For those of you who aren't looking to read an essay, I have decided to post a quick summary of the series first. This review is spoiler free (as all reviews should be). :)
Summary: Inside Mari is a captivating psycho-analytical manga, with dazzling art and a fleshed out protagonist. The premise is based off a body switching scenario in which a social outcast finds himself in the body of a popular female girl by the name of Mari. The story is thouroughly engaging and is only hindered by a few plot inconsistencies as well as the fact that it could have been condensed into fewer
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 Alternative TitlesSynonyms: I'm in Mari Japanese: ぼくは麻理のなか More titlesInformationType: Manga
Volumes: 9
Chapters: 80
Status: Finished
Published: Mar 6, 2012 to Sep 6, 2016
Theme:
Psychological
Demographic:
Seinen
Serialization:
Manga Action Authors:
Oshimi, Shuuzou (Story & Art) Statistics Ranked: #28742 2 based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #260
Members: 61,274
Favorites: 1,451 Available AtResources | Reviews
Filtered Results: 31 / 35
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Oct 3, 2015
This is a manga by the Aku no Hana guy. Since it started in 2012, he was writing it concurrently with late-stage Aku no Hana. Because its Shuuzou I can't commentate on the aesthetic front, who is sort of a poor man's Inio Asano, but that does him too much injustice. His drawings are kind of stiff and mostly functional. His faces and characters are more or less same-looking with just slight variation. His plots all deal primary with weird psychosexual Evangelion-esque angst, but with more realism than symbolism or whatever. He probably thoroughly hates society, and hates himself.
The plot, like Aku no Hana, involves ... 
Nov 21, 2017
Here's my take after reading 80 schizophrenic chapters of Boku wa Mari no Naka (I'm inside Mari) Shuuzou Oshimi.
How would I put this... Mari no Naka is not your typical body-swapping manga since it is not a body-swapping manga. It is a story that dives into the psyche of the characters and their actions on given the circumstances similar to other of Oshimi-san's works. In this mind-bending story, we are looking into the eyes of Mari Yoshizaki a seemingly perfect high school girl that everyone adores, and Isao Komori one particular college hikikomori (reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from social life) that is obsessed ... 
Aug 21, 2014
This series starts out weird and suggests all sorts of strange perversions. The premise is indeed kind of strange:
Komori Isao wakes up one day to find himself in somebody else's room, but it turns out he's actually somehow in the body of Yoshizaki Mari a girl he has been hopelessly following at night. S/he and a classmate try to figure out what happened as Isao tries to maintain Mari's friendships at school. However, don't let that stop you from reading on. In the beginning Isao is weak-willed and his behavior is cringeworthy at best, but as he sees the troubles surrounding Mari's life, he can't leave ... 
Oct 30, 2023 Recommended Well-written 
This isn’t a “geeky guy living in an idol’s body” wish fulfillment manga. This is a horror story.
The story follows a hikikimori who was suddenly thrust into the body of a popular, beautiful high school girl. With a premise like this, you might be expecting some ecchi hijinks ala highschool DXD. However, the situation is instead approached in a raw, realistic and at times even disturbing way. I could hardly tear my eyes from the page- that is, until it became too much to bear and i needed a breather. Multiple times i had to turn my head, close my eyes or put the manga ... 
Nov 6, 2021
This is not a regular gender bender story, is in fact a bold and extraordinary manga. That is the reason why it is a masterpiece, but also why it is so disliked by many.
Inside Mari is a story about a hikkikomori who switch sides with the girl he adores, and so suddenly sees himself on difficult situation having to live on as the girl he worships. Although, it is a simple and overused premise, it goes beyond by exploring this genre from a more psychological approach and by doing it with absolute finesse. It's a worth looking bizarre masterpiece. 
Jan 11, 2014
The common's person's reaction to the main character of this Manga is why storytelling is so slow to evolve. There is as much of a expectancy for male characters to be manly as there are female characters to be seductive or lady-like. Now I'm not saying that I want feminine male leads, but does every male lead need to be decisive and masculine? Can we have a weak male lead, such as Komori, without backlash and hate?
This character is so deep, and so real. A nobody in Highschool he moved to Tokyo in the hopes of starting anew. When he finds that he's been ... 
Sep 6, 2014
I'm going to be honest: I didn't have that high of an expectation for this manga, the moment I first picked it up, but since I had nothing better to do at the time, I decided to give it a shot, and boy, am I glad I did so! This manga is one of those shiny gems that you find in the middle of others that don't shine, taking a concept that has already been used a couple of times, and cleverly giving it a whole new meaning. Also, don't avoid to notice how this manga is classified as "Psychological". It certainly won't disapoint you
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May 20, 2018
'Hrmmmm' is what I initially felt about pondering the question 'is this manga good?' The more I thought about it, the more I've realised, no it really isn't. It certainly has its merits,I enjoyed the mystery aspect, psychology and in general found it a weird and interesting read. But for the most part though the story was only so-so, and despite being a pretty character focused manga, I didn't like a single one, nor thought they were handled well, in terms of both their character and the respective issues related to their flaws.
Story The story isn't too bad it mostly deals with a central mystery ... 
