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A review by vexcrest_113
Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
A self-contained manga that aims to educate readers about asexuality and perhaps give those readers the knowledge to question what they really want in life.
I saw this book on a library shelf and it caught my eye because of the asexual flag colors. As an ace myself, I'm unused to seeing books about the subject and was naturally inclined to pick it up. I sat down and read the whole thing in one go, and while I didn't dislike it, I thought it was a little too focused on being informational.
The problem with good representation is that creators struggle to find a way to address the subject, whatever the subject may be, without sounding preachy or like they're reading from a dictionary. Their word choice and how long they talk about it stop sounding natural and more like a PSA being shoved into a narrative. It's clunky.
This book, unfortunately, doesn't escape this issue and while I respect its good intentions, the clumsiness it has in delivering information is too bothersome to ignore.
It is so entirely concerned with educating people that it neglects its purpose as a story with interesting characters. It's not much of a story at all, really. It's just a girl being told at length what asexuality is and how the spectrum demonstrates itself. Characters monologue on and on about definitions, grey areas, and the specifics of sexualities and how they work. After a while, you stop seeing characters and see robots printing out information.
Said characters don't have anything going on outside the sex talk and the protagonist is poorly defined.
I appreciate the book covering such an important and rarely covered topic, but it's not entertaining as a work of fiction.
I saw this book on a library shelf and it caught my eye because of the asexual flag colors. As an ace myself, I'm unused to seeing books about the subject and was naturally inclined to pick it up. I sat down and read the whole thing in one go, and while I didn't dislike it, I thought it was a little too focused on being informational.
The problem with good representation is that creators struggle to find a way to address the subject, whatever the subject may be, without sounding preachy or like they're reading from a dictionary. Their word choice and how long they talk about it stop sounding natural and more like a PSA being shoved into a narrative. It's clunky.
This book, unfortunately, doesn't escape this issue and while I respect its good intentions, the clumsiness it has in delivering information is too bothersome to ignore.
It is so entirely concerned with educating people that it neglects its purpose as a story with interesting characters. It's not much of a story at all, really. It's just a girl being told at length what asexuality is and how the spectrum demonstrates itself. Characters monologue on and on about definitions, grey areas, and the specifics of sexualities and how they work. After a while, you stop seeing characters and see robots printing out information.
Said characters don't have anything going on outside the sex talk and the protagonist is poorly defined.
I appreciate the book covering such an important and rarely covered topic, but it's not entertaining as a work of fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia