Umibe no Onna no Ko

うみべの女の子
(Umibe no Onna no Ko)
"Girl on the Shore"

story/ art: Inio Asano


Its a story of two individuals living an ordinary life in a dull seaside town. They try to fill in the void in each other's life and became "friends with benefits", but the farther they take things, the more complicated their relationship gets. And its starting to affect their lives and those around them.

It is a psychological take on what defines as a real romantic relationship, given that the characters became distrusting because of their past, but what I find interesting are the elements used to further escalate the situation. It may be classified as an erotic work, with the graphic sex scenes, but it was tastefully done, making it the device that intensifies the tension and emotion that is present in the scene.

I love it that this series deviates from the cutesy character design and focuses on the "ordinary girl/ ordinary boy". Their facial features adds the depth of emotion needed to further show the internal struggle these kids are going through. The artist also did an amazing job in combining the almost realistic background with the design of the characters, making nothing seem out of place.