Umibe no Onnanoko

"I just know that tonight again, my brother will be calling me from outside the window.


Help."

First off - the elephant in the room: there's sex. Lots of it. But I don't get how poeple are surprised by this if the whole story is about a "no strings attached" (read: sexual) relationship, it's even in the synopsis. But it isn't an ecchi/hentai type of sex, in my opinion the sex scenes are there to show the sexual relationship the story is about, as - you know - showing a s e x u a l relationship without s e x would be hard. Though some of the sex scenes may be hard to swallow (if you get what I mean *cough cough*chapter 14*cough cough*), so this may not be a suitable read for the faint of heart. But enough about that.
What a terrific manga.

Story: 9
The manga is about two teenagers, who both went through their own shit, and decided to form a "no strings attached" relationship to just feel better. Author tackles topics quite rare in this type of media, such as unhealthy relationships, suicidal thoughts, and more quite standard real-pessimistic Inio Asano specials. Though I don't quite know how to feel about the ending, but the rest more than makes up for it. A great and unconventional love story.

Art: 9
Love him or hate him, Asano's cityscapes are absolutely stunning. Some people say the way he draws eyes makes them uncomfortable, but personally I'd rather look at his sometimes uncanny, closer-to-human-proportions style, than another generic-looking manga with "the Clannad complex". lol

Characters: 8
I actually think the author did a pretty good job writing teenage characters (in a bit of a pessimistic way of course): depressed, stupid, sex-obsessed, often egoistic. Thanks to the time skips, we can see them slowly growing up and learning new things about themselves.

Enjoyment: 9
I loved it. One of the few pieces of media which _almost_ brought me to tears. (But that's kinda unfair to say, 'cause there's only on piece of media as of writing this which made me cry actual tears :P)

Overall: 9

TL;DR: Cool, you should read it as long as you don't mind sex scenes and you aren't really, really easily disturbed.

After completing the first volume of A Gril by the Sea, (or Umibe no Onnanoko) I can say that Inio Asano has done it again. The main character of the story is a girl named Koume Sato, who experiences the ups and downs of relationships, mostly downs, with Inio brilliantly showing readers what emotions come with it. Just like every other manga by Inio Asano, reading A Girl by the Sea is an experience all its own; unique, heart tantalizing, comedic, and enjoyable. I gave this manga a 10/10 across the board because I believe that the story is excellent, the art enhances the characters by portraying beautiful scenes that fit the mood said characters, and the characters themselves are interesting and are what gives this manga, in my opinion, the qualities to become Inio's best manga, possibly surpassing oyasumi punpun in the future.(POSSIBLY) The best part about the story, art, and characters are how they are all put together perfectly by Inio, leaving it impossible for me to give this less than an overall 10/10.

A heads-up before reading: This story includes a lot of sexual content and can be quite dark and gloomy. If you do not enjoy these type of stories, I recommend that you stay away from this one.

WARNING! Subjectively Speaking, this review contains spoilers.

Review: Through a sleepy, small town,a story is told of two lovers( Koume and Keisuke), that love each other, but are not brave enough to admit it. However, that does not stop them from using each other, reflecting the term, "friends with benefits". However, as time passes by, they become more fond of each other, but as mentioned before, can not admit this because of the complex situation that they are both in. On the side however, actions are portrayed that show they really care about each other, and wouldn't want the other to go away. Some of these actions even risk their lives, putting danger in front of their own self for the benefit of the other. However, as the story comes to a close, Keisuke is tired of doing these things, and decides it is better for both of them if they don't continue their love interest. At the same time, Koume is falling in love with him, and cannot believe the denial she receives when she asks if he will go out with him. The story closes with them in their high school (11th grade I believe) and shows that Koume has found someone else, and has accepted the fate of what transpired years ago.

