Host Wants Barista
About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Kabukicho Bad Trip: Ikeda and Rio. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to implied incest (not between the main couple), sexual assault, strained familial relationships, excessive drinking, obsession, perceived cheating, mental illness/PTSD, underage smoking, homomisia, bullying, suicidal ideation, child abandonment, and discussions on body weight, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Ikeda is the manager of a cafe. Though he comes off as lighthearted and kind at work, beneath the surface is someone haunted by his past. Ikeda is constantly looking for someone, an old schoolmate whom he fell in love with, only to be horribly betrayed. Though Ikeda should hate him, part of him can’t help but still feel some sense of longing for him all the same. This longing isn’t helped by the constant presence of a host at his cafe named Rio.
Rio initially dropped in because Ikeda’s coworker was once a host, but now Rio seems to only come by to torment Ikeda. Ikeda isn’t sure what to do about him, but he can’t seem to bring himself to turn Rio away. Eventually, this leads to them hanging out at Rio’s place, and though Ikeda finds things that should scare him off, it only spurns him on. What is Rio hiding beneath his sultry host facade? And is he the key to Ikeda’s freedom from his past?
Review:
There’s something about the art in this one that feels completely different from its predecessor, Kabukicho Bad Trip, and I don’t mean it in a good way. I’d actually say the art is much less consistent and, in turn, far worse in this title, which is a major bummer. The previous series was absolutely stunning, so the bar was super high this time around, and I don’t think it came even close to reaching it. That doesn’t mean the art is bad, but it certainly isn’t on the same level as Kabukicho Bad Trip. It actually reminds me of titles by Cho Sangduck (Wonna Do It?!). It’s much more on the cartoony side, which isn’t always bad, but not what I expected from this title.
Unfortunately, the story is also a bit of a miss. The supernatural element of the first was a really interesting part that I was expecting to make either a reappearance or take some other form. But lo, it’s nowhere to be found (minus a brief reference through a cameo). To me, this added to the distance between the two titles, which was very disappointing. However, having read the whole thing and seen what they were trying to achieve, having a supernatural element would’ve probably made this worse. It just didn’t have the room to fit in anything else in this single-volume title.
And let’s get into what it did try to fit into this story. We have Ikeda, who is haunted by the broken friendship he had with his crush. This is a very painful memory, one that has caused Ikeda to stall, forever feeling like a bullied child, much like he was when he confessed his love to the classmate he’s forever searching for. But maybe even more painful and traumatizing is Rio’s past, which is characterized by his parent’s abandonment and then his brother’s inappropriate touching. Though Rio fears his brother, he fears abandonment more, so he ultimately puts himself down to avoid losing what few connections he has. These are both compelling story elements, neither of which is explored in meaningful ways. We see them occur, we see how they affect our main characters, but both are suddenly resolved because of love. It’s very disappointing.
This is especially true when these two don’t feel like they’re really in love. With so much going on, the romance takes a backseat, leaving their relationship feeling just as hollow as every other aspect of this story. That’s not to say there aren’t strong points. The sexy time is very pretty and super spicy, there are some very emotional and powerful panels, and I do think their ultimate confessions to each other is super romantic, but all of these things are cobbled together with super weak narrative strings. It just left me feeling wanting in the worst way by the end.
Results:
To be honest, I was pretty harsh on this one. The bar was just so high with its predecessor that I expected something identically as good. I didn’t want a one-for-one retelling or anything like that, but I was hoping for that intense romance from the first. This tries really hard to explore some powerful elements, but it’s just too short to get into the nitty-gritty, leaving it feeling half-baked and hollow. Getting some of that supernatural stuff in there from the first would’ve also tied them together a bit more, but here we are. Ultimately, this was a miss for me.
Have you read Kabukicho Bad Trip: Ikeda and Rio? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!