Demian Syndrome
The Demian Syndrome ( Japanese デ ミ ア ン 症候群 , Demian Shōkōgun ) is a manga series by the Japanese illustrator Mamiya Oki ( 沖 麻 実 也 ), which has been published since 1999 and has so far comprised around 900 pages. The Shōnen-ai -Manga is about the slowly developing love between two students.
action
Joichiro Takayama ( 高山 城 一郎 , Takayama Jōichirō ) is returning to Japan after a four-year stay in the United States due to the separation of his parents and his father's job. There he meets the boy Takashi Azuma ( 東 崇 ) again in the boarding school of the Johoku High School , with whom he used to be close friends and now shares a room. But Takashi is unfriendly and cool. Nevertheless, he tries to revive the old friendship. The book Demian by Hermann Hesse , which was dealt with in literature class, is the first that both are interested in, and Joichiro discovers parallels to his situation in it.
In his quest for Takashi, Joichiro comes into conflict with Yuki, one of Takashi's possessions, and he takes help from former classmate Kobayashi. During Yuki's pranks, Joichiro falls from the roof of the residential complex, but only breaks his leg. From then on, Takashi takes care of him more, the two grow closer and he also learns of Joichiro's traumatic experiences during a rampage at his school in the USA. Eventually it is revealed that Takashi has long been in love with Joichiro and they are soon sleeping together.
But after Takashi has confessed to his feelings, he still cannot open up completely and keeps pulling back. Soon the rooms of the boarding school will be redistributed and both are now housed in different rooms. Still, Joichiro tries to spend as much time with Takashi as possible.
publication
The Demian syndrome has appeared in Japan since 1999 as a sequel story in the manga magazine Chara , which appears in the even months and is devoted to shōnen-ai mangas. The magazine's publisher, Tokuma Shoten , also publishes the manga in anthologies, seven of which have so far been published.
The Taiwanese publisher Tong Li has been publishing the manga in Chinese since February 2001. A German version has been published by Carlsen Verlag since September 2006 . All seven volumes to date are available in German.
reception
According to Christel Scheja from Splashcomics, the plot corresponds to the typical development of the Shōnen-ai genre, in which one of the two protagonists is initially dismissive and “the shell of one is only cracked open”. The artist succeeds in introducing the protagonists and the situation well. The plot is kept realistic, develops slowly and is initially more about friendship than about passion and desire. The drawings are rich in detail, lively, elegant and playful. The last volume shows a break in the style of drawing and narration, the drawings are less fine and the relationship between the characters changes greatly, the problems become "more tangible and realistic". Nevertheless, the plot is very protracted in the further course.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The first volume at books.com.tw ( Memento of the original from May 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Review by Splashcomics of Volume 1, by Christel Scheja
- ↑ Review by Splashcomics for Volume 4, by Christel Scheja
- ↑ Review by Splashcomics of Volume 5, by Christel Scheja
