Reviews

O Maidens in Your Savage Season, Vol. 1 by Mari Okada

Only show reviews with written explanations

mehsi's review

3.0

One of my Kodansha-free-manga-haul. I wasn't too sure about this one when I started, but then the story started and I liked it more. I loved how the girls went from just discussing books with sex scenes to really thinking about sex and love to making a bucket list. It was quite fun to read. Especially since we follow one girl whose head is now constantly thinking about things along with a big crush on her childhood friend (who btw she discovered in a very *cough* interesting position one night), and another girl who seems more stiff/uptight as we would say and see her discover love. I also see there is an anime, maybe I will check it out, I am quite curious to see if our one MC will be able to confess + what will happen to the club + what about that bucket list item?
OH, Btw, the manga title made me think of some dystopian thing rather than a coming of age thing. Haha.

chan_bean's review

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5.0

ain't that just the way.

rereader33's review

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5.0

I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of shook right now. I honestly didn't expect to like this volume as much as I did (why I pre-ordered the next two when I wasn't sure I'd like this one, I don't know) but this was very well-done. I loved witnessing high school girls grappling with sex whilst surrounded by other girls who don't give it too much thought. Yes, that difference is outdated, but the expressiveness of the main cast and the turmoil they experience breathes new life into such an old concept. I adore the character designs and am grateful that I can finally enjoy a story featuring artwork by Nao Emoto, whose previous work was Forget Me Not, and I swear to you the artwork/art style was 98% of why I actually read as much of that series as I did. The expressions the characters make are full of emotion, adding more to each scene that they occur. The panel layouts were interesting as well, especially the two-page spread consisting of two long panels. I could go on about the panel layout and the sublime symbolism in certain scenes, but I would honestly be here all day. Instead, I want to briefly touch on a couple of things that piqued my interest.

The fact that Sugewara has to have a script ready for when guys approach her in a sexual manner is horrifying but not uncommon. While this is nothing new, in the sense that certain girls get approached by men based off of looks, the fact that she has a script, and said script had been written for her when she was a child (when men started approaching her) adds a creepy factor to an otherwise down to earth story.

Hongo chatting with people online to learn more about sexual encounters for her manuscript, yet being told that her manuscript lacked feeling, was an interesting commentary on how online communication and interactions, especially regarding sex, are completely different than real life interactions/ communication.

Kazusa's whole ordeal regarding her childhood friend and how she can't stop associating everything with sex. Very realistic yet heartbreaking considering what she's going through.

Sonezaki being an outspoken detractor from sex and the ramifications that occur when she speaks her mind outside of her club members. Difficult to watch, but well-written.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on this volume. I already want to go back and reread it to see if I missed anything. I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the series, can't wait for the next volume!