Friends are the best.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Mikarin
What They Say:
Swollen juicy postponement time ♥
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Originally serialized in Comic X-Eros from the July 2017 installment, Friend x Love is a twenty-four page story from creator Mikarin, who has no other works on the service. This marked my first experience with this particular creator (and magazine) and it’s one that I can definitely see myself returning to. Mikarin’s style is one that in some ways almost feels a little rough and unfinished but it completely fits the material. What impressed me the most though was how easily they made it all connect here by giving us a few pages of actual character moments before going all in on the sex. That made it so that you had a sliver of something to connect to and that made the actual engagement of bodies all the more fun to watch.
The story focuses on a pair of college students that live at a nearby dorm as Manami has come after work to check up on Yuuki. He’s a bit despondent after a drunken confession to a fellow classmate went poorly with a flat rejection and he’s just not up for things. Manami’s his childhood friend, however, so she’s brought beer and is someone easy to commiserate with. The two of them just hanging out in his room as he talks about things and she reveals a few things about herself makes for a really good lead up. Yes, it’s all simple and minimal, but it provides easy access filling in points for readers to draw from their own experiences (or hopes) so they can connect with the material. When Manami finds a little bit of courage and makes a move on Yuuki it doesn’t take long before they both go in all the way.
When the story shifts to the sex itself it definitely works well. Mikarin’s character designs are really great as I love how they present Manami even if she’s just a little bit too much of a sexpot in some ways. It’s reminiscent of Adam Warren’s style to some degree. While the sex is fairly traditional with nothing over the top out of the norm from the vanilla side of things, there’s a lot to like with it as it’s two long time friends discovering that they really click in this area as well. The panels are wonderfully laid out and with Yuuki taking a background position for a lot of it the focus on Manami is just spot on. Mikarin really has what comes across as a love of this character in how they present her and it just comes through the page beautifully. There are lots of attractive characters in hentai manga but some just speak to you in a way that others don’t and Manami in this one definitely did for me.
In Summary
Mikarin is definitely on my to-follow list now as this chapter just clicked wonderfully for me. It’s one that tells a story with a beginning, middle, and ending, but I’ll be damned if I don’t want to see more of this couple. At the same time I want to see more of what Mikarin can do with their style and approach. The artwork is fantastic here and I love that it got twenty-four pages in order to tell an expanded story that lets you invest in the characters, which in turn made the sex itself all the more engaging. Very good stuff that left me grinning from ear to ear, and a little hot and bothered, by the end.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 18+
Released By: FAKKU
Release Date: July 2017
MSRP: FAKKU Subscription
