Kusanagi-sensei wa Tamesareteiru

Kusanagi-sensei wa Tamesareteiru. (草薙先生は試されている。, Kusanagi-sensei is Being Tested)
Author: Yasuda Kōsuke
First Published: 2017
Runs on: Twi4 (web manga, Seikaisha)
Volumes: 2 (Ongoing)

Yasuda Kōsuke’s most well-known work is the delightfully underrated 3-volume Watashi to Kanojo no Otamari Eiga about two college students having weekend movie night get-togethers, so I went into this one with semi-high expectations. Kusanagi-sensei wa Tamesareteiru. originally started life as a one-shot/pilot before expanding into a proper series that now runs online via the Twi4 (Twitter 4-koma) platform.

First things first – if you’re at all uncomfortable dealing with age-gap stories especially where one half of the equation is very much under age, then it’s time to stop reading this and head for the exits. Don’t read this just to end up moaning at a story that doesnt’t fit in with your moral compass. Even if you’re fine with the basic idea, be warned that:

1) it’s a 24-year age gap – our protagonists are 36 and 12 at the start of the series
2) the adult half of the pairing is/was in love with her BFF, the mother of her teenage love interest
3) what starts off as a harmless crush does indeed turn into reciprocal love and as of some 270+ chapters in, they are in a (chaste) relationship

So if none of that triggers you, welcome. The titular character is one Kusanagi Minako, a 36-year old English teacher, who discovers that her best friend Yae’s daughter Kubota Kazuki has enrolled in her school. To Kusanagi’s shock, Kazuki aka Hime-chan confesses her love to her after classes one day and asks Kusanagi to go out with her. Kusanagi eventually turns her down after admitting that she’s still in love with someone…and the next day, Hime-chan turns up at school having cut her hair to look exactly like her mom used to. And so, the game is on as Hime-chan aims to capture Kusanagi-sensei in her pursuit of love.

Kusanagi-sensei runs in a 4-koma format which normally makes you think of gags & puns; there are those of course, but there is also actual development and the overarching tone is serious – no, this is not Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!? where age-gap relationships are played for slapstick jokes. There are flashbacks to flesh out the characters’ backgrounds, side-arcs featuring supporting characters and lots and lots of introspection from Kusanagi-sensei.

Yes, introspection – there’s no running away from any of the problems that you would think are likely to crop up. At first, Kusanagi-sensei’s judgement appears to be clouded by the fact that she sees Yae in Hime-chan’s face and you alarmingly start to wonder if she’d fall for her for that icky reason.

Kusanagi has deliberately distanced herself from Yae since her marriage, not wanting to suffer seeing her wedded bliss having never gathered the courage to confess her one-sided love to her, which we later on see was not so one-sided after all as Yae ponders whether her life would’ve been different if either one of them had been brave enough to explore their feelings. Yae is constantly talking about her best friend ‘Mina’ to her daughter and as a result, we see that Hime-chan is already fascinated by this idol-like Mina character before she even gets to meet her. And when they meet, the attraction is instant for Hime-chan.

We easily get to see how different mother and daughter are though – Hime-chan is your typical brash, confident teenager who’s not afraid of boldly asserting her love for Kusanagi-sensei. Strangely, Hime-chan never comes off as annoying, like many other similar characters in her position would – her head is well fixed on her shoulders and her directness is actually a good foil for Kusanagi-sensei who is extremely insecure and prone to brooding and bouts of self-loathing, which I suppose is what a 2-decade long one-sided love does to your state of mind.

A lot of people may have been hoping that this manga wouldn’t cross the line & develop the relationship between the main pair, but I honestly think there wouldn’t be a point to this series if it hadn’t. There may be jokes aplenty but love is not something you should joke about – that seems to be the message that is being driven home here.

My main concern about any age-gap story is the power balance, lest it veer off into creepy predatory paedophilic territory, but we see time and again the roles being reversed as Kusanagi-sensei cedes (or rather struggles to take) control to Hime-chan. Don’t be fooled by the tankoubon covers: it’s not provocative nor a case of one bullying the other into submission – Hime-chan’s obviously a little childish at times despite her determination to act more mature, while Kusanagi-sensei’s insecurities belie her cool exterior and devilish reputation amongst students.

