Sundome

I'll just say this right off the bat. Sundome does have some really perverted and frustrating elements to it. If you can't stand a main character that is a masochist or any manga that depicts fetishes that are on the extreme side, you probably aren't going to be able to make it through this manga. If you can put that aside though, you'll find that Sundome deep down is actually a beautiful story of love, growth and friendships.

Sundome has plenty of foreshadowing, subtlety, character growth, drama, comedy, ecchi, ups, downs, etc...that you would expect from a good story. I think as long as you aren't turned off by the S&M elements this is definitely worth the read.

Very good compared to others the story sort of lacked some times but in the end they find away to make it click. the characters are good bit perverts the end is sort of a think what you want because they didnt really explain it well. to me it was great but i dont really think it was for the " average man ".

tl;dr: A story full of smut, but that draws a lot of depth from that smut and shows a really powerful relationship.

Sundome is a manga that has a lot of ecchi and is very much downright perverted, but at the same time, and to a good extent because of this, manages to convey emotions incredibly strongly. Aiba over the course of the manga grows tremendously, physically, mentally, and emotionally, while at the same time some core aspects of him, his attachment to Kurumi, never changes much at all. Now that's not to say that their relationship doesn't change, as it builds up incredibly slowly over the course of the manga into something that despite how it seems entrenched in ecchi from the beginning, and wherein any scene out of context may seem kind of disgusting, is something that seems kind of beautiful. Kurumi doesn't quite grow much over the course of the manga, but rather has something she wants in the beginning that she slowly seems to find as Aiba grows, and hence both of them play off each other tremendously well. In a similar sense, Kyouko and Katsu also play off each other incredibly well and grow together over the course of the manga, though it's very much only at the level of the side story. How things would end for Kurumi was obvious from the beginning, and having it hanging over the readers head from the beginning in one sense prevents it from being all that sad. Still, the ending still has an incredibly strong emotional impact. To some degree, I feel they didn't handle it all that well, wherein while in terms of what happens with Kurumi at the end feels like a fitting end to the manga, in terms of how it was told it felt quite messy and somewhat confusing. In general, I liked how the manga didn't explicitly mention a lot of crucial details related to the plot, rather alluding to them strongly and consistently enough over time that the reader just knows, but with the ending that didn't really work because it was the end it felt a bit rushed and didn't really have time to convey things through subtle repetition. Still, despite all that, it still hit pretty hard. How they handled the epilogue I thought was immensely good, in that it quickly showed everything it needed to show for everyone, most notably how Aiba had moved on but hadn't forgotten about what happened in the least, rather that he retained everything he gained and that was how he was proceeding forward. The manga relies pretty strongly on comedy, which for the most part is fine, but due to how much of the manga is dependent on it and how there isn't that much variety it does start feeling like it's dragging on a bit as it goes on. The art was good, in that it was never really beautiful at all, but rather fit in with the tone incredibly well, wherein when it needed to be dirty is was really dirty, where it needed to emphasize comedy it was quite humorous, facial expressions especially, and wherein it was both it used both back to back quite well.

Reading around I finally got to this one, I have to say this is quite a unique story. First I will start of by saying that this is an adult comic and it is very hardcore, but at the same time it would be worth a read for teenagers, simply because the problems the characters face are familiar to anyone that has ever been in high school. The comic actually shows how sex and love are related in a very exaggerated way, but that is still plausible. Since this is the first comic That I have read that treats such a worn out topic in such a refreshing way, I have no other choice but to recommend this one to anybody that has at least considered reading it. I do have to warn to keep an open mind though, as the content is for adults after all.

This is my first review, so bare with me on this one.

Before I begin to write this review I would like to say that this manga captivated me so, that I read the whole 76 chapters in one sitting, I started with the premise that before I went to bed I would read 3 chapters to see if it would interest me, I then spent the following 7 and a half hours reading it, I could not put it down, so be aware its highly addictive!

