Experiencing youth all over again.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Ouchikaeru
What They Say:
…What ending do you like?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Originally serialized in Comic Kairakuten from the October 2021 installment, Summer Antics is a twenty-two-page story from creator Ouchikaeru, who has over two dozen others works on the service. This marked my latest experience with this particular creator and it reinforced how much I like their stuff. I ended up not seeing much of their stuff for most of 2021 but I wanted to connect with a bit more of it because of how well they handled things in terms of sensuality and sexiness without the nudity. When there is nudity, well, that takes it up a few more notches but it captures and conveys so much otherwise.
For this story, we’re introduced to the young adult couple of Yuuji and Akane. They’re post-school and engaging in life, which means late nights of watching various dramas online. With the latest one, we see how Akane has commented on the way the ending played out and it reveals her lamenting never finishing school and not having a lot of the experiences that come from such a time in a young person’s life. THat as Yuuji suggesting that they both take their upcoming time off together to do something like that, which means getting her in a schoolgirl uniform or a yutaka so they can experience a festival and just doing other things that are normal for the teenage period. It’s all very tame but filled with great visuals and emotion that really work well to show the bond the two share.
When they do return to the oceanside inn that they’re staying it, Akane does suggest keeping to costume and the roleplay a bit by going all in on a really strong sexual encounter – though amusingly Yuuji opts to avoid a few things because of how his back is hurting. While that starts us off with a bit of humor, it leans heavily on a kind of youthful passion approach to it. It’s largely wordless when you get down to it. But it works well with Akane in her robes and just the allure of some strong background design for the inn at times that helps to give it a more realistic feeling. The two are pretty much what I expected from an Ouchikaeru story focusing on an established couple in that their love comes across well in the artwork and expressiveness so that it resonates really well.
In Summary
There are things I definitely like when it comes to the work that Ouchikaeru puts out and this chapter delivers asily. The artwork is great with some really wonderful designs that definitely don’t feel “hentai-standard” or anything. But the character work is what shines as a good chunk of it is given over to the way this couple interacts as Yuuji tries to recreate a youth for Akane that she never got to have. It’s a simple and familiar storyline but one that goes the distance as we see what happens after several days of creative youthfulness.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: A
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 18+
Released By: FAKKU
Release Date: October 2021
MSRP: FAKKU Subscription