Manga Review: Sweat & Honey by Mari Okazaki

Rating (Out of 5): ~1 (maybe 1.5)

Publisher: Tokyopop (Passion Fruit)

Publish Date: 2005

Volumes: 1 -- One-shot

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. (Out-of-Print)

Goodreads Synopsis:

Passion Fruit is a unique, unforgettable collection of stories that examines our inner-most secrets and hidden desires. Here two female cousins learn that living together may bring them closer to each other ... or drive them apart; two friends discover the true meaning of 'loving yourself;' twin brothers share nearly everything, even their nightmarish visions; and a woman's heartbreaking love affair unfolds in silent, breathtaking images. With uninhibited authenticity and pathos, this volume of
Passion Fruit - 'Sweat & Honey' - explores the vulnerability and frailty of the human condition.

Review:

I was really hoping to like this. But maybe I just need to give up on finding a good, smutty manga. Because just about every time I try one, it sucks.

I was hoping this would be good. And it wasn’t. This might actually be a short review, but I don’t have a lot to say, and what I do have to say, isn’t very good.

The artwork isn’t good. Perhaps other people will disagree with me, but I did not like the artwork at all. It wasn’t pretty, the people were a bit oddly shaped. Just, it wasn’t good, and I did not enjoy looking at it in the least.

I also really didn’t like the storyline to any of the stories. Well, I suppose the first one was okay, in that it was a very different, interesting idea. But the others were just odd, and weird, and I didn’t like them. I wasn’t a big fan of any of the characters, and didn’t relate or connect with any of them.

This just wasn’t a good book. I didn’t much like it at all. I’m glad it’s over.

Oh, also: Passion Fruit. Apparently this was a label off of Tokyopop? I’d never even heard of it. I’m pretty sure it was short lived. Were there even any other titles released off of it? Maybe one or two?

I just found it odd to find out that Tokyopop tried releasing another label, especially for josei-ish, ‘edgy’ manga. But, then again, Tokyopop did try a lot of different, ‘innovative’ methods of releasing manga.