Umibe no Onnanoko

I find the strong dislike of this manga amusing. To be honest, it's not for idiots/idealists/prudes/escapism.

It's a very realistic manga dealing with chaos, love and pain, with a fair amount of ambiguity. It's not a fun or light read, it's a piece of art that doesn't try to make a point, instead it aspires to capture a segment of reality through a lens of beauty.

The pacing is quite unique, it's the embodiment of a sleepy town, where months can go by and nothing happens. In the same chapter, without it explicitly being stated, time will jump. I personally find it very beautiful and stimulating.

The characters are realistic, they're hormonal teens dealing with growing up.

It can't be argued that the artist shows very good technical skill.

The ending: Some people seem very confused that the two hormonal teenagers' feelings could ever change... Not only that, the ending (and story) is symbolic of a life cycle of love itself (Awkward/Painful->Tender/Pure/Bliss->Awkward/VeryPainful->->->Nothing)

...

This isn't my genre at all but I loved this manga. I'd recommend this to somebody who's looking for something a bit different and an honest piece of art.

Plenty of manga abuses its sexualization of teenage female characters to generate mindless, attention grabbing content for male readers.

Plenty of manga (even some good ones) incorporate scenarios and sexual relationships that have absolutely no business unfolding between teenage characters, and include dialogue that make you wonder "would this thought ever really occur to a 14 year old? What was I doing when I was this age? Does this really even need to be about children?"

Umibe no Onnanoko is an excellent example of how an artist can create something that's about teenagers, about sex, and is incredibly realistic and meaningful, without reducing itself to (or even acknowledging, really) the fanservice tropes of ecchi manga.

The teenagers in this manga are like real teenagers. They mostly are interested in, talk about, and emulate their most beloved, trendy pop culture artifacts. They also are wrapped up in their rather typical school lives and the associated interpersonal drama. They aren't deeply existentially disturbed or philosophical in ways that far outstrip their actual age, like the characters in many manga about young teens/preteens seem to be. They're naive, stupid, and you can see them subtly learning from life and from each other throughout the story. I won't say that the main characters are "average" or "normal." Their relationship is certainly believable, but of course, they're engaging in behavior they know to be socially unacceptable, and they kind of treat each other like crap at times. Although it makes sense, because they're a pair of confused kids, damaged in ways that are perfectly realistic and believable.

Koume had her childish expectations of sex and romance utterly destroyed after she was manipulated and used sexually by an older guy she had a crush on. Isobe almost never sees his parents, and no one is really taking care of him. His alcoholic, workaholic father shows up a couple times to check in and drop off money. His mom lives in another country. His brother, who was his best friend, was bullied until he killed himself (maybe..). Isobe has no other friends, really, and no source of love in his life (love of any kind, not just romantic). Of course these two young KIDS, both filled with justifiable bitterness and anger, and with no idea how to navigate life yet, are going to have to struggle to figure out how to treat, and have fulfilling relationships with, other people. So, the two main characters agree to use sex as a means to get validation and comfort from each other, while remaining emotionally distant. Often, when they do and say mean things to each other, it's a way of acting on their fear of getting close to each other.

Koume coerces Isobe, who has romantic feelings for her, to have a purely physical relationship with her. He reluctantly agrees, since he really likes her, and feels he doesn't have anything to lose. He keeps asking her if he can kiss her throughout the story, and she rejects him each time. Since his parents are never home, they have sex at his house. A lot. There are probably enough sexually explicit panels to make up 2 full chapters of the manga on their own (which really, isn't actually that much if you think about it, considering the manga is about their relationship, which is predicated on sex). The more they have sex, the more Isobe takes advantage of the situation to explore his fetishes, and the more Koume starts to trust and fall in love with Isobe. She begins to cherish the time they spend with each other both during AND between their sexual exploits. However, she can never bring herself to admit her growing feelings. Thanks to their relationship, they are able to look deeply into themselves and begin to find some parts of themselves they've lost. Koume begins to be able to trust Isobe; Isobe begins to believe he deserves to be alive and loved. We hope they will end up together, as if they owe it to each other, but Koume and Isobe are moving in opposite directions, while the reader is left to savor the longing and bittersweet emotion that Asano highlights.

