one wasn’t quite as engaging, the protagonist is very immature but made me chuckle at a few points.
Overall it was a fun read!
March 11, 2023
self explanatory title. idk why some people expect it to be a commentary on the female/male gaze, the man is literally just telling his day to day live as an AV actor. artwork is cute and the perspective is quite interesting if you don't know whats going on behind the scenes.
it's not pornographic despite being about porn, its really just a guy trying to do his job.
it's not pornographic despite being about porn, its really just a guy trying to do his job.
May 14, 2023
As you can see also on the cover, his choice of drawing himself smt. like a sauerkraut which is sometimes out of shape, is making me give 4 stars (at first, he thought of drawing himself like a frog he says). Honest story, funny moments. Giving notes on jargon spesific to the Japanese adult industry was a plus (at least for me 😅). Could be interesting to follow the next volumes. Let's see...😉
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2022
Can't believe I not only had the guts to buy this but the guts to keep it. It's just an autobio, it's okay at best. But it's an interesting career choice to say the least... so I think I'll read the next volume
May 28, 2022
I mostly picked this up because I couldn’t believe it existed. Overall entertaining and yes graphic in terms of what is happening on the page but not actually really graphic at all. I’m interested to read the next volume. Not for everyone but it’s very interesting.
June 29, 2022
I thought that this would be funny, or at the very least a little more insightful, but I found it lacked any kind of pacing and was honestly more boring than it was anything else.
Definitely a bit of a let down.
Definitely a bit of a let down.
March 24, 2025
Does not explore anything interesting or critical and feels unreflected. The author is unpleasently annoying and borderline sexist. It fails in humanising woman in the industry and furthermore uncomftarbly sexualises them.
September 30, 2021
Was disappointing in many ways.
October 1, 2021
I just found it very boring and I didn’t much care for the art style some people might like this but I’m definitely not in that group.
November 3, 2021
Loved the view of a male porn star
February 18, 2022
Cute and funny. Not overly crude or graphic, but also not totally safe for younger readers.
July 8, 2022
Kinda interesting. Kinda funny. Very repetitive.
October 1, 2022
i enjoyed it, his lil frog standin / facial expressions / not so internal thoughts are pretty funny. i can’t wait for my bf to read it next <3
November 26, 2022
I actually really enjoyed this. It wasn't raunchy and I enjoyed seeing all the work that goes into making adult films from the male pov.
December 4, 2022
It was funny and informative. I’m glad there’s more volumes to read after this.
November 8, 2024
Nice art not as spicy as I thought it would be but very interesting
February 27, 2023
Really really funny
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews