When attempts at ownership fail.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Tsugumi Nanamiya
What They Say
Heart and body in chaos…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Appearing in the 37th installment of Comic X-Eros magazine, Crocus comes from Tusugmi Nanamiya as their latest original work. This marks their first work as part of the FAKKU subscription service on the site and it definitely gives you a good look at their style and storytelling scope. Clocking in at twenty-two pages, it covers a lot of ground here and really does a solid job of implying not only a larger backstory for the two main characters, which can be awkward to adjust to here since we’re dropped into the middle of things, but also a tease of a future storyline at the end that could make some a little uncomfortable with it to some degree. Still, what Nanamiya does here is certainly interesting and leaves me wanting to see more of their work.
The premise is straightforward as we’re introduced to Sasazuka and his Chi-chan as they walk home with her younger siblings. This is a cute moment in itself but also a turning point as she accidentally confirms that Sasazuka is her boyfriend when the younger sister makes a big fuss about it. It’s cute with how they all interact, but for Sasazuka this just formalizes their relationship more and allows him to start messing around with her sexually. Which, by all appearances, they’ve been doing for some time so there’s no awkward first moments here or the denials, the uncertainty, or the other cliches that come from such situations. Once the two are in her room, well, all bets are off and the pair really go at it.
This side of it works great for the first half as both are fully into it and we get a few thought bubbles from her that really does paint her as a fully engaged participant that really enjoys it all. He even has to clamp down on her a bit as she’s getting too loud as she’s in such throes of pleasure. Where it turns awkward is amid their acts she reveals that she’s going to university in Tokyo soon and that utterly surprises him. Since he’s not headed out that way he panics over losing her and the idea that she won’t just be a potential simple housewife/girlfriend waiting on his every need. The controlling aspect plays big here as he shifts the situation from fully willing to not and even changes his tact to try and get her pregnant so that she’ll never leave. It’s a disconcerting shift and doesn’t paint Sasazuka in a positive light at all, not that all of his interactions in the first half come across in a good way.
In Summary
That said, if you take the reason out of how it unfolds, the second half has some very intense sequences that really showcases Nanamiya’s artwork with great layouts, some very strong flow between the panels, and some fantastic detail to it all. It’s just a weird shift that I get why it was done and the appeal that it has, but it doesn’t do much for me since I prefer other types of stories. But the chapter is definitely worth checking out for the artwork, which is what a good chunk of the grade is for in addition to the interesting character side and setup we get in the first half.
Content Grade: B
Age Rating: 18+
Released By: FAKKU Subscription
Release Date: December 15th, 2016