Every sexual moment, whether tender or perverse is depicted beautifully, in a delicate, but unflinching manner. Both of their bodies and perspectives are given fairly equal treatment, and are often even somewhat abstracted as the focus becomes the visual impact of the panel or full page itself (or as Asano sneakily skirts Japanese censorship laws). The line art and layout are both incredible in this manga! BUT BEWARE, a single inch of girl poop is lurking somewhere in the depths of this monstrosity, waiting to make its 1 panel appearance (really, don't be a wimp, just read it anyway).

I'm writing this review completely fresh, having finished A girl on the shore just a couple of minuets ago, and it left such an impact on me that I felt I had to come straight to MAL and write my first review in over 3 years. Not because this was such a thought provoking or inspiring work that I felt I simply needed to tell everyone to read it as fast as I could, no quite the opposite, I feel as if this is one of the most DISAPPOINTING Manga's/Anime's I've had the displeasure of watching/reading. I honestly can not believe this is written by the same author of Solanin, which I love to death even though it did have it's problems. "A Girl on the Shore" is nothing but problems however. Where do I even start?

Well I guess I'll start on a high note and say that the art is average. Scenes are well drawn and detailed, however (and this is a problem I have with all of Inio Asano's works) the faces -specifically the eyes- give me a weird uncanny valley feeling. So that's the best thing I can say about this manga. Buckle up because now we 'bout to get super negative.

The plot could not be any.... you know what I can't even finish this sentence because too many negative adjectives come to mind. It's all over the place, it has abysmal pacing, terrible direction, and even though a lot does happen, the plot never, ever, EVER, feels like it's going anywhere. I never felt like tension was building, or any conflict was moving the plot forward. If I didn't know any better I'd say that the plot only existed as a vehicle to move the 'story' between the sex scenes.

Oh yeah, the sex scenes.

There are sex scenes. So be prepared for that, because I certainly wasn't. Now I am no prude, and I am not one to just turn my eyes the second something edgy or challenging get's presented to me, but this manga was just too much. I don't want to spoil, but there are some sex related scenes that just serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever and only seem to be in there to shock you. If the blurb for this manga makes you think its a traditional romance, well it isn't, so if that's what you want, look elsewhere.

Now then, the worst part, the characters. Again, the only other work I've read by this author was Solanin, which had (in my opinion at least) EXTREMELY well done and realistic characters who where all relate-able in one way or another. "A Girl on the Shore" however, is the complete opposite. Absolutely none of the characters left an impact on me in any way shape or form. I don't remember a single name, and like I said in my first paragraph, I literally JUST finished this manga. Not only are they not relate-able or memorable, they aren't even LIKE-ABLE. A bad story can really be saved by good characters, but in this case the characters drag the story down EVEN further. EVERYONE is an asshole. EVERYONE. Everyone treats everyone like shit, so you don't root for anyone, so you don't care about anyone, so you just start speed reading to get this fucking drag of a book over with. It isn't like the twists near the end are unpredictable. Fucking hell you know the ending word for word by the 5th god damn page. This is not realistic character depiction Inio! No one acts like this even in middle school!

Overall, all I can say is do not fucking buy this. It's a waste of money and a waste of paper. My heart goes out the the tree that had to die just so it could produce this fucking mess. Even reading online is a waste of time, and if it's porn you're after, well buddy if you haven't heard you can find tons of it for free without a fucking tragically retarded story blocking everything. I'll be honest though, near the middle of the book there are 1 or 2 moments that had me thinking "My god is this finally going somewhere". But obviously no, it went right back to being shit. It gets one point added to it just because it fucking trolled me. It's safe to say that I'll continue to cherish Solanin, forget this exists, and never take a chance on Inio Asano again.

"Umibe no Onnanoko" relates the story of two people who crave of filling the emptyness within themselves.

