[Manga Musings on Mondays] Chikan Otoko – Review

 

Created by: Takuma Yokota

Chapters: 21

 

Another Monday has presented itself to us, folks. And you know when that happens, we present something in return, right? Another manga review! (Yes I know, it’s Tuesday already but I’m sorry I have been real busy with my end-term preparations, although I did read the manga well before Monday, so let’s say it counts.) This week, I will be telling you about my thoughts on Takuma Yokota’s comedy (satire? parody?) manga, Chikan Otoko or Molester Man. A manga with the most outrageous setup for a love story I have ever seen and which might just be the very definition of not judging a book by its cover. Let’s talk about it.

 

THE PREMISE:
A girl assumes a man to be her stalker and the misunderstanding caused by the confusion gives the man a window of opportunity to get to know her and her circle of friends better. A series of rom-com shenanigans ensue.

 

          

WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT:

Chikan Otoko is a manga by the author of Onanie Master Kurosawa and if you’re familiar with that story, this one follows more or less a similar trajectory: a central premise that tries its best put off any potential readers of the genre, a protagonist whose thoughts seem like the unfiltered going-ons inside the mind of a horny 12-year-old boy who finds himself surrounded by many attractive girls – all out of his league – and through his interactions with them, he grows into a better version of himself.

Even though it may not look like it from the outset, Chikan Otoko is a love story. So, I will judge it on those merits too. And how does it fare when it’s put to that test? To be fair, it does hold its own. The story seems to be inspired from real-life incidents which happened to the author so pseudonyms are used for all the characters in the story and even though the use of names like ‘Miss Understanding’ and ‘Mr. Glasses’ does feel a touch awkward at first, it imparts a certain sense of authenticity to the story.

Nothing outrageously insane or mind-blowing happens. What we have here are the kind of conflicts and situations you’d talk about during water-cooler moments with your colleagues. You know, that story about someone who’s a friend of a friend: a guy goes out of his way to impress a girl that he likes. He is awkward but gentlemanly, a social recluse but not a pretender. You see an unlikely relationship develop between the people involved. It’s not difficult to find instances like these in the lives of the people around us or even our own.

 

     

 

And therein lie the manga’s strengths. It creates this world which feels very much lived in, complete with the mundanity of our own. People have conversations over the phone about the most humdrum of topics like crab meat and some weekly TV show. They get together at restaurants and talk about sushi or beef. They visit each other’s apartments and do nothing but turn on the TV. It’s an uneventful life but one that you never find boring but rather comfortable in its familiarity.

Friends fall for each other, hearts break, people drift apart, things mend. Sometimes they don’t. Life goes on. Being all alone for all your life, you wish for a friend. Just one would be enough. But when you have that, you wish for something more. Because nothing’s ever really enough, is it? But maybe someday, something will be.

 

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T READ IT:

Remember how I said in the My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness review that there are a lot of text boxes to read? Well, Chikan Otoko somehow has even more of those at its disposal. I mean, good god. There are pages and pages filed with nothing but text. The protagonist is a social recluse and makes all his life decisions by discussing them on online forums and the manga quite literally illustrates these conversations by showing us all these messages and conversations. I will admit it get a bit too excessive at times.

Also, I have already read Onanie Master Kurosawa and found that story to be quite fascinating in the way it delves into the psychology of the characters involved but Chikan Otoko doesn’t really do that. It is content in being a sort of (non)standard meet-cute and yes, there’s nothing wrong with that but I kind of wish it was a bit more ambitious.         

Lastly, I might as well forewarn you that the first few chapters are rough. Like really rough. I had a lot of difficulty making it through those but after around the 6-7 chapter mark, when the story hits its stride, it becomes quite a breezy read.

 

         

 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Being a fan of the author’s other work, I did go into this with somewhat high expectations and admittedly, because of these expectations, I didn’t come out of the manga fully satisfied. I do still think that if you in the mood for a (non)typical boy-meets-girl rom-com, this will definitely leave you satiated. Just don’t expect to be blown away and you should be fine.

 

RATING: 7.4 / 10

 

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With that, we conclude this week’s coverage. Next, I will be reviewing the manga chosen through the votes of last week’s poll, Satoshi Kon’s Opus. Also there will be no poll for this week as I won’t be able to find the time to read a new manga due to my exams but I will still post a review of another one of my favorites next week!

Feel free to leave the titles of any manga you think needs more attention down in the comments below and I will be sure to include it in later polls.

As always, thank you for reading and see ya next Monday! ^^