Ive been reading a lot of darker psychological shoujo lately including some series Ive been wanting to read since I first discovered the world of manga. Last week it was Piece and Mars and this week its Basara and Drowning Love. Of the three modernish realistic setting stories I have to say that Drowning Love was the one I enjoyed the most. Im surprised that people dont talk about it more since it has a lot to offer and theres just so much to unpack in terms of characters themes and general ideas that are explored. The story begins with 6th grader Natsume Mochizuki. She lives in Tokyo with a job as a model against her fathers wishes. However her life turns upsidedown when she moves from Tokyo to a tiny seaside town. She finds herself drawn towards a mysterious boy named Kouichiro Hasegawa. A boy who glows. A boy who seems like a god. But as these two radiant people come together a tragic event can tear them apart. Im going to say this right now. Drowning Love does not portray a healthy relationship between stable characters. Honestly most of the characters in this manga are terrible messedup people particularly Kouichiro who I will be referring to as Kou for the rest of the review. This manga is about obsession and idolization. Its about how a single traumatic event can change your entire life and relationships. Its not a cute love story by any means and this manga never intended to portray one. https://i.pin.com/564x/84/36/a4/8436a435ed58b28a9cd8d1bed4f20ea9.jpg Natsume may be the main character but Kou is its center. He has some sort of charisma some type of beauty some kind of power that draws people to him. Hes described as glowing and called a god often in the series. He even has a character who literally takes up the mount of his worshiper Kana. Even if the other children in this manga view him as a god hed be a cruel god. Hes violent and dangerous yet distant and apathetic. In his first appearance he tries to drown Natsume to assert his power and dominance over her. He states that the villagers let him do whatever he wants since hes the heir to the Hasegawa family who are the wealthiest and most powerful in the village even having control of the shrine. However hes not infallible. Hes not all powerful. Hes still just a little boy from a broken family. He failed to protect Natsume. He could not be as strong as a god and thats what made her disillusioned with him and realize that he was human. When he wasnt a god to her anymore thats when their relationship fell apart. I feel like its necessary for me to explain why everything fell apart but that enters spoiler territory hence the spoiler tag. https://i.pin.com/564x/13/70/ea/1370ea7dcc2ea31482a2be141bbc9758.jpg Natsume is left feeling like shes no longer the person she used to be. She was once headstrong powerful and unafraid. She was sociable and wanted to stand out. She was a shining star. But after the incident she became afraid. Shes still very headstrong and powerful but she now is afraid. She doesnt want to stand out anymore. She wants to live a peaceful life away from the entertainment industry the place created fans like the creep who stalked her. Shes withdrawn no longer interacting with those who spread rumors and lies looking down on her for what happened. With her modeling and a piece of her youthful innocence gone she finds passion elsewhere on the other side of the camera. With Natsume no longer by Kous side Kana steps in. She reveres Kou. Shes in love with him but she believes that Natsume a girl of equal brilliance is the only one who can be with him. She tried to make a fresh start for herself but she always finds herself following Kou. No matter how horribly he treats her she cant shake that obsession. And she cant handle the fact that Natsume doesnt share her obsession her clinginess. She wants Natsume and Kou to be together but she also hates Natsume and wants to become her to take Natsumes place by Kous side. I pity her but I also could not stand her and her allconsuming obsession. How she felt like she had to control what happened in other peoples lives. How she would downplay Natsumes trauma only focusing on Kous suffering. https://i.pin.com/564x/7e/85/65/7e8565106b1b62e9bc7ff231ebece237.jpg Kou turns to Kana when he loses both Natsume and his best friend Otomo especially with his influx of family problems. He now has his cousin and maternal aunt in his life. His cousin is on the road to becoming a juvenile delinquent desperate for his mothers attention. The two begin a tumultuous relationship beginning with hate and eventually becoming an unhealthy companionship. Two troubled children in a twisted family. His aunt his cousins mother is trying to secure power and take her sisters place in the family trying to make Kous father love her trying to take what belongs to Kou. I do wish that in the Kous family subplot there was some focus on Kous sister since I have a lot of questions about how she felt about Kou their father and their new houseguests. The reason Kou lost Otomo was because of how just plain good Otomo is. He is the light in this manga a ray of sunshine in the bleak world. Amidst the mess theres one pure soul. Hes honestly the one character who isnt a complete mess. He began as one of Kous followers hating Natsume because of how she took Kou away from him. However as the years went by he realized that he and Kou had different ideals and that he didnt want to be cruel in the same way Kou was. He is a kind and respectful person offering Natsume a refuge allowing her to process her trauma at her own pace. Hes not perfect but hes kind and straightforward and that is what she needed. The part of Drowning Love I wasnt super big on was the ending. It was confusing and I had quite a few issues with it. Kou was unbearable for me since he was treating Natsume horribly and sexually assaulting her. He helps her overcome her trauma but not in a healthy way. Their feelings for each other are reignited but at the cost of any respect and kindness I had in my heart for Kou. I do think in the very very end hes shown to be on his way to becoming a better person as a lot of time passes but I still do not like him at all. It was upsetting for me. I viewed their reunion as Natsume being unable to shake an abusive relationship though there is some ambiguity with who she ultimately ends up with though its more likely Kou than Otomo. I also didnt like the way the retread of the traumatic event was executed. It felt like a copypaste except for the conclusion and there was less emotional impact. I wonder if there was something going on with the author because the ending was very poorly executed in comparison to the rest of the manga. https://i.pin.com/564x/4a/34/24/4a34248a629ec98093cc5239050ad19c.jpg The art is to die for. While the beautifully watercolored color pages are stunning the black and white art has a distinctive charm which is why I included so much of it. Theres something about it that conveys so much emotion. Its beautifully detailed both with the effort put into the character design and with the backgrounds. Theres so much linework. I have a weakness for beautifully drawn detailed eyes and this manga has that. Its a blend of stylized and realistic styles the shading is simplistic and minimal but the linework is spectacular. I could gush about Drowning Loves art for hours and still not have said enough or express my feelings about it. This manga is so poignant and has a lot to offer. Even if the ending was rather weak I still adore the art and what the earlier chapters had to offer. Theres so much detail and humanity within this manga and its depictions of PTSD and societal views on sexual violence are still relevant even though this manga started back in 2004. I think it holds up and I wont hesitate to recommend this to people though with some trigger warnings for both gang violence and sexual assault. Its a beautiful piece that deserves more recognition.