Koi to Yobu ni wa Sasayaka desuga - Ch. 1

[Oculunus]

I saw the cover and instantly recognized the art. I'll read it because I like the artist (I know Horimiya was written by HERO and only illustrated by Hagiwara), since the premise itself isn't all that interesting, so far. The age gap is off-putting, however I will give it a benefit of doubt that maybe the romance isn't between those two. It would be surprising, but I wouldn't put it beyond the realm of possibilities. On the first page we see a guy seemingly interested in the female MC behind her on the bus, so the signs are there and both of the have their own lives and circles (school and other mangakas respectively).
If the romance will be between the two of them, then it will be time to drop. Although, there are some extenuating circumstances, since despite the supposed premise of them knowing each other it does seem like their interactions were both limited and very long ago, so they are basically strangers at this point and it's hard to talk about any sort of grooming or similar things. Also, the romance in many Japanese manga is so slow she might be past college by the time they decide to move past hand-holding. I do have to say that also I have friends that did date older guys with a similar age gap while in their early twenties, so from experience I know it's not something that doesn't happen in real life and it's not necessarily terrible, thought I didn't approve of them doing that and they were all adults already, so similarly I wouldn't like it to happen here. Once again, if they really date it's time to drop. They could have made the age gap much smaller and it would still work with the plot.

As for the guy drawing adult manga, this is also slightly off-putting but less so. There's nothing inherently wrong with adult content. Like, for example, "Game of Thrones" was one of the most popular shows worldwide when it was airing and it was extremely adult and that didn't take away from it being able to tell a compelling story and be good overall (except for the last season, but that's for reasons unrelated to my point). If it's a proper story that also has adult elements in it, there's no issue in that. It's rather straight-up pornography with no plot but just objectification of bodies that is no good. And people consuming it. I wonder whether at later stages they will say more about what exactly he is writing or if it will just remain as adult content for the sake of jokes. Similarly, a lot of context comes from how one consumes adult content. It's not like people in cinemas start slipping their pants off once a sex scene appears. Just because he draws adult content doesn't mean he enjoys it in those ways. Although, if it indeed is just pornography then it would be unusual to read it even if just for the sake of reading it. In any case I would prefer if this part of the story was different. I wonder whether the author has any interesting story to tell specifically in relation to this or if this is just a quirk to grab attention.

 

[Zer0n356]

This gives me Horimiya vibes

 

[w33btr4sh]

Wow this is some trashy wish fulfillment shit that way too many manga authors feel the need to write.

Yeah I'm sure the teenage girl will totally accept you after turning into a "slob with bad posture, terrible sleeping habits, living under parents roof, writing porn" type adult... Totally not author deluding himself.

Mangaka is a woman, cope and seethe

 

[Oculunus]

Mangaka is a woman, cope and seethe

Oh, that's interesting. Daisuke is very much a male name, so I also assumed the author is a man even knowing it's most likely a pen name. But Horimiya wiki does confirm she's a woman. Thank you for sharing this, it's good information. I wonder if mangaka originally chose this name avoid any prejudice against female authors.

 

[TheTopAdventure]

You cannot hide from me author-san. I'd recognize him from anywhere.

 

[TheTopAdventure]

that credit page be looking good

 

[UdenEmpati]

Oh, that's interesting. Daisuke is very much a male name, so I also assumed the author is a man even knowing it's most likely a pen name. But Horimiya wiki does confirm she's a woman. Thank you for sharing this, it's good information. I wonder if mangaka originally chose this name avoid any prejudice against female authors.

women have historically used male-sounding pen names the world over throughout history because they wouldn't be taken seriously otherwise, so if that were the case here I wouldn't be surprised, especially as a more-conservative nation like Japan would likely have even more built-in inequality on that front.

 

[UdenEmpati]

Hmm...well, when someone you respected suddenly turn out like that...can't blame her reaction to be honest with you. I hope the author will eventually reveal why he chose to end up drawing erotic mangas out of all genre and not just gloss over it.

sex sells, and it can mean incredibly consistent and steady income if you're a creative doing work that caters to specific and/or specialized interests. All the more if it's commission-based work for private clients, though I have no reason to believe he's doing that here.

If he tried to do other stuff, couldn't, found out he got a consistent paycheck drawing ero work and/or straight up hentai, then paying the bills takes precedence in a lot of cases, especially if he's currently living at home in a country where I have to wonder if that sort of thing is actually prevalent (assuming grounded setting).

And, it's honestly great for getting really good at figure drawing. Lots of angles, lots of perspectives, lots of positions, and you get really good at anatomy if you commit yourself to studying human figure work with the intent of upgrading the quality of your work.