I’m trying not to put any spoilers in the review, because it’s such a good story I don’t want to ruin any of the surprises
=============== Story= 10 =============
Where to begin, I guess I should start off with saying, that Sundome is not a mangafor everyone, it contains severe graphically almost sexual scenes that are borderline hentai( To make this clear, this manga is NOT HENTAI, but close to it ) . I would dare to say it’s not for most people, seeing as that the main story basically revolves around a high school boy masturbating in front of a high school girl, granted that would scare the most people away, but if you look past that unique and quite odd part of the story you are left with a romance drama comedy mix, there are parts where I could not stop laughing. Anyways as I was saying, the story focuses on the somewhat twisted relationship between the main characters Aiba, Hideo and Sahana, Kurumi. The story is mainly focused on Aiba, Hideo the male lead, and his growth throughout the relationship with Sahana, Kurumi. Throughout the story there are small stories about the supporting characters.
The progression in the story is a the only thing that I didn’t really agree with, the story escalates in the start and mellows out in the middle and then when reaching the end it feels just a bit rushed would have liked to see an extra 10 chapters or so, but that might because I really fell in love with the story and didn’t want it to end. That’s the only thing that bothered me about the manga.

=============== Artwork= 8 ============
The artwork is real crisp and sharp, well drawn and everything is in good proportions, movement is well drawn, as well as the emotions the characters have are drawn good.
The “graphic” scenes in Sundome are well drawn, every time one of the “graphic” scenes came by I could kind of feel the emotions the characters were feeling.
As I stated before there are some real “graphic” scenes that are not suited for people under 17 or sensitive types.

=============== Notes ================
I have enjoyed reading Sundome so much, I’ve ordered the complete Japanese set from Japan. Just so I can enjoy the quality of the product.

A extra note is that if you are reading it via a scanlator group, the quality will be great for the first 30-40 chapters and the last 55 to 76 , there are some chapters that seriously lacking quality, be it bad raw scans, translation grammar and spelling errors , poor cleaning and type stetting.

=============== Final Verdict ===========
I’m giving Sundome a big fat 10, because I enjoyed it so much, this is so far the only manga (of more than 10 or so chapters) that’s made me pull an all nighter, I’m basing my score off of the enjoyment I had while reading the manga.

If you have any suggestions as to my review or you want to know more, shoot me a message or leave me a comment on my profile.
I hope you enjoyed my review and I hope you take the time to try out the manga.

Sundome is a touching, if very sexually depraved manga. It tells you about the power of love and how it can motivate us to becomes a better person. At least that’s what response to it led to me to believe. In reality, it’s just a brain dead ecchi comedy manga tells a terrible romance story, with a few tweaks could’ve passed off as satire.

Be warned as this review will be full of spoilers. I actually don’t want anyone to read it so I’ll spoil a fair bit of it to explain why.

If you’re already familiar with the setup of the story then skip ahead to the next segment.

One day a mysterious girl (Kurumi Sahana) transfers in the same class as our protagonist (Hideo Aiba), and he immediately falls in love with her. Luckily she is seated right next to him and they move their desks together to share a textbook. That alone makes him hard as a diamond. Unfortunately Kurumi drops her eraser and it lands right between his legs, next to a raging boner. She reaches down and picks it up while accidentally touching his penis yet she doesn’t seem to notice for now.

Later we are introduced to a roman club, it doesn’t have anything to do with the ancient empire or language. Roman alludes to romanticism of young boys and their desire to uncovered mysteries and chase after their dreams. The rumour has it that if you graduate without losing virginity or getting a girlfriend, the alumni of the roman club will fund your dreams. With high reward comes high risk in form of tests from the alums and assassins, women who are sent after the club members to rid them of their virginity. In this club there are 4 members: Hideo, who joined on a whim cause he didn’t think he’d ever date anyone while in school anyway; Ex-president, he has an anal fetish and mostly exists to make asshole jokes; Katsu Toshitsuku, a pervert with a peeping fetish who wants to become a lawyer and lastly; Tatsuya Yatsu, a cowardly otaku with a leg fetish who wants to becomes a politician.

Suddenly Kurumi comes to the club to check it out and joins them. When she’s left alone with Aiba she tells him to masturbate to which he replies that this is something people do in private but fearing to lose interest of a girl he likes he eagerly agrees and puts a nail inside his penis. After the attempt at masturbation with a nail failed Kurumi tells him that she will never have sex with him, she might do it casually with someone else but not with him, even if they were last two people on Earth, even he begged. Aiba doesn’t mind though, to him as long as she’s in close proximity of him. From there on the story is a slow trickle of what hardly qualifies of plot and character progression with and a lot of repetitive and forced comedy as well as very embarrassing ecchi.


What Sundome tries to be?

