The Scene of My Rumspringa

Powerful! What started out as a fun read took a serious turn in this Amish-life inspired story of a young boy in his Rumspringa. it's 1 in the morning and there's a lump in my throat because those last scenes hit me so hard. I don't know if I'm happy or sad, I don't know how to feel. What I know is that I hope everybody get to lived a life in contentment. I know this is just a fictional story, but let's be real, there are people out there who got the same kind of disposition thrown into them. It's only a matter ofthe choice you make that will make you happy. Gosh I just wish happiness for these characters. I feel so emotional right now.

Different individuals have predisposition to different genres due to a plethora of factors, also mood or life phases play their own part. Ultimately though I believe, it boils down to ideas and execution and as such, to creators' sensibility, talent, studious attitude and/or ability to connect disparate points. Which is why I get ecstatic when samples of genres I would not prioritise tear down my walls and/or expand my understanding apart from being enjoyable, obviously. I'm rarely overly fond of romance fiction, moreso of homosexual romance but Rumspringa was one of these special exceptions. (1.) Starting with an introduction on the characters... Theodore Sullivan is innocent,sensitive and naïve, in contrast with Oswald Carter who is a jaded gay-for-pay with a troubled past. This contrast if taken more abstractly and outside homosexual or straight romance, can seem clichéd. However: their dynamic is more-than-meets-the eye, courtesy of how the mangaka develops the story on the "framework" of the characters' backgrounds. As for the rest of the cast, they are sometimes more fleshed out sometimes merely there, but serve their purposes well for the manga's length. More on the main characters on the third section of the review. (2.) ... continuing with the artstyle... This one is the hit-or-miss element of the manga. The character designs are soft to the eye and well-proportioned, the panelling and backgrounds are fine but "just there", yet the sex scenes' depictions are often poor because of the bluntly put, ridiculous censorship. All in all, the art serves its purpose and does not feature the messy (sometimes to the point of total surrealism) proportions of other yaoi manga, but the depiction of sex scenes requires being open-minded enough to let it slide. (3.) ... and concluding with a: extra words on the characters and b: the concept. (3a.) Theodore is of Amish religious and cultural background and the story begins during his Rumspringa, a rite of passage for adolescents during which Amish teenagers leave their community for a while in order to get into contact with the outer world, not bound by following traditions of their original community. After this period ends, they are presented with two choices: either be baptized and entrench yourself into the community or leave it behind. Oswald Carter works as a waiter in a bar and also prostitutes himself in order to earn a living. After he meets Theodore, their tale begins with Oswald expanding Theodore's knowledge on the "outer" world (since he is a TOTAL fish-out-of-water), but during the story it gradually evolves into a sexual and romantic relationship. (3b.) However, there is an element that transcends this relationship: the cultural. Speaking of which, the most positive trait of this manga is the neutral perspective on the alternative lifestyle in question, a trait shared by Otoyomegatari (my favourite ongoing manga). There is neither condamnation nor praise, and people living according to these values are treated like normal human beings with emotions and a will of their own but the more important, their freedom of choice to be in-group or out-group. This neutral perspective is supplemented by the coming-of-age element first, presentation of values' dissonance second. I could elaborate on the first, but I would rather elaboarate solely on the second. It is crystal clear that both protagonists come from different backgrounds. No matter their chemistry or "bridges", their upbringing influenced them enough to make them very different, since Amish attitudes towards education, technology and modernity differ radically to ones of mainstream American society. Also, Amish speak a German dialect (known as Pennsylvanian German/Pennsylvania Dutch), not enough to make for a language barrier unlike in other manga where mutually unintelligible fictional, historical or modern languages are featured (as is the case with Nausicaä, Emma and Vinland Saga), since Amish speak English with outsiders. Coupled with coming-of-age elements and the neutral perspective, and we get a unique, sweet and down-to-earth romance, yet made for open-minded individuals craving for originality.