Hello again anons, welcome back for volume 11 of Moto Hagio's A Savage God Reigns. Ian convinces Jeremy to move back to England, and they move in together, but it's not all smooth sailing. Until one thing leads to another...The works of Hagio and her contemporaries ("the '49ers") represented an experimental new direction in girls' and women's manga in terms of both content and style. I hope some anons who might be unfamiliar with these mangaka and their works, or who might generally avoid girls' comics or older manga altogether, will consider reading along and trying something new. You might be surprised.For those who would like to catch up and join in, here are the previous threads:Vol. 1: >>268448441Vol. 2: >>268501695Vol. 3: >>268540638Vol. 4: >>268581029Vol. 5: >>268615427Vol. 6: >>268647910Vol. 7: >>268683142Vol. 8: >>268721319Vol. 9: >>268755228Vol. 10: >>268782676For the Japanese-speaking anons among us: tinyurl dot com slash 4wj859ppOne, two, three, four...
I was previously using the covers from the 10-volume bunkoban edition of the manga, because I like them and they're not present in the scans. Now that we're at volume 11, I'll be using the covers from the original 17-volume edition for the rest of the series.
>>268822682we are all asking ourselves this, ian
>>268823162anal for 30? cmon man
>>268823626sandra moment
>>268822559Ian having a full gay panic on this cover.
>>268822601>a cheese in these trying times?
>>268824539floaty greg
>>268822645Very Tezuka Type Paneling, here.
>>268823442Reading this as it was coming out was wild because you'd be like "what kind of suffering will the suffering manga bring today?" and sometimes the answer would be like "erectile dysfunction"
>>268823173Iaaaan, this is the absolute worst thing you could do. Ian was the one who made the rule for him not to sell himself and he's already forking out cash for it.>>268823185STOOOP
>>268823287Twink on the menu again?
>>268823371Now he's turning him into a personal prostitute, it's over, it's so fucking over. Lindon needs to kool-aid man through the wall and stop this in its tracks.
>>268822781>dear, you posted cringe
This doesn't end well does it?
>>268825014I'm sure they'll pull up from the nosedive any second now
>>268823847>>268724399
>>268824397You don't like me cooking?
>>268822594>I became interested in plaid after learning about kilts, the Scottish traditional clothing. Each tartan pattern has a name and belongs to a clan, and some patterns have been passed down for generations, with different designs for the Highland and Lowland regions... When I see a painting of a young man in a short kilt, high socks, and a matching cloak spread out on his shoulders, I realized how good men can look in plaid... and my heart thumps.I looked into it and the clan tartans she mentioned were almost all invented in the 1800s by nationalists looking for a romantic past.
>>268825112hagio kilt fetish confirmed?
>>268822655Probably the worst thing Ian could have done in the short term, for sure. Jeremy at this point compartmentalizes those he has sex separate from those he is capable of loving. Like a self-centered Madonna-Whore Complex.
>>268823518I'm going to hurl this boy into the sun, stop breaking the rule you made.
>>268823114Very blatantly similar to what Greg said after the Boston incidents.
>>268822682The most realistic Ian.
>>268823535Even Ian knows he's fucking up real bad.
>>268822669Rearranged for better reaction image usage.
>>268824192Getting flashbacks to Greg threatening to let Sandra find out. Time is a flat circle
>>268825432
>>268822772So Jer sees himself as the same predator that Greg was?
>>268823572>by the way, i fucked many younger boys once. i bring this up because i'm totally straight now haha
>>268824313I'm not sure that's how cheating works but ok
>>268824100With Ians like this, who needs Gregs?
>>268822854>i won't be able to live with himShould this really be your biggest concern, dude
I'm just sticking with weird lines this time because I have to go to bed immediately.I'm not going to point it out each time, but when you see the word "held" you can usually replace it in your head with "slept with" because the word in the raw can mean either of those things depending on the context.>>268822761Bottom panel. I don't know where the "self-righteously" comes from, it's not in the raw. Neither is London actually, he says "For what purpose did he bring me back to England?">>268822907Third panel. The speech bubble was ellipses and the text in the background was "I want to see Eric, but...I'm feeling...anxious...">>268823405The blank speech bubble is "It doesn't hurt, but I don't like it.">>268823961First panel, "I didn't go" should be "I shouldn't have gone">>268824192Last panel. "No!" should be "Yes!" He just says "I hate you" in the raws with no room for interpretation. I have no clue what happened here.>>268824304The empty speech bubble is "...Ian.">>268824453Nobody says "shit" in this scene. Greg says "kusu" which is a chuckle and the translator must have read that as "kuso." Incredibly, this will not be the only time they mistranslate a word as shit.>>268824483The two blank shout bubbles, first one is ellipses, second one is "Hey...!">>268824587"I won't be destroyed by you" should be "Don't rip them like that.">>268824620The blank bubble was ellipses.End of corrections. Despite all these, the translation for this volume didn't seem as bad as the previous two.
