Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo: The Art of Losing

Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo is a manga series created by Mari Okada and illustrated by Nao Emoto. It first debuted in December 2016 and has since seen the release of seven volumes in the shōnen manga magazine Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine by Kodansha. The anime adaptation, produced by the studio Lay-duce, aired in the summer season of 2019. This charming series is brimming with teenage conflicts and dramas, offering a great choice for those seeking emotional intensity while taking a break from the real world.

While the series lacks highly elaborate and complex story arcs, it maintains a certain predictability. However, this doesn't diminish its quality. On the contrary, it adeptly captures the intricacies of teenage life, especially as individuals navigate the complexities of sexuality and human relationships. The literature club, consisting of Kazusa Onodera, Niina Sugawara, Momoko Sudo, Hitoha Hongo, and their president, Rika Sonezaki, explores a common conflict: sex. The characters grapple with questions about its nature, how it feels, the proper way to approach it, and its moral implications. These inquiries serve as a central theme as the characters navigate the path from adolescence to adulthood while dealing with their emotions.

What's the story about?

The series kicks off with the literature club coming together to read an erotic piece. The reading takes a provocative turn in the minds of the students, prompting them to ponder the distinction between pornography and eroticism in literature and whether these feelings are commendable in humans or rather primal. As the reading approaches its conclusion, a question surfaces: "What would you like to do before you die?" Sugawara's response truly unsettles the girls: to have sex. From that point forward, each girl couldn't shake that word from her thoughts, and each one began grappling with it in her own way.

I pointed out that the series lacks particularly intricate plotlines, given its rather linear narrative. Nevertheless, its depth strikes the right balance, accurately portraying the discomfort of navigating one's sexuality. Following Sugawara's revelation, Kazusa discovers her love for Izumi. This initial revelation sets off a chain reaction, unveiling the concealed stories of each character. The overarching theme revolves around the apprehension concerning the initiation or avoidance of sexual experiences. Each character responds uniquely to the challenge of addressing their desires and emotions, offering a glimpse into diverse realities.

Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo Trailer

Love triangle

The rescue of the closing for the immoral literary club and the cultural fair are pretexts to develop the story and to sufficiently argue the actions of the girls. Certainly some of the most outstanding conflicts in the series are starring Kazusa, Sugawara and Izumi. Both are friends but are in love with the same boy. On the one hand Kazusa has trouble admitting that she is attracted to Izumi.

On the other, Sugawara who suffered sexual harassment in her childhood turns her into a cold teenager who in the face of Izumi's kindness cannot contain her crush. Izumi doesn't even know how to deal with her own feelings and a quite accurate distinction arises in the series: sexual attraction and falling in love.

Am I Truly Into Boys?

Navigating a love triangle is no simple task, and Sugawara and Kazusa are assumed to be best friends. Yet, they aren't the only ones grappling with issues of love and friendship. Throughout the series, another girl in the club discovers that her sexual orientation inclines towards girls. Momoko inevitably falls for Sugawara, her intelligence and beauty surpassing their friendship. For Momoko, expressing her love to another girl is no easy feat. Her circle of friends embarks on a relationship, and in their own way, they start experiencing a heterosexual dynamic. The series demonstrates a courageous exploration of young Momoko's narrative.

I write about Relationship

Hiota is a young woman with a promising future as a writer, but she is embarrassed when her editor criticizes her work as unrealistic. The theme of her first work borders more on pornography than eroticism. This teenager is convinced she can talk about sex because she has casual sex on the web with a complete stranger. When she discovers that in reality these encounters are fictitious she decides to meet the guy. Milo, well that mysterious man turns out to be one of her teachers. The teenager becomes obsessed with getting him into bed and embarks on a series of blackmails that lead to school conflicts, however these end up teaching an important lesson to the whole club.

Is desire a good thing?

Rika Sonezaki is the unimpeachable and rigid president of the club. Of all the members, she is the one who has the most trouble admitting her feelings and even more trouble facing them. Her story unfolds after she discovers her physical attractiveness. Her change of look encourages her to approach the boy she likes and start a relationship. In reality her fears almost lead her to lose the love that begins to emerge. Her pretension to keep her feelings hidden starts to push Shun away, but as expected, the girl comes to her senses and rescues their relationship.

Final Reflection

One of the most poignant insights comes from Sugawara, who reflects on the subjective perception of time and beauty, shaped by the trauma of her childhood harassment. Sugawara became part of a theater company where she endured sexual harassment, an experience that marked her beauty at a specific juncture in her life – the innocence and tidiness of her childhood. Her assailant never saw her as a woman because he was fixated on the specter of childlike beauty that would vanish if he acknowledged her as such.

Sugawara interpreted her life and beauty through the lens of this temporary state of her body. Her heart grew cold, and she became a frivolous being. Her desire to experience intimacy before dying served as evidence to herself that she had transcended this trauma. For her, engaging in sexual activity represented a journey into adulthood, shedding the remnants of her childish state. Becoming an adult would liberate her from the constraints of her beauty, which was tied to an ephemeral moment in time.

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