„Ich habe aufgehört, ein Junge zu sein … doch ich weiß noch immer nicht, welchen Weg ich gehen will.“ Drei Jahre sind vergangen, seit Kei von seinen Sandkastenfreunden Yohei und Yui getrennt wurde. Nun ist er zurück – und nicht mehr wiederzuerkennen. Als blonde Schönheit setzt Kei nun alles daran, seinen einstigen Kindheitsfreund Yohei in einen Mahlstrom der Perversion zu reißen. Aber Yohei hat seine Liebe zu Yui längst noch nicht hinter sich gelassen. Und trotzdem kann er der Verlockung nicht widerstehen, gemeinsam mit Kei die dunklen Abgründe der Lust zu erforschen …
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) .
I know shuzo oshini's style, but it's kind of off-course and weird. Nevertheless, I plan to stick with it like I've always done. I usually feel like I can't read another Shuzo Oshini book after starting it, yet I always find myself finishing it.
Had a love/hate relationship with the first volume, thought the second one would redeem it but was disappointed. I wish the r*pe scenes weren’t depicted the way they are. Or any of the graphic parts for that matter. It makes me not want to keep reading. Also I wish the one nonbinary character in the story wasn’t a f*ing sexual predator. I love a lot of Oshimi’s work and I think he is great at what he does but idk this one just ain’t for me.
Yeah I'm dropping this series. Sexual assault bordering on rape... I don't care how you try to unpack what it means to be a man when this shit is going on and Kei has no real depth to herself other than manipulating the people around her lmao
Oshimi no decepciona, tan turbio como siempre, me encanta la dinámica entre los personajes. Nunca pensé que Mitami podría dar el paso. Intrigada porque estará planeando la mente perturbada de Kei.
I never read afterwords because they're mostly boring, but I was devouring his and was actually needing more of it. What happened next?! I'll read anything Oshimi writes at this point. He can go write swirls and nonsense on the back of his notebook and I'd still pay attention and find meaning to it. Oshimi's tagline on my head? Nasty but noble. His own words, by the way. I've been using it for him ever since Flowers of Evil.
Still figuring this one out. On one hand, it's kind of hilarious how the big horror trope is just non traditional gender and sexual identities. The main character's big problem is that he might be a little gay, and it's absolutely tearing him apart.
But of course, we really have to look at Kei. Are they a villain? There's a bit of a line being towed in regards to curiosity, exploration, defying societal expectations, but of course they're also being manipulative and sexually aggressive. What are they motivated by? I was hoping this was headed in the direction of a sort of sexual liberation for Yo and the author perhaps, but this volume kinda just sets us up with "the enemy is the unknown." This is the dominant ideology of the western world as well, resulting in the unending wave of violence and murder against transgender and gender nonconforming people.
But of course, this is a Japanese work, and it does not carry the weight and nuance of western gender politics. The situation in Japan is its own entity and this is one of many windows into the heart of that. I don't think the author is transphobic, and I do believe we're likely headed towards something interesting and worth exploring, but this volume by itself didn't do a whole lot for me other than hopefully set up something more worthwhile.
Even more uncomfortable then the last volume 😣 It kind of reminds me of The Flowers of Evil with the 3 friends with one of them messing with the other 2’s minds. I don’t recommend reading this if you’re under the age of 18…
Es un no parar lo bien que avanza... Eso sí, se está poniendo jodida la cosa porque que hay abusos sexuales de por medio... Me da cosa que el autor recurra todo el rato a esto :/
Mitani mi loquita favorita le hubiera encantado la frase monogamia o bala y compartir icons en tuiter
Yohei's long-time crush Mitani starts to show some interest towards him. A typical Oshimi work but I hope it's going to pick up in the next volume and Kei stops being predatory.
La primera infancia aparece como ámbito de la inocencia y el juego. Pero, ay, al llegar al instituto se anuncia la edad de las decisiones. Nadie ha decidido nada nunca porque quiera sino porque no le queda más remedio que hacerlo. Decide: ¿el club de cine o algún deporte? Decide tu identidad. Reducir dentro de ti todo eso que está en ebullición, decidir es darle al deseo una dirección. Pero el deseo ni se dirige, ni se contiene, ni es. La tensión y los nervios a flor de piel. Y la piel roza con otros cuerpos que también, antes que ser, tiemblan y desean.
J’avais beaucoup aimé le premier tome à sa sortie. Cette histoire est très très intrigante, je dirais même qu’elle est un brin dérangeante mais surtout très intéressante. Je me pose beaucoup de questions et je me demande surtout quel chemin va prendre cette histoire. Ce second tome m’a beaucoup plu, j’étais très curieuse de me plonger dedans et je n’ai pas été déçu le moins du monde. C’est le genre de manga qui va me rendre « folle » jusqu’au dernier tome. J’ai tant besoin de savoir comment tout ça va se terminer parce que pour le moment, je n’en ai aucune foutue idée!
