Mujaki no Rakuen

無邪気の楽園
Mujaki no Rakuen
(Paradise of Innocence)

author: Uran (雨蘭)


If you want school life/ slice of life series along the lines of "Kyou no Go no Ni" (Today in Class 5-2), with a mixed premise of "ReLife" and "Toki wo Kakeru Shojou", but more intense than "Kodomo no Jikan", while not as crossing over too much like "Boku no Pico", then the series "Mujaki no Paradise" may just be for you.

Be warned though, there are a lot of lewd and naked scenes concerning 5th graders here. A bit more intense visuals of getting into compromising positions than "Kyou no Go no Ni". Its essentially over sexualization of elementary students.

Its the story of Handa Shouta, a 25 yr old NEET who, after being ridiculed in his class reunion, fell into the school swimming pool, then transported 15 years in the past to his old 5th grader self. He is determined to change his ways with his 15 years of experience while going through life as a 5th grader. But the innocence of his classmates (especially the female ones) gets him in a lot of trouble, and ends up changing the relationships he had in the past as a child.

The art is average for a seinen-style manga (with detailed and above average rated drawings in nude scenes), and the story can be wrapped up with a short series, but what gets me interested is the way the characters started to develop romantic feelings or such, with the main male protagonist being oblivious to it. I wanted to find out how all these changes he made with his life would actually affect his future.

And the various portrayal of children being that innocent about the opposite sex at that age is, in my opinion, exaggerated. Well, it may differ from each individual's upbringing or the environment they were exposed to, but it does make for some funny situations.

The nude scenes may be set up as eye candy for the readers, but the more vulgar ones I think the series can do without.