Hello hello. New week, new review, and this is one of those dark, complicated, bittersweet stories that I really enjoy. Not only it's well-done, but the art is gorgeous, with a strong script and a main idea that got me interested right away. Let's talk about Sleeping on Paper Boats, Vol. 1, by Teki Yatsuda, with a translation of Adrienne Beck. As always, many thanks to the publisher for the review copy!
- Print Length: 250 pages.
- Publisher: SuBLime Manga (VIZ Media).
- Publication Date: October 14, 2025.
- Genres: Drama, Gay, Horror, Manga, Romance.
- Rating: 4/5 stars
A cursed screen-writing prodigy with a poisoned pen is pulled out of his drunken stupor by a fresh-faced amateur photographer who gives his life new meaning.A young screenwriter who has skyrocketed to success on the back of his groundbreaking writing abilities discovers his pen is poisoned when all the people he has based his characters on meet untimely deaths. When a new love interest sparks his creativity, will he risk further misfortune or retire his pen forever?Kei Kitahara, a visionary screenwriter who has taken postwar Japan by storm, has made the difficult decision to lay down his pen for good after he realizes the people he’s been basing his characters on have all met unfortunate ends. He spends his days in misery, waiting to die, until a reason to live finds him in the gutter, too drunk and beaten to move. Kei can’t help but be attracted to his savior’s bewitching innocence, and the urge to write about him grows stronger by the day. Knowing he can’t take the risk, he vows never to use his pen against him, but will temptation prove too great?
This was heavy, let me tell you. As a writer, the idea of killing people with my pen, people I appreciate and that I wanted to immortalize somehow, is horrifying to me. I sympathized with Kei right away because of that. The trauma that he was facing was too much, something I'm not sure many would have endured as strongly as he did; was it perfect? Absolutely no. But was it human? Completely.
That's what I liked the most about Sleeping on Paper Boats, Vol. 1. However, it's because it was human that Kei and Yoichi has tender moments, no matter how dark, imperfect, scary, and visceral it was at times. Teki Yatsuda did a great job giving the characters their highlight when they needed it
There were some dialogues that didn't convince me that much, I must say. Even though this is a work of fiction, the realism was so strong that some "artistic" dialogues took me out of it. Instead of having the dramatic effect it was meant to have, and even with Adrienne Beck's mastery keeping everything fluent and natural, they fell... comical. As a narration, they would have worked great, but not like this.
I'm still eager to read the next volume to see how things end. Sleeping on Paper Boats, Vol. 1 leaves you with an open, promising ending, so I'm intrigued for sure. Teki Yatsuda has good ideas, good character development, and a good way of working with many things happening at the same time, so I'll definitely recommend this if you enjoy darker readings like this.
No comments:
Post a Comment