Nov 5, 2009
Onani Master Kurosawa is something entirely different than what you see at first glance. If you are expecting something erotic or funny, you are looking in the wrong place. Those that can get past the synopsis and exposition will be rewarded, as when you reach the real bulk of the story you will realize just what it has to offer.
It is no secret that this manga deals with mature themes. The problem lies within the fact that it paints the wrong picture for potential readers. The focus is not to be sexually explicit. Rather, it is presented to us in a way that is very
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conservative. It shows nothing more than what is necessary to get the point across. In the big picture, this is not a perverted manga in any sense. It is sweet, heartbreaking, and inspiring.
The story quickly lays the foundation for a school-life setting with a character who has a secret "daily routine". Our main protagonist, Kurosawa, is a guy who cares nothing for interaction with others. He has no friends and has never fallen in love. He converses the minimal amount to simply maintain relations. What he doesn't know is that his seemingly harmless ritual is about to become something that weighs more heavily on him than he could imagine. This story shows us just what can happen when you get in over your head, the consequences of your actions, realizing what you want in life, and much more. Once the plot picks up, you will find yourself always wanting to know what will happen next. The contents are never predictable, and every bit of it is believable. It controls your emotions like a puppet on strings. It will make you feel.
The art is sketched, fitting in perfectly with the mood of the manga. It does a great job of showing character's expressions, using many close-ups and careful shading. Much of the emphasis is on the characters, so the backgrounds are usually simple or non-existent. Overall it is very clean and should bear no complaints.
Characterization is simply amazing. No matter how perverted Kurosawa is portrayed, the fact still remains that he is an incredibly well-rounded, believable, and likable character. The manga has the ability to create Kurosawa as if he were a character born from your own thoughts. While I am not referring to perverted thoughts, his reactions to a given situation are so real that you often think and feel the same way. I felt his anger when he was betrayed, I felt his hopelessness during his hard times, and I felt his happiness when something warmed his heart. Over the course of the plot, Kurosawa changes slowly into an entirely different person. He begins as an introverted kid who violates people in his thoughts with masturbation, yet in the end he becomes undeniably mature. He battles with self-realization, learns of consequences, finds the good in people, and comes to understand what he wants in life. Without a doubt, he is a character that will fill you with emotion.
If any manga is capable of changing my view on a character, it is this one. It does not just tell you how someone feels, it places you in the shoes of a person and allows you to understand it from their point of view. Even if you think a character will play a generally small part, they always end up coming back and influencing Kurosawa in some way. We are allowed to see every character's true thoughts, whether it be directly shown to us or revealed through Kurosawa's deductions. However, you will never feel as though you can predict a character's actions. While they surprise you, every bit of it is believable. This is what depth is all about.
Overall, Onani Master Kurosawa is definitely something you will appreciate reading to the end. It brings us a small introduction and builds off of itself, constantly raising the bar. It gives us a surprisingly large impact that can be found in few other places. To sum it up, it is simply a work of art.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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