Ichijou presents a very distinct challenge.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Noise
What They Say:
A cool body you want to peel back
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Originally serialized in Comic Kairakuten from the June 2020, Lunatic! is a sixteen-page story from creator Noise, who has over a dozen other works on the service. I had hit upon them previously while looking at random creators and added them to my watchlist for new chapters. Which thankfully a new one has come in as I last saw their stuff a few months ago. The appeal with them is certainly the artwork and Noise often does sixteen-page stories which works things a little tighter and with less story, which can make it creatively challenge for readers to get into beyond just the action itself.
The premise for this is definitely a quick hit kind of encounter, one that works well for the characters involved. Honjou is interested in Ichijou and is asking her out but she’s got a ritual for anyone who wants to date her. At school, she has this demure look with the long hair, the glasses, and the intellectual look about her. A real class rep type. Honjou heads to the concert hall that she tells him about and on stage she’s like Aggressive Retsuko in that she’s all punk’d up and going hard and heavy with the lyrics. The hair tied up, the makeup, the lack of glasses, the tight short-shorts and visible mid-riff. It’s a complete 180 from what he knows. And as she tells him, the majority of guys run away and the one that stayed was frightened off by her aggressive sexual side that she uses to test them with.
Honjou, of course, is completely up for the challenge in a way she doesn’t expect and is well-matched for her, though she might think he’s even a bit more sexually aggressive than she is. They’re both pushing each other on this, right at the concert venue at a small semi-private space, and while it starts as some fondling and kissing, it goes all out as they realize just how much they drive each other crazy in a good way. They take advantage of her costuming to be sure and as she’s put this challenge to at least a few guys before there’s some real payoff to it as she’s kept to herself for so long. I really like that it’s the kind of story where they “get away” with keeping her clothed more than not for a bunch of it and that there are things like the stockings and pushed up shirt as opposed to just stripping down to nothing. The accents are what helps to take it to the next level.
In Summary
Noise isn’t one of my top tier favorite creators but they do some good stuff, especially in the sixteen-page format where it’s about shorter story hooks and a quick shift into the action itself. That has its own challenges and they’re pretty up to it in this one. Ichijou and Honjou aren’t fully fleshed out encounters but their opening moves are clear and play pretty well in how they interact with each other. It’s a quick hit kind of story but there’s a ton of great energy to it combined with great design that makes it work. And to want to see them getting all riled up and hot and bothered in other concert venues.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 18+
Released By: FAKKU
Release Date: June 2020
MSRP: FAKKU Subscription