For the first 200 or so chapters (? pages?) proceedings are per your usual harmless student-in-love-with-older-teacher sort of comedy/slice of life 4-koma, but things really step up a gear by the time Valentine’s Day rolls around. Hime-chan ends up crying after Kusanagi-sensei admonishes her for sneaking chocolates into her desk drawer despite a schoolwide ban on V-Day gifts. Kusanagi relents and accepts the chocolates, reflecting that her indecisive nature is what has led to this impasse – she needs to deal with this once and for all; either accept Hime-chan’s feelings or stop stringing her along & firmly reject her.

Does Kusanagi-sensei truly love Hime-chan? Or is she going to treat her as a replacement for Yae, the way she (mis)treated her ex-girlfriend Aki? The signs are all there (like how she moans Hime-chan’s name when she’s drunk) but it is through a catch-up with Aki, as well as a conversation with her teaching colleague Arimura (who also has a crush on Kusanagi-sensei) where she ultimately resolves to stop making a martyr of herself and give love another chance.

And so Kusanagi makes the decision to come clean on White Day, gifting Hime-chan a box of macarons, which initially seems to disappoint her. Turns out Hime-chan was expecting something hand-made like Kusanagi had given her mother Yae in the past, but Kusanagi explains that she thinks it’d be insincere if she just repeated whatever she did in the past: Yae is Yae and Hime-chan is Hime-chan, and she wants their memories together to be unique and special.

Hime-chan notes that all this is making her fall even more in love with Kusanagi-sensei and she jokes that Kusanagi should take responsibility and date her…and to her surprise, Kusanagi agrees. BUT with a long list of conditions – basically, they can only start dating when Hime-chan’s graduated from junior high but no naughty business until they’re 18…provided Hime-chan’s feelings don’t change, giving both of them a chance to back out at any time. Hime-chan easily susses out that Kusanagi-sensei’s rehearsed her speech at home and forces her to redo her confession, properly. Ahh, they’re so cute~

Boom, the manga skips ahead 2 years and Hime-chan’s now in high school and they’re officially dating! But here comes a new set of problems as Kusanagi-sensei is uneasy: she doesn’t get to see Hime-chan much anymore since she moved on to high school, and she’s worried about whether Hime-chan still wants to date an old auntie like her. Hime-chan lightly admonishes her for this: she’s lived up to her part of the bargain,  waited 2 years and she really doesn’t give a crap about the age gap – her feelings haven’t changed.

The one that she does want to change though, is the fact that Kusanagi-sensei still calls her ‘Kubota-san’…she wants her to call her by her first name Kazuki. Hime-chan herself attempts to call her Mina…but this still reminds Kusanagi-sensei of Yae. Eep. Their first date seems to end on a sad note when Hime-chan reflects on how she feels lonely and regretful that time went by so quickly and lamenting why she didn’t treasure each moment they spent together more.

Kusanagi-sensei quickly realises that her behaviour is causing Hime-chan to feel insecure again and she grabs her wrist, drags her to a corner and finally calls her ‘Kazuki’. And repeatedly tells her that she loves her…to which Kazuki replies ‘Don’t worry, I never doubted your love for one moment.’

That brings us up to speed to where we are with the manga right now – they’re growing into their relationship, supporting each other physically and emotionally. There are of course, a myriad of possible problems that might crop up in the future: does Minako really have the willpower to hold out until Kazuki’s turned 18? What happens when Yae finds out? And so on. Kusanagi-sensei has so far managed to navigate every obstacle in a believable way, to the point where it’s got me 100% rooting for the main couple and I look forward to finding out how their romance plays out. Please stay together! (and show us what happens when Kazuki turns legal *chortles)

A third or so of the manga has been scanlated already so you know where to look if you want to sample this!

Kimi wa Shōjo

Kimi wa Shōjo (君は少女, You Are a Girl)
Author: Nanatsu Fuji
First Published: 2018
Serialization: Comic Yuri Hime (Ichijinsha)
Volumes: 1 volume (Complete)

If you think the idea of sex between a fully-grown adult woman, say, late 20s to early 30s, and a 14-year old virgin girl is deplorable, then you’d really be better off not starting on Kimi wa Shōjo. 5 chapters in, we’re just about approaching full-on smut levels (albeit without nudity) and I highly doubt we’ll be back on innocent ground anytime soon.