Story : 8/10
Koume, our main protagonist, originally thought that sex was the only way of pleasing her first crush, Misaki. She accepted to do sexual things with him, thinking he would hang out with her but she was actually wrong. He was just using her as his toy. She then realized how heartbreaking having sex could be. In order to move on, she used her childhood friend, Isobe (who had loved her for many years), as a cure.
And here we go : they begin a « no-strings-attached » relation.
The fact is, some people could relate to this story.
We all try to be complete. We all want to escape from loneliness. When nobody seems to misunderstand us, we’re hurt, so, we tend to grab anything which could possibly save us from this nasty feeling.

Characters : 9/10
I will only focus on the main protagonists.
Koume acts egoistic, she only thinks about her own desires. She abused Isobe in order to fill her need for attention ; she NEEDS to feel praised, to be wanted by someone because of her loneliness (she only has one friend). She has a void within herself, a kind of nerosis she tries to fill with sex. She’s afraid of being left behind, we can feel it when Isobe takes his distances from her, but the point is she doesn’t want to be seen by his side at school, because she’s popular, and he’s considered as a kind of loser.
Isobe is quite the loner. His dad is always far away from home because of work and his brother committed suicide a while ago. All he wants is for his lonely home to be filled with warmth again. The only way of escaping his demons is to ask Koume to date him. After a while, he gets tired of having sex with Koume knowing she doesn't want to get involved : therefore, he gives up on her and tries to find his own happiness by falling in love with a girl he saw in a picture.

Content : 9/10
I saw some reviews saying that this manga only shows sex scenes, but there is definitely something deeper behind the scenes.
I think there is a tie between how Misaki used Koume and how Koume used Isobe (at the beginning of their relationship). They both were the toys of puppetmasters.
She was hoping that someday Misaki would love her, and Isobe hoped for the same. Sex was, in fact, a way to gain love.
They are both bored by what life offers. The more the story progresses, the more the characters pick up weird kinks (scatophily for example): it can be explained by their despair. They don't fit in with the society or with people in general and don't have any shame in sharing their sins with eachother, because in the end, they're both outcasts.
They have nothing to lose, not even their pride.

Art : 10/10
Everything Asano draws can be considered as a masterpiece.

To start off, I'll say that this manga is definetely worth your time, no matter your background or life situation.
Having said that, I don't feel that its merit relies on well-built characters, a compelling story, its art (even though the art itself is as per usual with Asano, outstanding) or a nicely put finish. The merit of this piece relies on the fact that it is less of a tale but a collage of human fantasies.
This collection of twisted desire, selfishness, despair and wrath is displayed in an absolutely unrelatable way since it is certainly unbelievable that any teenager no matter how traumatized or stranded might display this train of thought. But being observed separately, difficult as it may be to alienate these singular moments from the overarching story, they gain much more weight and suddently one might feel itself in communion with the characters.
Thus Inio Asano presents a set of characters that lack any restraint and thus accomplish all the things we might have felt like doing at some point and didn't, and they do so at an extraordinarily fast pace. This adds the visual impact that a more introspective exploration of these thoughts might've lacked.

Its hard capturing how sex and desire conflict with a blossoming maturity both physically and emotionally as a teenager.The two lead characters in A Girl on the Shore are entangled in a sexual relationship that neither can quite make sense of. It is portrayed as a source of comfort and exploration and confusion especially when confronted with each outside the bedroom.
While the sex scene are very -very- explicit, Asano really lets the story develop in a series of artfully crafted moments, gestures, and even facial expressions. Sato's struggle with her modesty, shame and her sexual awakening (instigated by her crush on an older boy who assaults her) and Isobe's depression and grief over his brother's suicide unfold in a really authentic way. That is to say one that is not always satisfying but heart-wrenchingly realistic.

I feel as though Umibe no Onnanoko falls into the same pitfall of nearly every other story that tries to depict teenage romance/sexuality as something deeper than it actually is. Similarly to others, it lacks self-awareness required to properly tell these stories, and it aims straight to the 'punch in the gut' or 'shock value' to hold its narrative afloat. It's purposefully ambiguous, but, beneath that ambiguity lies absolutely nothing. It's a conservative layer atop that's trying to hide what lies beneath, but once you pull the curtain back, you realize that there's nothing there.