My thoughts: I was kind of shocked at first with the amount of sexual content at first, but overtime, it made sense in my head of why they were doing it. The characters themselves don't have a large personality, but it is fine in this story to not have a huge one. Both characters are seen struggling in different scenes, and it is portrayed in a very realistic manner, and can be quite relatable. The artwork is exactly like other Inio Asano works, in the fact that it gives off a ugly character, but beautiful art-style, and shows a more realistic protrayal of events. It is a great read if you like drama and romance, because it gives you a variety of both.

Hope you enjoyed the review!

I really thought this mangas art was literally out of this world and the way it portrayed teenage sex, made me feel pretty much uncomfortable if I'm being honest here. I wish the story expanded more by exploring the two main characters, that includes the side character's also. I know the boy is coping with the death of his brother and his folks aren't always at home. The girl in the other hand, she has a big family. Then we see the side characters trying to "out" their relationship and the boy was mostly bullied for it. That was basically it for the 20 chapters it seems....

Btw the song mentioned in this Kaze Wo Atsumete by Happy End is such a bop, it's so friggin good!

I've read nearly all of Inio Asano's mangas since I discovered Oyasumi Punpun back in 2015. But Umibe no Onnanoko was, for me, like finding a hidden gem.

The plot is simple, as we're all accustomed to it: girl meets boy, they became friends and, during the process, it evolves onto something more complex; not quite a romance, not quite a friendship, either.

And just when the story reaches this point, it turns upside down.

Everything you thought you knew about the characters, changes. Their facades start to crumble, destroying our assumptions about them but, at the same time, helping us rediscover how they really think and why do they act the way they do.

I cannot begin to explain how amazing this manga is: the story, the characters, the beautiful scenery that's so characteristic of Asano (with real-life pictures of Japan used for the backgrounds). It all spoke to me in a way that none of his works did, at least not with that strength.

So, if you enjoy Asano's work, this is a must-read for me.

Asano Inio's work has always been - according to what I have read - telling the truth of fantasies that cannot be fulfilled; make us see reality more really as it looks, showing the constant depression of its characters in the struggle to find true happiness. Umibe no Onnanoko, is not an exception, but it is not a marvel, honestly, since it falls back on the repetition of perversion, which is not bad, if a sub-plot that we had not thought about expands through it It was done,but moderately and almost at the end of the story.

Work is not bad, it is only a perception of something that is gradually seen in our lives, which we have not dared to accept as "reality." And it is not that he has not enjoyed the erotic scenes, it is that when it becomes repetitive, by simple whim it falls in value.

tl;dr: A short manga that shows character growth in a broken relationship very well.

This manga is pretty short, being only two volumes, but it uses them incredibly well. The two main characters were really interesting and also felt like they had good chemistry, even though they really shouldn't be that way. Now by that I don't mean the standard story of two archetypes that shouldn't be getting along, though that's also somewhat the case, but rather their personalities just don't seem very compatible and their relationship was incredibly unhealthy. However, despite that, while it is certainly turbulent, there is somewhat of a calm peaceful feeling that is conveyed when they're together that just makes them being together feel incredibly right. Isobe undergoes a lot of development over the course of the manga, wherein he starts depressed without any real hopes for life and hatred for everything, but ultimately ends up overcoming all that, and ending on a heroic note. Koume was different, in that her problems seemed to be more related to her being self-centered and not honest with herself, which she does manage to overcome. However, despite all that, their relationship doesn't develop, or rather I suppose showing how and why it couldn't develop was how it developed. It felt fitting, incredibly emotionally impactful, and in context was a necessary end to their character arcs, so I can't say I was dissatisfied with it. However, it still made me really sad, and quite a bit more than I would expect for such a manga with only two volumes. This is mostly directed towards the second to last chapter however, as I felt the last chapter was entirely unnecessary, as it didn't really add anything, and furthermore softened the impact of the previous chapter. The art was pretty good to look at, but more importantly it along with the pacing definitely helped in terms of creating the right atmosphere and tone throughout, wherein I think this manga used what I call empty frames, where there's no dialogue or anything actually happening, really well.

