Overall Grade: C+
Art: C+
Story: B-
Teen Interest: Moderate
Publisher: Tokyopop
Publisher Rating:
Vol. 1 & 3= OT
Vol. 2= M
Status: Continuing
Review:
To cope with the pain of being separated from her best friend when they start different high schools, Ayumu begins to cut herself. She eventually makes a new friend at school, but a situation with the friend's boyfriend, who abuses and blackmails Ayumu, only further strains her fragile mental state. Ayumu also seems to be dealing with issues about her own sexual identity in her interactions with other female characters. The art is fairly standard for a shojo manga, though some of the more deranged depictions of the abuser's face are so unrealistic as to be inappropriately comical. The topic of cutting and the dark melodrama of the series may attract older teens who favor gritty "issue" fiction, but the violent edge without a counterbalancing "positive" romance may alienate many shojo readers.
Mature Elements: Warning--Volume 2 is rated M=Mature with a Parental Advisory on the cover. Warning is for content that includes kidnapping, bondage-sexual abuse, upper female nudity, photographic blackmail, and assault of the main character by her best friend's ex-boyfriend.
Recommendation:
Not Recommended for school libraries or public YA collections based on the 18+ rating on vol. 2
Recommend with Cation for public adult/general graphic novel collections as a source on the topic of cutting.
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