Dans ce second tome, le lycée vient à peine de commencer, mais les pensées et les impulsions de Yôhei sont déjà complètement chamboulées. Kei, son ami d’enfance est de retour dans leur ville natale mais sous une toute nouvelle apparence qui ne laisse personne indifférent. Alors qu’il se pensait totalement amoureux de Yui, son amour de longue date, depuis le baiser langoureux échangé avec Kei, c’est ce dernier qui hante son esprit. Quant à Yui, blessée par l’indifférence de Kei, elle commence à regarder Yôhei d’un œil différent…
Cette histoire est vraiment perturbante. On ne sait jamais ce qu’il nous attend, ce qu’il va bien pouvoir se passer, les réactions des personnages et j’en passe. Je n’ai vraiment aucune idée de ce que la suite nous réserve. Et ça c’est perturbant! Dans ce manga j’ai énormément de mal à cerner les différents personnages, surtout Kei mais même Yôhei et Yui. Kei est celui qui est le plus imprévisible. J’ai la sensation qu’il a une idée derrière la tête mais en même temps on ne sait jamais ce qu’il est capable de faire. Il a la fâcheuse tendance à manipuler Yôhei, sur ses sentiments etc. Vraiment j’ai beaucoup de mal avec Kei même si je trouve son personnage hyper intéressant mais surtout très bien construit. Ce que j’aime aussi avec ce manga c’est que l’histoire est dérangeante mais en même temps on veut tout de même continuer à la découvrir. Les scènes « bizarres » se succèdent pas mal et c’est ce qui amène vraiment ce côté malaisant. L’histoire en elle même reste assez floue, comme je le disais, on a aucune idée de là où on veut nous amener, je n’ai aucune idée, même minime, de comment cette histoire va se terminer… J’ai du mal à m’attacher aux personnages par contre, je pense que c’est le côté assez dérangeant qui me gêne sur ça..
Un second tome aussi bon que le premier, ça nous tient en haleine, on se pose beaucoup de questions, on se demande ce qu’il va bien pouvoir se passer par la suite etc. Les personnages, même si j’ai du mal à m’attacher à eux, il faut le dire sont très intrigants. Kei est celui qui m’intrigue le plus, il a cette façon de se comporter complètement imprévisible. Je me demande vraiment ce qu’il a derrière la tête.. Très très hâte de lire la suite en tout cas!
You can always count on Oshimi for teen emotional trauma on the level of near madness, with at least one character as catalyst for what borders on horror: Flowers of Evil, with the one girl tormentor: Blood on the Tracks with the unstable mother jealously intervening in her son's relationship with a girl, and here, we have a sort of twisted love triangle involving a girl, Mitani; a non-binary, Kei, and our mc boy stand-in for Oshimi, Yo.
The twisted character in this one that is deliberately messing with his two friends's heads is Kei, now dressed as a pretty girl, who (sort of?) forces Yo into sexual situations even as Yo wants to pursue Mitani. But desire being complicated for Yo--well, for all three of them, but maybe especially for Yo--he is as anguished as any mc in any Oshimi story. In the latter part of this one it would appear Mitani takes charge to ask Yo to be her boyfriend, but Kei is still smotheringly present.
Oshimi admits sexuality has always been complicated and anguished for him, and in this and other stories admits he is exploring his personal issues. When did he know he was male? Straight? Is he? I acknowledge this series can almost be too uncomfortable for some readers, but as I see it, Oshimi is a great artist, and doing this personal work on sexuality through fiction can at its best get very close to the flame. Goethe's Young Werther. Many Herman Hesse characters. Joyce. Kafka.
COMMENTO PERSONALE: Allora era davvero tanto che non mettevo mano su questo titolo e devo ammettere che ne sono rimasta esterrefatta. La grafica è molto realistica r le scene che toccano la sfera sensuale sono davvero esplicite. Mi ha colpito molto più del primo e non vedo l'ora di capire come continuerà questa storia. Yo Chan è un timido ragazzo introverso, chiuso in sé stesso, diligente e rigoroso che ha una cotta dai tempi delle medie per Mitani e ancora non gli è passata. La reputa davvero bellissima e per certi versi irraggiungibile ma ciò non gli impedisce di essere sempre gentile con lei, di aiutarla in ogni difficoltà. Lei nei confronti di lui non ha mai preso spirito di iniziativa mentre provava qualcosa per questo terzo protagonista, che nonostante la sua assenza e poi presenza ovvero Kei-Chan. Dal mio punto di vista è la figura più affascinante e odiosa al tempo stesso. Decide di fare la transizione poiché non sentendosi più nel corpo di maschio decide di essere una donna. Yo-Chan essendo un adolescente in preda agli ormoni e ai sogni erotici cerca di controllarsi ma... Kei gli fa una proposta che io trovo oltraggiosa e sconcertante (per quello che riguarda i miei gusti anche molto attuale). In tutto questo Mitani si rende conto di amare il protagonista, passando anche più tempo tra loro, e cominciano conseguentemente delle rivelazioni e dichiarazioni. L'ultimo capitolo è quello che mi ha colpita maggiormente con delle trovate che definirei sorprendenti. Detto questo ve lo consiglio e personalmente non vedo l'ora di proseguire questa avventura anche se i volumi da quello che posso vedere sono di difficile reperibilità. Lo sconsiglio invece a coloro che sono impressionabili e suscettibili alle scene esplicite.
