You’ve got a friend in me.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Cuvie
What They Say:
Help me, help you. Give and take. ❤
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Originally serialized in Comic Kairakuten BEAST from the August 2020 installment, Everyone’s a Winner is an eighteen-page story from creator Cuvie, who has about two dozen other works on the service. I had read a little bit of their work several years ago but never made it back for more, which is unfortunate as Cuvie’s been around for almost twenty years and she’s a hugely talented person. This installment goes for some simple and expected tags but in reconnecting with an artist and storyteller, this isn’t a bad way to go in order to remind you of the basics and how good they are just with that alone, never mind when they get really creative.
The premise here definitely is an amusing one as we see Mei and her friend Ayaka enjoying some coffee together. Ayaka is nothing but complaints about her boyfriend Kento who keeps pressuring her into sex and wanting to be intimate with her what feels like constantly. To the point where she’s ignoring his texts now, which has him later that day reaching out to Mei over it. The problem is that Mei is without a boyfriend and is envious of Ayaka and how Kento always wants to have sex because she does too. She can’t understand how Ayaka can be like she is, so she ends up offering to help Kento with his needs, which in turn can take the pressure off Ayaka a good bit. Naturally, they keep it secret and thus begin a different kind of relationship.
The bulk of the story focuses on the regular meetings that the two have, first at the love hotel where we learn how little Ayaka actually does in regards to intimacy as Mei introduces him to several basic firsts. With Mei more than happy to keep things secret since she’s getting plenty of her needs fulfilled, it’s a solid working arrangement that gets underway here, problematic as it is because of the lies. But even as the two really go at it more and more, and more creatively and intensely at times, it’s eased the pressure that Kento was placing on Ayaka and she claims he’s even more caring and calmer now than he was before. The few times we see the trio together has an air of awkwardness about it but it unfolds well with how Mei feels like she’s getting the best of all worlds here.
In Summary
I really like Cuvie’s works and realized just how much I missed it after reading this one. It is a very simple story but the execution has a lot of neat little moments to it, where you wonder if Mei really has a bigger plan here and if her quiet way of just watching things has a greater meaning. Or if she’s just making out the best by getting what she wants here without a lot of the bigger hassles. The artwork is great, I love the designs, and the setup of the story makes for some very amusing moments as it unfolds.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 18+
Released By: FAKKU
Release Date: August 2020
MSRP: FAKKU Subscription
