Sundome

Honestly I got no intention of getting a manga... but because a closing local bookstore makes it more reasonable to buy it... 50% off is too much to pass... luckily I got all the volumes in one swoop... and there's only one volume of each except for vol. 1 which is open from it's protective plastic wrap... I read 3 pages... I like it so I ended getting every volume...

Sundome literally means "stopping the moment before" is a well suited title...

Story: It revolves between the awkward relationship of Hideo and Kurumi which always turns into sexual escapades... are both classmates and members of the Roman Club which studies occult stuffs from ghost,alien etc...

Art: Art is average... not attractive but very effective on delivering the scenes... specially the hilarious scenes that makes the character stand out because of their act or facial expression... As for the sexual scenes the author drew it dark, silhouette, covered genitals but the shape is pretty obvious...

Character: Character development just focuses on the two main characters (Hideo and Kurumi) the rest has a brief character development... All the boy members of the Roman Club are funny it's because of their unique fetishes...

Enjoyment: It's a fun read and a lot of hilarious stuff happens which makes it entertaining... it also slowly unfolds Kurumi's mysterious character... which makes it more interesting...

Overall: If you like slice of life with ecchi and comedy this is nice read...

Where to begin! After reading the first couple of chapters you get the feeling that it is definitely going to be a story unlike anything else you may have read before, and by the end of it you truly realize what an epic saga it was.
Not going to spoil much about the story, but I am going to warn that even though it is ecchi, it is a very mature look at human sexuality and psychology. If all you're looking for is cheap trills, this is not for you.
This is an emotional roller coaster that'll have you laughing, cringing and crying from page to page... and the ending, all I can say is that the mangaka could've gone with the complete opposite ending and it is still would've been perfect.
If you are looking for a smart, dark, mature look into the human psyche, sexuality, and love, with very thorough character development and have no hang ups about your own sexuality, then I highly recommend Sundome.
~WiruSempai

This is not bleach. This is not naruto. Sundome is great because of its unique story, and its ability to keep high levels of suspense while at the same time having constant character and plot development. People who have only read the first 2 volumes will probably call this a cocktease manga, but if you have looked through the moonrunes of volumes 3 and 4 you will find it is anything but. 4 volumes are out, 2 of them have english releases, the third comes out any day now (sep 20ish 2008 right now), and random scans of chapters from volume 5 are popping up on /a/. If you are looking for endless powerlevels and ILL PROTECT YOU, or huge harems with fanservice galore... Sundome is NOT for you. If you are looking for a romance that is unlike anything you have read before, you will really enjoy this series.

Saw a reference to this manga in OtakuUSA a week and a half ago. Something in the description piqued my interest so I picked it up. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. This one consumed all of my limited free time until this morning when I woke up at 5am, came down stairs and finished the last volume.

Fetishes aside, I have to say that this story, while not perfect, was very very good. Unlike many manga/anime that I've seen where the characters are very... um 2 dimensional? Hideo and Kurumi are very human. They are at times selfish and at others caring, sometimes stupid and at others brilliant.

The characters for the most part are reasonably developed, though I really would have liked to learn more about Kurumi's background which is hinted at several times but never fully explained.

Overall I really enjoyed this manga though it's not for the feint of heart. It was a roller coaster ride of emotions while watching the raw unfiltered very private parts of the characters lives. Having read this, I think I have a hint of the true meaning of boundless love.

In my opinion, it's really hard to classify this manga. There are so many elements to it, and some of them are quite conflicting. Mainly the comedy and tragedy.

When I first started reading it, the first thing that appealed to me was that it was quite different, in comparisong to anything else I've read.

There is the main character, he's an Otaku, that's nothing exceptional. But then comes around a girl - Kurumi, and they start developing their relationship.
To be honest, the sexuality also had a strong appeal on me, because I am a sucker for mature romance. But mature romance might be an understatement.

The psychological aspect is excellent, seeing how Hideo's mind works, and seeing what things his devotion(and Kurumi) can make him do and endure.

There was a lot of comedy, but I did not laugh, not even once, because there was this dreadful atmosphere, this feeling that something dark, something bad is going on in the background, and this is, in my opinion, the strongest point of the manga. The uneasy feeling, that things are not going to end well.

There were two very strong moments in the manga, that were like a kick in the face for me.
1. Kurumi saying to Hideo, that she actually was a boy before.
2. Kurumi saying to Hideo, that she actually is his sister.
I am not sure why, but moments struck me really hard.

When I am reading a good manga, I am able to feel for the characters, maybe even get myself to think I am one of the characters. And Sundome certainly managed to achieve this. After finishing it, I felt unbelievable sadness.