Now on to what this manga attempts to do, according to the writing and the presentation. The way story’s handled, I believe Sundome tries to be a tragedy centred around Kurumi. She seems to have some fatal disease and what little time she has left in the world she spends trying to make a better man out of Hideo in the most nonsensical and roundabout way possible. This all seems to be a part of the plan for alums or OBs as manga occasionally calls them, but it’s never made clear cause the whole thing about wish granting and evil assassins is nothing more than a plot device to explain some random coincidences. Most of Kurumi’s actions revolve around either setting up challenges for Hideo, for which he gets various erotic rewards or simply using him for her own enjoyment. Most of that ends up with Hideo being rewarded in way or the other, sometimes it’s the ability to touch or lick Kurumi, other times he gets a permission to masturbate or get pissed on. Kurumi’s challenges meanwhile can vary from something simple like fetching water or dragging furniture around to something life/health threatening like having to interact with a violent thug or enduring 20 second in an arm lock with a risk of his arms getting broken.

In the process of all this it becomes clear that Hideo will do absolutely anything, be it dangerous or humiliating, just for the opportunity to be close to Kurumi, let alone do anything more involved. For example there is a moment when he briefly gets an opportunity to live with Kurumi as her pet as long as he never touches his penis. Aiba eagerly agrees and comes to her house with a cardboard box to live inside of and as Kurumi leaves the house he promises to not set foot outside his box. Keeping his promise, he doesn’t even leave for a toilet break and pisses himself. Kurumi’s not mad though, she’s happy cause he’s such a good boy and Aiba is delighted by the result of his obedience.

To be ready for more dangerous or demanding tasks he starts to train and gets a bit stronger. He finds a job to get money he’d spend on Kurumi. His jealousy also makes him a bit more confrontational as he wants to have Kurumi all to himself. Generally all of his improvements centre around being able to make Kurumi happy and service her. In the end that leads to a weird development as author tries to show the payoff in a rather creepy way. The three instances of Hideo actually initiating something is when he forcibly steals a kiss from Kurumi, holds her down to suck mucus out of her nose and one time when lifts her slightly by the shorts to somehow make going uphill easier. That’s supposed to be his big character development and all it just comes off as his lust taking over.

Manga ends with Kurumi suddenly being hospitalized and Hideo breaking her out of it to make her see some special place which ends up being some boring beach. She gets inside a sleeping back and so does Hideo. Her final moments are spent looking at Hideo jerking himself off on top of her. Time goes by, Hideo becomes a doctor and is happily married while keeping Kurumi around as a happy memory.

What it actually is and why it fails?

The concept of their relationship by itself is good. I could be down with a romance story where the goal is to lure protagonist into improving himself as a person, but the way Sundome goes about it doesn’t make sense and is outright disgusting. How can anyone claim Hideo ever truly becomes a better person when up until the very end he is driven forward by nothing but lust? He loves Kurumi unconditionally with slavish devotion. He’s fine with whatever she might do to him even if it kills him, that’s literally one of the things that gets established at a point. Kurumi stops chocking him cause if it was up to him he’d never want her to let go. He didn’t even have a dream to asks OBs about until he met her and decided to be a doctor “so that even if they are last two people on Earth she wouldn’t be in trouble”. So, main theme of their relationship is a complete flop.

The way it’s achieved thought is by far the worst. I have no idea who thought that a flat out abusive relationship can be painted as something good yet Sundome tries real hard. Whenever Hideo gets his reward after being hurt or humiliated is shown as some moment of romantic privacy and unity between the two main characters while in reality it can be Hideo drinking piss as thanks for servicing Kurumi. It’s almost as far from being a healthy relationship as it can be cause Hideo is such an unreasonable person. He shows doubt about his relationship multiple times but it all comes down to him living for the sake of Kurumi and her happiness without ever considering himself. There is even a subplot about Kurumi sleeping with some older man, he’s later revealed to be her doctor and even though it’s not actually said that he didn’t sleep with her it’s what reader will most likely assume. Either way Hideo never actually does anything to change the situation, he never asks Kurumi about him and two times he actually talks to the guy he tells him that Kurumi pisses on him and only him and allows him to drink her piss. So we have this protagonist who’s a massive pushover and constantly gets used in his uneven relationship. He will risk everything to gain very little yet this process is framed as him growing into a better person? That makes about as much sense as clobbering some nerd into a mental breakdown and then saying “well I only wanted to help him become stronger and more confident”. It’s ridiculous but in Sundome it works for no damn reason other than the writer trying to assign some depth to a shitty fan service manga.

