Scan barcode
thebookbin's review
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
3.0
It's time to review Birthday Manga! I started off with Seaside Stranger because I am really excited to see the movie, and I am kind of disappointed in how the manga turned out. Although I think this is a manga that was developed after the show, which would explain a lot.
The plot follows Shun, a young man who was kicked out of his house for being gay and now lives with his aunt. His age isn't really specified. He meets Mio, who's mother just died, leaving him an orphan. He cheers up Mio in his grief and invites him over for dinner with his auntie and lesbian friend. They make a tentative connection, but Mio has to move off the island to go live in a facility until he's a legal adult. There's a break in the story, and a few years later, Mio comes back to the island, with the express purpose of reuniting with Shun. But Shun seems really cold to him. Mio never reached out or called during his time away. But Mio seems pretty relentless. By the end of the volume they get together, after Shun's first female fiancé comes to the island and tells him to go home to see his parents because his father is dying.
There's going to be a volume 2 which I think will clear some things up, but overall I feel like this manga was pretty confusing. The relationship didn't make sense to me. The art is gorgeous, and it has real rustic vibes that I really like, but also I am very confused. It's not really clear why Shun is so cold. They don't really talk about it. And Mio is really insistent about "sleeping together" but he's talking about just sleeping where it seems like Shun is interpreting it as sex. I think it might have been a translation issue, honestly. There's also the ambiguity about Shun's age. They're drawn really similar, so it feels like Shun is the same age but he doesn't go to school. It's really pure at the beginning, but when Mio comes back is where the dynamic doesn't make sense.
Shun doesn't treat Mio like a kid, or like someone younger than him. I guess the problem is they just don't talk enough. Like please communicate so I know what the heck is happening. It was wrapped in plastic, and there is a sex scene (my first manga sex scene!) but it was very censored and definitely felt like a coming-of-age experience than erotica. It only lasts 4 pages so it didn't feel gratuitous.
All in all I think I'm still going to watch the movie, but the manga didn't live up to the hype.
3/5 atmospheric stars
The plot follows Shun, a young man who was kicked out of his house for being gay and now lives with his aunt. His age isn't really specified. He meets Mio, who's mother just died, leaving him an orphan. He cheers up Mio in his grief and invites him over for dinner with his auntie and lesbian friend. They make a tentative connection, but Mio has to move off the island to go live in a facility until he's a legal adult. There's a break in the story, and a few years later, Mio comes back to the island, with the express purpose of reuniting with Shun. But Shun seems really cold to him. Mio never reached out or called during his time away. But Mio seems pretty relentless. By the end of the volume they get together, after Shun's first female fiancé comes to the island and tells him to go home to see his parents because his father is dying.
There's going to be a volume 2 which I think will clear some things up, but overall I feel like this manga was pretty confusing. The relationship didn't make sense to me. The art is gorgeous, and it has real rustic vibes that I really like, but also I am very confused. It's not really clear why Shun is so cold. They don't really talk about it. And Mio is really insistent about "sleeping together" but he's talking about just sleeping where it seems like Shun is interpreting it as sex. I think it might have been a translation issue, honestly. There's also the ambiguity about Shun's age. They're drawn really similar, so it feels like Shun is the same age but he doesn't go to school. It's really pure at the beginning, but when Mio comes back is where the dynamic doesn't make sense.
Shun doesn't treat Mio like a kid, or like someone younger than him. I guess the problem is they just don't talk enough. Like please communicate so I know what the heck is happening. It was wrapped in plastic, and there is a sex scene (my first manga sex scene!) but it was very censored and definitely felt like a coming-of-age experience than erotica. It only lasts 4 pages so it didn't feel gratuitous.
All in all I think I'm still going to watch the movie, but the manga didn't live up to the hype.
3/5 atmospheric stars
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide
More...