Goin’ commando…Meiji style!
Creative Staff
Story: Tsukiji Nao
Art: Tsukiji Nao
Translation/Adaptation: Unavailable
What They Say
Shiro is a sexy loinclothless umbrella maker. Koujirou is a policeman with a passionate sense of justice. Together, they get caught up in erotic, grotesque and bizarre crimes in the back streets of what appears to be the Meiji Era. Careful, this story is addictive!
There are two versions of the description on the site. I like the following one a lot better. What it lacks in grammatical correctness and polish, it makes up for in juicy suggestion.
Shiro, a sexy loinclothless umbrella maker and Koujirou, a policeman with a passionate sense of justice who stands against all things undisciplined, together get caught up in erotic, grotesque and bizarre crimes in the back streets of what appears to be the Meiji Era of Japan. Tsukiji Nao’s very first anthology, packed with handsome, awful, sexy, “anything goes” action! You will be in opium-like addictiveness!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Take the cases of the kind seen in Kaori Yuki’s Count Cain/ Godchild series. Move them to Meiji Japan. Strip off the gothic trappings, as well as the main characters clothes. Throw in a humor that Kaori Yuki could never give Cain Hargreaves. This is setting of Adekan.
First impressions are always important and when the reader first encounters policeman Koujirou Yamada, he and his younger sister are assisting an elderly lady only to be stopped by the chief of police and told to canvas the area for suspicious characters – there’s a serial killer on the loose, one that is leaving a corpse with eyes and nose hollowed out and without hands or feet. Policeman Koujirou decides that a nearby umbrella shop has to be suspect and enters only to see umbrella craftsman, Shiro Yoshiwara, sleeping and sprawled out on the floor, nude, with a beautiful woman on top of him. The woman, a Miss Mitsu, insists that she was only trying to get some clothes on Shiro for he doesn’t eat and he goes out in public with as few clothes as possible – and no underwear! The upright and uptight Koujirou, in consideration of his sister in particular and the public in general, takes it upon himself to instruct Shiro on the proper way to tie a loincloth only to find that Shiro’s disinterest in this garment leads to such sloppy application that his complete nudity seems a lot less lewd. Nothing but innuendo upon innuendo in this series.
However suggestive this first story, Bride’s Bridge, is for a future personal relationship between Shiro and Koujirou, the professional relationship is not forgotten. Shiro, acting on some suspicions about Miss Mitsu, is captured by the Hanabuki gang who intend to kill him. Of course, Officer Yamada arrives on the scene to take on the gang just in time or maybe not. The gang’s numbers are too many, but his determination to take them on impresses Shiro, who allows Koujirou to see what he had not wanted to reveal – that he is a secret weapons user, whereupon Shiro proceeds to mow down the Hanabuki gang with a sword that he pulls from somewhere. Shiro then explains that he has given up weapon use but the tragedy that was brought about by the Hanabuki brought him to action. The chapter ends with Koujirou trying to convince Shiro to join the police department by getting him to try on his uniform. Of course, this leaves the barely clothed duo in a struggle observed by little sister, Aguri – again!. Nothing but innuendo upon innuendo in this series.
“Brother’s Nostalgia”, the third story in the volume, gives the reader a look into the pasts of both Shiro and Koujirou with respect to their “brothers”. The mangaka makes a point of revealing these in parallel. The naughty Koujirou of the past had a basic sense of decency that allowed him to grow into a responsible and caring adult who doesn’t understand why his “brother”, Sabourota Aragami, dislikes and resents him. For Shiro, a reminder of the ugliness and cruelty of the past comes with the arrival of his brother, the sadistic Anri, who looks to be behind the murders that have been occurring in the area and who will be the major villain from this point on. Any brotherly nostalgia is all on Anri’s part. Nothing but innuendo upon innuendo in this series.
The cases that Shiro and Koujirou become involved in are grim and unsavory. From abandoned babies murdered for their care money, to a cat lady having no hands or feet luring the unsuspecting into slavery, there are no lost dog cases with these two. But the mangaka is never explicit about these crimes; it’s the tragedy of the victim that that the reader sees. Given the grisly nature of these deeds, it is somewhat surprising that the levity and sexual innuendo work as well as they do. Serious crime, serious joking and serious sexual come-ons. Who would have thought these could coexist?
Now, to the art. The artwork is distinctive, vibrant and very suitable for the sexually charged situations. Tsukiji Nao’s style is not spare and her linear style emphasizes energy even in the most static situations. Of particular note are her character designs and postures. She favors the aesthenic type – slender with long limbs and, apparently, no spine. This leads to some sexy and alluring posturing in which she is more than willing to place her characters. For the most part, her usual approach is successful, but when it fails, as it does in a panel with Anri in the latter part of the book, the effect is comic and clumsy.
Although I quoted the enthusiastic if ungrammatical online description, the text is very readable with only one error that I noticed and that was a possessive where there shouldn’t have been one.
In Summary
This title was the one that got me to subscribe to JManga. Who would not want to read about a sexy loinclothless umbrella maker? The art is quite good and the story line is compelling. Sexual suggestion is plentiful, playful and much more erotic than many explicit works. A lot of fun! More please!
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: Teen Plus
Released By: JManga/SHINSHOKAN Publishing Co., Ltd./Wings
Release Date: 2008
MSRP: 599 Points (Subscription)
