IN THE END Manga by Pink Psycho(2008).
© Tokyopop
Title: In The End
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Story and Art By: Pink Psycho
Publisher: Tokyopop
Price: $9.99
IN THE END
By: Nadia OxfordDate: Sunday, February 24, 2008
For better or worse, the manga scene has gone global. Creating pocket-sized comics with big ambitions is not exclusively the domain of Japan anymore. In The End, a manga put together by a collaborative duo called Pink Psycho, is a product of Germany, though the lanky character designs and the romantic themes are very inspired. But in the end (ha ha), the characters' vividly detailed punk-rock outfits can't disguise the fact that the story is as one-dimensional as the paper it's printed on.
Teenage schoolboy Kaito is sulky and sodden with issues. He hates himself, he hates his family, his family hates him, and he'd be happy to vanish and rid the world of his brooding presence. That all changes (a little) when one of his teachers, Ren Ando, takes an interest in the boy's personal life. Ren slowly gets Kaito to open his troubled heart to him, and the two become a romantic couple.
The typical roadblocks bar Kaito and Ren's road to true happiness: Kaito's parents are cold but meddling nonetheless. Ren has a shrewd wife who knows her husband's true nature, and Kaito's school isn't so hot over the idea of a teacher sleeping with a same-sex student. Nothing in the story is very surprising, and what's more, nothing is resolved that makes Kaito grow as a character. The only potentially interesting variable is Ren Ando's wife, but her role inevitably fizzles too.
In The End's artwork is nicely done, even if the bishounen style is overdone to the point that the male characters all look anemic. There's some incredible detail paid to the clothing designs, with every day and every situation yielding a new outfit for Kaito (who is very passionate about his coverings). It would have been nice to see the same attention paid to the manga's writing; a story about a teacher living with a student should be controversial, not boring. None of the characters grow, evolve or mature considerably, and all that's left in the end is Kaito talking about how much he hates himself and everyone around him. You can go on the Internet to read stuff like that. In The End retails for $9.99.