I'm not sure what I would have liked with Umibe no Onnanoko, but as of now I can say I'm disappointed. All I can say about the moral code in Umibe no Onnanoko is that I've seen it done, and better. I struggled through all 20 chapters waiting for something to pique my interest, but I was all but disappointed. Keisuke seems to find no value in the feelings of others, and no interest in living, and that's all the development of his character that I can comprehend. He's depressed, and probably depressed to cater to all those other misanthropic teens out there who might find enjoyment in this book. Koume seems to be an unfortunate girl with the fault of falling for assholes such as Keisuke, and that's really all I can gather.

The ending was less than disappointing and really didn't hold much weight to it, and neither Keisuke and Koume developed more depth to their character. Maybe I'm missing the whole idea that humans are shallow creatures and do not hold much value, but I look for narrative and am left disappointed when I can't find one. The art is fine, not average but not fantastic either, as I've also seen this style in other manga. There were a few disproportionate neck to head lengths, but I'm really just nitpicking with small details when looking at Asano Inio's drawing skills as a whole.

While this is my personal opinion, I still think that Umibe no Onnanoko is a lacklustre manga without story or character development, and that many people would find it to be rather shallow and boring throughout the 20 or so chapters. Maybe some readers might find enjoyment from the sexual scenes in Umibe no Onnanoko, but I really couldn't have cared less. I've seen the whole misanthropic theme done better in loads of other manga, and think that if a manga is a struggle to get through, it doesn't deserve more than 5 stars out of ten using a numerical rating. While it's not completely terrible, I really don't think it deserved my time.

Umibe No Onnanoko is quite possibly the worst piece of literature that my hands have touched in the past decade.


Now to be fair, I knew absolutely nothing about this manga prior to buying it. Perhaps I should have done my research. When the first sex scene came by I was surprised because, again, I knew literally nothing about the manga. But it was fine. Sex scenes aren't that bad right? I'm sure they have meaning. Oh look another sex scene. And another one. Another one. Another one. Dj khaled can't save me here this book is literally sex and bad story telling.


The actual story is quite ridiculous and while the characters hold resemblance to what real teenagers feel at certain times- how they act as a whole is entirely exaggerated and unrealistic. You'd think that the author is a dinosaur based on their interpretation of teenager relationships. Yeah yeah, maybe I was the only teenager in highschool to not have sex every 5 minutes, but to be fair their rampant sexual behavior isn't the only problem. These kids are assholes to each other and its a wonder why any of them interact with each other.


The only reason I recommend you to pick up this manga is if you want to watch teenagers have sex. Well.. that's actually a pretty sketchy reason to pick this one up. I found no redeeming qualities in this book- no deep symbolism (wow people get sexually frustrated 2deep4me) and in general this was a bad and awkward read.


This is basically porn- bad story and characters but okay sex scenes.

This manga is not the type of manga
you should read to enjoy.It's nothing
like a rollercoaster,not a rocket
nor a speedboat. It's a slow
and quick ride towards subtlety..
I wouldn't say it's boring either,
because it promises something in each
new chapter. It's like witnessing a story
or a happening
in real life, it's nothing too exciting
but hey it's 'something'.

The first thing I'd like to point out is
how the characters are built. They're
built upon pessimism,nothing new
and nothing good either. They have their
own
emotions and personalities that don't
shine at all but that's just how the author wants his characters to be. 'Realistic' enough that they become dull,common and predictable.
Next is the
desperation of the author to give the MC a little bit of
substance and sparkle in his role by giving him a depressing background. It feels forced,just like Oyasumi Punpun. It's so transparent it's almost hilarious. Should the sex scenes be mentioned? Should that be pointed out? Is it worth it? Hmm let's see.. The sex scene doesn't add much. It takes a large chunk of space but it's nothing special or intimate at all. It is shown that the girl wanted him badly, she offers herself to him because she 'loves' him,but in the end, she's just another girl who wants self validation. I don't see anything romantic in this manga. For me,it's just
a story. Nothing special,nothing beautiful
but definitely something I would never pick
up again.