saifighter's Reviews (253)

 

Review for the whole series:

 

This is such a wild read. This series absolutely has to be paired with the author's notes that appear at the end of each volume. It puts a lot of stuff into context.

The "romance" in the series is so back seat to literally everything else going on in the manga. This isn't about a love triangle between childhood friends, this is about Oshimi's own struggle with what it means to be a man. Kei and Yui are not people, they are the two paths of masculinity that Yohei has to choose from. Kei is the ambiguous agender/gender queer departure from strict social expectations that are required to be masculine in the world. Kei represents freedom, an escape from gender all together. This is desirable but not an easy choice to make. Yui is the path of traditional masculine gender identity and masculine sexuality. Things that happen to Yui and Yohei are basically direct translations of Oshimi's own sexual trauma around masculinity. And this struggle between the two paths is represented by a love triangle, which i think its pretty powerful and brilliant. 

Then there is Yohei themselves, who is struggling with gender and body dysphoria. Kei and Yui also seem to represent Yohei's struggle between his sexuality and his gender desires. There is a REALLY intense scene during the final volume that just blows my mind and feels like the perfect physical manifestation of this struggle for Yohei. It was honestly amazing.

With that out of the way, this series is going to make you uncomfortable. This manga has sexual assault and dubious consent. I would not say it is full blown rape but its uncomfortable for sure and its suppose to be. There is also self harm in the form of self mutilation. Even with all of this, the manga really made me think about my own gender experience, and while I don't really identify with Oshimi's struggle, this was still such a good read. I literally binged it in like 2 days. Recommend if you can handle it. 

 

Review for the whole series:

 

This is such a wild read. This series absolutely has to be paired with the author's notes that appear at the end of each volume. It puts a lot of stuff into context.

The "romance" in the series is so back seat to literally everything else going on in the manga. This isn't about a love triangle between childhood friends, this is about Oshimi's own struggle with what it means to be a man. Kei and Yui are not people, they are the two paths of masculinity that Yohei has to choose from. Kei is the ambiguous agender/gender queer departure from strict social expectations that are required to be masculine in the world. Kei represents freedom, an escape from gender all together. This is desirable but not an easy choice to make. Yui is the path of traditional masculine gender identity and masculine sexuality. Things that happen to Yui and Yohei are basically direct translations of Oshimi's own sexual trauma around masculinity. And this struggle between the two paths is represented by a love triangle, which i think its pretty powerful and brilliant. 

Then there is Yohei themselves, who is struggling with gender and body dysphoria. Kei and Yui also seem to represent Yohei's struggle between his sexuality and his gender desires. There is a REALLY intense scene during the final volume that just blows my mind and feels like the perfect physical manifestation of this struggle for Yohei. It was honestly amazing.

With that out of the way, this series is going to make you uncomfortable. This manga has sexual assault and dubious consent. I would not say it is full blown rape but its uncomfortable for sure and its suppose to be. There is also self harm in the form of self mutilation. Even with all of this, the manga really made me think about my own gender experience, and while I don't really identify with Oshimi's struggle, this was still such a good read. I literally binged it in like 2 days. Recommend if you can handle it. 

 

Review for the whole series:

 

This is such a wild read. This series absolutely has to be paired with the author's notes that appear at the end of each volume. It puts a lot of stuff into context.

The "romance" in the series is so back seat to literally everything else going on in the manga. This isn't about a love triangle between childhood friends, this is about Oshimi's own struggle with what it means to be a man. Kei and Yui are not people, they are the two paths of masculinity that Yohei has to choose from. Kei is the ambiguous agender/gender queer departure from strict social expectations that are required to be masculine in the world. Kei represents freedom, an escape from gender all together. This is desirable but not an easy choice to make. Yui is the path of traditional masculine gender identity and masculine sexuality. Things that happen to Yui and Yohei are basically direct translations of Oshimi's own sexual trauma around masculinity. And this struggle between the two paths is represented by a love triangle, which i think its pretty powerful and brilliant. 

Then there is Yohei themselves, who is struggling with gender and body dysphoria. Kei and Yui also seem to represent Yohei's struggle between his sexuality and his gender desires. There is a REALLY intense scene during the final volume that just blows my mind and feels like the perfect physical manifestation of this struggle for Yohei. It was honestly amazing.

With that out of the way, this series is going to make you uncomfortable. This manga has sexual assault and dubious consent. I would not say it is full blown rape but its uncomfortable for sure and its suppose to be. There is also self harm in the form of self mutilation. Even with all of this, the manga really made me think about my own gender experience, and while I don't really identify with Oshimi's struggle, this was still such a good read. I literally binged it in like 2 days. Recommend if you can handle it. 

 

Review for the whole series:

 

This is such a wild read. This series absolutely has to be paired with the author's notes that appear at the end of each volume. It puts a lot of stuff into context.

