About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series You Dirty, Sweaty Boy. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Trigger Warning: There may be references to anxiety, sweat fetish, manipulation, kink-shaming, self-dehydration, and overwork, as it appears in the manga.
Synopsis:
Ochi is doing fine at his office job on the development team, but then he's transferred to the sales team. Ochi is generally not cut out for sales, preferring to be less client-facing. Add on his issue with overactive sweat glands, and this new position feels like torture for Ochi. His only saving grace is being paired with one of the top salespeople, Kitami. Kitami is everything Ochi wishes he could be: confident, extroverted, and charming. Ochi admires Kitami, especially as he patiently trains and encourages Ochi.
That admiration quickly dissipates, though, when Ochi learns of Kitami's odd fetish, one that he fulfills through Ochi every chance he can get.
Review:
The art in this is beautiful. I absolutely adore it. It's very clean and consistent for the most part, and what more can you ask for? Oddly enough, though, the last chapter is the most inconsistent. Usually, as a series goes along, the art gets better and better, presumably because the artist gets comfortable drawing the same characters time and time again. It's relatively unique to see the opposite happen. Don't get me wrong, the art isn't bad, even in the final chapter; it's just not as clean or consistent as the earlier portions of the series.
My poor husband has to deal with me after reading things with fetishes like this. I found myself asking him why he wasn't attracted to my sweat, leaving him at a loss. That said, I'm a huge fan of these unique fetishes. This actually isn't the first sweat-fetish work I've read, though it is the first BL (the first manga I've read with this fetish is Sweat and Soap, which I highly recommend). However, what differs with this title is that it isn't the smell of sweat that matters to our love interest, but the taste of it, which adds a new intimate level to this I didn't consider with Sweat and Soap. Will some people find that terribly gross? Yes. Did I find it gross? Not in the slightest. I'm unsure what that says about me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The act of smelling someone is already pretty intimate, but add the addition of tasting someone, and it's just so much more so. I like that.
This is, unfortunately, a very short title with only six chapters, so probably only a volume's worth of content if this was a physical manga. One of my main complaints with short titles like this is the lack of story or substance, but to my surprise, this has decent development alongside understandable tension and misunderstanding. Ochi was moved to the sales department on a whim by the big boss (so relatable for me, as I currently work in a small corporate environment). He does his best to adjust but struggles with sweating (same, fam). Kitami is happy to help Ochi, and Ochi grows more confident. But Kitami knows that Ochi isn't satisfied in sales and goes out of his way to get Ochi back into the development team. It's a gesture with good intentions, but it makes Ochi feel he is unwanted by Kitami. It's a totally understandable assumption and creates some really nice tension for the story. It's not super deep, but it's a welcome change in tone.
If I had to come up with a complaint on this one, it might be that it ends somewhat bittersweet. Mind you, it is a happy ending, but there's a hint of uncertainty there. It's very minor, but it's still worth noting. Ochi feels that Kitami might only love him for his sweat. He hopes that someday Kitami will mention his love outside of sex or sweat, but he appears happy all the same. It's so sad that Ochi spends so much time in the series being self-conscious and riddled with anxiety, only to end up still being worried over whether the love from his boyfriend is based on love or just his fetish. I can appreciate that he is still happy, and I'm glad he doesn't have to worry about his sweat with Kitami, but it does taint the happy ending with some melancholy.
Results:
I love this one. It's got a unique fetish, which, for a degenerate like me, is a plus. It has a pleasant art style and just enough substance with the smut to make it an enjoyable and worthwhile read. It's not a deep or compelling story, and it's not the smuttiest thing I've read, but it's a really nice balance of both elements. I highly recommend it.
Have you read You Dirty, Sweaty Boy? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!