I don't know who I wanna root for. I initially wanted to root for Kei (but they're acting kinda weird) and then Yui started standing up for Yo so my mind was like YES! Someone to root for! You go girl! But the ending of volume 2 was pretty weird how Kei and Yui kind of confronted Yo into choosing so... I don't know who I want as end game honestly lol.
A prediction for future volumes is they are probably gonna just become a threesome?? Maybe? Since Yui had past feelings for Kei and Kei has a weird sense or deformed concept of love...
Also in the volume they are still using "him" pronouns for Kei even though they no longer want to be a seen as a man but Kei said they also don't want to be part of the girls so for now I will be refering to them as "they/them" in my reviews till it becomes more clear.. perhaps non-binary?? :)
question: are all trans people good people? fuck no!!! but does that mean they're identities shouldn't be respected? fuck u if u say no!!!
this is basically any romance novel except Kei is out to fuck things up as much as she can. really reminds me of #OshimiShuzo's other work #FlowersOfEvil. like this literally has the same plot. softboy crushing on pretty girl is psychologically tortured and humiliated by a deranged other girl.
such a bummer that Shuzo books often read fast. he likes blank wordless spaces for its dramatic umpact so a full volume can be read in minutes. i want more and im trying my best not to go online and read all chapters available cause i kinda want to complete this in my shelf. 💥
We see a great deal of progression in the love triangle defined in the previous volume. Still, those three know nothing about what expects them. I'll just bet the next volume drops a bombshell on their perfectly arranged love interests.
Welcome Home, Alice is a very slow and personal journey for our protagonist Yohei as he tries to navigate the world of his own desires and sexuality. See, he’s always had a thing for Mitami, the girl he grew up with, and he’s even fantasized about her a couple times as any young man would. He’s a young man just stumbling into puberty with little to no direction in the matter and no one else in his life is willing to even really talk about it. It’s the sort of thing he should be able to discuss with his friend Kei, they’re both male after all and they’ve surely had similar thoughts...
yohei and yui are cute. Oshimi is a master at building tension whether it's psychological fuckery or romantic tension (the holding hands scene?? I felt that). this series is soooo uncomfortable tho. Like Kei's whole deal. Everyone's confused and I get that, but Kei is dealing with his gender stuff in the weirdest way. Because forcing yourself on your childhood friends is gonna help? I don't think they even had a real conversation yet. It's all just about masturbation. Would love to see them rebuild their actual friendship since they used to be besties. But this is Oshimi so I doubt that's gonna happen lol. Somehow still curious where this is gonna go tho.
These manga volumes are so quick to read and easy to consume, I really love that about them. I have to admit, I didn't love this one as much as I was hoping to and left it feeling similar to the first one. I just feel like ti could be doing so much more and I don't know if we'll get that in future volumes or if it's just something extra that is missing that I'm looking for. It's super slow and not much happens if that's something you need in your manga! Will continue in the series, I'll see if it improves moving forward.
Mmh, non so. C'è qualcosa che non mi convince in questa storia e credo che sia proprio il personaggio di Kei (o di Alice). Trovo interessanti alcune sue riflessioni, come il fatto che consideri l'amore un concetto limitante, però il modo audace con cui si approccia a Yohei lo trovo un po' troppo soffocante. Ciò detto, sono comunque ancora abbastanza incuriosita dalla storia. Voglio proprio leggere come si evolveranno le cose ora che Yui e Yo hanno deciso di iniziare una relazione.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
'Welcome Back, Alice' continues to be a story about horny adolescents dealing with each other in messy manipulative ways, not particularly aided by the trans student at the center of their love triangle -- and to be fair, she seems to be especially enjoying the chaos. It's pretty compelling, in the way that other people's messy drama can be.
What.In.the.hell!! Why was Kei in the closet at the end? Why did Mitani have to ask Yo out while lying down on Kei’s futon in Kei’s apartment???? And that promise makes me think that this will be about Yo trying to “stay innocent” with Mitani but Kei will be trying to seduce him (and probably succeed knowing Oshimi) every chance he gets…
This work has some aspects that are certain to be divisive depending on social interpretations, but die-hard fans of Oshimi will certainly understand better what he is going for here.
Another brilliant and dark coming-of-age nightmare from the master mangaka is certain to appease fans.
I am really excited to see how this story continues