23/08/2020: Introduction to Seinen Manga

Introduction to Seinen Manga

Sick of your average Shonen/Shoujo that recycles the same old theme of Love-Beats-All? Seeking a higher thrill and curious to explore taboo topics? Welcome to the Seinen/Mature tag. The shining aspect of a (good) Seinen manga is its handling of harsher realities – nuanced, realistic and non-judgmental.

Disclaimer: The following Manga might make you feel uncomfortable – please thread carefully and read the tags. For the edgy boys and girls, the following works are FICTION and should be read with an open-mind – they are exaggerated versions of reality and do not represent the real world (mostly).

Level 1: Daughter’s Friend (Tomodachi no Musume)

Tags: Romance, Psychological

Status: Ongoing (48+ chapters)

Synopsis: Kosuke strives to achieve a healthy work-life balance as a manager at work and a father at home. However, as a Japanese salaryman, work came first, then his wife passes away and his daughter became a shut-in.

One day, the struggling single dad and middle-aged salaryman meets a beautiful high-school girl named Koto in a café. Wanting to escape from life’s problems, he runs away with the mysterious girl in the middle of a work-day. He knows this is wrong, but both of them are lonely and ravaged by life.

Will their love come to fruition – is it a solution, or an escape, or both, for their life problems? Is it even possible?

Level 2: Eating Crab with a Snow Lady (Yukionna to Kani wo Kuu)

Tags: Romance, Psychological, Depression, Suicide

Status: Ongoing (55+ chapters)

Synopsis: On a hot summer day, a suicidal man tried to hang himself but failed. Giving up, he watches television to pass time, but a special program about Hokkaido’s seafood comes out – he realizes he had never once eaten crab. Determined to eat the luxurious dish before he dies, he plans to travel to Hokkaido with his remaining money.

However, he does not have enough money, and breaks into a house to rob a high-class housewife. To his surprise, before he had the chance to extort her, the mysterious woman offers him both her cash and her body, and proposes to join him in his final journey.

On their way to Hokkaido, they fall in love with each other and have lots of hot and steamy sex, while their past is slowly revealed. Is death truly the final destination that awaits the runaway couple?

Level 3: I am inside Mari (Boku wa Mari no Naka)

Tags: Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural, Gender-bender

Status: Completed (80 chapters)

Synopsis: Isao Komori is a countryside bumpkin that moved to Tokyo to attend college. Starting life anew, he waited for people to talk to him and become his friends. Yet, months passed and nobody did. Having no friends, he drops out of college. Every day, he sits in his room playing videogames and masturbating.

The only time he leaves his room is to buy food and porn magazines at the convenience store, and to see his “Angel” – a pretty high school girl named Mari Yoshizaki.

One day, he decides to stalk her home, but suddenly, she turns her head to meet his eyes. The next thing Isao knows is that he had woken up in the body of Mari. What should Isao, or now Mari, do?

NOTE: Avoid reviews and comments for HEAVY spoilers

Level 4: Secrets - Uniforms at the Age of Nineteen (Himegoto - Juukyuusai no Seifuku)

Tags: Crossdressing, Yuri, Rape, Prostitution, Drama, Romance

Status: Completed (100 chapters)

Synopsis: This is a story of a group of college students who struggle with their sexual identities.

• Yuki (nicknamed Yoshiki) is a tomboy who does not know how to be feminine. To feel like a girl, she often wears her high-school uniform (which is the only skirt she has) and fantasizes being dominated by a guy to masturbate.

• Mikako is a seemingly young and innocent girl in front of her friends. Yet, to satisfy her wish of being a 15-year-old forever, she sells her body at night by pretending as a teen prostitute.

• Kaito is a popular good-looking guy, is attracted to women, but he loves to cross-dress as a girl. He adores Mikako too much and wants to become her, often picking dresses that mimic Mikako’s fashion-style.

The story develops into a complicated love-triangle between the trio, who subject each other to many lies and manipulation. Will they manage to find their true selves and learn to love themselves? Or will they continue their path of self-destruction?

- Felix Urushibara