Plus, I can only speak anecdotally, but - some of the creatives I know who draw porn on a commission basis don't even "use" their own work. It's literally just a job, and there's a level of detachment from what you're depicting because you're too busy focusing on making sure the legs aren't mismatched or the back's bent at an unnatural shape. Some do get off on their own stuff, of course, but it's not like it's a certainty here.

But I suspect the author will elucidate on the ML's reasons for choosing the specific genre of manga he's settled upon, given it's a central component of his character within the narrative and a large, if not primary, point of contention in terms of his prospective relationship with the FL.

 

[LaraGG]

Is this weekly? Thanks for TL!!

 

[Gudachiz]

sex sells, and it can mean incredibly consistent and steady income if you're a creative doing work that caters to specific and/or specialized interests. All the more if it's commission-based work for private clients, though I have no reason to believe he's doing that here.

If he tried to do other stuff, couldn't, found out he got a consistent paycheck drawing ero work and/or straight up hentai, then paying the bills takes precedence in a lot of cases, especially if he's currently living at home in a country where I have to wonder if that sort of thing is actually prevalent (assuming grounded setting).

And, it's honestly great for getting really good at figure drawing. Lots of angles, lots of perspectives, lots of positions, and you get really good at anatomy if you commit yourself to studying human figure work with the intent of upgrading the quality of your work.

Plus, I can only speak anecdotally, but - some of the creatives I know who draw porn on a commission basis don't even "use" their own work. It's literally just a job, and there's a level of detachment from what you're depicting because you're too busy focusing on making sure the legs aren't mismatched or the back's bent at an unnatural shape. Some do get off on their own stuff, of course, but it's not like it's a certainty here.

But I suspect the author will elucidate on the ML's reasons for choosing the specific genre of manga he's settled upon, given it's a central component of his character within the narrative and a large, if not primary, point of contention in terms of his prospective relationship with the FL.

a good example of someone who used to do/ is still doing ero manga is narita kou, the artist for https://mangadex.org/title/8280b28c...20-nen-de-akimashita-highelf-with-a-long-life
so i honestly don't get the criticism of the readers, of ml here, like yes dude draws ero manga.. and? like it makes sense for the characters to criticize but the readers?? what's it to them if the ml drawn ero manga if not straight up hentai?

 

[UdenEmpati]

a good example of someone who used to do/ is still doing ero manga is narita kou, the artist for https://mangadex.org/title/8280b28c...20-nen-de-akimashita-highelf-with-a-long-life
so i honestly don't get the criticism of the readers, of ml here, like yes dude draws ero manga.. and? like it makes sense for the characters to criticize but the readers?? what's it to them if the ml drawn ero manga if not straight up hentai?

the age gap thing I can understand people having an issue with.

But if none of the people getting mad at the ML here for his career choice have ever once looked at hentai and/or drawn nsfw content that they actively sought out, I'll eat my hat.

It's....really not that big of a deal, especially if he's not in his room gooning over his own work constantly or something, and there's zero indication that's the case here thus far, so.

The FL being skeeved at first is one thing, and given her perception of him had been destroyed right before that point, I find it understandable. But, yeah.

 

[Gudachiz]

the age gap thing I can understand people having an issue with.

yeah same though with how long these romance manga's are, wouldn't be surprised if a hint of "oh developing feelings" happens after the fl is older, also the legal age of consent in Japan and parts of asia is 16, just for context, so at least across that board the author is safe in Japan, for the context of the setting of the manga

But if none of the people getting mad at the ML here for his career choice have ever once looked at hentai and/or drawn nsfw content that they actively sought out, I'll eat my hat.

100%

It's....really not that big of a deal, especially if he's not in his room gooning over his own work constantly or something, and there's zero indication that's the case here thus far, so.

yep, tons of artists just make ero work because it pays the bills also because they know what's good

The FL being skeeved at first is one thing, and given her perception of him had been destroyed right before that point, I find it understandable. But, yeah.

yeah, it's a very normal response tbh and I do think given the setting its still pretty normal, the commenters though
i do think some of the people commenting here should just go back to whatever rat social media they came from and seethe there as if they're morally high

 

[stwish]

Oh I do think Japan has critics just not over stupid shit like this,
but funny how you can come up with that on your own from something like that, its amazing how you can make up things, you should try writing your own manga or something, your imagination is wild


always love the pattern btw, "oh you're questioning my criticism over a fictional piece of media, you must think Japan has no critics!"
amazing how you folks there escalate to try and make something political when you're questioned or even minorly criticized for the things you say.

did your psychiatrist tell you that?

Pretending that only westerners make things political in situations like this is the most disingenuous thing I have read in awhile😂 hes mad asf for no reason but you've been saying dumb shit as well. I love this site