Reviews for Black and White: Tough Love at the Office

Personally, I think this work is an absolute masterpiece. I haven't given 10 even to works by my most favorite mangakas very often, but this time, I did. That said, I understand perfectly clear if many people would find this manga weird. This, however, won't ever make me change my mind. And I'll try to explain why. If you read only the first volume, you will easily wonder, how come this silly thing could make anyone give it a ten. It does look stupid, indeed. A blonde woman and a dark-haired woman, both career-obsessed bastards beyond redemption, resolve their disputes by fighting and having sex atthe same time. It looks like a manga specifically catering to the needs of people who have a fetish for catfights.

Over the course of just three volumes, this stupid premise evolves into a Dostoevsky-like tragic story of life choices, living with the darkness in your soul, and redemption through love. The actual struggle isn't between those women. The actual struggle happens in their hearts, torn between very strong urges, each with its own merits and demerits. And the choices they make are very different, even if the fight within them is very much similar.

Sal Jiang is known for her penchant for office settings, and this work in particular is in line with that. But, after all, it's nothing but a setting. I guess, showing this kind of story in a ruthless corporate environment is a wise choice. It brings to surface lots of subtle notions that would have been buried in non-professional realms.

In the end, I certainly don't have a slightest intention of spoiling you the fun. But this whole thing isn't just yuri. It's an ages-old concept of a struggle between good and evil told through a very intriguing yuri setting. I have rarely seen works in this genre as thought-out as this one.

The subject matter may be quite old and banal, indeed. But that's just one way of looking at it. The other way of looking at it is that, for the humankind, it is eternal and timeless. And in that sense, this manga gives a lot of food for thought.

Totally recommended, after all. But it still may seem weird. I loved it, though.

This manga might be the best office drama ever written, though it's very hard to call in a romance or love story in any capacity, even a toxic romance. I would call it something like a "workplace thriller" with a lot of hatefucking. What appears as the banal spats between two ambitious and callous career ladies who put up a facade of kindness in front of others at first, turns into a engaging struggle full of intrigue, lies, and manipulation. It it does this in a convincing fashion rarely seen in manga and really immerses you in a cutthroat office culture where every slip up ispunished.

With that being said about the story, it is the characters which are the strongest part of the manga. The protagonist, Shirakawa Junko, through who's eyes we see most of the story, is without a doubt the best executed anti-hero I've ever seen in a manga. The lengths to which she goes to achieve her goals, especially in the final arc, left me awestruck, all while remaining completely believable. She and the other main character, Kuroda Kayo, are very similar and very different at the same time, the less said about that, the better.

The art is very good overall, I especially like Shirakawa's different facial expressions. There are some really memorable panels in here. Whether you are personally into physically abusive sex or not, I think in either case the sex scenes are fitting for the story. Either in a "wow, these women have issues and are fucked up" kind of way, or in a "wow, this is hot" kind of way. Either way, I don't think it fit's the erotica tag, this manga has on here. The heart of this manga is definitely in the characters, their (non-physical) relationships with one another, and the intrigue they engage in, not the smut scenes.

There are a few minor nitpicks I have, like how some of the side characters could have used a bit more characterization or how, for my taste, the plot progression relies maybe one time too often on one character overhearing another by coincidence.

Despite that, in conclusion I can only reiterate, that, unless physically abusive sex is a trigger issue for you, I absolutely recommend this manga to everybody. There will be new nuances you will pick up on a second reading and it all comes together beautifully at the end and I think the ending will be sticking with me for a while.

An absolute delight. It's difficult for me to find a manga nearly as unique premise as this one. I didn't quite know what to expect coming in, but what I've found is certainly the most entertaining drama I've ever seen with wonderful artwork at display. An office setting is quite unique in terms of making a battle arena of both wits and fists between the two leads. The manga's plot is a game of constant back an forth of some of the most cutthroat leads one can imagine. A constant tango of underhanded tactics, such as nepotism, which end up presented in both a positive andnegative light. That honestly makes it all the more interesting, as it puts the morality of both of them in question a lot more than it could initially seem on the surface. Is a force of good breaking the rules still good? Is evil using a system of rules meant to maintain order still inherently evil? I adore the fact this story managed to occupy so much of the space in between. The core motif of light and darkness can be found in pretty much every little aspect of the narrative and characters and it only serves to elevate every single one of them in the process. Its intrigue is delightfully devilish and the reader is always left on the edge of their seat to see how it will develop and how Shirakawa and Kuroda will one up themselves. The ways their faces can twist into grins that exude pure malice and still remain gorgeous looking truly is a feat of the art style. The visual storytelling, as either through the fight scenes or the shading choices is also hard not to compliment, as every panel feels deliberate and exceptionally thought out.

Even while the manga might on the surface look like material for people with an abuse kink, it quickly proves that it's much more than just some fantasy. It uses abuse, in multiple forms, to thoroughly explore the relationships between its characters. All of their relationships are built on entirely different foundations in terms of genuine emotions and balance of power. It also masterfully uses eroticism in ways that always feel entirely organic to the scenes it appears in. The ways that sex is portrayed, always seemed very tasteful to me, because of much raw emotion the panels manage to convey, which allowed it to escape feeling hollow and just there to satisfy a perverted desire. It works perfectly as a strong narrative device that highlights the strongest moments of the series. It never feels excessive and honestly, sometimes the fight scenes do feel like they are cut a little bit short.

I don't think there would be enough material to make it into an anime series, but perhaps it could be turned into a movie one day. I'd love to see this wonderful story in motion and reach a wider audience! It's really impossible for me not to recommend this, as its story is a wonderful study of the ruthless career oriented world of white collars.

A surprisingly masterful story that masquerades as an erotic Yuri story with rough and tumble elements, eventually unraveling the layers to unveil an interesting critique of work culture. Where love and hate, and power and dominance found in BDSM style relationships (in stories at least) is used as a rich metaphor and extension for the toxicity of work culture - stepping over others to reach success in the hierarchical workplace and holding power over your co-workers and subordinates. This was not only fun and interesting to read with exceptional art and interesting narrative twists - subverting your typical love-hate relationship between rivals that eventually morphsinto love. The characterisation of the two leads, Junko and Kayo are done so nicely and they have such fantastic agency in the story that you can't help but be reeled into their tiny (and not so tiny) schemes.

And of course, that ending - I shan't spoil - really gives you that gut punch. Especially if you were expecting the story to settle into an easy romance like I had. I did wish that more was elaborated on the leads and how they came to be this way. Because of course, it's not just the workplace that deconstructs you into numbers and success stories. And it's not just in Japan. It's the schools, it's at home, it's the pressures of our society at large. And I also felt that more had to be done to show Kayo's character change. But all in all, this is such a great little manga. Short, concise and powerful. And it can even be read in one sitting!! So don't waddle, pick it up and give it a read!!