Kuso Miso Technique, Project H front cover (not final)

As I can’t really write about this on either On The Box, Anime UK News or MyM Magazine due to the adult nature (I can’t really cover porn for them, although I do sometimes cover yaoi and yuri), I thought I would express my views on this latest, unusual title.

Project H, which is the hentai branch of Digital Manga Publishing, is planning to release one of the most controversial, pornographic, and some would say just plain sick, manga ever. But oddly, it is not straight sex like most Project H titles, or yaoi which is covered by DMP’s June and 801 labels, but bara. For those who don’t know, “bara” is male gay porn aimed at men, rather than “yaoi” which is male gay porn aimed at women.

Kuso Miso Technique was first published as a one-shot bara comic by Junichi Yamakawa. The press release from Project H reads: “Kuso Miso Technique tells the story of a typical student, Masaki Michishita, as he meets Takakazu Abe, a man who will change his perception of love, lust and the world. Kuso Miso Technique brings in a different flavor compared to any of Project-H’s past works including, but not limited to: homoerotica, scatology and urination.”

So, if you think “2 guys, 1 cup” you might begin to get some idea of what it is like, and not just because of the use of shit. This manga has already achieved some infamy, becoming an internet meme. Some people attacked what was seen as a rather naff plot and an odd depiction of gay men, especially Yamakawa’s odd dialogue.

Now when it comes to sex and fetishism, I’m pretty open-minded. You have kinky characters in anime, like the masochistic Taro Sado in MM! (See “The Beginner’s Guide to Anime, No. 47“) and there are works like the OEL manga Demon Candy: Parallel which is famous for covering all sorts of kinks while being very clean and inoffensive.

However, I do see problems with the release of Kuso Miso Technique. Firstly, why is it coming out on the Project H label? Even the yaoi sub-sections of DMP would be better. In fact I would personally encourage DMP to open a whole new bara section, and start to release some of Gengoroh Tagame’s works.

The other major problem is the legality. I don’t know about the laws in the USA, but in Britain I suspect this might break the rules on “extreme pornography” (a stupid set of laws if you ask me). Given the media outrage that occurred when the anime of Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend occurred (this week’s subject in “The Beginner’s Guide to Anime”, not online at the time of writing) the papers would have a field day.

But then again maybe that is what DMP wants. When Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend was released in the 1990s, it sold loads more copies than any other anime at the time because of all the media coverage it got. It would not surprise me if DMP is playing the same tactic.

I must confess that I would be interested in reviewing it, and any other future bara titles DMP plan to bring out. Their press release does say they plan to bring out more of Yamakawa’s work so I might do so if I am allowed.

Kuso Miso Technique is scheduled to be released in May 2015.

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