NSFW Warning: There's a half nude girl and dude SOMEWHERE in this review...
So, this is going to be something new for me. I haven't done anything like this before, so it's going to be hard to rate what I read (although in this case it's not too hard as I know already what I think of this manga as a whole) because while I can rate Story, Characters, Art and Personal Enjoyment, there's no Audio with manga, so I guess rather than calculate on an average of 50 divided by 5, it'll be 40 divided by 4 (Yes, I use averages to calculate my scores :P ). Anyway enough dithering into technical stuff you probably don't care about time to get onto today's manga, and boy, what a manga to start off with. A dark, twisted and evil manga that definitely plays with your emotions. (for those of you who actually keep track of this blog, I reviewed the anime adaptation of this series about a month or two ago)
Aku no Hana by Shūzō Oshimi (2009-14. 57 Chapters, 11 Volumes)
Aku no Hana is the story of four High School students - Takao Kasuga, Sawa Nakamura and Saeki Nanako and Aya Tokiwa although specifically the manga centers on on Takao and his relationship with everybody as he comes of age through very....unique circumstances. The story does start off with a typical High School affair, Takao likes Saeki but never really has the courage to go up and say anything to her y'know the run of the mill stuff you see in Shoujo manga or anime (although the roles have been reversed....so maybe this is a weird Shonen Manga?). What truly kicks off the plot however lies in the titular Aku no Hana book (which is Charles Baudelaire's Les Flueres de mal) which Takao reveres like a prized idol. One day, he accidentally leaves the book in school after lessons end for the day. Naturally, he returns to the school to retrieve to book. He enters the classroom and just as he's about to leave, something falls behind him - A Gym Uniform. Who does the uniform belong to?
None other than Saeki Nanako herself.
Holding it as a trophy, Takao admires it for a moment before hearing a noise indicating that somebody was nearby. He - I guess in a state of confusion and panic - steals the uniform and brings it home with him. The next day, the teacher informs the class that Saeki's uniform has been stolen, which Takao did expect, however he did not expect someone to see him.
And the worst kind of person saw him - Sawa Nakamura.
The story starts then to unfold in ways people wouldn't normally expect from a Shonen manga. Takao has to agree a contract with Nakamura in order for her to keep her mouth shut. Takao must do whatever Nakamura wants, no matter how embarrassing or delirious it is. What comes in the 50 or so chapters that follow this event is just absolutely terrifying. Now, the anime was pretty dark when it came to its tone, but this manga takes it to a whole other level, thanks to the amazing second half of the series. The second half of Aku no Hana is all about exposing the evil within our hearts, showing that in our own ways, we're perverted or deviant from society. It also deals with healing wounds, grief and romance, very strange romance but brilliantly written romance at that. It's something not for the average Shonen manga reader - this is something for people with a sense of maturity. There's stuff like Rape, blackmailing and maiming amongst a fuck tonne of other things. This is something that only people who can truly pay attention to it and pick up on details can enjoy, but nonetheless....Aku no Hana's story is the best in literature that I've read because it deals with things most other people are too scared to touch, it has balls and it's not afraid to take chances, and I applaud it for that.
To talk about the characters in Aku no Hana again would be a bit repetitive, but the manga does have a far more expanded plot than the anime. So let's try to put it like this:
Takao Kasuga is the series lead protagonist. His point of view is the most important and is the one we view the story from, given the lack of a narrator (although he monologues to himself a lot). However, while he drives the plot forward, I wouldn't call him the most important person in the plot, since his motivations are driven by two others of the main four, and since I'm trying to keep this as relativity spoiler-free as possible, I won't talk about Aya Tokiwa since she's introduced in that brilliant second half. However, Takao isn't the most important since there's two people always pulling his strings; Saeki Nanako, his love interest and then there's the disturbing Sawa Nakamura. Sawa is just....wow. She makes a contract with Takao ordering him to do whatever she wants him to do, and Jesus, if there was a reason Aku no Hana is labelled as a horror it's because of the things Sawa makes Takao do. She is fucked up in the head (she's not afraid to admit this herself either) and all she wants to do is see how far she can push a human mind before they crack and become just like her.....and yet, Nakamura ends up being my favourite character in any Manga or Anime ever because of her mental disposition. She's desperately trying to escape reality using whatever means necessary, and because of her, my emotions have never been on such a rollercoaster as they were reading this manga. If I could take one character to the grave with me, it would easily be the deviant, pervert, fucked up and devious Sawa Nakamura because of how immensely pressurized she is throughout the whole series. Saeki meanwhile is Takao's love interest, so naturally Takao would do anything to please her and yet she, even ahead of Nakamura, has the most fucked up moment in the entire series.
The art and story were done by Shūzō Oshimi, and boy, this is some good looking manga. The characters aren't overly moe (which is fitting given the content of the manga) but rather somewhat realistic while maintaining the traditional anime art style. The backgrounds and areas look very well done for something drawn in black and white/grey, and expressions are realistically done (whilst sometimes over dramatic but these suit the situation).
I will just say it now. Perfect. 10/10. Must Read. Must Buy. A genius piece of fiction. A masterpiece. A modern classic. A look into the mind and a deconstruction of human sanity. Literature gold. Japan's finest moment. An amazing piece of fiction.
Simply put, Aku no Hana is the greatest thing I have ever read, seen or experienced. It is an emotional and psychological roller-coaster.
Story: 10
Characters: 10
Art: 10
Personal Enjoyment: If I could put more than 10 I would, but I can't. 10
FINAL SCORE FOR AKU NO HANA: 10/10
You're doing an injustice if you don't read this.
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