And it’s not even good at that either. None of the fetishes in the manga really intersect with mine, so it’s not surprising I didn’t find the erotic part of it all that arousing. But at least I was willing to give it credit for variety. At first it seemed like the author put effort into creating a wide variety of different situations that are both interesting and capitalize on some of the taboos Sundome flaunts, but after a while the scenarios and actions start repeating. Aiba keeps trying to lick some part of Kurumi, he keeps trying to touch a different place or licking her wide variety of body fluids. It all starts to wear off and blend together rather quirk.

With all of this I didn’t expect Kazuto Okada to try and cram in a separate gag manga in all of this. The comedy largely revolves around roman club activities and character interactions that usually awkwardly flow into Aiba and Kurumi doing something perverted before everything is reset back to normal. Personally there were maybe 2 or 3 times Sundome made me laugh across the whole thing. Too many of the jokes just rely on terrible running gags that usually coincides with single defining feature of each character. Kyouko is a gyaru who asks money from people for anything she can, that’s hilarious cause instead of reacting normally she tries to extort money. Ex-president is fascinated with anuses, that’s funny cause haha anus. Aiba is excited about any opportunity to get pissed on by Kurumi and that’s funny cause haha ain’t that weird.

Worth mentioning that there’s also a completely pointless romance subplot between Kyouko and Katsu. Kyouko who used to be an easy lay starts hanging out with nerds at the roman club and eventually starts dating Katsu instead of asshole jocks cause Katsu is just such a nice guy. Their entire relationship could’ve been torn out of the manga and it wouldn’t impact the narrative in any way. If anything it would improve it cause the faster it ends the lighter the torture.

Lastly, the art.

The style is an inconsistent mishmash of SD and stylized but more or less realistic designs that are usually switched up depending on the tone of the scene. Except for ex-president, Katsu and Tatsuya, who are permanently stuck in joke mode even when they’re involved in serious scene, which is jarring as hell.

The general quality of drawing is way below average. At times the proportions are so out of whack that it made me think that any half-decent looking panels in the manga were heavily references and I still think that the author wouldn’t be capable of drawing them without that. There’s also a ridiculous amount of reused expressions and perspectives, it’s pretty obvious that Okada is not a very versatile artist and it really shows when all his emotional scenes usually just feature two or three same faces over and over. It doesn’t help the dramatic impact of those scenes and it looks terrible. There’s also a weird reluctance to draw one of the eyes in many of the shots, sometimes it’s common enough to think that the characters are actual cyclops.

When it comes to ecchi shows the art can make or break it and Sundome breaks fast. Despite all the feedback about this manga talking about how perverted and ecchi heavy this manga is, it’s gonna be one of the tamest I’ve seen. Okada rarely draws characters fully unclothed and when he does I start to understand why. He’s anatomy is not bad enough to be laughable but it’s nowhere near good enough to be titillating either. Erotic drawings are usually about realistic anatomy meeting halfway with exaggerated style and proportions to make the erotic parts stand out more than figuratively and neither is present here.

In conclusion you get Sundome, a terrible romance manga with not a single fleshed out character and a tragic story that makes about as much sense as cutting off your legs to run faster. As if it wasn’t bad enough it’s a comedy without wit and a manga without art worth looking at. I sincerely hope nobody reads this trash.

Where to begin with Sundome...

This is my favorite romance of all time, no doubt about that, however, I could never recommend this to many people. The book is quite special in its delivery, leading the reader on with lewd imagery and throwing in hints of mystery. This element of not being 2D in a genre rife with generic plots and subplots is why I rank it so highly. Overall:10/10

Maybe you're there for the sexual themes as I figure most would be when they see a cover like that and read the blurb. Well, you won't be disappointed since it does get pretty borderline pornography in some scenes. This is also a key factor in never being able to share this with most people I know. Not everyone will be into this and that's fair.

With that out of the way lets talk art since that's a factor to some and rightfully so. The art gets the job done and I didn't find it very exceptional. At no point did I feel it detracted from the story and that is to me what matters most. Art:8/10

Character development is relatively straightforward...or so you'd think and it makes the repetition of the story all the more great. Its been a long while since I've read Sundome so I can't go into specific characters, however it might detract from the twist if I did. Characters:10/10

I enjoyed this. For the romance obviously. Enjoyment:10/10

If you still don't believe me then trust me the story that is, yes, filled to the brim with lewd has a payoff that im sure everyone will enjoy. Can't recommend this enough for romance fans.