I also felt angry at the Mangaka, for not explaining what exactly happened to Kurumi in the end, and also for forgetting about her, so to speak. He just skipped the part right after when she died. I wanted to know more, and I wanted to see the other characters missing her.

But after thinking this through, I realized the author did a good thing. It would've been just too sad for me to digest.

For me, the characters and the story are far more important, than the art of a manga. But the art had it's very strong points, for example the title pages with Kurumi on them.

Sundome is a definitive 10/10 for me.

***This is a semi non-spoiler review***

This manga was a real puzzle for me; so many people seem to praise it for many different reasons. Is it how the female lead treats the male lead like absolute s%&t and manipulates him in every chapter? I don't really know but there are some good things here.

Story: 5/10

There's a story? Well kind of; essentially we follow Hideo and Kurumi's pervy adventures in the "Roman Club" (they look for aliens). This club goes on many adventures looking for aliens for just checking out really creepy areas and of course something pervy happens between the two lovebirds in every chapter. Look I get that this is an ecchi manga but some of the fetishes are just a little too awkward to endure (and I'm pretty open minded). That aside, the manga is actually pretty fu$%ing hilarious. There were a plethora amount of moments where I was literally laughing out loud at what was going on. The author should be praised for his sense of comedy.

Art: 8/10

The manga doesn't look too bad. It has a lot of rough looking scenes but I think that was done on purpose to some degree. Both Hideo and Kurumi look defined in the more serious and "other" scenes. The quality of the scenes did seem to get better as the manga went on.

Characters: 9/10

The characters are hilarious; all of them. They do fit some of the generic roles but they work very well with each other. They all contribute a lot to the comedy aspect of the manga. Hideo and Kurumi actually had some good chemistry between them other than the whole peeing on each other thing.

Overall: 7.3/10

So I kind of enjoyed reading this manga but there is a small bit of regret. The ending was actually quite mature and had me a little taken back. The characters did an awesome job at providing some really funny moments but overall the awkwardness of some of the fetishes really turned me off (literally) when reading. If you like ecchi and comedy then you will most likely enjoy this manga.

Enjoyment: 4/10

Thanks for reading my review! If you liked my writing style, would like to see some other reviews, or just want to talk, please stop by my page!

Sincerely,
Awesome Drummer

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. READ SOMETHING ELSE LIKE YOUR LIE IN APRIL. For more detail keep read if you wish. I had to write a review about this manga after seeing how popular it was and the praise it received from a bunch of people who truly seem to enjoy this manga.

Story: The story makes no sense. It starts out with a group of boys go to high school and have fun together in some sort of mystery/folklore/alien finder club that they formed. However the ridiculous thing is they are tied to some organization/scholarship/society that will basically make sure they're life after high school is filled with opportunities to go whether they want in college, life etc IF and only IF they remain virgins to any form of sexual intercourse. It opens with one of the members/friends returning to his friends having given up his innocence when "the organization" sent a spy over to offer him anal sex (his fetish) to which he agreed (all this retold by the friend). In comes the main female lead, a transfer student or something, who joins they're club and without any explanation tells the main character whose in the club that she will never have sex with him or let him cum ever. The whole manga is the club + one other girl whose kinda the dumb school slut who joins the club going on random adventures while the main character who is in love with the transfer student becomes her bitch and does whatever she wants and is basically her slave out of his love for her and she cockteases him and only gives him permission to cum when she feels like it. All the while there is forshadowing of her having some sort of illness that progresses of the course of the book.
Its total non-sense in the way the information I told is presented to the reader and the fact that you don't even realize just how real/serious the organization somehow is or how it can tell when a guy has sex. like... honestly its just total nonsense.

Art: Horrible. Bland. The other draws every girl with a massive vagina/camel toe that is so visable even in jean shorts that it looks like it was just painted on them after they were kicked in the pus and now its swollen to all hell.

Character: There is zero character building or development other than maybe the slut girl and one of the guys as their relationship sort of forms? The main girl (transfer student) is a total sadistic bitch and yes, you know that she can't have sex with him b/c she wants him to get that scholarship/acceptance/support of the organization but god I just don't understand why they made her so cruel for no reason.

Enjoyment: Did not enjoy at all. I kept waiting to be grasped and fall in love with this like all the high praise reviewers but just like our main hero, I had blue balls for enjoyment the whole time.

Overall: It is honestly aggravating to me when I read that people rate this garbage a 10 and say that they cried so hard and this and that at the end. Maybe they are 14 years old and this manga was deep to them or something but honestly I'd be insulting 14 year old's by saying that. DO NOT READ THIS MANGA. I understand what they were trying to go for but this is complete and utter trash. I've read a lot of manga was looking for something emotional and gripping after reading Oyasumi PunPun (read that!) and came across this. BIG mistake.

