o maidens in your savage season vol 1 by Mari Okada

Illustrated by Nao Emoto

Five high school girls comprise the school’s Literature Club, where they read deep, intellectual books, but always there seems to be references to or full on scenes of sexual coupling. This strikes each of the club members fairly differently. You’ve got the prude who is very vocal about not liking these scenes, the budding writer who wants to understand coupling more so she can include them in her manuscripts, the hot girl who wouldn’t mind some sexual coupling of her own, and two friends who seem to be on the same wavelength - it’s just not something they’re interested in right now. That is until Kazusa walks in on her hot neighbor boy doing something naughty, then sex seems to be all around her. Is she really as ambivalent about the whole thing, or is she as intrigued as some of her classmates?

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This coming-of-age story focuses much on the sexual awakening that is ever present in the teenage years, but it does so with a little more delicacy than some other titles. Combining societal pressures to have or to not have sex, plus the frequent conversations and peer-pressures from classmates, this is a pretty true-to-form book analyzing the difficult landscape teens go through as their bodies - and minds - change.

Emoto's illustrations are a little more the watercolor-type style that makes use of shades for backgrounds and a little less detail in scenery and characters. There are some moments that are incredibly detailed, so it isn't all ephemerial.

The publisher rates this for Older Teen (16+), which is appropriate. Aside from the multitude of conversations about sex, there is a scene of masterbation and a sex scene is on the computer screen during that moment, but no bits from anyone are shown on page.

Sara’s Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 10-12

Publisher: Kodansha
Publication Date: April 23, 2019​
ISBN: 9781632368188 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 8/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, School Age, Friendship