Manga Review: Manga Sutra, Vol. 1

Manga Sutra Futari H, Vol. 1

By Katsu Aki
Tokyopop, 384 pp.
Rating: Mature Readers (18+)

Manga Sutra follows two newly weds, Makoto and Yura, as they get to know each other… intimately. The trials and tribulations of a couple who are completely ignorant about sex, sexual techniques, facts and more are on full display in this adult romantic comedy from Katsu Aki!

Despite the subject matter and the ease with which it could have slipped into raunchy perviness, Manga Sutra actually has a surprisingly earnest story with endearing characters. The ignorance of the duo and their mutual desire to please each other sexually comes across as genuine, complete with all the awkwardness that you’d expect from that kind of a situation. No sexual stone is left unturned! Makoto’s non-stop desire for nookie clashes with the more romantic nature and desire for intimacy of Yura to both comedic and touching effect. The characters ask questions of each other and of others that I’m sure most people in sexual relationships have encountered at some point in time. These questions and situations allow Aki to pepper the book with sexual factoids and diagrams exploring penis size, masturbatory habits, and frequency of sex all turn up in some form or another. Sometimes they’ll be worked into the story itself, with another character talking about the facts, other times the story stops as a narrator explains the statistics with accompanying pie charts and diagrams. Strangely enough, I didn’t find that these asides hurt the flow of the story at all, and by the end of the volume you’ll almost be expecting them and they merge seamlessly with the growing relationship and intimacy of the Makoto and Yura.

If you’re looking for some humor, then you’re also in luck as the comedic relief comes from all directions! It ranges from overly loud and nosy family members, to surprisingly hilarious third person narration. Pervy brothers loudly proclaiming the need to please a woman, nosy sisters prying into the private affairs of the newly weds, to weirdly narrative captions like this one:

“That’s right. The training to become a true hero has just begun.”

… in bed.

The art is serviceable, but not amazing. It fits the story, the characters have expressive faces and often seem designed to cover several of the subjects in the book. For example, breast size! Aki makes sure to include women who range from small to exceptionally large, all helping to illustrate and elaborate on the factoids relating to breast types and so forth. The sex scene’s are ok and depending on the mood range from kind of sexy to very silly. The backgrounds tend to be sparse, but given what’s happening between the characters most of the time I doubt many folks would be giving the background a whole lot of attention.

Tokyopop added in a few extras as well, including an “aphrodisiac” recipe for the 21+ crowd and the US statistics that correspond with the Japanese ones given in the story. The stats make for a nice little bit of compare and contrast between the two countries. In addition there’s also a short Q&A section with an American sex therapist in the back. All in all it’s a surprisingly fun read that manages to pack in some useful and interesting bits of information.

Volume one of The Manga Sutra is available now.