Story
Alright, I'll come clean: the manga isn't totally about masturbation. Onanie Master Kurosawa sets itself up to be interesting and different through this move, and this is the largest reason I kept reading. Our main character is Kakeru Kurosawa, and he is the same archetype as Hachiman from Oregairu, in that he does not make contact with anybody and disdains others. However the difference is that Kakeru has a routine of masturbating in a rarely used girls bathroom on the third floor.
Oh boy.
You can guess what happens next. He nearly gets found out and his life is changed from that point on. It becomes a dramatic high school story that centers on bullying, loneliness, revenge, and misunderstanding.
There isn't a whole lot else I can say without spoiling large events in the manga, but it definitely does draw away from the whole masturbation thing (which was only a hook after all) and really becomes a great work of art. Onanie Master Kurosawa is, put simply, a story of growing up.
It's been a while since I last read the manga, but I can say that the main characters left (and still have) a strong impression on me. To quickly run over the characters, we have Kakeru, our resident masturbator, Maiko Sugawa, a tsundere girl of sorts, Magister Takigawa, an all-around perfect girl, and Aya Kitahara, the girl who stumbles upon Kakeru that one fateful day.
Kakeru shows a great and heart-warming transformation from coldness and indifference to somebody who seems to have finally found a spark in life. The other important characters also go through dynamic changes, and by the end of it all, you're left with some slightly more mature young people.
Art
Alright, now for the art. Like most other independent manga, Onanie Master Kurosawa is in grayscale, but the actual art itself is average. At times, the faces definitely look a bit skewed, but that did not affect my reading in any way. There are some quite well drawn scenes, and they look great, but for the most part, the art is simple.
Personal Enjoyment
I liked Onanie Master Kurosawa an incredible amount because of how much I could relate to it (not so much the masturabting parts... nevermind), and how profound it ended up being. The manga gets really deep and stuff hits the fan at one point, but the ending is warm and happy (not to mention, there's a sort of "light novel" epilogue). Additionally it has a special place in my heart as the first manga I ever completed (not saying much, since I don't have a lot under my belt). So give it a shot, and who knows? You might just find your next favourite thing.
Solid 8.8/10.0 would recommend to anybody looking for an amazing read.
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