As you lose yourself in the pages of a book, novel, or manga, what’s fantastical becomes tangible. Literature lets you experience worlds and situations that you may never have known. That’s true whether you’re reading a story about grand reincarnated adventures or hyper-sexual stories about escapades that in real life would probably give you some unfavorable medical test results. And thanks to Book Walker, I had the chance to lose myself in a world filled with hypersexual paranormal encounters: Tirotata’s Gahi-chan.
Don’t worry, my fellow weebs, there are no spoilers in this review. It’s all the ramblings of someone with an abundance of time.
Gahi-chan — When the Supernatural Comes to Life
We judge the world around us based on our ability and understanding, and that’s a woeful way to approach creation. There are things out there that we don’t understand. And there are things out there that we’ll never understand. We’ll never know about everything that inhabits the world; mystery is a universal construct.
For the struggling mangaka Kurehito Higa (Nekotarou-sensei), life’s been a constant drag. Despite a ten-year-long attempt at becoming an established mangaka, all he’s managed to do is build up an impressive amount of debt. But when a kawaii, busty, and naked heroine shows up at his apartment late one night, life’s mysteries happily begin to call his apartment home. After all, the naked girl (Ruri) in his living room isn’t any random stranger; she’s the mirror image of his manga’s heroine. But while that’s already strange, things only escalate from there! The girl before him isn’t actually a girl; she’s a gahi, a cephalopod-like yokai who eats drawings. And while what amounts to a sentient termite running around their house would cause most analog mangaka to have a panic attack, Kurehito isn’t a part of that group. After all, what’s a few drawings in exchange for the perfect model?
This Is Technically a Review
If a grizzly ran into my room and the only way I could survive was drawing an anti-bear circle, I’d die. The Lord gifted me with many OP skills: SSR-level depression, a wallet bereft of joy, and an inability to pronounce the word “prestigious.” However, art is a skill he didn’t bestow on me. I can’t tell you the name of a single part of the manga drawing process. All I can tell you is if I found a manga’s art (and story) appealing. And that’s what I’m here to do.
By the 10th page of Gahi-chan, I thought, “That art, that kind of sussy art. That sussy sus art that feels sussy.” I know R18 doujinshi art when I see it. So off I went to confirm my suspicions. Soon enough, Futari no Omocha proved me right.
I’m not hating. Some of my favorite artists are doujin and R18 illustrators. But that risque art style becomes more evident with each turn of the page. If you posted a panel of the original Japanese version of Gahi-chan on Facebook, every other comment would be a version of “sauce.” But for a manga so reminiscent of adult doujins, the artwork was unbelievably clean. The art that filled Gahi-chan‘s pages made my eyes wander more than the nudity. It was sexy sure, but there’s a cuteness to the work that inspires fondness. I’ve always loved slice-of-life works, and the aura that permeates those thrived here. The story, on the other hand…
There’s Plenty of “Plot,” but Not Much Plot
More than anyone at Anime Corner, I adore sexual content. Anything crude and filled with gallows’ humor appeals to me. So does anything with high strangeness. Given that, you’d think I’d find the story of a yokai surviving by eating a mangaka’s drawing ingenious. And while I agree that Gahi-chan could have been excellent, too much happens too quickly, and everything suffers for it. Like a post-Katrina New Orleans, there was a lot of junk floating around.
Do you know that feeling of doing so much that you get overwhelmed and end up doing nothing? That’s how Gahi-chan reads. For what’s supposed to be a slice-of-life, too much happens too quickly. But instead of becoming a cohesive story, it unravels into slightly related overlaps that merely seem like an excuse to introduce a new lewdable character.
I love the paranormal. Anything that’s in the realm of high strangeness gets my interest. I’m one of the few people privileged enough to say I’ve gotten paid to be on a cryptozoological expedition. I wanted to know more about Ruri and was hoping for a wholesome but pervy story (YES, THOSE TWO THINGS ARE COMPATIBLE. CRY ABOUT IT). I wanted them to explore the supernatural aspects and bond with each other. The story teased that exact premise. Instead, it gave me something that belongs on FAKKU! And not the cool FAKKU!, but rather the “sold out to payment processors” FAKKU! The Bertholdt and Reiner version of FAKKU!
Too Much Oppai, Not Enough Yokai
Gahi-chan is a shonen manga. Broadly speaking, that means it’s aimed at dudes between 12 and 18. Skim through a few pages, and it shows. There’s plenty of lewdness. There’s even UNCENSORED LEWDNESS. Gahi-chan is a manga filled with suggestive poses, innuendo, and oppai. But those things are like the sun. I love watching it when it’s a polychromatic sunset off in the distance. But I don’t want it shoved in my face.
Once you realize that the manga’s plot falls to the background, it’s just a way to see naked waifus. While that may excite millions, it does not excite me.
To paraphrase Mayoi from Monogatari, “the convenience store was selling sex for ¥289.” A fifteen-year-old may think that Gahi-chan’s constant ecchiness is a gift from the isekai gods. But as a 32-year-old with back pain and dietary supplements, I need more. I came for the yokai, and I left because of the oppai. And that’s the issue with hypersexualized manga; they usually disregard their story in favor of overused tropes meant to stimulate one’s loins. And that’s lamentable.
I honestly don’t see a need for ecchi’s overused tropes. You don’t need a happy accident for someone to sit on your face. If you have an ounce of charisma and proper hygiene, people will do that for you. We can get a manga with nudity on every page and still have a nuanced and enjoyable story. But Gahi-chan didn’t offer any of that; it offered nudity and suggestive poses. And if all a story has to offer is suggestive poses and nudity, it doesn’t offer anything. And that’s a shame.
Hey Plot, Where Did You Go?
Any story that has characters wearing the skin of busty waifus makes my inner Ed Gein happy. And if that story has paranormal, pervy rom-com aspects, I’m ecstatic. Those were the things I expected from Gahi-chan. Hell, those were the themes it teased the most. But in the end, they felt like a gimmick.
I know that plenty of people reading this won’t agree, and they’ll bring up the “if you don’t like it, why do you review it?” argument. But that’s not an accusation that can be levied at me. One of my favorite reads is Karasu’s What Happened After My Place Got So Humid It Grew Magic Mushrooms. Whenever a newbie asks me for manga recommendations, Kiss x Sis and Gushing Over Magical Girls are guaranteed answers. How I wish Gahi-chan had reached that level.
Gahi-chan Production Details
Originally an ASCII Media Works’ Comic Dengeki Daioh “g” title, Tirotata’s Gahi-chan spans 34 chapters (over 4 volumes). Kadokawa’s Comicwalker and Niconico serialized the manga from its October 2020 debut until its March 2024 conclusion. J-Novel Club publishes the print version of the manga in English. Book Walker released the e-Pub version of Gahi-chan.
©Tirotata
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