Greatest fault with Umibe no Onnanoko lies with the fact that it's trying to add more flavor/depth to the teenage angst than there is. In reality, teenage angst is just teenage angst. Sexually frustrated 14y old kids are everywhere, and part of fun in reading stories like these is remembering what it used to be like and comparing. Because, in the end, Umibe no Onnanoko is a journey of two sexually frustrated teenagers being assholes to one another, period. There's no flavor of depth anywhere to be found, and even bothering to mask its potential complexities is just a waste of time.

Narrative in UnO is broken. Structurally, it doesn't work. It attempts to be more than slice of life story but fails because there's no lingering trace throughout its chapters. Early chapters just feel as an excuse to see two characters have sex and nothing more. Everything about them is purposefully obscured, but it works against the narrative. Aim of the story, I suppose, was to see two characters grow through indulging in sex, but for it to work, we have to have a baseline for both of them. Point A from which they'll grow toward point B. That point A is just vaguely hinted at at the beginning, and by the time we get it, character development is already underway so it loses its purpose.

There's nothing wrong with adding layers to a character to make it more complex, but when details are integral to the starting point of the character, it's just destructive to hide it. From the start onward, there's very little 'plot'. If you remove First 7-8 chapters, nothing changes. There's a girl that got dumped and there's a guy with a 'pick from the bucket' trauma. Once you read the ending, it feels as though the entire point of the 'plot' was to reverse the situations of the characters. However, as far too much screen time is gifted to, quite honestly, pointless sex scenes (they were neither hot nor symbolic in any way, they were just sort of there), the journey to that reversal is so short I was simply never able to get a good grasp on it.

To sum that bucketload of info short, it fails to convey its point properly because it pointlessly hides information from the readers, and even when it gets to that 'point', it doesn't work because it's far too short for what it's trying to achieve.

Art is one thing I kind of liked in UnO. It's not mind-blowing to the point it blew my dick off, but it had certain charm. Yeah, the faces are weird, facial expressions are all over the place, but disregarding that, it had a life of its own. There are a few really nice shots (one that stood out for me was a reflection in street mirror, however basic it was), and it's not too busy with itself.

We finally get to the characters. They're, uh, sexually frustrated teens. It's kind of depressing how I can't point out a single other thing about their characters. I suppose they're an accurate description of 14y old teens, seeing as nobody knows who they actually are at that age, but this only cheapens the whole 'let's go for a deep story' segment that nearly all stories of this type go for. They're two similarly-faced drawings of opposite sexes that like to screw from time to time. Oh, and they're assholes to one another. And, of course, in the end, one of the characters goes through metamorphism of his, uh, 'personality' at the expense of the others' happiness or something.

It's hard to take these characters seriously, and therein the largest problem lies, something that I mentioned at the start of the review. The story takes the circumstances of these characters WAY too seriously to the point that it all loses impact. Its attempts at subtleties don't work because they aren't enhancers but rather integrals, and, in the end, you're left with a story that tried to be far too much.

In the end, though, it's probably one of the better (bad) teenage 'coming of age' stories. For all its faults, at least it's not 'too much in your face' with what it's trying to do. Yeah, ending is lackluster, 20th chapter is just pointless as it adds absolutely nothing besides saying 'oh, look, she moved on... kind of', but, in the end, for what it was, I enjoyed it somewhat. There are some cute moments between the two and even though sex part was really overplayed, I guess it's better than 'the girl is literally begging me to fuck her, but I'm too embarrassed to do it' stories.

Definitely not as good as some reviewers are claiming, but also not as bad. I've come across a lot of 'pointless sex' stories recently, and this has been one of the milder ones. Still, considering that first half is basically just two teenagers fucking, and second half is just your everyday teenage woe is me downward spiral, and ending is just nauseatingly trying to be more than it is, it's not a good manga by any stretch of the imagination.

Known for the acclaimed "Oyasumi Punpun" and "Solanin", Asano Inio has established his talent with both imagery and the written word. His stories are most noticeable for their oppressive and perpetual sense of melancholy, and "Umibe no Onnanoko" is certainly no exception.

