Phyiscal Feedback: "Rise Sexualis" by Okazaki Takeshi

Rise Sexualis can be read here

The Persona series from the third entry onward is particular ripe for pornographic tie-ins; the games put players in the role of very loosely characterized male lead in the midst of a group of attractive and (mostly) likable side characters, and game progression is to some degree dependent on the player socializing and becoming close with these characters, learning more about them, and in some cases pursuing romantic relationships. All an h-doujin artist needs to do from there is carry the groundwork laid by the game a little bit further; every character has fans, and they'll be more than willing to shell out for prints at the next comicket.

Some artists carry this opportunity further than others, however, and it's one such example that we're looking at today; Okazaki Takeshi's excellent doujin, Rise Sexualis. The book centers around Rise Kujikawa, a character from Persona 4 who, due to her career as a successful idol under the name Risette, has developed some issues of personal identity stemming from the manufactured nature of her public persona. The comic itself doesn't explore this aspect of the character particularly in-depth, probably because the game itself has already done so, but does touch on it and use it as something of a framing device for the romance on display; she and Yuu Narukami (the game's blank slate protagonist) are watching her latest promotional DVD, as he was previously unfamiliar with her idol persona and she wants him to get to know every aspect of herself.

As they watch, Rise comments on her experiences during the shoot, and Yuu makes a few internal remarks about how seeing these sides of Rise affects his view of her, both sexually and in terms of her experience in the world; as this is going on, the perspective cuts back and forth between the promotional footage and Rise herself on the couch, often using shots that mirror each other; in particular, there's a great bit where it cuts from Rise talking, to Risette leaning toward the camera with puckered lips as if leaning in for a kiss, and then back to Rise, kissing Yuu on the cheek.

From here the comic starts to heat up, as Rise removes her skirt to reveal that underneath, she's wearing the same swimsuit that she wore in the first portion of the promotional video, and things proceed in the obvious direction. The comic continues mirroring shots of Rise, in various states of undress and ecstasy, with more manufactured, sanitized versions of the same poses in her promotional video, underscoring the disparate sides of her persona, which is particularly poignant in light of the nature of the Japanese idol industry.

For those unfamiliar, Japan's pop idol industry is home to an extremely toxic fan culture, largely encouraged by the way the industry does business. Fans are encouraged to form parasocial relationships with the idols, assuming a certain level ownership over their preferred girl's love life, an arrangement which relies on the idol in question remaining single, at least in the public eye. To facilitate this, idols are often pressured by their producers not to date, or at least to keep it secret if they do. Fans who discover that their favorite idol is in a relationship, especially if they suspect that said relationship has been sexually consummated, have been known to harass the idols and their boyfriends, burn any merchandise they own relating to the idol in question, and refuse to financially support her career any further. These performers are essentially required to portray an image of chastity (even while participating in implicitly sexual photo or video shoots) or risk losing their career.

As such, images of Rise being intimate and having sex with Yuu juxtapose harshly against the view she projects as an idol, and this is acknowledged by Rise at the end of the comic when Yuu ejaculates inside her, and she expresses concern that she can't continue to be an idol if she gets pregnant, before hesitating a moment and suggesting that she might prefer to forgo her career in favor of having a public relationship with Yuu. It ends up being a very sweet moment, further emphasized by the contrast of the idol world she comes from.

Aside from the story, there are also a lot of really cute little touches in the art, like the way Rise's hair flops upward a bit as she drops down onto the couch when the video starts, as well as a wonderful amount of attention to detail on the way her garments lay against her anatomy. Takeshi's artstyle has a very appealing cleanliness to it, even in the messier moments, which serves to endear the characters further to the reader.

Adorable

Overall Rise Sexualis makes excellent use of the foundations laid by Persona 4 to tell a wonderful little erotic story, and I highly recommend it. It gets a 5.