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If the focus of the Mainichi Seiten! is the relationship between Taiga Obinata and Shuu Asuou, Kodomo wa tomaranai is about Yuuta Asuou (Shuu’s adopted son) and Mayumi Obinata (the youngest of Obinata family).

Tankoubon 1
Now that Shuu and Taiga are together, Mayumi no longer gets 100% attention of his elder brother. Due to change in room arrangement, Yuuta and Mayumi sleep in the same room–and the gap between Mayumi’s attitude at home and in school becomes even more and more obvious to Yuuta. In school Mayumi is a normal, above average student with a reasonable popularity. At home he’s almost completely different–very spoiled and attached to Taiga. He also addresses himself in third person (when in school he just uses the normal “ore”). In other words - like a small girl (he used to be dressed in girls’ clothing as a kid). Upon mentioning this gap in front of the Obinatas, Mayumi quietly tells him, “School is school. Home is home. Correct?”

Yuuta begins to suspect if Mayumi is a girl, since Mayumi always adamantly refuses to do anything that involves showing his upper body half. Another classmate of theirs, Kamio, shared Yuuta’s sentiment and, pushing it to the extreme, tried to take Mayumi’s shirt off by force. He failed–Mayumi hit Kamio with a rock.

Tankoubon 2
Yuuta hides Mayumi’s teddy bear, a precious gift from Taiga that Mayumi sleeps together with–Yuuta thinks it’s time Mayumi stops acting like a kid. In school, Kamio bugs Mayumi again about him refusing to take the swimming class. Provoked by some suggestive insults, Kamio grabs Mayumi–and rips his shirt off, showing numerous scars on Mayumi’s back for the whole class to see (Dumbfounded, Yuuta thinks, “Are you going to cry now, Mayumi?”). But Mayumi, smiling, only said, “Satisfied?” He grabs his ripped shirt, and goes out of the class. After warning Kamio not to lay a hand on Mayumi ever again, Yuuta goes after Mayumi.

Mayumi then tells Yuuta the story: While running after Taiga after Shima and Taiga had a big fight, Mayumi was left alone and lured by a pedophilic psychopath. Although Mayumi had smelled the danger, he followed so as to monopolize Taiga’s attention. Mayumi realises how unhealthy his attachment to his brother is, but he becomes even more afraid of losing Taiga’s attention now that he is with Shuu. As the two develop their relationship, now it’s Taiga’s turn to be queasy. And there’s also sexual problem since they’re living in a place where everyone can hear each other…

Kuroneko meeting room - Ninomiya Etsumi official website

Title: 子供は止まらない　(Kodomo wa tomaranai) 1
Mainichi Seiten series
Story: 菅野彰　(Akira Sugano)
Art: 二宮越美　(Etsumi Ninomiya)
ISBN: 4-19-960181-3
Publisher: Tokuma Shoten; Chara comics

Title: 子供は止まらない　(Kodomo wa tomaranai) 2
Mainichi Seiten series
Story: 菅野彰　(Akira Sugano)
Art: 二宮越美　(Etsumi Ninomiya)
ISBN: 4-19-960202-X
Publisher: Tokuma Shoten; Chara comics

Related reviews: comic, graphic novel, Japan, manga
Filed under: Japan, Ninomiya Etsumi, Sugano Akira, manga
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