Slow Starter

Having read and enjoyed Chihiro Harumi's other works, such as 'Koi wo Suru no ga Shigoto desu' and 'Velvet Kiss', I found this manga to be severely disappointing. Though the art was as good as always, the story and characters were abysmal, demonstrating none of the finesse displayed in previous works.

Where the initial premise lay, one would expect to see a development akin to the series 'Kuzu no Honkai'. Two people who do not love each other come together in a shared intimacy driven by loneliness, and a longing desire for that which they cannot have. However, 'Slow Starter' lacks the intelligence shown in 'Kuzu no Honkai', and most disappointingly, the mangaka seems more focused on creating surprising plot twists, to the extent that they forgot a coherent story-line is still required.

Stories about traumatic experiences can add incredible depth (see Bitter Virgin), but in 'Slow Starter', this is horribly mishandled. Inserting it for the sake of inserting it causes more harm than good, as these types of story-lines require careful and deliberate construction. The nonchalance a certain character showed towards her traumatic experience greatly disturbed me, mainly because she seemed to be so unaffected by the fact that her bodily integrity had been brutally violated.

And that's exactly it, the characters as a whole were poorly written, which played a part in preventing the story from achieving its potential. Through the surface, there is very little depth to the characters, who often carried out actions that innately contradicted the qualities that were supposed to define them. First off, the lesbian Azami being fierce towards other guys for trying to take advantage of her drunken state, but makes an exemption for the male protagonist to exploit her inebriated stupor? Credit can be given, on the broad spectrum of emotions she exhibited, reflecting the pains and conflicting feelings of being in a love seen as socially taboo. I was also satisfied with the answers she found to her questions at the end, as well as how she turned out.

Nonetheless, despite being the main heroine, she was largely absent for the remainder of the series, that it was difficult for me to feel attached to her as a character. Instead, the story became about how the main character interacted with the person Azami loved, which led to a dead end the mangaka desperately tried to salvage with a plot twist that came out of the blue.

That is to say, although I was satisfied with the character Azami finally developed into, I would like to have seen an actual transition from her former self, rather than getting a sudden change that is difficult to justify.

Kaoru ended up becoming the main heroine of the series, in my opinion. She was meant to be the enigma who drove the progression of the story. Unfortunately, she became the scapegoat for what I reckon was a massive cop out, and too much was left unanswered. All the suggestions made by other characters, which were supposed to imply something about Kaoru, were never really addressed. The hints were all there, but the puzzle pieces never fell into place. Additionally, it was both frustrating and concerning that one of the messages this manga seemed to advocate was slut shaming. In this story, certain actions are justified, if the girl 'acted' in a way to somehow deserve it. That is to say, being perceived as flirtatious and inviting, invites sexual assault upon oneself, which I cannot agree with whatsoever.

At first, I felt that this series showed some real promise by seeking to deal with some pretty complex emotional questions on sexuality. However, the lack of character development really hurt it, and the ending as a whole was unsatisfactory. Most of all, its mishandling of a sensitive issue such as rape, is something I personally cannot justify.

Ichikawa Kei is great at creating these slice-of-life stories that aren't particularly steamy, but will still tug at your heartstrings. Slow Starter is no different.

Frankly, Ino and Kiyo are adorable. Both are a little awkward with one another, but they're just so happy to spend time together - it's heart-warming. What I love about this manga is that it leaves out a lot of the romantic plot tropes that we usually see (like a character being bullied, neglected or injured in some other way). Ichikawa Sensei completely ignores the Seme/Uke dichotomy, with both Ino and Kyo being your average High-school males - and that's so refreshing.

It's important to keep in mind that this is a Shounen-Ai manga, so any steamy parts are kept to a bare minimum. But, that doesn't take away from this story at all - instead it keeps the focus on Ino and Kiyo's relationship from a romantic point of view rather than a sexual one.

The artwork itself isn't extraordinary by any means, but it's not bad either. Ichikawa Kei has a way of drawing her characters that feels sweet and wholesome. When the characters smile - you'll smile and when they laugh - you'll laugh.

Overall, I'd say this is a fantastic Manga if you want something that's heartwarming and sweet - and because there's hardly any graphic images, this book is safe for younger teenage readers as well.

Mind you I havent read the sequel "Slow Days" but slow starter is exactly like the title. It's very slow but super duper adorable, finished it with in one day, so you can get a feel of how it sucked me into it.

My only two complaint is maybe because I am not 100% great at reading mangas but the talking bubbles started to get confusing. I would always get mixed up of who is saying what and sometimes it pissed me off so much that it would ruin the moment for me alot
I would just be so confused on what going on, and then the next thing you know we on a different scene and something is happening and I have NO IDEA wtf is going on.
&
Also the ending PISSED ME OFF, *calm breathing* HOW YOU GOING TO JUST END IT LIKE THAT AND THEN GO INTO OTHER STORIES!!! *signs* I was so freaking confused!!!! I thought i was still reading the manga and then BOOM nope!

Other then that the plot is very REFRESHING. I get so tired of all the boy love mangas being so center around sex and more sex. It can get tiring. But this one was beautifully put together. I say just give it a chance.

seeing the same person over and over again in your daily commute, stealing glances and making notes of each other through those glances, then feeling a sense of loss when the other doesn't get on at their usual stop? i'm sold.

kiyo and ino's relationship was developed slowly, both having no prior experience with a man, but surely. in the first volume, they got nervous when the other's around but they got more at ease with each other in the second one and it's really nice to see. i like how ino got a new haircut and didn't stay the same the whole manga look-wise.

over all, this was cute and enjoyable. i liked it.

"Slow Starter" is a great shounen-ai series to read, especially for those who are just starting to test out the waters in this genre. It's a relaxing manga to read when you're not looking for an overwhelming amount of drama or crazy plot twists.

The plot is centered around two boys from different high schools who happen to take the same train together every morning. My favorite aspect of the series is that the author is able to make the characters and their interactions seem very realistic. The feelings between them are raw and genuine and very sweet.

With its light atmosphere and likeable characters, this is a series I pick up over and over again whenever I'm in the mood to read a short simple story with fun characters and a nice plot.