A local bookstore of mine was closing up due to the hard economic times we're going through, but that didn't mean I'd pass up their huge clearance sale. So I came across this title in the mature manga section, and it apparently seems that someone before me got adventurous and opened the seal. Whoever, did it I wish I could thank them for doing it.

Sundome is very unique in terms of story, I don't think I've come across anything like it in all the manga that i've read so far. Basically you have the main character Aiba-kun who is pretty much an otaku, and he has very particular tastes in what attracts him, cue in Kurumi-chan who is a transfer student and very unique personality to go with it. Aiba is what you would describe has a shy otaku, but when he has something he wants, he's determine to get it. Kurumi, on the other hand seemingly realizes this, and takes advantage of it. However, you can't tell what her intentions are for doing it.

The art at first is definitely different from most out there, but it's not to the point where it's not recognizable, the quality is consistent throughout the entire volume (1). The fanservice does seep in from time to time, but I believe they are all well placed because they are there to give the illusion of seduction. I wouldn't go as far to say it's "dirty" or "tasteless" like some in reviews would say, because I've seen much worse.

Character development is definitely there, you learn more about who the main characters are, but at the same time you also get a nice amount of view into the supporting cast. Each chapter you can tell that Aiba takes another step in becoming a better person, even if his goals for completing them may seem silly, but what can you expect for a teenager of his age.

The enjoyment is awesome, It's one of the rare few manga that has actually made me laugh out while reading, and constantly keep a smile on my face while reading. There is tons of hilarious moments, all which mostly involve the club members in this story.

One thing that some people will note about this manga is that it's somewhat filled with nihilism so it's not something for everybody. I'd go as first to say that you either like this or you don't. I'd go as far to say this is the most realistic story too, as I can easily see these things happening in the real world somewhere.

Where will the path that Aiba and Kurumi take is unknown, but one thing is apparent in their behavior that almost entirely contrast with each other, is that they need each other.

DISCLAIMER:

It’s been many years since I have written a review for a piece of fiction so I’m afraid that my writing skills are bit rusty. If you happen to find a factual error, want to discuss/dispute an argument I made, suggest improvements or discuss something else please feel free to drop me a private message any time. Alternatively I've added a corresponding blog post (anyone know how to link to specific blog posts?) :-) I'll probably work on the wording and sentence structure in the next few days to make it more bearable. Any changes to the actual content will be documented in a changelog here.

4. May 2012: Added alternative explanation for the beach scene in the last chapter.

Spoiler-free TL;DR version:

Sundome is at its core a touching coming of age story for an adult audience which features a surprisingly complex relationship between the main characters but is somewhat marred by pacing problems, uneven art and a slightly rushed ending.

FROM THIS POINT ON THERE WILL BE MAJOR SPOILERS. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

Let's get the most obvious thing out of the way first. The manga has no lack of very graphic sex scenes. While you'll never see full-frontal shots of exposed genitalia (but a lot of barely covered ones) and everything involving them (penetration shots, blowjobs, etc.) the art and composition of the panels leaves very little to the imagination of the reader. That's why this review will often come back to mentioning sex because there's effectively so much of it and it is heavily used to portray the story and character development. Now I don't mind sex in manga. To the contrary, I find most manga, especially those dealing with romance, frustratingly sterile and detached from reality because they usually portray a world and humans which don't exist in the world in which I happen to live. Here people beginning from their early to mid teenage years have all kinds of sexual experiences and don't become hand-waving, stuttering morons just because they’ve slightly touched each other's hand (well, maybe on the first date) and are waiting to reach some level kind of pure love ideal before they get down and dirty (if ever). It doesn't work like this anymore and I'm not sure it ever has. So it was rather refreshing that Sundome gets down to business from the get-go. Effectively it reverses the usual relationship progression: Instead of the protagonists slowly building up a bond before even considering sexual contact, in Sundome they start out with sex and develop the emotional relationship afterwards as time goes by. And the sex in this manga is most effective when it is used to portray the evolving relationship between the protagonists. Unfortunately the manga also all too often lowers itself to the level of mere hentai with crotch shots (including swollen vaginas), unnecessary cleavage shots (including nipple flashes) and bad sexual innuendo. It serves little purpose other than to arouse the reader in a clunky way which cheapens the aforementioned better usage in other parts which are integral to the plot.

