Aitsu to Ore by Toujou (Tohjoh) Asami

number of volumes: 2 (complete)
comic line: Chara Comics
publishing house: Tokuma Shoten
size: B6

Major Characters:

The Story

Takeru is waiting for an assignation when he overhears some people negotiating the price for a quickie.

word of the day: 'enjo kosai' you may have heard this being used in articles about schoolgirl prostitution in Japan. The Mainichi newspaper defines it as 'compensated dating,' and it tends to refer to schoolgirls that sell themselves for money.

Takeru is a bit embarassed about hearing this, and when he looks up, he finds out that his step-brother Shin is the one picking up a male john. Shin, naturally, notices Takeru as well.

Let's do some fast-forwarding and some skipping, else this will take forever.

At dinner, Shin walks in a bit late and acts the perfect son. Takeru, on the other hand, is just waiting for Shin to explode, which he does. Except, only at Takeru, and only Takeru can see it. Takeru is, of course, freaked: "Who the hell are you?!"

Shin is apparently the master of redirection, because he smiles (while sparkling), and comments on how he saw Takeru today, but it's a bit fast, isn't it, for a 1st year high schooler to take his girlfriend into a hotel. Their parents are naturally horrified, and Shin acts the good brother by saying he'll talk to Takeru.

In Shin's room, he threatens to rape Takeru if he tells their parents what's going on. Takeru is taken aback, and the whole thing is resolved by the 2 essentially deciding to leave each other alone.

That decision isn't really possible though, with the 2 of them going to the same school. All the girls have crushes on Shin, and all the guys think Shin is great. Takeru, meanwhile, is getting shafted as the younger brother of a brilliant student. He still gets along with people, but how would you feel if all the girls were gushing over your older brother?

Takeru, though, is learning about his brother and how two-faced he is. One side, the perfect boy. The other side is this darker person that few others know about. The more he learns, the more he gets pulled into Shin's loop.

Commentary

The story is made interesting, I think, by the characters. To be honest, I'm fond of Takeru's mother. She clearly has her heart set on having the perfect family, and wants to be the perfect mother. She tries hard, and wants her new step-son to like her. The sad thing is that Shin's facade is so good that he fools both his father and his step-mother.

Takeru starts out a lot like his mother, what with wanting a good family and an elder brother that will help him. He's very energetic, a bit like his mother, but he knows what Shin is really like and can't help noticing more things about him.

Shin, on the other hand, is just plain damaged. I don't understand people that have been abused, since I haven't been. I think it's only something you understand if it happened to you. And I think because of this, I don't get a good grip on Shin. He felt very 2-D to me.

However, redemption is always a theme in the abuse mangas I've seen, and Aitsu to Ore isn't any different from that. Once Shin begins to change, I liked him a bit more.

Mmm. It's a good manga. It feels a bit surreal at times, but it's a nice feeling in this comic. And, the ending isn't so bad either.

Extra~!

Aestheticism.com has a thorough review.