Reviews for Classmates: O.B.

It's always a big letdown when highly-anticipated sequels end up being less than what you were hoping for. Such is the case with O.B., also called Occupation to Beloved, by Nakamura Asumiko. This manga is the sequel to Sotsugyousei, which is the sequel to Doukyuusei, and it starts off with the full expectation that you have read these previous works. Thus, it's advised that you do. Why, exactly, am I so disillusioned by O.B.? Its prequels were slice of life manga, detailing the growth of the two main characters as they came to terms with their relationships and their desires for the future. O.B. promised,in some regard, to be something similar. I don't mind fluff, and I don't mind a lack of drama. What I do mind, however, is cliches and silliness in a manga that I had come to know did not contain any of them.

What lack of originality am I speaking of? Well, for one thing, of course one of Sajou's presumably straight male classmates develops a crush on him. Of course. Now, this isn't something that is hard for me to believe; what is merely annoying is that of course every vaguely important character is gay even if they didn't realize it at first. Not only is this trope overused in the yaoi genre, it's also predictable and boring. I wouldn't have been half as annoyed if the character brought to focus had been female, and I wouldn't have been annoyed about this at all if this plot aspect wasn't used in the first place. It literally does nothing to further the story whatsoever and ends up feeling like filler.

What's worse is that O.B. doesn't even focus on its previous main characters all that much. I like one shots as much as the next person; they can often be cute, interesting, or just plain good. That is not the case if I don't care about the characters or like them at all. The manga's only saving grace regarding this aspect is the fact that it brings in characters from previous volumes that I actually was curious about. However, the one shots also bring completely minor characters into focus – characters I had utterly forgotten about and, to make matters worse, did not come to enjoy reading about.

The thing that makes reading O.B. worth it is the sprinkles of sugary sweetness that Sajou and Kusakabe haul about with them. However, it's a pretty bad sign if the side characters get more development and insight than the main characters. We leave O.B. knowing nothing new about either Sajou or Kusakabe; but we do get to know Satoshi and Hibiki a little more intimately. Other than that, that's pretty much it. I will give O.B. credit for giving Sajou and Kusakabe's side of the story a bright conclusion – although it's somewhat similar to Sotsugyousei's ending, anyway.

One positive is that, at least, I've finally figured out what word I want to use for Nakamura-sensei's art style: minimalist would be a grand adjective for it. It's still the same, stylistic, wispy art we grew familiar with in the previous instalments of the series. Backgrounds are generally minimal. There are some panels where it's difficult to figure out what is going on. There are occasions where the anatomy just looks really, really off.

In the end, O.B. is disappointing if you're hoping for anything new regarding the previous series' main characters, but if you're interested in Hibiki and Satoshi, who made brief appearances in the spin-off Sora to Hara, it might just be worth the time spent.

DO NOT MAKE THIS MISTAKE: You need to read "Sora to Hara" BEFORE reading O.B. otherwise you'll end up like myself and some others confused as to who these new characters are. Occupation To Beloved is a continuation/epilogue of sorts for not just Kusakabe and Sajou, but many of the side characters as well. What always keeps me coming back to the series is the realism it treats to the fact these characters are gay. All these small moments like talking about sexual orientation with a classmate, or how a family member can lovingly expect their sexuality or for the family of another character not somuch. They're instances that previous made me fall in love with the series and they are still to be found here in O.B. which certainly I couldn't be happier about. (Seriously though, I can't think of another BL that has a casual conversation about coming out.)

As far as the main two characters, we at long last get a glimpse of the couple as they maintain university and work, and a long distance relationship. I especially liked the portrayal of Sajou's growth. He was discribed as someone not particularly popular and in Sotsugousei his mom already mentioned he was smiling more for the first time in a long while. But the positive effects Kusakabe has had on him really shine through, and together they still make subtle yet significant steps forward.

While Kusakabe and Sajou are the highlights with their steady development and heartwarming interactions, this time we also get to see different sides of love through other characters. We can wish to have love as sweet as those two, but life isn't always so nice. From Koma's rather toxic ex boyfriend (a precaution if you're someone who would find seeing that unpleasant) to Arisaka's feelings of guilt towards his ex wife and kid, O.B. encompasses a wider snapshot of life and love. I think O.B. succeeds better in that regard rather than the traditional sequel you'd expect. Unrequited middle school love, relationships with bad people you met at a gay bar, dating the opposite sex out of social pressures; you wouldn't be able to see those different takes on the gay experience with just the main duo.

Lastly, the one negative aspect is the panels/page layout. Some chapters switch back and forth from past to present. Not a bad thematic devise, but it's hard to catch the change and made more sense after a reread. And perhaps it's due to O.B. being more anthology-like and the fact we're past the adolescent days of high school, but the panel layouts seemed more flat and didn't strike me as much as before. They serve the job just fine but I started to miss the charm of that sometimes whimsical flow from the previous series.