The story opens with Jinno Maki moving back to the countryside with her mother after her parents’ divorce. Unloading their belongings, she stumbles backwards but is held up by a beautiful kimono-clad woman with parasol in hand. Maki’s mom catches a glimpse of the mysterious lady and is surprised to see an unfamiliar face – it’s a small village where she knows practically everyone by name even if she’s been away for some years.

Maki laments her new life in the boondocks. Classrooms have few students, there is nothing to alleviate boredom post-lessons and her only solace lies in her mobile phone. She returns home from school one day to find, to her dismay, her mom hosting a ‘welcome back to the village’ party with old friend. Talk quickly turns to the mysterious kimono woman and Maki learns that her name is Kōsaka Natsume and that she moved in 3-4 years earlier. The villagers describe her as pleasant and friendly, but no one seems to know what she does for a living – the men believe she’s a widow & start spouting garbage about how Natsume-chan’s not had a man for ages and is probably starting to feel ‘agitated’ by now. Yikes.

Thinking that they’re the worst, Maki storms out to take a walk. She finds herself enjoying the stillness of the night and winds up at a brook where fireflies are dancing in the dark. It’s her first time seeing them, and Maki is dazzled by the sight. As she pulls out her phone to capture the moment, she realizes that there is someone else nearby. In the river, bathing completely naked. Of course, it’s Kōsaka-san. The two stare at each other, Maki’s face reddens, and she turns and runs away.

What follows is at first, seemingly innocent. Maki runs into Kōsaka-san on her way home from school and the latter apologizes for what happened, claiming that she goes bathing in the river on warm nights when she can’t sleep. Inviting Maki to her home, Kōsaka cooks for her and they make small talk. After some time, Maki’s phone rings and it’s her mom berating her for staying out so late. As she readies to leave, Kōsaka suddenly hugs her from behind and tells her to stop by again. Back home, Maki ponders the day’s events and stares at the photo on her phone that she took that night by the river – Kōsaka-san naked in the waters. Maki thinks to herself, ‘I want to grow up to be a woman like her’.

Despite the sexual undertones permeating the first chapter, I have to say I wasn’t prepared at all for the rapid developments that followed in chapter 2, when Maki gets caught in the rain and Kōsaka takes her home to dry off. They’re on the veranda, talking about cicadas. Maki thinks the insects’ cries are eerie; Kōsaka disagrees and says that she loves the ‘fragility’ of the sounds they make. Maki grins awkwardly, pondering how she doesn’t understand that ‘fragility’.

Maki: I am still a child, after all.
Kōsaka: There are so many worlds that you are yet to know.
Maki: I want to grow up as soon as possible…
Kōsaka: You’re fine the way you are right now.

Then this happens.

And this.

Phew, that escalated so quickly! And I like that. None of that ‘will they, won’t they’ hesitancy – they just get straight to it, their desire for each other written in their eyes and all over their bodies. The initial liaison is of course initiated by Kōsaka, and Maki doesn’t even know what the heat, the ‘good feelings’, or the intertwining of their bodies implies. She even googles (or ‘goggles’, in this case) ‘females naked embracing’ later on, and realizes that the things she did with Kōsaka-san amounts to sex.

The encounter lights a fire within Maki’s immature body and innocent mind – Kōsaka-san is the only thing she thinks about, and she can get no sleep at night. She feels the heat burning up her body and wonders whether this is what it’s like to be in love, but she reasons that it can’t be love, because she knows nothing about Kōsaka-san. You have to know someone before you can fall in love with them, right?

Maki runs to the river and throws herself in to cool down; when she comes up, you know who’s going to be there: Kōsaka. An argument between a child and an adult ensues – Kōsaka slaps Maki then kisses her and demands that Maki hurt her in kind, but all Maki can do in her childishness is to repeat ‘Idiot, idiot, idiot..’ and bite on Kōsaka’s shoulder.

Kōsaka: “It’s alright…after all, you’re still a chi-, no, you’re just a girl”.

Back on the riverbanks, Maki confesses her feelings of ‘love’. All she gets is a ‘thank you’, and her disappointment is palpable. Kōsaka teases Maki, asking her what she would rather have had her say.

Holdings hands, the two start walking back to Kōsaka’s house, but they quickly break into a run as it’s clear that the lust is taking over their minds & bodies. They start making love as soon as they get inside and it turns hot and heavy.