The story is mostly told from the perspective of a male teenage character with short interludes to the other cast members. Another similarity to hentai (other than misuse of female characters) is the initial setting of the manga. So we have a wimp (Aiba Hideo) who is an outsider in his own class and hangs around with other wimps as part of an after-school club. Being the collection of outcasts that they are, they twisted the interpretation of their involuntary situation (seemingly not having any hope of getting into a relationship) into a commendable trait which is to be sustained in order to concentrate on a successful feature. Well, unsurprisingly most humans will try to have the best outlook on their current situation, especially if they are under the impression that it is not in their ability to change it. So one day there's this new transfer student who happens to be a cute and sociable girl and for some inexplicable reason develops a strong sexual affection for the main character (out of all people) and even joins the club of dorks. While the manga provides some rationalization for this unlikely event you'll still have to pretty much accept this plot contrivance. The second protagonist is the transfer student, a girl called Sahana Kurumi. I'll retain the name usage of the manga and refer to the characters as they referred to each other most of the time. Anyway, Aiba and Kurumi develop a partly very bizarre relationship which has very strong S/M undertones where our male lead gets to be the submissive part. Surprisingly the mangaka uses this often quite effectively to portray the growing trust and affection between the protagonists. As the intensity and location of their games changes it requires them to reveal quite a bit about themselves in the process.

The manga differentiates between sex and intimacy which do not necessarily coincide. Intimacy requires a certain amount of trust. That's why prostitution is lacking any kind of intimacy because while the people involved may exchange body fluids they are not opening up to each other. This is the reason why the first kiss between Aiba and Kurumi, long after they have gone through various stages of groping, is nevertheless far more intensive than any preceding, more explicit stuff because it elevates their relationship emotionally and shows their deepening bond. But the growing intimacy in the manga doesn't stop at the sexual level. It's also expressed by having the characters expose their emotional ("weak") side to their loved one and not being afraid of each other in situations of distress and hurt (to a certain extent as explained later).

Aiba is an interesting but somewhat problematic character. Over the course of the manga you get a strong impression of him being a rather self-centered individual which made him somewhat difficult to like at times. He is mostly concerned with the immediate satisfaction of his sexual desires. He tends to interpret situations in a way that they revolve around him (i.e. he doesn’t consider that he might not be the at the center of the happenings). In other cases he’ll choose the explanation which is least likely to interfere with getting dirty with Kurumi. The manga constantly foreshadows that Kurumi is suffering from a terminal illness and Aiba gets several hints repeatedly toward the fact that something is seriously wrong with her health yet for most of the time he outright chooses to ignore the unpleasant realities. Take Kurumi's doctor, for instance, who is a character intended to lay a false trail for the reader (but at about the middle of the manga it becomes evident that he serves another purpose). Aiba never considers that the middle-aged man might not be some kind of sugar daddy because otherwise he'd have to face the unpleasant truth. Even in situations where Kurumi is hurt, shows him genuine affection or shares her sentiments with him his thoughts always quickly return to his libido and disregarding other the person's feelings in the process. He’s making up questionable rationalizations that not pressing any issues is an expression of trust towards Kurumi but there is a point where his behavior is more like willingly looking the other way for the sake of convenience. I’ve even had the slight suspicion that the few times that he tried to talk about possible problems he was conscious of the fact that Kurumi would try to change the topic by any means possible (including sexual favors). Now I'm not solely blaming him for his behavior because he *is* a boy in the prime of his puberty after all who is experiencing his first sexual acts with a girl. Additionally this is also the kind of relationship Kurumi fostered herself and it was their way of expressing feelings but nevertheless that does not completely excuse him for being times and again rather egoistic and insensitive. In the end though it’s hard to dislike Aiba. Similar to how a touching story is buried under a pile of sex scenes in Sundome, I believe that there’s also a core of genuine love for his girlfriend behind all his selfish acts which is repeatedly and prominently displayed in certain key scenes where his affection for her overcomes him.

