Reading Report: 20 November 2022
Another week, another report on my reading. As with last week there is some adult stuff mentioned in the read more so read at your own discretion. texts I tend to tone down the language. The version here is slightly edited to re-introduce discussion of some adult content.
エロマンガ表現史: 59 pages Finally knocked this one out. There were about four/five sections depending how you count. First was 海外 discussion, interview with ShindoL, and some notes about artistic freedom in erotic art (comparing Japan and "the west"). ShindoL believes that Japan has more freedom in erotic expression because there are fewer limitations on subjects such as bestiality and lolicon/shotacon. While the author hits back with "but what about 修正" ShindoL says he actually finds mosaic censorship to be somewhat erotic. Second was a その他 section, had some extra 表現 that didn't deserve their own space or even ones that only had a single documented use case such as a comic border being shaped like a dick, perspectives like viewing the scene as though you were inside a vagina/anus/mouth looking out, and using the 成年マーク as a part of the cover art. There was some discussion about what exactly makes something eromanga, showing a venn diagram of how the author perceives the breakdown. Basically 美少女漫画, BL, TL, and 劇画 all have eromanga variations but there are also non-erotic versions of those, and they sometimes intersect. The exact definition can't be pinned down simply. Fourth was a section called エロマンガ女子会 and honestly it was the best. It was an interview between the author and 8 women in the industry, trying to get a female perspective on things. Two notable mentions were one speaker talking about how girls in manga going 熱い！！ when a guy cums in her feels so unrealistic because the body temperature inside yourself and the temperature of cum is more or less the same. It's nice to see people speak about stuff like that so candidly. Their focus on realism was really interesting. Another example was praise of ナナとカオル (a great manga series about an S&M couple) and how it shows the effort Kaoru puts into preparing the scenes for their sessions. There was also a section where the author asked the women if they use eromanga to nut to and surprisingly a bunch of them didn't... one of them said she would buy something on the night and go home and nut to it no matter what. When the author said "what if it's something you just can't nut to?" she replied 頑張ってヌキます which is just amazing. Lastly was the あとがき. The author did the special thanks and whatnot, talked about the challenges of being a social scientist whose speciality is eromanga but also talking about the benefits and value of it.
おかえりアリス: Vol 5 (apologies for this and 誰かのカノジョ below which have very little context for previous volumes. they're good manga worth reading, but touch on some difficult/challenging themes.) After vol 4 let me down, vol 5 bounced right back. Lot's of great storytelling. I really liked the scenes between Kei and Ano, especially their relationships with their own and each-other's bodies. The drama between You and Mitani also escalated in a way that just reinforces that they're really not good for each other in any way.
サマータイムレンダ2026異聞百景: 82 pages Started reading this on the same day I finished the last book. For anyone who doesn't know, this light novel follows the adventures of ひづる and her niece in 2026, a few years after the events of サマータイムレンダ. The first story was about uncertainty and the ability to have knowledge of past and future. It was fairly interesting but I do find a bit of dissonance reading a story that feels a bit like a Sherlock Holmes/mystery solving format in a world where magic is real. I think the spin-off manga handled this better because very early on it was made clear that some spooky stuff was going on, that they'd have to figure out a solution that includes both magic and logic but in this case the solution was entirely logic based (and then the story ended with a magic kicker for basically no reason). Anyway I think the main strength is in the characters so it's still enjoyable. It's also a very breezy read especially compared to the last two books I just finished.
明日、私は誰かのカノジョ: Vol 12 Following from Vol 11, this volume is entirely focused on Emi, a formerly high-end escort who has moved back to her home town to make a life for herself that doesn't centre around her body. She has a lot of difficulties with civilian life, ends up relapsing (sort of) by working at a hostess bar. There is a lot of personal anxiety about her age (she's in her 40s) and her uncertainty about the future. She feels totally unlovable and lost, and things don't really turn around at all. Maybe next volume something good will happen.