Lose Toxic Job, Become NEET, Find Love
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Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series The Stranger in the Hoarding House. 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 toxic work environments, dangerous living situations (hoarding), invasion of privacy, depression, violence, blood, gossiping, prejudice, and strained familial relationships, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Kamakura’s job is toxic, to say the least. His boss constantly berates him, blames Kamakura for minor errors, and puts on a show in front of his coworkers. Eventually, it all becomes too much, and after Kamakura accidentally lets his own feelings be known, which results in violence from his boss, Kamakura is left unemployed. Depressed and alone at home, he slowly fills his room with trash and recedes into depression. He is all too content to simply rot away this way until a baseball goes through his window.
A stranger, who also turns out to be Kamakura’s neighbor, informs the landlord about the broken window. When they receive no response at the front door, the stranger decides to climb in through the broken window. There, Kamakura’s rot and trash are exposed. The landlord is on the cusp of evicting him, but the neighbor, Katsuyoshi, offers to help clean it up instead. Kamakura is mortified, but Katsuyoshi is more than he can handle, and he ends up falling in line with whatever Katsuyoshi commands. So, while the cleaning is underway, neighbors end up living together in the short term.
And kindness quickly becomes attraction.
Review:
The art in this is cute, but it’s not my favorite. Admittedly, I was already anticipating not liking the art all that much. There’s something about it that reminds me of Fields of Mistria. While I do love that game, the nostalgic style featuring very smoothed-out and rounded-edge faces isn’t my favorite thing in the world. It’s more tolerable in a game where the most you see is the little character portraits during conversations, but in a full manga, it’s less so. I especially hate Katsuyoshi, particularly his haircut. Spiky haircuts are hit or miss for me, and he was a miss. Kamakura is much cuter, and I am pretty picky with art, so take all of my complaints here with a chunky grain of salt. It’s a fine art style, just not my preference.
Now, for the story. I love a good, depressing hikikomori story. As someone who works remotely and has spent months without leaving my house for more than a quick grocery trip, I relate heavily to the feeling of being simultaneously trapped at home, but being afraid of leaving. Home is safe, comfortable, and familiar, but it can quickly become a prison, and Kamakura falls into that trap, feeling ashamed, embarrassed, and less-than because of losing his job. However, while this is certainly set up to be a painful story, it is much more lighthearted than initially presented.
Honestly, this was a really refreshing take. Most of the stories I’ve read that feature hikikomori are intensely depressing. One of my favorites, Home Alone Together, is a perfect representation of that, and while I love the painful depictions, it’s nice to see something different. I think part of that is due to the length, which is limited to a single volume. That forces the plot to move quickly, and, as a result, transition from pain and anguish into hope almost immediately. This might feel like an unrealistic jump from such intense depression into hope, but I think that because Kamakura temporarily moves into his neighbor‘s house close by rather than going out into the world, it gives him a gradual and safe way to grow. Although it’s outside his house, it’s still close by, limiting his interactions to just Katsuyoshi. I felt that made his quick growth much more realistic.
However, while I think the short length does help the pacing of the plot and uplifts the tone, I don’t feel like the romance is as well done. It tries to set up some lusty tension between the two, with Katsuyoshi finding a sex toy in Kamakura’s hoard and Kamakura walking in on Katsuyoshi jerking off. But all of this culminates in a handjob that Kamakura offers as if he is obligated to do so after walking on Katsuyoshi. It’s an awkward and uncomfortable way of setting up their intimate attraction to one another. When they do finally have sex, it is very sweet and intimate, but the chemistry between the two just didn’t feel all that realistic to me. I also hate that the handjob scene is explicit while the actual sex scene is more on the softcore end of the sexy spectrum. I don’t mind softcore, but when we have explicit scenes already available, why not go ahead and carry that throughout? It’s just disappointing.
Results:
This was refreshing. It was much brighter and happier than I had anticipated, which turned out to be a very positive thing. Although the art wasn’t my favorite, and the romance wasn’t the most well-developed, I still had an overall positive experience. I wouldn’t call this a favorite by any means, but I liked it. If you’re looking for something on the lighter, fluffier side that will fill you with hope, give this one a go. But, if you’re like me and want some sexy payoff along with your fluff and hope, this might disappoint you.
Have you read The Stranger in the Hoarding House? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