Apr 21, 2020
This is simply one of the most criminally underrated manga. (Like most of its author's work)
Like a good Oshimi Shuuzo's manga, this manga is all about diving into a person's emotion and feelings in the deepest way possible and Inside Marie does it quite literally by actually entering inside the body of a total different human being. That would probably be the most serious, realistic and relatable body swapping manga ever created. As always with this author everything goes to the most absolute refined subtlety. The art, the dialogues, the pace. Everything is speaking and telling you something, giving you a feeling of an emotion. With ... 
Feb 25, 2022
good lord.... this gaves me so much nightmare fuel. It made you question your idea of self, your self image, your consciousness, your reality and your perception of the world around you and how the world sees you. This is the kind of work that evokes disturbing question to yourself.... one that gives you existential crisis.
We met a character who wasn't real, but became real over the course of these chapters. He built many relationships from the drivers seat of an unfamiliar person. In the end, he was a creation of a frightened and deeply disturbed girl who could only run away when confronting the ... 
Dec 13, 2021
Saw some people saying that this manga is waste of time, borring characters and so on..
Just besause the cake is not tasty for you its not also not tasty for others. I personaly liked this manga quite a bit because story is not easy to predict like in many others you basicly know what next.. With is borring. I have to admit.. till chapter 30 or so it was like meh.. But more i read more i got in to it. If you havent read it i would reccoment and there is also live action if someone interested but it kidna skips a bit of some details. For ... 
Jun 23, 2020
The bad reviews for this manga are completely missing the point. It's as if they didn't even read to the end.
This is NOT a manga about bullshit "wish fulfillment" like most body swap stories which are basically "oh man it's so fun to be the other sex", or at best are "wow I didn't know the other sex was like this". This is a story about the main protagonist being surrounded by a shallow life that is slowly and painfully transformed. The most interesting thing is that this sentence "This is a story about the main protagonist being surrounded by a shallow life that is ... 
Feb 14, 2020
Allow me to explain why this manga is fantastic.
Boku wa Mari no Naka is, just as Aku no Hana, a psychological manga permeated by existentialism that focus on the mind of the main characters. The deconstruction and reconstruction of the characters is the guideline of the story, and it is incredibly well written. The art, just as the story does not fall to the mediocrity that most mangas suffer from, and interesting themes are brought to discussion. It is probably impossible to say anything else without writing a spoiler, so I will finish this review with one consideration: just as Aku no Hana, Inside Mari is ... 
Apr 20, 2021
This is my first manga review. I just finished this yesterday and spent literally all day damaging my eyes finishing this piece. Was it worth it? I'm not even sure.
Ever since I finished Aku no Hana a few weeks ago I've set my mind on reading all of Shuzo's works. I've noticed that it has a few similarities to the former- this one character in this manga looked like a perfect copy of Kasuga, Aku no Hana's main character. And yes, I'm still hung up on Aku no Hana. If you read the story with the mindset beforehand of the possibility of DID in Mari, and ... 
Jun 22, 2022
I usually don't usually read much manga outside of shounen but this one caught my eye. The story was a unique take on the gender-bender genre and I would highly recommend reading it. The story is very fast-paced and the chapters are short. You can finish this manga quickly as there are only 80 chapters.
The story is an emotional rollercoaster with so many unexpected twists, especially the ending. The story deals with themes like figuring out who you really are as a person and also about everyone has a secret side to them. I also really loved that there were so many hints about the ... 
Dec 21, 2020
I binged this manga in Just 2 days. This is how thrilling and interesting in was to me. I will not bore you with one more summary of the story. However I will state this while trying not to spoil the story : one of the genres listed in the description page is misleading. I won't say more and will let you enjoy the discovery of which one it is.
One thing I would like to mention is that one of the top reviews with a very negative score is quite inaccurate in how it describes the story, as well as the reason why the reviewer ... 
Apr 17, 2016
What if you swapped bodies? What if you found yourself in the body of the person you most admired, the “angel-like” school idol who you pass every night (and possibly stalk)? Well that’s what life has install for Komori Isao, a hikikomori who lives for no one else but himself, playing games and masturbating endlessly on repeat. Until he becomes Mari of course. Oh by the way, I forgot to mention that "Mari" is nowhere to be found, and Mari-Isao has a stalker, a shy, unpopular girl who is totally devoted to Mari.
If anyone has heard of Oshimi Shuuzou, it’s undoubtedly for his notorious manga-turned-anime ... 
Mar 11, 2021
You have to be into psychological dramas and mature themes to enjoy this story. It's also best to read this manga when you are not mentally stressed.
This story has an overall aesthetic similar to Oyasumi Pun Pun and Deadly Flowers. The story deals with identity, mental illness, and some very ugly parts of the human experience. And I feel it does very well with doing so. The entirety of the series you are trying to figure out what's going on, and along with that half the time you're not sure which part of the MC is speaking. The story forces you to feel what's ...
Apr 25, 2021
This is one of those stories that you think about for a while afterwards. The plot was engaging but what I really enjoyed was just looking at the art, the close-ups of faces, the highly animated expressions these characters make in reaction to what happens. There were some parts that were done in watercolor, and a number of the chapters start out in full color which was very cool.
Of course it would be nice if there was a bit more complexity to the plot, which seems to be a common critique. Notably, the drama with Mari's mother feels like it comes to an abrupt halt ... |