I'd also complain how this left me wishing to see more of Kusakabe and Sajou, but now there's been several one-shots since and another current ongoing manga to fill that void instead.

doukyuusei has fallen off, in my opinion the first volume was great! it was a little fast paced and had its flaws, but god, the story should have stopped at around volume 2. i feel like a love story like this should only involve two characters and some supports. kusakabe and sajou are fine on their own. the new characters introduced in this volume (having appearances in the previous ones , usually not huge ones though) include hara sensei and sorano. great, we get a greasy old man who abuses his adult power and uses it to be a child predator. sorano was his STUDENT. itruly believed that in volume 1, when hara is caught assaulting sajou, he'd end there and not be re-introduced. thats the safest option since the fanbase hates him, right? wrong. the author thought it would be a great idea to have him fall in love with one of his students, and for it to really just.. blossom. they don't even look good together and have the shittiest relationship buildup ive ever seen.

second pair is arisaka and sano. personally, i dont have much of a problem with these two. maybe its because my memorys a bit rough since i read O.B white a bit ago, but i do remember not feeling emotionally involved or attached to these two's relationshop whatsoever. sure, one bakes sweets and the other is divorced.. it didnt really add up to me. what romance was between these two? it was such an odd pair i didnt expect. its like the author just unplanned, threw sano in there. i mean, there was no sign of him in past volumes. sure, there was foreshadowing, but i cant be the only one who was a tad bit confused on who he was exactly supposed to be.

third, god be it, komatsu and ryuuichi. what the fuck was this??? i think there was more panels of them having sex than literally talking. "that was the point" i dont care! this relationship made me so uncomfy and im sure it made others too. youre telling me you met this guy at a gay bar and suddenly, airbnb with ANOTHER WOMAN and sex!!! sex!!! while i was reading, i was struggling to comprehend that all this was just.. happening. i thought i had missed a few pages. what on earth was the point of these two??? it was so gross. and suddenly ryuuichi just leaves and its ok??? and he took their wallets and belongings too??? they didnt even try to chase after him? whatever deep message that was trying to be sent, it got absolutely roadblocked.

at this point in the saga, doukyuusei is just any other bl piece of literature. it has all the pinpoints of sexual assault, rape, glorified unhealthy relationships, and grooming! i really liked it at vol 1/2. what a shame.

Another part in the franchise, released 3 years after the previous one. Was it enough time for the writing to improve? Lol nope. As the Doukyuusei is continuously evolving into more and more generic BL story, I’m loosing the last shards of interest about its content. At this point, the only thing that’s setting it apart from an average BL manga is the artstyle. And that is unfortunately hardly enough. The story still doesn’t want to know where it wants to go. Sure, the format of random bits from the lives of the characters could be interesting – if it were actually intesting, that is. It’snot. This is pretty much just a soap opera kind of material, just with more explicit gay sex.

Most of this part isn’t even about the main characters. I don’t know what makes the author think that I would care about these at all when even the better established protagonists fail to be interesting.

If you’ve ever read any non-rape BL, then this won’t bring you any new experience.

This detour into the screwed up lives of the creepy adults isn't strictly necessary, but unfortunately that's what we've all come to expect from this series after Sora to Hara, which you will need to read for context if you plan to read these chapters as well. If topics like pedophilia, sexual harassment/assault, and involuntary confinement are a huge squick, my recommendation is to stay far away from these volumes or at least skip those chapters if you're only here for Sajou and Kusakabe. Overall, I'm not a fan of the "jealous of youth" theme, which seems to be the series' conclusive excuse for pedophilia. Inthe characters' minds, it's obvious and natural that these creepy adults are going to be attracted to high school boys because that's the height of youth and they too wish they could be young again. Unfortunately, that is an angle that a lot of BL takes to justify its fantasies.

At least this installment in the series did kind of highlight some of the concerns people have about marriage and coming out when you're queer, but it's hard to praise it for that because of the disgusting stereotyping about gay men being pedophiles as though that's a "natural" thing; to go so far as to claim that it's because they're "troubled" is just... disgusting. (and hey I firmly believe that we as a society should make it less of a stigma for people who feel these compulsions to get the therapy they need to cope with it in a way that won't lead to them harming children, but the people who try to make pedophilia into an identity to be proud of is going too far....)

As usual, the major highlight is the epilogue to Sajou's and Kusakabe's relationship as they deal with maintaining a semi-long distance relationship while working toward a future for themselves that will hopefully one day reunite them. There is a lot about this story that feels not fully fleshed out, but it's simple and has some enjoyably tender moments.