“Heated fingertips. Warm breath. Damp skin. The smell of sweat mixed with perfume.”

Maki finally calls Kōsaka by her first name, Natsume. She swears to herself that someday, she will mark Natsume’s body the same way Natsume has marked hers. Natsume tells Maki she loves her.

But the last panel drops a bombshell.

“And then you disappeared from my sight”.

Woah.

At the moment too much is up in the air to make a proper judgement of anything – I haven’t ruled out Natsume not even being human, for one thing. We still know absolutely nothing about her or where she came from, and that revelation in Chapter 5 deepens the mystery of her origins and her motivations.

Sexual content in Comic Yuri Hime isn’t unusual, of course (think Hanjuku Joshi). Neither is age-gap relationships (Junsui Adolescence etc), but I can’t quite remember when we last got those two elements wrapped up together in a near-R18 package, if ever. Kimi wa Shōjo does appear intent on pushing the boundaries to see how much immoral eroticism can be injected in without descending into purely explicit, mindless hentai and of course, there’s that massive elephant in the room.

Whatever feelings are involved or whether it’s consensual or not, it’s statutory rape. Lots of people will have issues with that and won’t want to see beyond the sex, others like me will be comfortable with it. I notice that CYH readers are sending in fanart for the series already…!

I haven’t any inkling where the story might go from here – should we expect a time-skip that will eliminate the underage ‘problem’, or will it go on doing the dirty? Will we ever get to see events told from Natsume’s point of view? My only wish is that they don’t tone down the sex; it’s what sold me on the series and earned it a place on my tankōbon import list.

[NB, May 15: It’s confirmed to be a 1-volume series]

Kago no Shojo wa Koi o Suru

Kago no Shōjo wa Koi o Suru (籠の少女は恋をする, The Caged Bird Sings Theme of Love)
Author: Kawanami Izumi
First Published: 2017
Serialization: Comic Dengeki Daioh (Kadokawa)
Volumes: 1 (Ongoing)

Running in the same publication as the popular Yagate Kimi ni Naru (Bloom into You) as well as sharing the same editor (Kusunoki Tatsuya), Kago no Shōjo is one of those series yuri purists are never going to love in spite of the generous servings of girl x girl action being dished up. What gets people’s goats is the story’s very premise:

A boarding school where girls with outstanding beauty and brains are gathered. A special place with unusual health check-ups and curriculum not seen elsewhere. Chased out of a house where she is not welcome, Chizuru transfers to the school and learns of the harsh paths in life that await the girls who live there…

That’s the official blurb, but let’s elaborate a bit.

1. Unusual health check-ups: The last question on the medical check sheet Chizuru has to fill in is ‘Have you ever had sexual intercourse?’ (above)
2. Curriculum: This includes ‘practical training’ in order to learn how to satisfy their future clients (more on this later)
3. Unwelcome house: Chizuru’s parents died in an accident so she gets sent to live with relatives where she’s abused by her uncle and male cousin (it’s implied that she was made to drink their semen from a cup) but of course, her aunt sees her as the source of the problem and sends her packing
4. Harsh path in life: Basically, the school is a bride-production factory. Girls are groomed to be perfect wives, and ‘graduate’ when they are purchased by rich and powerful men

MC Chizuru rooms with a pair of sisters, the older one of whom is soon to graduate. Siblings Fuyuko and Mio have been ‘partners’ throughout their time in the school and from Mio’s perspective, there is ‘love’ between them. Still, Fuyuko has to graduate, leaving Mio heartbroken….but with a promise to reunite – she intends to persuade her future husband to take Mio as a bride as well.

Meanwhile, Chizuru learns about the school and its strange ways – she is in the elite class that receives special lessons, while there are others in the ‘B’ class who are in danger of being ‘expelled’ to an uncertain fate. The girls are free to have as many ‘partners’ from the school should they choose to – indeed, she soon stumbles upon Fuyuko making out with honours student Kei in the chapel, a relationship that Kei implores Chizuru to keep secret from Mio.

