Ask John: What Are The Best Erotic Manga?

Question:
What would you say is one of the best import H manga you’ve seen lately?

Answer:
I have a fearful premonition that identifying my own personal favorite H manga may be a bit too revealing. I may not have any secrets, but I’m not eager to forge the nails that critics will use to crucify me. So instead of composing a subjective list of my personal favorite erotic manga, instead I’d like to compose an objective list of books that I think belong in the collection of every serious erotic manga collector. In order to keep this list to a manageable size, I’ll strictly adhere to the stipulation of the question and nominate only hentai manga, not amateur produced doujinshi. That will regrettably exclude works by exceptional artists such as Nekoi Mie and the Saigado and Frapper Spirits doujin circles, but it will make my response more streamlined. I expect that anyone familiar with the Japanese erotic manga scene will be familiar with the books I’ll name, but I hope my list will be informative to the curious and novice. I’ll also try to be tasteful, but it’s impossible to thoroughly discuss erotica without touching upon topics which could be considered offensive.

Since I can’t choose between Kyoshiro Inoue’s first two books, I have to recommend them both. Black Market, first published in July 1998, and Over Flow, published in July 1999, are dark books, literally and figuratively. Kyoshiro Inoue’s drawing style utilizes heavy black lines and extensive use of shadows and darkness to illustrate these two collections of stories about the cruel, vicious, aggressive, and psychological nature of sex. Women are victimized by lustful men, and by their own irrepressible, uncontrollable need for sex. The sex depicted in these two books is graphic, explosive, and destructive. Men are beasts that thrust their lustful desires onto women. Women are victims shattered by the violence of sex, or women who seek to be totally consumed by physicality. Pleasure seems virtually unimportant. The primacy of sex in these books is the act of unleashing uninhibited, animalistic urges. Black Market and Over Flow are strong, shocking works because their eroticism is so blunt and uninhibited, and that raw sexuality is conveyed through shocking stories and lush, evocative artwork that focuses special attention on emotional reactions, contorted bodies, and a dark, threatening atmosphere.

Completely opposite in tone, theme, and style is Tsukino Jyogi’s July 2003 book Mousou Diary. This playful and fetishistic anthology includes plenty of incest, anal sex, simmering eroticism, and black humor. Jyogi’s artistic style looks a little rough around the edges, giving everything a rich depth. Characters are almost elfin, depicted with a cherub-like cuteness. The stories depict plenty of intense sex, but unlike the forceful intensity of Kyoshiro Inoue’s work, Tsukino Jyogi’s sex emphasizes foreplay and teasing that generates uncontrollable lust. Unlike Inoue’s characters, who are washed away by primitive aggression, Jyogi’s characters are awash in sweating, panting desire. The pleasure and power of sexuality are clearly evident in Jyogi’s illustrations, which makes his work, and this book in particular, especially sexy and fun.

Artist Yonekura Kengo has been recognized as one of Japan’s foremost cutting edge graphic artists, judging by her participation in Range Murata’s highly selective series of Robot color manga collections. The October 2005 manga Warau Kangofu clarifies exactly why Yonekura Kengo is one of Japan’s finest erotic artists. Yonekura’s drafting style uses crisp lines and flowing curves to depict leggy, adult women with an insatiable appetite for sex. However, the most unique and sensual aspect of Yonekura Kengo’s work is its equal attention on both male and female characters. Young men and boys depicted as sexual objects with the same regard that attractive women are. The beautiful art is certainly a high point, but the unique perspective Yonekura Kengo approaches sexual fantasy with makes her work especially sexy and stimulating.

Yukimi’s first erotic manga collection, Birthday, originally published in April 2006, quickly sold out across Japan for good reason. Yukimi’s graphic style uses thin, clean and precise lines to depict characters that vary from waifish and cute, to sultry, to physically toned characters reminiscent of Kyoshiro Inoue’s style. In fact, Birthday looks and feels like a generally more playful and lighthearted version of Kyoshiro Inoue’s work. Yukimi’s stories include charmingly amusing romance, slightly surreal horror, and frighteningly ruthless rape, but the consistent atmosphere of the book is light, loving, and sensual. The artwork is gorgeous to look at, and the collected effect of the stories creates a perfect balance between amusing and intense sexuality.

The July 2006 book Love Selection is a hefty collection of Kisaragi Gunma’s previously published short stories. Gunma is highly respected for having a unique and beautiful character design style that’s realistic yet stylized, resulting in a realistic world filled with beautiful, kind hearted young people who are easily persuaded into indulging their sexual urges. Sexuality in Gunma’s work is simultaneously taboo and irresistible, which gives his stories a charged erotic tension. Gunma’s sex is graphic and detailed, and also passionate and pleasurable. Sex is an irresistible force of nature in Gunma’s stories. Characters may be ashamed of their desires, or hesitant to transcend the social prohibitions regarding sex, but once they do, they engage in sex with wild abandon, enjoying every stimulation to its fullest. Once the taboos of sexuality are set aside in Kisaragi Gunma’s stories, sex is depicted as a wonderful, irrepressible, addictive activity, and that atmosphere of freedom and passionate enjoyment conveys itself clearly to the reader.

Of course, erotica is highly subjective and there are doubtlessly other books which may deserve equal recognition on this list. I personally own copies of all of these aforementioned books. I’m also quite a fan of erotic manga artists including Hyji, Millefeuille, Mizu, Hikari Hayashibara, Ujiie Moku, and Kenji Kishizuka, but rather than reveal too much about my own tastes, I think it’s more effective for me to point out some objective highlights and encourage adult readers to explore the H manga world in more depth on their own.