The "romance" in the series is so back seat to literally everything else going on in the manga. This isn't about a love triangle between childhood friends, this is about Oshimi's own struggle with what it means to be a man. Kei and Yui are not people, they are the two paths of masculinity that Yohei has to choose from. Kei is the ambiguous agender/gender queer departure from strict social expectations that are required to be masculine in the world. Kei represents freedom, an escape from gender all together. This is desirable but not an easy choice to make. Yui is the path of traditional masculine gender identity and masculine sexuality. Things that happen to Yui and Yohei are basically direct translations of Oshimi's own sexual trauma around masculinity. And this struggle between the two paths is represented by a love triangle, which i think its pretty powerful and brilliant. 

Then there is Yohei themselves, who is struggling with gender and body dysphoria. Kei and Yui also seem to represent Yohei's struggle between his sexuality and his gender desires. There is a REALLY intense scene during the final volume that just blows my mind and feels like the perfect physical manifestation of this struggle for Yohei. It was honestly amazing.

With that out of the way, this series is going to make you uncomfortable. This manga has sexual assault and dubious consent. I would not say it is full blown rape but its uncomfortable for sure and its suppose to be. There is also self harm in the form of self mutilation. Even with all of this, the manga really made me think about my own gender experience, and while I don't really identify with Oshimi's struggle, this was still such a good read. I literally binged it in like 2 days. Recommend if you can handle it. 

 

Review for the whole series:

 

This is such a wild read. This series absolutely has to be paired with the author's notes that appear at the end of each volume. It puts a lot of stuff into context.

The "romance" in the series is so back seat to literally everything else going on in the manga. This isn't about a love triangle between childhood friends, this is about Oshimi's own struggle with what it means to be a man. Kei and Yui are not people, they are the two paths of masculinity that Yohei has to choose from. Kei is the ambiguous agender/gender queer departure from strict social expectations that are required to be masculine in the world. Kei represents freedom, an escape from gender all together. This is desirable but not an easy choice to make. Yui is the path of traditional masculine gender identity and masculine sexuality. Things that happen to Yui and Yohei are basically direct translations of Oshimi's own sexual trauma around masculinity. And this struggle between the two paths is represented by a love triangle, which i think its pretty powerful and brilliant. 

Then there is Yohei themselves, who is struggling with gender and body dysphoria. Kei and Yui also seem to represent Yohei's struggle between his sexuality and his gender desires. There is a REALLY intense scene during the final volume that just blows my mind and feels like the perfect physical manifestation of this struggle for Yohei. It was honestly amazing.

With that out of the way, this series is going to make you uncomfortable. This manga has sexual assault and dubious consent. I would not say it is full blown rape but its uncomfortable for sure and its suppose to be. There is also self harm in the form of self mutilation. Even with all of this, the manga really made me think about my own gender experience, and while I don't really identify with Oshimi's struggle, this was still such a good read. I literally binged it in like 2 days. Recommend if you can handle it. 

Review for the whole series:

 

This is such a wild read. This series absolutely has to be paired with the author's notes that appear at the end of each volume. It puts a lot of stuff into context.

The "romance" in the series is so back seat to literally everything else going on in the manga. This isn't about a love triangle between childhood friends, this is about Oshimi's own struggle with what it means to be a man. Kei and Yui are not people, they are the two paths of masculinity that Yohei has to choose from. Kei is the ambiguous agender/gender queer departure from strict social expectations that are required to be masculine in the world. Kei represents freedom, an escape from gender all together. This is desirable but not an easy choice to make. Yui is the path of traditional masculine gender identity and masculine sexuality. Things that happen to Yui and Yohei are basically direct translations of Oshimi's own sexual trauma around masculinity. And this struggle between the two paths is represented by a love triangle, which i think its pretty powerful and brilliant. 

Then there is Yohei themselves, who is struggling with gender and body dysphoria. Kei and Yui also seem to represent Yohei's struggle between his sexuality and his gender desires. There is a REALLY intense scene during the final volume that just blows my mind and feels like the perfect physical manifestation of this struggle for Yohei. It was honestly amazing.

With that out of the way, this series is going to make you uncomfortable. This manga has sexual assault and dubious consent. I would not say it is full blown rape but its uncomfortable for sure and its suppose to be. There is also self harm in the form of self mutilation. Even with all of this, the manga really made me think about my own gender experience, and while I don't really identify with Oshimi's struggle, this was still such a good read. I literally binged it in like 2 days. Recommend if you can handle it. 

 

Review for the whole series:

I read this series because of a video essay by ceicocat called "The Incel to Trans Pipeline and Inside Mari" which I highly recommend.

I read "Welcome Back, Alice" first, which I am glad I did because it really helped me understand the author's ideas about gender before diving into "Inside Mari." Inside Mari definitely feels like a gender exploration manga, but it isn't as straight forward about it as Oshimi's other manga.

