Immoral Darkness -- Miyu Matsuda

This is definitely an 18+ explicit content type thing.

Dear Readers, I do not know if M likes to read light novels, but I love to read light novels, maybe as much as I like to read manga. Did I say that? Yes, I did.

When it comes to these things I'm kind of like a housebound middle aged bifocal sporting hickerbilly, with a waterbed covered in stuffed animals holding heartshaped pillows, Nascar playing softly in the background, a bag of Cheetos and a stack of bodice rippers so high you can't see over them.

I'm simple. I like words; I like reading; I like yaoi. When I want to escape, give me an afternoon, a mug of decaf, and a sweet light yaoi novel with a happy ending, and I'm all set.

What sets light yaoi novels apart than say common every day truck stop erotica or rough trade? Well, funny you should ask, Dear Reader. A light yaoi novel should contain all the elements of a yaoi manga, unrequited love, romance, emotionally tortured bishounen, etc. It should leave a girl feeling all squee and starry eyed, and it's often a little more graphic than a manga, but less graphic than erotica/porn. However, that doesn't mean that some, if not many of these books are just poorly translated, fetish laced pornography that leaves one feeling a little dirty inside.

So, let me tell you a tale, Dear Readers, of the baddest, worst, most detestable light novel in my collection: Immoral Darkness. I would offer it as a prize for anyone requesting a review of an anime or manga, but I'm afraid some state or federal laws might prevent its transport via post. In any case, I did buy it at Borders (RIP), and it was hanging out, explicit content warning and all, next to a stack of Fruits Baskets and FCCL manga.

Some things do belong in a case, or in a brownpaper bag, or in the 50 cent pile at the local Velvet Touch (Ha ha ha ha, do I have a story about that), and this is one of those books. Normally, I don't condone book burning, but this would make wonderful kindling.

Shiina Jun is a highschool kid with some family problems. Mainly, his family ignores him in almost a torturous way. He lives in their house, but his mother, father and brother don't acknowledge him except to make him feel like crap. They often take trips without him and act unfairly toward him. Shiina is lonely, and really mind-f*cked. He sleeps with older women for money after school, where he is also lonely and ostracized.

Shiina has a teacher, Sasaqawa Tetsuya. He's a dirty thug. His clothes are always unclean, and he doesn't have good hygiene. He also torments Shiina when he is in his class. There's nothing good about him.

One day Shiina is waiting for a train, and these kids on the platform start messing with him. This guy appears and "saves" him. The guy is Sasagawa. Sasagawa lures Shiina into one of the bathrooms where he sexually assaults him.

Now let's stop here. I'm just not a fan of noncon. It's a horrible attempt to make rape sexy, and rape is not sexy.

Basically, you have this story about this really broken kid, who has a teacher in a position of authority who is years older and assaults him. This is just the beginning of the story, which gets worse and worse and worse, and involves, I'm not kidding, scenes in Sasagawa's dirty old man kidnapper type van and the revelation that not only is he sleeping with high school age Shiina, he is also doing a fourteen-year-old girl because "normal women don't satisfy him." And, he's supposed to be the big love interest in the story. It's written in a way where you feel like you should be rooting for Shiina and Sasagawa, but I just couldn't. In fact, I kept reading, hoping that Sasagawa would get shot or something and Shiina would get some therapy and love from someone with a f*cking heart. But, that does not happen.

I feel so dirty for having read this. The book cover says, this is a "must-read!" But I say, this is a must toss on top of the fire and bust out some smores the next time I go camping type of book. Ugg.