As previously mentioned Kurumi is the female protagonist of the manga. The plot makes no big secret of the fact that she is destined to die rather sooner than later due to some unspecified illness. And she knows it from the very beginning. Yet one could ask why would this girl, who knows that her remaining time is very limited, go to school regularly and even start a strange relationship with one of her classmates? It’s because she yearns for normality and control. Everyday school life provides a diversion from her ever progressing illness and Aiba allows her to exert control again, which at the same time she is slowly losing over her own body. It’s a sentiment that I’ve read repeatedly being expressed by cancer patients: The unnerving feeling that your body betrays you and you are powerless to do anything about it. Indirectly she regains some degree of control by controlling the sexual urges of her boyfriend. At the same time she makes sure that after her passing there would be someone left to remember her. It’s a very basic yet powerful sentiment and it’s enforced in the ending scene and the various flashbacks from Aiba throughout the manga when he mentions his pleasant memories of her. She is also the origin of the manga’s title “Sundome” which according to Wikipedia means “stopping the moment before”. At first this only seems to refer to their arrangement she imposed on their relationship that she’ll never have intercourse with him or get him off directly (though she allows and encourages more and more intimate sexual games as their bond deepens), but this restriction also extends to their relationship as a whole. They get increasingly close to each other over time but shortly before opening up fully to him (about her illness and her fears) she stops and refuses let their intimacy grow to this point. After all, allowing someone to accompany your last part of life when you are most vulnerable is one of the ultimate expressions of trust and intimacy. To be honest her motivations for this remained unclear to me. Why did she close off that part of her life from Aiba? Why did she not clear up the obvious misunderstanding about her doctor? Was it because she wanted to enjoy normality as long as possible? Was it because she didn’t want to be confronted with her past which is hinted to be marked by a tragedy? Was it because it threatened the arrangement in their relationship in which she was the dominant part? The character of Kurumi remains delightfully mysterious even after the last chapter and allows the reader for some healthy speculation.

Besides the two main characters there are several minor characters which appear in most chapters. They are members of the same after-school club Aiba and Kurumi belong to. Unlike the protagonists they are far less developed and act mostly as comic relief with their strange fetishes, looks and behaviors. At one point the manga makes a feeble attempt to flesh out some characters like Kyouko, the only other regular female who is quite good-looking and a non-official member of the club (and constantly reminds me Aisha ClanClan from Outlaw Star). A possible explanation is provided why she hangs out with a bunch of dorks in the first place but this endeavor remains woefully underdeveloped (although it is hinted that Kyouko is more perceptive than initially assumed as it is indicated that she knows of Aiba’s and Kurumi’s secret relationship). While I have grown fond of the side characters after an initial dislike due to an overload of overdone comedy they remain one of the weakest parts of the manga because their shallowness is in stark contrast with the well-developed protagonists and this again is often at odds with the tragic undertones of the story. The mangaka also uses them far too often to set up a rather formulaic chapter/plot structure where the club would decide on some activity which would lead to sexual escapades and some light humor. While initially fun it grows tiresome after it has been repeated a dozen times.

Which brings me to the general problem of pacing. The initial third of the manga has great forward momentum and the relationship of the characters is constantly evolving which is refreshing compared to many other romance mangas which suffer from an eternal status quo where nothing ever seems to have a lasting effect and all characters at the end of a chapter are the same as at the beginning. The beginning is not without its own faults, especially the first couple of chapters, which mainly deal with the strange after-school club but a combination of apparent chemistry between the main characters and a fascination for the weird fetishes presented from early on is enough to get through the beginning. Some routine creeps into the manga in the middle part caused by recurrent plots which seldom add anything valuable to the overall story or the individual characters. Worse, it also extends to the main characters to a certain extent in which they and the reader are trapped in a routine without their relationship progressing meaningfully. The manga picks up momentum again at the end as Kurumi’s illness becomes more apparent but even then there are still too many goofy comedy and wank chapters and not in the tragicomedy kind of way but the mood-destroying, distracting one. This is in stark contrast with the increasing gravity of the situation and the genuine concern which I developed for the main characters at this point.

This brings me to the end scene at the beach. I had to read it several times and inspect the panels carefully to make sure that I was not misinterpreting the situation. I was not. Unfortunately. WTF NECROPHILIA?! Now, this manga has its fair share of strange fetishes but this one was a level above the other stuff. Whatever you might think of their sexual preferences at least it was all clearly consensual. The rape of her lifeless body was not since he clearly violated the condition she imposed on him: “Let’s have sex once I wake up.” which she never did being dead and all. I think I know what the mangaka intended with the scene: Portraying that in the end the sundome part of the relationship was kept intact until the bitter end and he only got the chance to finally have “normal” sex with her after her demise but COME ON, a less creepy way wouldn’t have lowered the quality of the plot in the slightest (rather the contrary!) and it damages Aiba as a character by having him blatantly ignore Kurumi's wishes which up to this point he (mostly) adhered to. In general I wish there would have been an emotionally more satisfying end to the story like a classical conversation between those two for once without the constant sexual undertones where they articulate their relationship in words. The last few chapters seemed rushed and brought the story to an end rather abruptly. I do not expect every detail to be presented on a silver plate but I wish that at least the aftermath of the tragic ending would some shed some more light about Kurumi’s past and how the members of the club fared in the future in more detail to provide a better sense of closure.