Go read Your Lie in April. It has all the emotions that this story attempts to bring about (according to what the readers say I guess b/c how the author thought this book would elicit those emotions is beyond me) and so much more, minus all the poorly drawn vaginas, camel toes and boobs (Your Lie in April is not an ecchi).

So on the Richter scale of humanity, if 1 is the antithesis of emotion and 10 is bawling my fucking eyes out, this is probably a 9.9 because it's physically impossible to bawl your fucking eyes out. I've never read a graphic novel that made me so sad. Like, come *on*, industry. This is only porn.

That brings me to my first warning - Sundome is for all you deviants out there. If you can't deal with piss, snot, saliva, and post-climactic messes, then don't read because that makes up at least half of all the sexual content in this manga. The other 49% of it involves self-stimulation of some kind. And yes, I left out 1% on purpose...

Story - 8

Sundome means "stopping the moment before" (according to Wikipedia). This is the main, and only, solid plot device. The rest of it revolves around an amalgam of school clubs, ghost hunting, virginity, and one-sided breast popularity contests. Yeah, it gets kind of bizarre. It's a bit confusing and scattered. Some of the sideplot is rather lighthearted, involving UFO summoning and voodoo doll catfights, some of it is very moralistic and dark. But the crankshaft in this whole story - Kurumi's relationship with Hideo Aiba - is beautifully executed. It's hilarious and depressing and wonderful and deliciously multi-layered like a chocolate cheesecake.

Art - 7

Maybe I'm being generous here. This is obviously the weakest point of Sundome. The art is very, very cartoonish, and sometimes it almost feels sloppy. It works for our Roman Club neo-maxi-zoom-dweebies, but it kind of makes the MCs less attractive than they should be. And it makes the sexy scenes... well, less sexy. But - before I sound any more elitist - I'd like to say that, for me personally, it worked. It's not commercialized-ecchi grade, but it gives a very edgy, underground feeling to the story. Kurumi isn't like your conventional purple-haired talking tits hentai girl. She's almost sickly-thin, long-legged, and blue-eyed. On the other end of the spectrum, there's Kyouko, a self-proclaimed "masturbation idol," whose nips are permahard. Corny, but it fits. She also sports a cheap fake tan and a limp, blonde mop for hair; none of that ridiculous Lady Oscar weave crap. One guy has lips twice the size of Lana del Rey's. It's actually great.

Characters - 10

So good. Soooo good. At first glance, Aiba seems to be your prototype horny loser. Kurumi is the A-cup goddess of thirst. Coming here from Onani Master Kurosawa and Watamote, you know I already love flat-chested MCs and loners, but these two flip the whole tired setup on its head. For me, the girls + Aiba rule the show, but the male Roman club members (who serve as comic relief throughout the whole emotional ordeal), have their own multi-dimensional charms. Every single member of our main cast is fleshed out and easy to sympathize with, possibly excepting that one candyass motherfucker with the doll waifu.

Enjoyment - 10

What else am I supposed to say? I love Sundome. It made me laugh and cry. Like, physically. The ending is ambiguous, and it kind of leaves you with an empty hole in your heart yearning to be filled by... something. Something beautiful. Something life-changing. Go outside for a run. Donate to charity. Fall in love. Have a baby. Invent the next LSD. I dunno, do something amazing. You owe it to this manga.

What is love?

I think the question has been asked more than a trillion times since it's inception and to be honest even though I've experienced my fair share of unconditional love. I have never had a girlfriend I would say I loved as more than just a friend.

This manga showed me that true love is something that builds and grows, much like some of my favorite anime have done, it's a story that kinda at first seems cookie cutter and trying to just be a cliche ecchi manga.

But something changes at around volume 2, I started getting attached to the characters. Like to the point where I felt a roller coaster of emotions. At first, I didn't like them and then I thought I was in for some sad joke and then I just started loving every single moment.

The two main characters of Sahana Kurumi and Hideo Aiba are just amazingly developed throughout the story and while there are instances where it's pretty repetitive and quite silly, it's all for the sake of building their relationship. Which the story does leaps and bounds better than most mainstream romance films, novels and fellow manga.

Along with two of the supporting cast are very fleshed out and the others making some good if a bit repetitive ecchi jokes.

The art for the most part is pretty decent and nothing to complain about, aside from some hicups. But then there are points in the story where the art just makes for some of the most beautiful pictures and moments I've ever seen in my life and it always hits when it needs to, especially in characters' emotions and the beauty they see through there eyes.

Sundome might just be one of the greatest experiences I've ever had in my life. It's not the best story to the most beautiful or developed or even a great ecchi. But it does something I've never felt before, I feel like I've gone on a journey of love and by the end of the story I literally needed to cry and contemplate my life.

