Octave: Manga Review

Entry posted by Ranzo February 26, 2018

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Octave Review

To Be Someone (Didn't We Have a Nice Time)

(For a change of pace I have decided to review a manga this time around. Hopefully, the Fuwa Gods will not strike me down for this transgression. If they end up doing so be sure to honor me like the hero I have always been. You know I deserve it.)

The Setup

Who doesn't dream of greatness, of achieving fame, wealth, and adoration? The dream of being someone, to be admired and known for what you have achieved. Countless lives have been spent in pursuit of that aim, with a precious few actually reaching that mantle. Yukino Miyashita, had a quick taste of that fame that so many hunger for when she joined the idol group She'sN. Unfortunately for her, that moment in the spotlight turned out to be exactly that, and both the group and her dreams proved to be short lived. She left the hustle and bustle of Tokyo back to her quiet hometown, back to a high school that did not understand and assumed too much. Yukino, unable to endure the rumors and slander was forced to drop out. Now at eighteen years of age she decides to return to Tokyo to be a talent manager. All she wants is to regain some of her lost pride and find a boyfriend. Her life takes a turn though when she becomes involved with the beautiful Iwai Setsuko.

The Story

With yuri themed media it seems that a lot of it simply revolves around cute girls being cute. Usually, it is set in a all girls high school with nary a male face to be seen. The girls are free to pursue romance and love for the sake of love without a care to spare. Most of the time they are free from the unfortunate hardships that often accompany the simple act of romantically pursing the same sex. This isn't a bad thing in fact it is one reason I like the genre as much as I do. Sometimes though it gets kind of repetitive and I find myself wanting something a little more realistic, something with more bite to it. Octave, written by Akiyama Haru proves to be the very thing that I was looking for.

This is not a cutesy lovey, dovey tale. There is a lot of weighty themes present in Octave; depression, loneliness, judgment, jealousy, it's all present here.

The romance in Octave feels organic, and believable without any trite cliche's or nonsense. There is a aching tenderness to it that is quite wonderful. The sex, which is prevalent throughout the manga is very passionate yet restrained. It's not used in a exploitative way and it displays the need the two feel for each other. There is a lot of drama in this story and some of the time it can come across as being overtly melodramatic but for the most part it feels grounded. It gives the characters the ability to grow from out of a many of these unfortunate experiences. Which brings me to the characters.

(Setsuko up top, Yukino Bottom)

The Characters

Both Yukino and Setsuko make a great pair and when they are together they complement each other well. Setsuko is probably my favorite character in Octave, she has a very calm and cool headed demeanor and I was instantly charmed by her. Like Yukino she has had a moment in the limelight, which she has been able to turn into a career as a freelance composer. Setsuko is a alluring, dependable, and loyal woman. Despite that, she is not without her faults. At first Setsuko just sees Yukino as a lonely girl that is looking for affection. This causes some problems down the line for their relationship. Setsuko occasionally says the wrong thing, or makes a lapse of judgment, but for the most part she is a very stable character. Yukino on the other hand, is quite the opposite. She constantly blurts out the wrong thing or makes bad judgment calls. For the most part, it feels natural for her character but it can feel excessive at times. She is a very lonely, very morose character. I wouldn't say she is broken but she was definitely knocked down by her experiences. Her story is all about her trying to pick herself up again. She cries a lot, and there were a few times that her angsty whining really annoyed me, so much so that I just wanted to shake her. Thankfully, she does show a remarkable amount of growth throughout the story. I found myself feeling sympathetic to her plight. I often second guess myself or others and I'm fantastic at assuming the worst, and taking things the wrong way. I'm also overly concerned with what people might say about me when I'm not around. Yukino's depression felt real and I could relate. Still it's a real toss up if you'd like her character or not, and that's another reason I enjoyed her. She is a challenging character. She is not some sweet moeblob that was birthed out of sea foam. It is important to also note that Yukino is only eighteen, and this is her first romantic relationship. It is easy to make dumb decisions and have crippling self doubt at that age. Setsuko, meanwhile, has the advantage of being several years older than Yukino and of having more life experience because of it. There are also a surprisingly large cast of side characters, both male and female, that make up the story as well. Some of them are more well developed than others and for the most part they are able to offer their perspectives, which frequently crash against Yukino's often misguided perceptions.

(Love That Lovage, Baby)

Final Thoughts

I loved this manga, it felt new and fresh to me. There are a few times that the romance in the manga and visual novels that I have read and played felt overtly idealistic, and simplistic. In those eternal love seems self assured and the relationship trials that they must go through are virtually nonexistent. I didn't feel that way with Octave. One small criticism I have for it however, is that the art was not as detailed as I was accustomed to. It did it's job but I was not blown away by it. Overall, it was a wonderful experience and I hope that this has a picked up for a English release at some point in time because I think it deserves to be read by a large audience. There is a growing amount of yuri themed manga that has had it's time time in the sun and so to does Octave. It is a great story of a lonely pair growing together, through each other.