Comments on: Bitter Virgin: An Uninhibited Tale

By: ETERNAL

ETERNAL — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:27:39 +0000

I think a lot of my enjoyment came from the punch to the gut that the story began with. When a storyline forces you into its world (which is usually a bad thing, mind you), it’s sometimes hard to ignore any possible faults in the characters since you’re too preoccupied with the tragedy right in front of you. That’s pretty much how Key anime and some similar VNs work if your suspension of disbelief can hold through: you realize that the characters are hollow, but it doesn’t bother you that much because it’s too hard to ignore what’s right front of you. Of course, the opposite can also happen, which would probably lead you to hate the story.

For me, in retrospect, I’m not quite sure what to make of the characters; their actions were interesting in some ways, but I don’t think I ever fully connected with them. Instead, I connected with their pain, and that’s probably why I enjoyed it: because my suspension of disbelief wasn’t broken by their actions, and the storyline was too much for me to call it shallow, regardless of the characters.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:53:04 +0000

I just finished reading Bitter Virgin and googled it because I wanted to hear other opinions. You seem to have pretty much covered every base when it comes to this manga, and I mostly agree with you. However, I thought that the ending was totally appropriate and fulfilling. This wasn’t an epic or an adventure, and it didn’t have a major plot; the whole point of the piece was character development. By the time the series was over, every single one of the characters had grown substantially, and THAT is what made it worthwhile. I really wish that the mangaka would have thrown out those little shojo cliches because they probably brought the quality down two whole notches, for me at least.

By: Aydz

Aydz — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:42:50 +0000

Well, a manga. I certainly did not expect to find that. Well it’s something I can speak out actively on I guess.

I have to say Bitter Virgin was not a story that required an emotional investment from me unlike other titles. For one thing the main *tragedy* used by the mangaka (and I’ve read the mangaka’s other more recent works) is something that requires great skill to be used correctly. The secondary one, redeemed it somewhat but I believe experiencing something makes writing about it that much easier and the author had apparently just gone through that and decided to write the story.

Secondly, the art was not more than above average at portraying emotions, thus limiting what feelings and atmosphere can be conveyed. Background detail was none-existant, or re-used. Characters were not *real*. If the characters themselves aren’t realistic then how can such a slice-of-life story work?

It’s been a while since I’ve read it and because it wasn’t good, nor bad but merely mediocre as a romantic tragedy I don’t really remember the details. Basically what I wanted to say is: how did you fall for this?

By: Blowfish

Blowfish — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:16:48 +0000

Back when I started to read the Manga i was drawn in by the setup aswell and like you said therein lies the problem.Everything already happened and all thats left to do is solve the mystery behind her behavior.Besides some shortcomings i still enjoyed this manga very much. Its a shame that we have to rely on Scanlators like Solaris to read great Manga like this while the next mediocre shonen/ecchi Manga gets licensed without a second thought.I wish Publishers would risk more from time to time Blowfishs last blog post..Speaker Girl Kanaru

By: Phlogistique

Phlogistique — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:26:42 +0000

> It seemed like the manga wanted desperately to be seen as ‘more than > just shoujo manga’ but it couldn’t escape that category Too bad it's not a shoujo manga. Phlogistiques last blog post..Phlogistique: @Smankh I can't manage to work with music. (nor can I do it while listening to the #hadopi debate) Am I a strange human being?

By: digitalboy

digitalboy — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 23:48:43 +0000

I read something like 8 or 10 or 15 chapters of this when it was still coming out and i enjoyed it a good bit but was subsequently disappointed by it. I agree that it is hard-hitting but... it just wasn't enough. As you mentioned, the unrealistic moments weakened it. It seemed like the manga wanted desperately to be seen as 'more than just shoujo manga' but it couldn't escape that category. I enjoyed it a fine deal, but I kept wishing it was truly as serious and gripping as it wanted to be. It's kind of like a 15 year-old whose just come to grips with the darkness of the world writing a story about that darkness and how he hopes he can escape it, but before he's matured enough to really understand darkness or how the world and emotions work. I think the series' strength is in it's emotional honesty and great desire to bring happiness to it's characters who have been put through hell - from the beginning, the manga desperately desires the safety of people who have been tormented - but the perspective is just a bit immature. I'd say it definitely gets credit and entertainment value, but doesn't exist as a down-to-earth, dark tale, which is a little more of what I wanted. I think this manga is probably most comperable to the likes of Elfen Lied or Iriya no Sora UFO no Natsu, which are a very romanticized vision of human darkness, rather than a more realistic one like Nana or Now and Then Here and There. digitalboys last blog post..Stop! Hibari-kun! Old School Trap Anime

By: balance

balance — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:53:02 +0000

I read this manga a while ago, at first I was not interested because of the art like animekritik but the strange thing was that it was like in the top 5 manga being read so that got me a bit interested. As you get into the manga you would feel for Aikawa, and the mystery of her past. At first I didn't think Aikawa was cute but then I started to like her and she has her cute moments. The ending was kind of interesting as how they have similar views about each other. It's a good short read! balances last blog post..Suzumiya Haruhi-chan - 07 & 08 | Nyoron Churuya-san - 04 plus Other Stuff

By: animekritik

animekritik — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 06:29:31 +0000

everything you said about this series sounds really interesting, but'm not digging the art in those pics. animekritiks last blog post..Cats and Emperors

By: biankita

biankita — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:58:07 +0000

i really liked this manga when i read it a couple of months back. it made me cry a lot. i’m not really into characters with too tragic backgrounds, but i like this one because it’s rooted in reality. but you’re right. the story is very sweet but the ending was kinda meh for me.

By: Eric

Eric — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:44:53 +0000

An interesting disquisition. This definitely seems like something that would suit my tastes, and you did a good job at analyzing the plot sans revealing spoilers. For one, I actually read the entire post. I look forward to reading this manga, and even more so the possibility of a North American release.