Truly the things that are special in this world are often the things we never realize but are so obvious and even simple. Like just enjoying the time we have with those we love.

Please. Please. Please do yourself a favor and read this story. Also thank you for existing, I wish you the best.

I started this manga expecting "Kanojo X but they drink piss", what I got was more like "Punpun but with BDSM".

Anyhow this isn't the regular jerk-off ecchi harem stuff with no clear goals or story, it's a complete and gripping story about fantastic characters that only gets better thee further it goes and the emotional roller coaster went straight off a cliff. It's more committed to raising the readers cortisol rather than penis.

This also isn't very long, like any good story with a clear view of what it wants to be and to tell, rather than circlejerking for 300 chapters before getting abruptly axed.

Sundome.... The Manga that got etched in my mind...

Yes, it has ecchi.... Thats the way I love it, a bit of ecchi with whatever the other part is (Romance, Action, etc).....

I admit that I started reading it because I heard that it had a lot of ecchi and fetish stuff.... But somewhere along the chapters I got so involved with the characters that at the end of the last chapter I could not help but let a few teardrops escape my eyes.....

The story:
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It may start of as a normal perverted high school guy fapping and stuff but as the chapter progresses the characters get more deeper... One can notice the characters mature chapter by chapter..... The bond between the lead characters is something that reaches the highest peak as the story progresses towards the end....

The art:
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There is nothing special about the art in this manga.....


The character:
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One word.... Awesome... you have to read it to understand what I meant by this....

Enjoyment:
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Definitely keep you occupied with the characters and story......


Overall:
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I would recommend this manga.....

Note:
If you are allergic to ecchi and fanservice.. then its better you avoid this manga...

as many others said, if you want a story with horny girls, hentai-style and a bunch of fun service, this isn't for you.
I enjoyed reading sundome quite a lot, mostly because of it's rather unique story and complicate relationships.
the unique thing in the story doesn't of course come from the background or anything, on this shore we find what we are supposed to find, a kid in school always off the group till the day he meets "her". till now we are still in the well-known territory. what makes it so unique is that it isn't the story where the guy is rejected, but not the one where he is loved either.
through the first chapters we will just see some teasing where she looks like she's making him suffer just because it's fun, nothing more. but slowly we discover that she is enjoying it not only for that, but we even have the feeling that she feels good when she makes him feel good (those who read it surely noticed that the main dude suffers less in the 4th volume).

I will skip the story part so that I won't spoil you (though I think am too late already) and talk about the rest. the characters are attaching, they won't make you weep but they will make you cry from laughter (hell the hilarious moment of the doll-strip, I had such a good laugh). they got the regular personalities of the school-kids, yet their style is quite out of it (talk about the one who loves rectums, or the 1.000 yen phenomenon xD). The drawings are what you could expect from modern mangas, nice stuff, that's all.
right now I am wishing I could find the 5th volume, got interrupted in an interesting part, but oh well, nice mangas always make you suffer, that's part of their charm, I guess.

it's not to be missed, you have to judge it yourself.

Having just read another complete manga where the main chars had some kinks and perversions, which didn't end well and made me very sad, I decided to read Sundome as it had been mentioned in the other manga's reviews. Well, I finished the whole thing in one day and I'm so glad I did!
There's plenty of humour and charm in this story, as well as a few hentai acts, but it's all quite plausible and realistic.

There is also plenty of character development and one sees several pairs of relationships grow over the span of a few months.

There is also a section that starts filling one with an overwhelming sadness, but it's all worth it in the end.

Having mostly dark gritty (depressing!) manga in my collection i'd thought i'd branch out and try something different and saw Sundome in my local bookstore. It wrapped up so couldn't preview it, mature series...has to be up my street!!

After reading the first volume (just finished the 3rd) the first word that came into my mind was - PAINFUL. Not in the sense it was a bad read, but due to the feeling i felt for the main character Hideo. His relationship with Kurumi is so fascinating to read, and to see how the guy started off in volume to what kind of guy he has become in just 3 volumes was entertaining to read. I keep questioning to why Kurumi behaves the way she does towards to Hideo, is it because she does like him, or is it because she is a sadist? And thats what keeps me hooked as you want to see how their relationship pans out and develops.

The book actually made me laugh out loud which is very rare. The supporting characters crease me up, but again its great to see their development too.

Is it perverted? yes! is it entertaining? hell yes! is it worth the read - if you dont mind the blatant fan service - altohugh not as bad say Battle Vixens, then give this a go, you'll either like it or hate from volume 1 alone. If you dont like masturbation (?!?) then avoid this manga like the plague!