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REVIEW: A Girl on the Shore GN


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Merida



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
Posts: 1946
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 12:59 am Reply with quote
I'm a big fan of Asano but i think i'll pass on this one. While i don't really mind (explicit) sex, this seems to be a bit too much for me...

Ali07 wrote:

...currently contemplating if I should get Solanin or What A Wonderful World.


I can heartily recommend both, but as an introduction to his works, Solanin is perfect.
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CoreSignal



Joined: 04 Sep 2014
Posts: 727
Location: California, USA
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 3:01 pm Reply with quote
jdnation wrote:
There a very interesting story here.

Too bad it was buried under downright pornographic sex scenes of underaged kids.

....

All this could've been done far more tastefully.

Sometimes 'show don't tell' isn't a rule to always be followed.


Yeah, A Girl on the Shore sounds kinda interesting based on the review. However, the description of the sex scenes, not to mention people taking dumps on each (ugh) is a little too much for me. I have nothing against showing sex, but this almost feels like Asano is trying to pass off explicit underage sex scenes as artsy.

Merida wrote:
I can heartily recommend both, but as an introduction to his works, Solanin is perfect.

@Ali07, I second the recommendation to Solanin as well. It's less dark and heavy as Asano's later work. Also, Solanin might be his most personal, since the characters are the same age as when he wrote it.
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relyat08



Joined: 20 Mar 2013
Posts: 4125
Location: Northern Virginia
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 3:25 pm Reply with quote
CoreSignal wrote:
jdnation wrote:
There a very interesting story here.

Too bad it was buried under downright pornographic sex scenes of underaged kids.

....

All this could've been done far more tastefully.

Sometimes 'show don't tell' isn't a rule to always be followed.


Yeah, A Girl on the Shore sounds kinda interesting based on the review. However, the description of the sex scenes, not to mention people taking dumps on each (ugh) is a little too much for me. I have nothing against showing sex, but this almost feels like Asano is trying to pass off explicit underage sex scenes as artsy.



But he successfully does just that. This is very much a piece of art. It's not arousing or exploitative by any means. And frames don't actually focus on the sex. It occurs in the background, almost off of the page. I think that is key to the story. But yeah, I don't think this could have been done more tastefully. This is as tasteful as the subject matter can possibly be handled, in my opinion. If the content isn't for you, I can completely understand, but that doesn't make it less important or artistic.
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Ali07



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 3333
Location: Victoria, Australia
PostPosted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:58 pm Reply with quote
ConnormonCat wrote:
Ali07 wrote:
currently contemplating if I should get Solanin or What A Wonderful World.


Don't forget Goodnight Punpun. Definitely my favourite of his work.

From what I know of the story in that series, that is another one I'm holding off on. First, I want to read some of Asano's work before I delve into Punpun.

CoreSignal wrote:
Merida wrote:
I can heartily recommend both, but as an introduction to his works, Solanin is perfect.

@Ali07, I second the recommendation to Solanin as well. It's less dark and heavy as Asano's later work. Also, Solanin might be his most personal, since the characters are the same age as when he wrote it.

Beautiful, will be adding it to my next order of manga.
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Alan45
Village Elder



Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 10013
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 10:00 am Reply with quote
I gave up on A Girl on the Shore after a few chapters. I basically found it unreadable. Not because of the sex, but because of the unremitting depressive atmosphere. I really do not need to be reminded about what it is like to be depressed or a teenager or both. That was a long time ago, but some things you don't forget.

If you actually enjoy wallowing in depression this may be the book for you.
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Hellsoldier



Joined: 21 Jun 2013
Posts: 815
Location: Porto,Portugal,Europe,Earth,Sol
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 11:36 am Reply with quote
Parsifal24 wrote:
After I finished reading it I described it to a friend of mine as reading a copy of Barely Legal while listing to The Smiths and The Cure mixtape.


That doesn't sound bad. The Cure is awesome, and I like Morrisey, so I'll check The Smiths out.

Now, seriously, I have a thing for the twisted.
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motormind



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 90
PostPosted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 2:56 pm Reply with quote
I think it's worth mentioning that the seaside town depicted here is Oarai. Tes, it's the same town used as the setting for Girls und Panzer.

Last edited by motormind on Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:19 am; edited 1 time in total
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jymmy



Joined: 11 Nov 2011
Posts: 1244
PostPosted: Sat Apr 02, 2016 11:11 pm Reply with quote
I agree that the sexual content in manga in no way buries the character and tone which the manga excels at.

motormind: Wow, I never noticed. I reread the first volume just now after having actually visited the place, and it's really only the Marine Tower and written reference to Isosaki Shrine, as well as the shot of the street below the shrine, that make it obvious. They depicted Isosaki without showing the iconic steps (credit Gritty Monkey) which they drove two tanks down in the Girls und Panzer movie.
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motormind



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 90
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:24 am Reply with quote
jymmy wrote:

motormind: Wow, I never noticed. I reread the first volume just now after having actually visited the place, and it's really only the Marine Tower and written reference to Isosaki Shrine, as well as the shot of the street below the shrine, that make it obvious


I visited Oarai myself, and the main reason I wanted to do that was because of this manga. In later volumes you see a few panoramic shots of the town, and one of them them actually shows the huge toori in front of the Isosaki Shrine. The fact that Girls Und Panzer takes place there as well was a nice bonus.
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jymmy



Joined: 11 Nov 2011
Posts: 1244
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 4:42 am Reply with quote
I'll have to keep an eye out when I next reread volume 2. That's fair enough, though I do think Garupan being set there is more iconic. When old ladies asked me what brought a gaijin all the way to their small fishing village in winter, it would have been possibly more awkward to say "I'm a fan of this manga where middle schoolers have explicit sex a lot" than to respond "yeah, it was the silly-looking tank anime you see posters for everywhere".
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nobahn
Subscriber



Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5146
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 8:37 am Reply with quote
^
They didn't actually direct the term gaijin at you, did they? That would have been pretty gauche.
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jymmy



Joined: 11 Nov 2011
Posts: 1244
PostPosted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 9:26 am Reply with quote
Haha, no, just summarising the exchange in my own words.
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minkmilk



Joined: 07 Oct 2017
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2017 12:02 pm Reply with quote
Never have I read a manga that so realistically depicts adolescent depression and relationships (bar perhaps 'The Flowers of Evil' and 'My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness'). It really hits a nerve.
I really appreciate Asano's art style, its subtlety and realism complements the story perfectly.

A lot of people seem to find the sex scenes gratuitous but I completely disagree. It's intentionally jarring, this isn't meant to be titillating but it is supposed to make you feel something. It made me feel distressed and uncomfortable, because the use of apathetic intimacy in order to fill an emotional void is intentionally upsetting, we can see how unhealthy all of it is, particularly because the characters are so young (although this adds to the realism; we all know that teenagers start experimenting sexually often way before they are emotionally mature)

I read both volumes within around two hours, I physically couldn't put it down. I spent the latter volume of the anthology with my heart beating in my chest, as I really did fear that Isobe might kill himself. Yes, the ending did leave me feeling empty and unsatisfied, but real life, particularly the emotional turmoil of adolescence, rarely ties its loose ends up neatly. And that is, I think, what makes the story so heart-wrenchingly beautiful.
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