Twelve Year Olds and Smut

So I usually read my manga online because I'm a cheapskate college student unlike my dear friend, sylphalchemist, who buys her books to review, takes the pictures herself, and translates them (yeah she's a badass). And I find I don't really pay attention to the tags attached to Shoujo. Out of all the past manga I've reviewed, only Crush on You was tagged with Shounen Ai. Apparently I have the instincts of a BL hound dog. I sniff that shit out.

I sat down, pondering what manga I've read that doesn't have BL, and I realized that the most ridiculous ones that belong to this blog are the ones that do. This does not include crossdressing heroines with mistaken BL, the gay side characters, and BL-centric shoujos. There's just something about merging heroines with BL that turns it into a sixty minute awkward pause where you try to stop, but you can't because like a common bystander, you want to watch that train wreak hit the wall.

Renai Shinjuu is one such manga. I read it earlier this year probably while waiting for a friend (the kind who you've hung out with but haven't fully let out all your inner nerd). And it was bad. That friendship didn't last long. Oh and manga was terrible.

Granted, the author wasn't a pedo and luckily there were no soul-damning scenes, but it opens to the two main characters frenching. Two main characters who are also twelve years old. And reading this the second time around, I can only hope that I wasn't paying attention the first time because my mind was dead from exams.

Ren and Runa, already in their rebellious stage, sneak around to kiss even though Runa's afraid her mom would find out. She thinks what they're doing is so bad that she tells Ren about it during his basketball game.

H'okay, Mr. Twelve Year Old and Future Rapist.

Then he slam dunks a basketball (which is highly unrealistic unless the net's only five feet off the ground or he's got Flubber in his shoes) and tells Runa he loves her. And that's good enough for Runa! They go make out some more on the school roof top. Runa's mom shows up to break it up.

Runa's mom: Da hell, you guys are still children! Come on, Runa! Get away from that boy. We're leaving! Both of you are playing a dangerous game!
Runa: But I want to do bad things with Ren.

And if Runa's mom wasn't having a heart attack right now, Ren gives Runa's mom the stink eye. "Do you want to know whether or not this is a game? I will show you! Close your eyes, Runa." And they jump off the roof.

"Or for the love of--you stupid children! Red Bull does not give you wings!"

Runa wakes up in the hospital. Her parents are understandably very angry and freaking out. Doctor's smiling, "Good thing that grass cushioned her fall." Immediately, Runa asks where Ren is. Her mom snaps. "You love him that much? You want to see your mom die? That's it! You want to see your mom die!" And Runa's dad has to calm her down. Runa cries but says nothing.

She feels bad for making her mom cry. But later, slips out of her room to find Ren, see if he's doing okay because it looks like he hit the ground first. And she eventually she does find his room.

That moon is humongous! Someone call NASA. It's time to Instagram!

Runa's all sorts of confused. Dude's got the same face as her suicidal boyfriend.

Dude with same face as Ren who I'd assume was his twin if this wasn't Shoujo: Your mother's wrong, Runa. Ren's totally serious about you. I mean, he just tried to commit a lover's suicide. Romeo and Juliet crap. We're all only twelve but if jumping off the roof doesn't spell love, I don't know what does.

Runa hugs her bunny tighter.

Hoping he's not an evil clone dude: Oh and btw, I love Ren more than you do and don't want to be separated from him. If he dies, I die. So fuq you, I won't let you have him at any cost!

Runa cries because she's twelve and a typical Shoujo heroine. And the Ren look alike apologizes for scaring her (dear god, he's one of those characters who is so obviously not right in the head), and explains that since Ren has a leg fracture, he'll be staying at the hospital for a while. But don't worry, he'll be there to take care of him.

First chapter and already into twelve year old gay incest.

Runa calls her dad on the phone because there's a "devil" who looks just like Ren in his room. Dad's probably shaking his head, tells her to calm down and that her mom's coming by to see her. He'll come by to see Runa later too. Runa tells him to hurry because she's worried about her mom and Ren.

Then this shit happens:

But--your daughter's not even dead yet!

I've done a lot of crap that has given my mom her beautiful silver mane and have heard "You're killing me" quite a number of times. But I can't ever imagine a parent going through with something like this. Especially in front of her twelve year old daughter. A girl who impulsively decided to jump off the roof because her boyfriend said so.

Scene switches back to Ren and his twin whose name turns out to be Takumi. He wakes up and Takumi's so happy that he's conscious that he hugs and kisses him. In the mouth. Wow. Then there's a page where it contrasts the incest panel and Runa crying over her mother's body. Mom gets her own hospital room and apologizes for traumatizing her daughter. And then dad pulls the weirdest ultimatum--who does she prefer, her parents or Ren? The hell?

She's twelve and her mom just tried to commit suicide. She chooses her parents. Dad's happy. "Oh don't worry, we're going to leave this city and forget about everything." While Runa's reminiscing about all the good times she had with Ren, Ren rolls by in his wheelchair. He's sorry for what happened. He did it because he's crazy for her (I think he's just crazy). Dad interrupts them.

"Get back demon spawn! Crawl back into your pig mother's womb!"

Her dad demands that Ren stay out of their lives for good. And Takumi pops in to wheelchair his brother away. "Sorry for the trouble my brother's caused. I'll make sure to keep them separated as well." Runa and her father turn to leave.

But wait! Ren dramatically tries to leap out of his wheelchair. Takumi holds him back. Two nurses come over to stop the two from fighting. Runa tries to go back to Ren but her father scoops her in his arms and walks away. Ren's crying and Takumi has the scariest troll face.

"This is what happens when you eat hospital jello!"

And this is about where I stopped the first time I read this. It fast forwards to high school where Runa's having sex with her new boyfriend, and later scolding her boyfriend for almost making them late for school (it makes me wonder what the hell happened to her parents). And she discovers Ren transferred to her school.

I'm scolding my past self from five months ago. I don't think I read the summary. Or I was just really, really bored. Out of curiosity, I skipped around the manga. Like what happened to Ren's twin?

I get to a part where her female best friend is also "in love" with Runa (well that explains the shoujo ai tag) and she gets into a pretend relationship with Ren...I don't know anymore.

Some series you just have to close the tab as quickly as you can before you get sucked into reading stupidity for hours. Or get a life. Oh social life, how I miss you.

Credits: Sound of Jewels