>>268822899i can't believe this isn't an edit
>>268825578Apparently a lot of Japanese people don't think prostitution is cheating since it's just business and not feelings.
That's not a manga, that's just a porn hentai.
>>268824604That's quite a page.
>>268824547greg is immune to the drama, he just wants to appreciate art
>>268822781The hoes are up to something.
>>268826141I wonder if other countries have ever been asked this
>>268826141I swear to god that everybody that posts charts like this is clinically retarded. Even assuming that the results aren't just flat out bullshit, this chart does not say that 'a lot of Japanese people don't think prostitution is cheating'. What it says is 'a majority of the people that took this survey on whether or not prostitution constitutes cheating believe it does not'. Do you honestly think that normal, well-adjusted people who have nothing to do with prostitutes are anywhere near as likely to find/seek out and complete a survey regarding the use of their services constituting cheating than a person who has had sex with one during a relationship?
>>268825949Ian's inability to prioritize is charming.
>>268823572can any scientists out there confirm this hypothesis?
>>268824288This scene... Nadia-bros... not like this...
>>268823041this is literally the nightmare scenario he imagined in his head when he was on the phone with that social worker in volume 4 lmfao
>>268822899What the fuck Ian.
>>268822747Ian looks so pretty in Jeremy's head.
>>268826559Poor Ian trying to figure out bisexuality without any previous sex ed.
>>268822682that's a question for homo Ian
>>268826426Yeah, there's a good chance they didn't run a good survey, I just grabbed the first one I saw. But the fact that this is even a debatable question if you google "is prostitution cheating?" in Japanese vs English means there is some basis to it. Even if the true percentage is 5% I would still consider that "a lot of Japanese people". I just mean that it's significantly higher than most Western countries.Since it's legal to pay for sexual services that aren't sex, prostitution isn't as taboo in Japan. And according to the legal advice sites I'm reading, prostitution by itself isn't considered infidelity. You usually have to prove that it was over an extended period of time, or that they met up outside of the store. I think it's reasonable to assume that Japanese attitudes about cheating are similar.
>>268822854>>268822899Does Ian even realise all his concern is centred on keeping Jeremy in his control?
>>268823173is it 25 because family discount?
>>268826025>Last panel. "No!" should be "Yes!" He just says "I hate you" in the raws with no room for interpretation. I have no clue what happened here.This is actually huge, it changes the dynamic between these two a lot.I don't speak nipponese so i may not know the specific, but how can people make such mistakes and still feel confident enough to attempt a TL?
>>268822974These two definitely seduce couples or pick up singles at the bar every weekend.
>>268823201'I'm not gay, he provoked me' - the Lowland family motto
>>268822981Bros before hoes, of course.
>>268823008You gotta learn to ease people into stuff, Jerry.
>>268823572what a page
>>268823652is he even trying not to fuck Jer?
>>268827644Attitudes to cheating itself also vary wildly depending on the time and place. US is an outlier among the Western world in this regard, as Americans consider it a much bigger deal than Europeans or Japanese.
>>268827871This is kinda complicated by the fact that Jeremy needs to be under someone's control right now to even stay alive. The moment Ian backs off, it's all drugs and prostitution life for Jer again.
>>268823221>I had a whole murder plan and was going to kill you>Eh, I don't mind Ian is taking the murder confessions remarkably well at this point.
>>268829235Ian has more than enough money to put him in a residential treatment centre though, and the family status to force Jer to stay there as a minor who's under 18.
>>268822869>>268822876Ian got off so light for this one
Can't handle this much Moto
>>268829307What's a little murder scheming in the face of extremely awkward sex he doesn't enjoy and is messing up his relationships but he nonetheless wants?
