Just finished reading Apollo's Song
And what do I have to say about it, aside from "I COULD NOT STOP READING, it was that good"?
On the other hand, I'm very amused by how Hiromi is an adult Melmo.
Melmo always in Tezuka's sex education works? xD;
First the Marvelous Melmo anime (moreso than the manga) and now this?
And it is sort of a sex ed manga, Tezuka just manages to craft such a good story, you kind of forget that. Ahaha, the first few pages are really something, though... it's conception. Anthropomorphized and dramatized. It's morbid and depressing, but also really funny and interesting.
That isn't to say it's problem free. Please note that this work is ANCIENT. Tezuka's manga is old. The characters are products of their time. This is around four decades old. Keep that in mind, it will help deal with the silly things like Hiromi giving up marathon running because it's "bad for women's bodies" (it's pretty much equally bad for men and women's bodies... it's too much for human bodies in general!).
The other problem would have to be that it's heteronormative. I guess because it's Shogo's story and he only falls for women... that and the manga focuses on love between men and women.
Er, it can also be quite triggering, so I'll have to warn for attempted sexual assault (there's at least two women who try to force themselves on Shogo and Shogo witnesses some Nazi soldiers trying to rape a Jewish girl- did I mention the Nazis? The first trial of love takes place during the Holocaust).
I don't even know what to label this, but a Queen takes Shogo and another human girl as a slave in a dystopian future and tries to force them to show her "the act of love" (forced exhibitionism? I don't even know) because it is the only thing those artificial beings cannot reproduce. Shogo refuses to do, as does the girl, and they're punished for it. Child abuse and neglect (under the cut, there's a scene where Shogo's mother beats him with a broomstick... )
Violence... Shogo's reaction to seeing anyone in love.
Oh, and scenes of cruelty to animals. Mainly, Shogo killing them in violent ways. Tezuka's style makes it a bit easier to bear, since it's fairly cartoony and not too detailed, but still! Could be disturbing for some. It's meant to be disturbing, actually.
Oh, and it's not hentai. There are suggestive scenes and a LOT of nudity, but nothing more than that. Sorry to disappoint, but even the nudity is a step above Barbie and Ken dolls, and it's still very undetailed and in a slightly more mature version of Tezuka's cutesy kids manga style.
It's kind of a mess when it comes to consent, but Shogo did not have the healthiest upbringing when it comes to this sort of thing, so I thought it was realistic that he went about things in a bit of a bratty, self-entitled way, at least initially. He's also younger than Hiromi, so that definitely changes the balance of power in their relationship, aside from the fact that she's his coach. He pesters her for a kiss and steals her clothes (leaving his behind, so she has to wear them), yes, but I don't think it's a fair comparision to the above events, considering the circumstances... ^^;;
Also, Hiromi is totally awesome, as expected someone played by Melmo! ♥ ♥ ♥
That and you really shouldn't take everything Shogo says at face value. Take it in the context of the story.
Also, wow, I was surprised by how long it took Shogo to develop! Far more realistic than many stories in which it's just one event that changes a character's entire perspective, which doesn't happen anywhere near as often in the real world. I really liked that it didn't take just one trial of love, or two, to rid him of the hatred he had for love all his life.
Even if it did make me feel like everything was hopeless and pointless at times.
"Oh, look, a mating pair of butterflies! Shogo, now that you've felt love, you won't crush them, ri--"
"Oh. Well. >_>"
I did notice he didn't crush one while forcing the other to watch, though, so that's an improvement over how he treated those birds before.
He crushed them both at the same time.
... I think he got his wires crossed a bit by that early experience, though. The nymphomaniac pouncing on him wasn't much help either. ^^;;
I wanted to facepalm when he tried to kiss his mother.
Shogo has issues with love. Obviously.
The ending was so sweet, even if he'll have to endure this for eternity. ;_; At least Hiromi would always be there.
I really loved his character development.
Also, I find his design and the way Tezuka draws him fascinating. Hiromi and her would-have-been husband always called him a boy. He's meant to be quite young and you can see that.
He has a very boyish look that's almost cute. He reminds me of a slightly older Dororo with that hairstyle! But, at the same time, without changing his design, Tezuka can make him look absolutely terrifying and the furthest thing from cute just by changing his expression.
The resulting difference is really vast!
I found that very impressive somehow.
Shogo as a boy with his charming mother on the left, Dororo with his... er, demon not-mother on the right.