This isn't your typical situational comedy gender swap manga (Ex. Ranma 1/2). This really feels like a more nuanced exploration of what it would really means to swap bodies with a teenage girl and all the stuff that would naturally come with it: complex female relationship dynamics, unwanted advances of men, social pressures of filling the role of a woman, school pressures, menstruation, etc. Not to mention at one point, it starts to feel somewhat like a trans narrative. The main character Isao Komori is struggling to decide if he wants to save Mari, be Mari, or just wants her sexually. It really reminds me of another manga, Until I Become Me by Satou Hatsuki which is another gender swap manga that slowly starts to take on a more trans story line. But Inside Mari feels a lot more abstract. The ending is honestly, ambiguous, and has more of a DID vibe which I didn't really enjoy. I would have rather it stayed more on the trans narrative track, but I also get that Welcome Back, Alice fills that narrative a little better so at least there is that. The "mystery" of where Mari is gets solved but its still pretty confusing.

This is definitely interesting. Not totally sure I would recommend but still pretty good. 

 

Review for the whole series:

I read this series because of a video essay by ceicocat called "The Incel to Trans Pipeline and Inside Mari" which I highly recommend.

I read "Welcome Back, Alice" first, which I am glad I did because it really helped me understand the author's ideas about gender before diving into "Inside Mari." Inside Mari definitely feels like a gender exploration manga, but it isn't as straight forward about it as Oshimi's other manga.

This isn't your typical situational comedy gender swap manga (Ex. Ranma 1/2). This really feels like a more nuanced exploration of what it would really means to swap bodies with a teenage girl and all the stuff that would naturally come with it: complex female relationship dynamics, unwanted advances of men, social pressures of filling the role of a woman, school pressures, menstruation, etc. Not to mention at one point, it starts to feel somewhat like a trans narrative. The main character Isao Komori is struggling to decide if he wants to save Mari, be Mari, or just wants her sexually. It really reminds me of another manga, Until I Become Me by Satou Hatsuki which is another gender swap manga that slowly starts to take on a more trans story line. But Inside Mari feels a lot more abstract. The ending is honestly, ambiguous, and has more of a DID vibe which I didn't really enjoy. I would have rather it stayed more on the trans narrative track, but I also get that Welcome Back, Alice fills that narrative a little better so at least there is that. The "mystery" of where Mari is gets solved but its still pretty confusing.

This is definitely interesting. Not totally sure I would recommend but still pretty good. 

 

Review for the whole series:

I read this series because of a video essay by ceicocat called "The Incel to Trans Pipeline and Inside Mari" which I highly recommend.

I read "Welcome Back, Alice" first, which I am glad I did because it really helped me understand the author's ideas about gender before diving into "Inside Mari." Inside Mari definitely feels like a gender exploration manga, but it isn't as straight forward about it as Oshimi's other manga.

This isn't your typical situational comedy gender swap manga (Ex. Ranma 1/2). This really feels like a more nuanced exploration of what it would really means to swap bodies with a teenage girl and all the stuff that would naturally come with it: complex female relationship dynamics, unwanted advances of men, social pressures of filling the role of a woman, school pressures, menstruation, etc. Not to mention at one point, it starts to feel somewhat like a trans narrative. The main character Isao Komori is struggling to decide if he wants to save Mari, be Mari, or just wants her sexually. It really reminds me of another manga, Until I Become Me by Satou Hatsuki which is another gender swap manga that slowly starts to take on a more trans story line. But Inside Mari feels a lot more abstract. The ending is honestly, ambiguous, and has more of a DID vibe which I didn't really enjoy. I would have rather it stayed more on the trans narrative track, but I also get that Welcome Back, Alice fills that narrative a little better so at least there is that. The "mystery" of where Mari is gets solved but its still pretty confusing.

This is definitely interesting. Not totally sure I would recommend but still pretty good. 

 

Review for the whole series:

I read this series because of a video essay by ceicocat called "The Incel to Trans Pipeline and Inside Mari" which I highly recommend.

I read "Welcome Back, Alice" first, which I am glad I did because it really helped me understand the author's ideas about gender before diving into "Inside Mari." Inside Mari definitely feels like a gender exploration manga, but it isn't as straight forward about it as Oshimi's other manga.

This isn't your typical situational comedy gender swap manga (Ex. Ranma 1/2). This really feels like a more nuanced exploration of what it would really means to swap bodies with a teenage girl and all the stuff that would naturally come with it: complex female relationship dynamics, unwanted advances of men, social pressures of filling the role of a woman, school pressures, menstruation, etc. Not to mention at one point, it starts to feel somewhat like a trans narrative. The main character Isao Komori is struggling to decide if he wants to save Mari, be Mari, or just wants her sexually. It really reminds me of another manga, Until I Become Me by Satou Hatsuki which is another gender swap manga that slowly starts to take on a more trans story line. But Inside Mari feels a lot more abstract. The ending is honestly, ambiguous, and has more of a DID vibe which I didn't really enjoy. I would have rather it stayed more on the trans narrative track, but I also get that Welcome Back, Alice fills that narrative a little better so at least there is that. The "mystery" of where Mari is gets solved but its still pretty confusing.

This is definitely interesting. Not totally sure I would recommend but still pretty good.