Late-night work in more ways than one.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Wantan Meo
What They Say:
Another night of going at it until morning…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Originally serialized in Comic Kairakuten from the February 2024 installment, L’Atelier is a twenty-four-page story from creator Wantan Meo, who has over two dozen other works on the service. This marked my latest experience with this particular creator as I haven’t read anything by them since the late fall of 2023, not for any particular reason though. I liked what I had seen before and this chapter reinforces that but I think a number of works since last year have been more high school-focused. Meo’s storytelling is what generally won me over before, in addition to the really good designs, but the stories vary in just how much character material will be put into them. This one plays to a simple script but the artwork is so gorgeous it’s elevating everything.
The idea behind this introduces us to a college student named Oomaki who is using one of the atelier rooms that’s available for his grade in the building. Since it’s an arts school there’s all kinds of things that can be done here and he’s trying to pull an all-nighter to get more of his artwork done. The place works well but most people that use it tend to use it for sex, which he stumbles into finding a ton of condoms and other toys in one of the lockers in there. This, of course, is when Haruta comes into the room late that night to work on her own project. It’s naturally awkward but they’re able to brush past that and talk about how it’s annoying when people use the room for sex when it’s not meant for that. And that leads to the cute sequence of them trying to get their work done but knowing that there’s more going on here, especially in how tense they seem to be – at least until Oomaki leans over to kiss her.
Of course, he’s been interested in her for a long time and she reveals the same and that leads them tot he couch quickly to start taking it further. It’s a lot of fun as they actually talk about when they first noticed each other in this way, which builds the connection, and it moves quickly to something more physical. But it also has him realizing that this is her first time and it makes for a fairly tender experience overall – though he claims he wouldn’t be able to stop even if she asked him to which is awkward. But the two end up with a long night of exploring the basics in a pretty great way as Wantan Meo’s artwork is strong throughout this with some great layouts. One sequence of him admitting his feelings from a shot above the pair is just gorgeous with how Haruta looks and just the way there are so many details to the room as a whole to make it feel lived in.
In Summary
This is a pretty enjoyable chapter that deals with university students, a first-timer, and the awkwardness of a student space being used in a pretty expected way. The artwork is the biggest draw here with some great-looking designs in general but a very rich space that it takes place in as there are so many details to take in. The build-up of the relationship itself does a lot of good stuff in connecting the reader to it and just taking in the whole idea of a small room, late at night on campus, and the tension and uncertainty of a potential encounter. It’s exciting in all the right ways and the chapter delivers on it in a big way.
Content Grade: B+
Art Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 18+
Released By: FAKKU
Release Date: February 2024
MSRP: FAKKU Subscription
