{"id":1869,"date":"2014-10-14T16:10:51","date_gmt":"2014-10-14T08:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/?p=1869"},"modified":"2014-10-14T18:23:53","modified_gmt":"2014-10-14T10:23:53","slug":"33-nini-no-mori-by-shoowa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2014\/10\/14\/33-nini-no-mori-by-shoowa\/","title":{"rendered":"33. Nini no Mori by Shoowa"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"nini\"<\/a>
\nWhat initially got me with this title was a blurb in a fujoshi website saying \u00e2\u20ac\u0153BEETLE BL\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had my fair share of weird and odd things in BL but I have never read a beetle BL, more so drawn by a talented artist like Shoowa. So even when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not a die hard fan, I just had to get this title and see what the fuss was all about. More than beetle BL, I was drawn in a fantastic world where frogs fall in love with bunnies and wolves falling in love with humans. And yeah, of course, beetles making out\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 ish.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

To be honest, I tend to stray from fantasy titles mostly because I hardly have any fantastic bone in my body. If people want to lure me in the fantasy, it has got to have something rooted in reality, like a social commentary or it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something quite uncomplicated that I can still grasp the world it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s living in. Hence, I had my apprehensions when I picked up Nini no Mori. It had that fantastic element to it plus it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got kemono characters. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not exactly the biggest fans of anthropomorphised animals but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m giving Shoowa a shot, especially the beetles.<\/p>\n

Nini no Mori<\/em> revolves around the various animals and creatures that resides in Nini\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s forest. Nini\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a human who has lived far from human society and has given refuge to various beasts and creatures who have lost their way or homes. Nini is probably the least relevant person in this tale. The story focuses more on the creatures and people who inhabit his home. The manga introduces some of these creatures, beginning with the cute story of the frog and the rabbit and their nightly trysts before going into Shoowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trademark tragedies of forbidden and impossible love.<\/p>\n

\"Untitled\"<\/a>
Happy days for this bunny and frog. TBH, I first thought of what kind of babies they’d make.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My initial disappointment was the fact that most of the animals are humanised hence the oddity of a frog and the bunny falling in love felt like the normal BL fair of human-like beasts and creatures making out. Fortunately, the beetle BL was kept intact. The beetles were not turned into humans and while it seems the beetles have found love beneath their hard shells, they served mostly as symbols of their owners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 relationship and dreams. To a degree that disappointed me too because I know how hot Shoowa draws her schmex scenes and I was hoping the beetles would get that action\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 but alas, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably too niche for most BL readers.<\/p>\n

\"Untitled\"<\/a>
Not exactly the beetles’ reunion I was hoping for.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite these initial let downs, I still quite liked Nini no Mori<\/em>. I particularly enjoyed the story of Owen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s abandonment of his reckless and opulent human life for the more simple and grassroots life with the creatures in the forest. In Nini no Mori<\/em>, the creatures have sought refuge in the forest after years of abuse from humans. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nothing new and maybe, to a degree, that might be Shoowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s little environmental statement. But at the end of the day, this is a BL title and Owen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story of retreat and life with the creatures his race had killed was moving enough to make me appreciate these kemono and their romance. Not that I completely get it, but the fact that my indifference towards them was turned to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153all right\u00e2\u20ac\u009d might be telling of Shoowa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ability to write a good story no matter how fantastic or unreal her characters appear.<\/p>\n

\"Untitled\"<\/a>
This story makes the entire book a compelling read.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the end, Nini no Mori<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an interesting title to read. Not one that I would personally pimp to everyone but one I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d certainly talk about should anyone ask me for an interesting BL to read or a BL that has furries in it. I take it that Nini no Mori<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the beginning of my journey towards the world of BL fantasy, one that is beyond princesses and magicians and welcomes creatures of all shapes and sizes.<\/p>\n

Series Information<\/h3>\n

Nini no Mori (\u00e3\u0192\u2039\u00e3\u201a\u00a3\u00e3\u0192\u00bc\u00e3\u0192\u2039\u00e3\u0081\u00ae\u00e6\u00a3\u00ae, Nini’s Forest)<\/strong> by Shoowa
\nSerialized in On Blue
\nPublished by Shodensha
\nAvailable in: Amazon Japan<\/a> and Ebookjapan<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What initially got me with this title was a blurb in a fujoshi website saying \u00e2\u20ac\u0153BEETLE BL\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"So about that beetle BL. I finally read it. And here's what I thought of Shoowa's Nini no Mori.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[411,412,544,545,543],"class_list":["post-1869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-bl","tag-boys-love","tag-on-blue","tag-shodensha","tag-shoowa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p26e5y-u9","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1489,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2013\/08\/04\/801mmf-spotlight-bls-new-wave\/","url_meta":{"origin":1869,"position":0},"title":"#801MMF Spotlight: BL’s New Wave","author":"khursten","date":"August 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"When a couple of Japanese BL scholars went down to Manila, I spent a good week with them - interviewing local female artists and getting to know BL fans in Manila. 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Had I done this alone you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d probably get a handful but I got tons from you guys which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dojin Corner"","block_context":{"text":"Dojin Corner","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/dojin-corner\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ace of Beasts","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.staticflickr.com\/297\/20188234065_c7c5ae37e4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2019,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2016\/01\/05\/thedangerousblmangaof2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":1869,"position":2},"title":"The dangerous Boys Love (BL) manga of 2016","author":"khursten","date":"January 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Another year. Another set of dangerous boys love (BL) manga for us to read and enjoy! Here's this list Kono BL ga Yabai list!","rel":"","context":"In "Features"","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/features\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/BLgayabai2016feature.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/BLgayabai2016feature.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/BLgayabai2016feature.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/BLgayabai2016feature.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/BLgayabai2016feature.jpg?fit=1200%2C550&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1978,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2015\/07\/24\/calling-for-recs-for-the-2015-bl-webcomic-rec-list\/","url_meta":{"origin":1869,"position":3},"title":"Calling for recs for the 2015 BL Webcomic Rec List","author":"khursten","date":"July 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"SO! 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That made this fujojo sad so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m making up for it this 2015 and to get the party started, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m doing my annual\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Dojin Corner"","block_context":{"text":"Dojin Corner","link":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/category\/dojin-corner\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Webcomics","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.staticflickr.com\/560\/19962645135_fd611293a5_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.staticflickr.com\/560\/19962645135_fd611293a5_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.staticflickr.com\/560\/19962645135_fd611293a5_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1757,"url":"http:\/\/www.punkednoodle.com\/champloo\/2014\/05\/13\/recovering-from-the-awesomeness-of-blush-2014\/","url_meta":{"origin":1869,"position":4},"title":"Recovering from the awesomeness of BLush 2014","author":"khursten","date":"May 13, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I always say I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m too old for conventions but I guess I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m never too old for Boys\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Love conventions. 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