Umibe no Onnanoko (lit. Girl of the Sea) is a brief tale of two teenagers' sexual frustration. Where most anime and manga draw the line at a simple kiss or confession, Umibe no Onnanoko starts its first chapter with a sexual encounter. There is no build-up, no confession: the two just decide to share their loneliness by having sex with one another. It is not a story based in the ideals of romance; Asano knows that the real world is not quite so innocent.

Following the experiences of Isobe and his long-term crush, Koume, the story quickly falls into one of despair and misanthropy. Koume was betrayed (a truth she does not want to admit to herself) by her previous boyfriend, used as a source of sexual pleasure rather than being loved and cherished as the kind-hearted person she is (or was). She knows that Isobe has feelings for her and soon finds herself exploiting his feelings to make herself feel like she is appreciated. She does believe another person would ever love her for her personality, so she uses the only thing she is a certain a boy would love: her body.

Unsurprisingly, things do not turn out well for the two. Isobe has his feelings betrayed and sees the girl he once loved exposed as a fake, manipulative nymphomaniac. His ideals of love and romance are destroyed in front of his eyes. He grows to hate Koume for it and devolves from an innocent boy into a depressed, hateful misanthrope. Eventually he does not even want physical intimacy with another person.

What is most appealing about the story is how natural it all feels. Everyone (well... nearly everyone) has known what it is like to be rejected or lied to by somebody they love. Sex is a natural part of an intimate relationship and sometimes it is not always a romantic experience. It can be heart-breaking, painful and even empty.

Asano uses dialogue well throughout the manga. Like its portrayal of sex, the conversations between the characters feel authentic. Teenagers curse with their friends and gossip about how big a girl's breasts are or how hot a certain boy is. There is none of the 'idiot friend' or harem set-ups common in anime. When two characters talk to one another, it feels like something a real person would say. This allows the reader to empathise with the story around them, but also brings something much more relevant: emotional resonance. There is a powerful scene where Koume asks Isobe what kind of person he doesn't hate (owing to his blatant misanthropy), and he simply responds with "Kind people." Everything the story had been buildings towards was encapsulated in those two words of text.

There is also a bit of side-story about Isobe's deceased brother, but it mainly exists to develop Isobe's character rather than simply existing as a distraction from the overlying story. The story is focused, and thankfully, given its short two-volume length. There is plenty of dialogue between background characters as well, which expresses that the world around the two main characters is alive and moving. They inhabit the world but they are not the world itself. They are just two dirty cogs cycling their way around an infinite world.

The artwork of Umibe no Onnanoko is beautiful, though that should come as no surprise given the author. Each character is given life and emotion in their facial expression, including even the background characters who appear for just one or two panels. There is no scene that feels lazy. There are even gorgeous, intoxicating scenery shots spread throughout each chapter (much like what is found in Oyasumi Punpun), though they are never there to take the reader's attention away from the story. Asano Inio is surely one of the best mangaka when it comes to putting images to paper, but he never neglects the story in favour of glitter and glamour. He conveys both the beauty and anxiety of life in his imagery.

If there is one major criticism to be had, it is that the ending feels abrupt. The characters had been steadily falling downwards and downwards, so far down that it seemed they would never be able to get out of their mess. And then they suddenly forget all their troubles and decide to live for the better. I suppose it could simply be rationalised as human beings being whimsical creatures, but it did feel lacking compared to the endings of some of Asano's other works. No doubt he could have expressed himself better.

Umibe no Onnanoko is not always a pleasant manga to read. It challenges the reader's perception of sexuality, romance and sincerity. The two main characters and the world that surrounds them are deeply flawed, imperfect existences. It is less concerned with ideals and more with providing a believable setting that the reader can understand and empathise with. All human beings need a healthy dose of escapism from time to time, but stories such as this are just as necessary.

It will not change anyone's beliefs, and while it is hardly a 'fun time', it is difficult to come out of reading Umibe no Onnanoko without the feeling that something a little bit more meaningful was gained.