Metamorphosis

Title: Metamorphosis
Author: Shindo L
First Published: July 26, 2013
Publisher: FAKKU
Pages: 250
Genre: Coming of Age, Drama, Erotic Horror, Hentai, Horror
Format: Web
Source: Web
Rating:


Synopsis:

Having just graduated from school, Saki realized she never made a single friend over those years. Not wanting to be forever alone, she remodels her looks and personality for a fresh debut. She's instantly sees a change on how her classmates treat her and it appears as if everything is finally going her way. Saki's about to get more than she bargained for when a chance encounter spirals her life out of control and breaks it in ways she could never imagine.

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Review

Metamorphosis is one of the most notorious hentai manga out there and for a while, it seems like everyone was talking about it, and for good reason. Henshin, otherwise known as Emergence, is the story of a nerdy young girl’s high school debut going horribly, terribly wrong. The story follows Saki on her messy path to adulthood in a vile, modern society and her journey is oppressively dark.

Saki is a naive young girl that just wants to fit in and finds herself drawn into a world of drugs, sex addiction, and prostitution. Saki’s loss of innocence at the hands of the people around her causes her to lose her identity and she descends gradually to the darkest places imaginable. She falls further and further into a life that she doesn’t want as she loses the support of the people around her. Metamorphosis tackles the tragedy of victims that fall between the cracks.

Now this story is still hentai, so the sex is graphic and extreme. The story requires a certain suspension of belief of the insane scenarios that Saki ends up in one after the other. Literally, every other person in this story is despicable and one abuse after the next is layered on with every interaction that Saki has with others. There is still value to the horrors that Saki experiences because there are pieces that ring true to actual victims of abuse.

I think it’s interesting that the author made note that when choosing the official English title for this manga, Metamorphosis was selected because the author was inspired by Kafka and his existentialist classic, The Metamorphosis. When I thought about it, I could see the similarities. Both pieces feature the downfall of a character and the tragedy of life without empathy. How quickly a person can go from being a regular member of society to becoming a reviled burden of that same society is a common theme.

Do I recommend this manga to anyone? Absolutely not, especially for those that are sensitive to extreme sexual abuse. But did I enjoy it? I did, and I liked that the story asks the reader about the value of empathy, and if those that are suffering and at the lowest of the low are still human.

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