>>268829307No point in running away when your dad had CP stash he made himself and everyone but you knew
>>268827871I did live with someone like that and it's hard to not try keeping control otherwise you'll get a call saying the person is dead naked in a random block, but Ian is justifying his power to do as he wishes with Jeremy
>>268831776Jer absolutely needs monitoring and a toddler harness, but like I said in >>268830325 Ian doesn't have to be the one doing it. I don't think we've ever seen him entertain the thought of putting Jeremy somewhere like with Cass.
>>268832839I could see him reasonably justifying it with the fact that Jeremy running away from hospitalization is what got him into the prostitution biz in the first place, but really it's an excuse that would fall flat when he's paying him to prostitute himself for his personal use right now. Almost anything else would be better than that.
>>268823022This is like the third time Jeremy's confessed and it's blown up in his faceeverysingletime.
>>268833381Oh yeah, I think Ian would have loads of justifications lined up, including needing to take responsibility as Greg's son. >>268824288Unrelated, but...for all Ian's faults, at least he told Nadia the truth eventually. I don't think Greg would ever have told Sandra or another romantic partner the truth unless he wanted to hurt them or get something else out of it.
>>268823427rare Greg
>>268834831he's looking pretty pleased with himself desu
>>268823709If you're cold, he's cold. Let him in
>>268833381Would it, though? As fucked up as it is, their current arrangement allows Jer to explore (sort of) pleasurable sexuality in the terms he understands and can control, slowly replacing the associations he had developed before. It’s not an approach any psychiatrist would recommend for obvious reasons, but it seems to be working better than anything else so far.
>>268836751I would debate whether the sex is healing for him right now. In fact this volume made kind of a point that he is not deriving pleasure from it and thinks of it more as part of his punishment. This could change down the line as their relationship develops, but as things are now, I do not feel there is love in it, at least from Jeremy's side, and Ian has repeatedly pushed him beyond the boundaries of what he's comfortable with in bed. Ian will need to become more empathetic and patient first, and I honestly don't know what Jeremy should do. His best chance is actually talking about his issues with a good therapist but that has a snowball's chance in hell of happening.
>>268832839A big reason why Ian is handling him is that he knows about Jeremy tampering the car and his guilt, unlike other therapists from whom Jer needs to hide this.Not really healthy still.
>>268834205He tends to just throw it out there without any build up, is the problem. What are people expected to do? Calmly deal with the information that he was a rape victim of a sadist that was otherwise widely respected?
>>268838231That's the issue, isn't it? He needs serious psychiatric help but can't or won't discuss it with anyone qualified to treat him. While this is going unaddressed, he's fallen back into a pattern of sleeping with his guardian figure similar to Lynn Forest. Ian seems to realize on some level he's walking in his father's footsteps but not enough to stop. I'm sure Ian isn't trying to be a villain here, but he is super not equipped to deal with this situation and is inadvertently making it worse. If he wanted to use his knowledge to help, he would be better off doing what Lindon said and discussing the photos with a trained professional since Jeremy apparently won't take that step.
>>268834205>>268839800And not just that he was a rape victim, but that he probably caused the death of the rapist and his own mother for it? Like shit, no one can deal with that info in a good way.
>>268826025Thanks for this anon, shame we still have to deal with such fucked scanlations for some of the classics
>>268823548The ceramics class seems like the most healthy and useful change for Jeremy so far. At least it lets him have a hobby that isn't sex or drugs, express his feelings without hurting himself or others, and externalize his self-harm. It's a little thing, but it seems almost too good to be true for this manga.
>>268822940You have to grant Ritz or whoever chose Pen to be Jeremy's therapist one thing: it's good that they chose a woman. Jeremy would've tried to seduce a man several times by now. He has his share of issues with women too, but they aren't that kind.
>>268839800>>268839941I don't expect the average person to be able to handle it well, but it makes his paranoia over confessing pretty justified and that's sad because it was one of the only options presented that would have let him escape without murder.Though on the other hand, you would think that when you confide in people who care about you and have previously been supportive that statistically at least one of them wouldn't accuse you of lying or blame you, especially when the circumstances are pretty sympathetic. Unfortunately for Jeremy, he's in a story that revolves around his misfortune. Funnily enough, Lindon is the only character who handled his confession well despite or maybe because of the fact that he has little involvement with him.
>>268840567It is a healthy hobby for him, probably the healthiest thing he's doing right now. It's also a useful tool for the author to visualize Jeremy's internal state through what he makes. His current creations being painful looking sculptures jabbed all over by needles is a good indicator that shit's not going too well right now.
