Title: Sweet PoolsideAuthor: Shuzo Oshimi
First Published: January 1, 2004
Publisher: Vertical Comics
Pages: 176
Genre: Coming of Age, Ecchi, Shonen, Slice of Life
Format: Web
Source: Web
Rating:
Synopsis:
Middle school is hard enough without problems like these...
Toshihiko Ota is mocked by his peers for his smooth, hairless body, but his life changes forever when he meets a young woman in swim club with the opposite problem: Ayako Goto, poised for swim-meet glory but too ashamed of her body hair to compete. After Ota happens on her trying unsuccessfully to shave in the locker room, she comes to him with an astonishing request...!
Can they help each other find the confidence to embrace their own bodies?
This sweet yet erotic early work from psychosexual auteur Shuzo Oshimi (Blood on the Tracks, Flowers of Evil) is not your average tale of puppy love. A quiet story of budding sexuality, self-exploration, trust, and friendship, Sweet Poolside is ultimately one of Oshimi’s most focused and sincere works, as well as the basis for the live-action movie of the same name.
Get the Book: AmazonReview
Strange Poolside is a strange little manga. A teenage boy who hasn’t grown any body hair meets a girl who is embarrassed about her body hair, and the two form a friendship while shaving. It’s ridiculous, I know.
Ota can’t catch a break, as his hairlessness makes him a target for ridicule. Meanwhile, Ayako actually has a normal amount of body hair, but like many teen girls is embarrassed by it, and she struggles to shave without nicking herself before giving in and asking for help. This manga is aimed at teen boys, so horny nonsense ensues, but I did find the predicaments of both teens to be relatable, and it made me think of my own experience as a tween.
In middle school my mother had warned me against shaving so that my hair wouldn’t grow thick and painful like hers and encouraged me to preserve my baby soft hair for as long as I could. I found myself the target of a boy who decided to tease me mercilessly in the middle of class after he spotted some armpit hair. I was so humiliated I went home and took my dad’s razor to shave my armpits.
I appreciated the sincere message about body positivity underneath all of the silly and ecchi aspects of the story. Body hair is natural and beautiful, and people grow at different rates. Puberty is at times scary and uncomfortable, teens are horny and stupid, and feeling confident in one’s own body is a hurdle for everyone. This isn’t my favorite manga by Shuzo Oshimi, but he manages to make an awkward story about puberty sweet.
Quote
“Even though our genders are different, Gotou and I might actually be similar…”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About Shuzo Oshimi
Shuzo Oshimi is a Japanese manga artist who publishes works primarily for Kodansha. He made his debut with Superfly in Kodansha’s Monthly Shōnen Magazine. He is best known for his manga Drifting Net Cafe, The Flowers of Evil and Happiness. His works have been adapted into many different media including television drama, anime, and live-action film. In 2001, he won the Tetsuya Chiba Award.
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