My Childhood Friend Tied Me Down (Adult Content)

So Eoghan's taken on a brave new project in exploring doujin, an area I've never had much interest in despite seeing copious saucy doujin shops dotted around Akihabara on my numerous visits. Honestly I think I've always been too embarrassed to explore the hentai genre, but rather than let Eoghan take it on alone, I decided to pop over to Irodori and try to select the mildest title I could find in order to break my proverbial doujin cherry.

Now, I've seen sex in manga before, but generally it wasn't graphic enough to show anything male in detail, so let's not pretend I'm some closeted virgin, but from what little I've seen it's never really appealed. So to get some frame of reference I first looked at a couple of the free chapters on the Irodori site, including My Harem in another World. This was pretty mindless sex with three randy fantasy stereotypes across almost every page and didn't have much of a story, which was disappointing from a critical standpoint and honestly a bit much for my tastes. It wasn't sexy so much as just pure filth, but if that's your bag then this is probably one for you, however I now know what to avoid for myself. Nipples on the cover is probably a good clue.

My Childhood Friend Has Me Tied Down had probably the mildest cover, with no nudity and a description that included "romance", which sounded sweet. My wife made me watch 50 Shades of Grey (which was bloody awful, sorry ladies no man likes this horrendously unerotic film) and that's supposed to be all dom and sub themed, so something with more heart appealed to me.

Ayu Sato is a 27 year-old office worker who has never had a boyfriend, preferring instead to dote on her childhood friend, literary genius Yusuke Kojima, 8 years her junior. Growing frustrated at being treated like a younger brother, Yusuke decides to ask Ayu to help him research a book, which involves tying her up and having his way with her. 

The book lays out its backstory over around 8 pages of what I'd consider pretty normal shoujo manga, with Ayu earnestly doting on the handsome lad oblivious to his desire for her. Taking aside the fact that no girl unwillingly gets undressed to be tied up, the book draws a fine line between willing submission and something a bit less savoury, but this is a hentai doujin and it treads just the right side of things, with Ayu's body betraying her more carnal desires even when she's unsure of how she's allowed herself to get into this position. Most of the dialogue is internal for both of them sharing their doubts and underlying attraction for each other, wondering how far they dare push things.

I actually liked the story with both characters coming across as more than just two-dimensional sex machines - Ayu is naive and unsure of herself, while Yusuke is introverted and has trouble communicating outside of his writing. The idea of each of them pushing their boundaries feels familiar - as a younger man finding his way around the dating landscape, it was a careful process to assess and communicate sexual desires without crossing lines or being pushy, so watching a young couple experiment is actually quite sweet and nostalgic.

Yes, the sex is the draw, but honestly there's some excellent characterisation here too.

The artwork by Tofu is sharp and interesting, with plenty of jaunty angles once things get heated. I hadn't realised that doujin got quite so graphic as to show - almost like a scientific book - diagrams of what's happening internally, but it was well paced and ramped up the tension between the characters as they learned about each other's bodies - regardless of what the art was showing, the dialogue between the two felt earnest and authentic.

The second chapter moves things on and we see how they're starting to settle as a couple, with Yusuke becoming more possessive and clingy, while Ayu keeps him in line as best she can. I was surprised to see the book continue beyond the first chapter, but it was enjoyable seeing some character growth.

Honestly, if a version of the story were released with the sex toned down, I'd really enjoy reading about the characters as they grow together as a couple, perhaps involving some additional supporting characters into the mix and having a saucy (if not downright hentai) longer running series. As much as I enjoyed long running romance manga when I was younger, these days I'm more interested in what happens after that first kiss, and with Ayu and Yusuke I think I'd enjoy following along beyond their first encounter.

So can I recommend the title as a solid introduction to the genre? Yes, I suppose I can, it may not have much plot but it has plenty of emotion and character work that makes each participant more than just a horny stereotype or fantasy character getting down and dirty for the sake of it. Yusuke even uses the "L" word multiple times and tells her he doesn't mind if she gets pregnant, which is quite the commitment. Having seen how depraved the genre can get via the sample I read before this, I can say with some certainty it's not all to my taste, but romance with some naughtiness works pretty well.