The time comes for Fuyuko to graduate and the school holds a mock wedding sans groom to send her off. Shortly afterwards, Chizuru receives a letter informing her that it is time to begin her practical training courses – she’ll be having sex with a ‘partner’, usually whoever her roommate is (in this case, Mio), as preparation for her future sex life…hoo boy. Mio informs Chizuru that the sessions would be done in the presence of a teacher, so she wants their first time together to be a private moment.

Mio is a kind and conscientious lover, but Chizuru knows she is going through the motions – after all, her heart is set on one goal alone: to reunite with her sister Fuyuko. Following a lovemaking session, Chizuru finds herself unable to sleep and goes for a walk, where she runs into captivating beauty Yue, who was actually the first student Chizuru came across when she arrived at the school.

Curious, Chizuru questions Mio about Yue and learns that others label her a witch, possessing alluring beauty that once drew the attention of a prominent customer. For whatever reason, the whole affair went wrong and the school is now whoring Yue out at night to repay the damages. Despite her reputation, Chizuru finds herself increasingly drawn to Yue. They become closer, and Yue gradually manages to get the stoic Chizuru to release her pent-up emotions.

It’s easy to see why this series garners hate – there literally isn’t going to be any pay-off for the girls when they leave the school and perceivably not for yuri fans either: no happy endings for any relationships that may develop between the characters – just no-strings and no-emotions attached sex. At least, that is what the series would have us believe.

I looked up what author Kawanami Izumi had to say about the premise in a joint interview with Yagakimi author Nakatani Nio:

“I love yuri that ensues in Ōoku (shogunate harem quarters), Yōkaku (brothel towns) & brothels. Like a romance between Oiran (courtesans), it is a relationship that is ‘only for now’. That was the expression that led to the initial idea [for this series]”

If you’ve read Yoshinaga Fumi’s Ōoku or watched its live-action adaptation, you’ll recall how it portrays homosexual sex within the shogunate quarters as a normal occurrence. ‘Situational sexuality’ is the tropey term I’m looking for here – where a character’s actual sexual orientation or preference is moot because of their situation or the setting they’ve been placed in. In other words, it doesn’t matter if they’re het; once placed in a closed den of people of the same gender, they’ll end up having sex to alleviate boredom and to fulfil their needs and desires.

I think Yagakimi’s Nakatani hit the nail on the head when she described the series as egui (エグい, nasty/harsh). It’s kind of similar to yabai (やばい, dangerous/wicked) in that these 2 words had negative connotations in their original forms, but have now entered the modern lexicon as slang terms with inverted, positive meanings – think of English equivalents such as ‘sick’ or ‘wicked’. Reading Kago no Shojō is like being given front-row tickets to a torture chamber show – you know it’s going to be repulsive, but you just can’t take your eyes off what’s happening right in front of you.

There are positives – chiefly that the character art is great; clean and crisp and actually rather reminiscent of Nakatani’s work. When the art is good, I naturally enjoy the sex scenes more – they’re not too titillating or gratuitous, but just sensual enough to send your temperature a little bit higher.

Obviously, some aspects beggar belief – how does having sex with other females prepare you for coupling with your future husband? Or that any guardians in their right mind would accept sending their daughters, no matter how hated or unwanted, to a school to be trained, in effect, to be slaves to older men?

I did have a few issues with the lack of discernible personality traits in the 3 main characters. Kawanami did note in the interview linked earlier that she’s not afraid of writing characters that people might hate but 7 chapters in, I still don’t feel like I know Chizuru, Mio and Yue well enough to harbour such strong feelings about them. Still, it’s early days yet and maybe the story will be as slow-burningly satisfying as Yagakimi – the 2 works certainly share more than a few similarities what with a recent, eyebrow-raising plot reveal that I am loathe to spoil here.

Ah yes, the ‘reveals’. This series has been full of unexpected twists so far, with an exceptionally big one at the end of chapter 5 that made my heart stop. I do sense a lot more turbulence in store for Chizuru and the other girls and it’s not particularly encouraging when Kawanami herself states that she likes reading works that make her sick to the stomach and that she’s aiming to achieve something similar with Kago no Shōjo. I’ll probably need to ready a paper bag before I read future chapters…

I’m not quite sure what the general reception in Japan towards Kago no Shōjo is, or who the target audience might even be, but I do hope that there is enough interest to keep the series serialized for a while yet. Fingers crossed that there is no compromise and Kawanami continues to be granted the freedom to tell the story that she wants to tell.