>>268840844It's a shame Pen is so ineffectual though. If it wasn't for Dr. Orson, I would think this manga hates therapy.
>>268842169To be fair to both of them, Jeremy was in a totally different headspace back with Dr. Orson. He actively sought him out to talk to. Pen's therapy was forced on him, and he's afraid of incriminating himself.
It's an uncomfortable transition to read the story going from Ian being a pretty acceptable self-insert character where you empathize and think about what you'd do in this fucked up situation to him being one of the transparently insane characters himself.
>>268841107Lindon's also an insurance investigator, he's used to hearing dark and nasty stories like that.
>>268839800Maybe it's a test to see how he should judge Ian doubting him and people like Sandra letting it happen. If anyone is like hmm I believe you completely what can I do to help Ian fails
>>268843522Insane is a bit hyperbolic.He had quite a ride in a few months, he really came in expecting to make things right but found himself both falling in love with/lusting over a self destructive Jeremy that's probably too much for any non professional to handle.
>>268844197I consider "finding himself falling in love with/lusting over Jeremy" to be highly malignant and destructive. Nobody would give a pass to Sandra for just being so in love with Greg.
>>268843522Hagio actually lamented that she had trouble breathing life into his character early in the story and I assume that's why the crux of his character arc takes so long to present itself. Since it brought more conflict, he ended up being pretty divisive. From what I remember, his arc goes in a more positive direction and he improves so he may still be able to serve that role but he's at a real low point right now.
>HampsteadLol its weird seeing a manga set there I live real close I walk there all the time. It is the famous gay pick up spot historically in London.
>>268844427I probably would have dipped if he didn't seem superficially like the sane man in a wild situation, so I think it probably worked out. At least for people Hagio Moto was probably never intentionally writing for.
>>268823049>>268823061Go fuck yourself, Ian.
>>268844438perfect place to bring a gay prostitute you've asked to stop sleeping with men then
>>268823816That's a hell of a thing to put in the bank
>>268824408Is Jeremy wearing his overalls backwards?
>>268822989It would be easier to have a modicum of sympathy for Ian if he would take like, any of the blame in this.
>>268823592>dodging the question
>>268823709would you open the door for him?
>>268846137People put all sorts of wild shit into safe deposit boxes. I'm not sure how the Know Your Customer laws the US forced on everyone after 9/11 would change that, but putting blackmail-worthy sex photos in there was totally a thing. The whole idea was trusting that the bank would never, ever open the box on their own, so stuff in there was secure.
>>268848018That's crazy. I can't imagine putting something so incriminating somewhere so obscenely traceable.
I'm already so late but this manga is impossible to speedread
>>268847884Greg! Buddy! C'mon in, my homoslave is your homoslave! In more ways than one haha
I'm trying to get caught up, I'm surprised Lorenzo hasn't received much commentary, he's so fun. Like a best case scenario Greg.
>>268849633He didn't do much this volume except be very homo. I think it's funny that he's positioned as like, the manslut with a heart of gold but also he is very dtf a 16 year old, like I dunno about that one buddy.
>>268849869I apparently completely forgot he tried to seduce Jeremy. I only remember him chasing Ian.
>>268850500Jeremy is the one who suggests it tbf and he's a gentleman afterwards, but it's still like c'mon man. I do like him though.
>>268823855this is gonna be an evergreen image
>>268829200France can't resist being the stereotype
>>268829200I'm not sure how much I buy the source for this.
>>268823518I wonder if it ever occurred to Ian that the teenage drug addict might use his new income to buy drugs
>>268849330Same I'm only just finished volume 2I guess I could go hard with the speed reading and read like 3 a day but...don't have much to input anyway besides damn Jeremy's life sucks. I would have killed myself after the first time, maybe before the first time even finished. If there was a second time, it'd only be to kill Greg instead. Anyway, if I tune out the gay, it's pretty much average hentai blackmail rape training plot but better written. It's quite interesting and not nauseating if you look at it from that angle.
>>268836751>their current arrangement allows Jer to explore (sort of) pleasurable sexuality in the terms he understands and can controlAnon, look at these pages again >>268824087 >>268824100
>>268853844
>>268853338>>268849330Yeah sorry about the fast schedule. I have more classics on my radar so keep your eye out for that though.