[04.05.2012] Yet something has been bothering me about the composition of the scene since I've finished the manga (well, something besides the necrophilia aspect) and I think I have a clearer picture of what it is now: The position of her right arm seems rather unnatural if you start with the assumption that she was already dead when Aiba started having intercourse with her. I'd rather expect that the arm would be closer to the body and not bend behind the head unless Aiba positioned the arm himself and there's little reason why he should do it in the first place. So let's change the assumption to Kurumi being alive at the beginning of the intercourse and that she died in the process. That would offer a better explanation for the position of the arm. Maybe she caressed Aiba's face and it came to rest there when her life faded away or she used it to stabilize her head. Another advantage of this explanation is that it is not so damaging to Aiba's character as he wouldn't have disregarded Kurumi's wishes in the end by raping her lifeless body while still keeping the sundome aspect intact (he didn't come while she was alive after all). I don't think it's a problem that she said she wouldn't have ever sex with him as she made the proclamation at the very beginning of their relationship, long before they developed their deep bond, so it's only natural that her opinion might have changed, especially at the end of her life (if it ever was serious in the first place and not only used to tease him).[/04.05.2012]

The art is a mixed bag. As with the rest of the manga I’m not very fond of the comedy parts and this extends to the art which ranges from stylized (comedy) to highly detailed and realistic (serious business). There’s a correlation between the emotional intensity of individual scenes and the artwork. The sexual scenes are usually kept in a realistic style (with exceptions where the inappropriate humor sneaks in) and some of the most intense scenes are also the best drawn ones with imaginative and dramatic panel layouts and content. This is probably partly owned to the fact that realistically drawn sex scenes sell better but it also helps to connect with the characters. Which in turn the overuse of the comedy styles often makes it more difficult. In general the art is nothing to write about but serviceable.

While reading I had this general impression of duality regarding many aspects of the manga including the characters, the art and the pacing. Moments of seriousness and genuine affection between characters take quick turns with utterly silly scenes including sudden changes of the general art, often even within the same scene. This makes reading kinda jarring at times because there are touching scenes with a carefully build up mood which is destroyed in an instant when we suddenly switch to humor mode. The manga is at its best when it resists the urge to change moods suddenly but maintains it for the whole scene. Alas, more often than not it feels like two different mangas were forced into one setting. Humor and serious scenes do not exclude each other automatically but it takes a very good writer to pull this off and unfortunately Okada Kazuto is not one of those. In my opinion he would have done himself a favor by separating these two aspects more clearly and maybe even tone down the humor towards the end as the tragic aspects of the story become more apparent.

Can I recommend the manga? Yes, with reservations. If you can stomach the bad parts and some lame filler content and extract the good parts while reading then a rather fascinating story with interesting characters awaits you. Oh, and you should not be put off by strange fetishes obviously.

After reading Onani Master I learned to not judge mangas by their cover, premise or art and thanks to that I was able to dive into Sundome and I can say I was pleased with what I've read.
A warning though, this manga doesn't censure itself, it contains heavy and sexual themes, and it does show them. Things like masturbation, licking each other and even drinking pee is all in here. If you don't think you can handle that, then by all means, skip this one.
If you do, however, this is one fine manga that manages to blend perfectly comedy, romance and drama.
Most of the plot events come from the Roman Group both main characters are members of, as they go on adventures to find UFOs and other paranormal activities. While two of the characters play a major role in the story, the entire group is fun to see, and all have their roles in the story. Besides those characters though, you won't find many more characters in the manga, and that's alright. Focusing just on six or seven people is enough, and you can remember everyone.
The manga is divided between funny and lighthearted, mostly when the group is together, to heavy and grim, when the main characters are left alone. Weirdly enough, even when shifting suddenly from one to another, it never feels forced and it flows pretty well. You'll find yourself laughing with them and crying with them, and, in the end, that's what makes a good manga.
There's only one problem I have with this manga, and it's the art. Most of the times it does work. It's not good, not by any means, but it does it's job and never falls into the "bad" category. Sadly there are times where it fails to fit the tone of the moment. Still, it's a minor rant, has it doesn't happen THAT often.
The ending is also slightly confusing, but talking more about it would be major spoilers.
All in all, it's an enjoyable manga that is recommendable to every romance-drama fan. Just be ready for the sexual theme and visuals.