Every single time I pick up a Inio book I should prepare myself to be depressed. And here I am, again, fucking depressed. Probably not the best thing since I'm stuck at home due to this stupid fucking Virus but that's a complaint for another day.

Inio decides to give us a manga author who can't figure out what he wants in life. A lot of Inio work is actually focused on personal health issues, sexuality, depression and more. I think here we get a author of a famous Manga series, Kaoru Fukazawa, and he can't stand himself or his other co-workers. Not only is he lost on what to write next but he also is breaking off his marriage with his wife as well.

With all that happening he is trying to rediscover what is maybe important to him. He gets escorts to help him through his sexual frustration but it isn't till one girl, with cat like eyes, that things begin to change. He seems semi-happy while with her and even goes with her on a trip. But everything in his mind is crashing down around him and soon he reaches a boiling point where he finds out who he really is.

So I'm not 100% sure if this is actually based on Inio. I'm sure some of it is. Manga artist life aren't always easy, with the extremely long work hours and the quick fan-base drop that it can do to you. I appreciate the brutal honest look at it all. I also enjoyed watching a character like Kaoru try to find himself but maybe not get the answers he wants. This book isn't for everyone as it involves a lot of depression and people go through that regardless. There's also a moment of sexual assault, which is disturbing to say the least but not uncommon unfortunately in the situation he was in and she was in. But I can understand the distaste for the scene.

However this is a honest look at it all. I really did enjoy reading it even if there was no happy ending. But the ending itself had a reveal I didn't fully see coming and I actually liked it. Maybe not his best work but Inio does a good job here. A 4 out of 5.