Inside Mari, Volume 2

ぼくは麻理のなか [Boku wa Mari no Naka] #2

by Shuzo Oshimi

It is becoming clear to Isao and Yori that finding Mari is going to take more time than expected. As the two continue their search, they'll have to cooperate, in spite of their contrasting personalities, to preserve Mari's social life.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Mystery, Seinen, Drama, Fiction, Graphic Novels

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2013

About the author

Shuzo Oshimi (押見修造, Oshimi Shūzō) is a Japanese manga creator.
Drawn in a realistic art style, his comics tend to be psychological dramas exploring the difficulties in human relationships and often touching on disturbing situations and perversions.
Oshimi debuted in 2001 with the manga series Avant-Garde Yumeko, appeared in Kodansha's 'Monthly Shōnen Magazine.' Most of his works since then have been published by Kodansha and Futabasha.
Among his first successes the single volume manga Sweet Poolside (2004), later adapted into a live-action film, and the series Drifting Net Café (2008–2011), also adapted for TV.
Oshimi reached international acclaims with The Flowers of Evil (2009–2014) and Inside Mari (2012–2016), both adapted into successful anime. Other notable works are Blood on the Tracks (2017–2023) and Welcome Back, Alice (2020-2023) .

Reviews

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It takes an unusually long time to establish the characters and plot.

And the question of Mari's whereabouts remains unanswered..

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Komori and Yori joined forces to protect Mari's image and tried to get clues to locate her whereabouts. But the longer Komori hosts Mari's body, he experiences feelings that are new to him. The fun things that he had never done in his life before. When caught in the act of being Not-so-Mari, he tried to throw Yori under the bus and almost made himself believe that he is Mari, he felt something that might wake up his already cozy self... He just can't be Mari.

I love how Oshimi gave the loner a chance to see life at its peak—to give the hero a chance to choose his own path: be enlightened by a certain subject or succumb to the darkness using it. Putting it to context, use Mari's body to enjoy a somewhat pretentious life or find Mari's body all the while learning about life (growing) I noticed that it's actually a recurrent theme in his series, which I love very much.

[Natasya Wiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story about Isao komori, was a college student but didn't go to college for almost 3 years because doesn't have a friend. Later he found he was inside Mari body, whom he been crush and stalking for a while. Later he try to find Isao Komori assuming that Mari was inside Isao Komori body but found out that the real Isao Komori still Isao Komori. He try to figuring out where Mari went and what is actually happen to both of them. The end of this story is mind blowing.

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man... So far it really feels like all the hype for this series I saw in my online bubble is completely non-founded. Thus far, I haven't seen any true depth at all, and the little authors note at the end of this one was. Odd to say the least.

[Alba Munarriz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ganas terribles de agarrar de los hombros al autor y gritarle que conozca gente trans

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still strange, still intriguing.

Isao is still trapped inside Mari's body and Yori and him are trying to find out why. They decide to try and track down clues but that reveals more than they expected. A secret porn fetish!? Also what will Isao do when he has to go to gym and all the girls change? Will Yori come out and tell her true feelings for Mari too?

This is basically a love story filled with a switch body twist. It's pretty funny at times, weird at others, but somehow I keep wanting to know what happens next. I do like the author goes in to the fact of sexuality with teens but never shows bare nudes and such, as they are high school girls, and we don't need to see that. But the fact he doesn't have the girls all huge tits and ass and such is a nice change of pace too. My favorite thing is the secret with Yori and her past with Mari. I feel like they might have been in love at one point?

Either way I'll keep reading since the series remains interesting still. A 3.5 out of 5.

[petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super weird, but very intriguing???

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isao is trying to adapt to his new life as Mari.

In the meanwhile, he's trying to figure out what the hell happen that got him to this situation.

Who was Mari exactly? and what is Yori's role in all this?

We're only just scratching the surface.

[amine~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

hm, less happened in this volume

[Xirimoya]

mmmm

[Nelli Lakatos · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t like Yori at all, the “friend” who’s trying to protect Mari’s body. She’s just so strange and it seems like she’s having romantic feelings towards Mari but still I don’t like her personality which is my reason for such a low rating for this volume. She was everywhere in this addition to the series, I felt like this volume was more about Yori that Mari.

[Heather Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is very strange but intriguing. I’m not really sure what’s going on, but I like it

[Sai Fighter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for the whole series:



I read this series because of a video essay by ceicocat called "The Incel to Trans Pipeline and Inside Mari" which I highly recommend.

I read "Welcome Back, Alice" first, which I am glad I did because it really helped me understand the author's ideas about gender before diving into "Inside Mari." Inside Mari definitely feels like a gender exploration manga, but it isn't as straight forward about it as Oshimi's other manga.

This isn't your typical situational comedy gender swap manga (Ex. Ranma 1/2). This really feels like a more nuanced exploration of what it would really means to swap bodies with a teenage girl and all the stuff that would naturally come with it: complex female relationship dynamics, unwanted advances of men, social pressures of filling the role of a woman, school pressures, menstruation, etc. Not to mention at one point, it starts to feel somewhat like a trans narrative. The main character Isao Komori is struggling to decide if he wants to save Mari, be Mari, or just wants her sexually. It really reminds me of another manga, Until I Become Me by Satou Hatsuki which is another gender swap manga that slowly starts to take on a more trans story line. But Inside Mari feels a lot more abstract. The ending is honestly, ambiguous, and has more of a DID vibe which I didn't really enjoy. I would have rather it stayed more on the trans narrative track, but I also get that Welcome Back, Alice fills that narrative a little better so at least there is that. The "mystery" of where Mari is gets solved but its still pretty confusing.

This is definitely interesting. Not totally sure I would recommend but still pretty good.

[Sol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gosh, these books are so short and fast that I read the first two volumes in one brief sitting. Maybe because there's really not much dialogue/text so I'm just kinda flipping through?
Anyways, this one was also just okay. I didn't really find it better or worse than the first vol, it was all just okay. Our main character kind of just acts like a pitiable, creepy freak (which isn't a bad mark against the series, it's just how he's objectively written) while Mari's classmate helping him also acts insufferable and awful. The situation the characters are in is distressing, but the really angsty way this is written kind of doesn't make this a super fun reading experience.

Even though our protagonist is such a creepy guy, I do feel sorry for him just because his life is so sad and pathetic. So when he was able to sing out at karaoke with Mari's friends, I was kind of glad to see him having a good time. It's clear that in his own life, he was really socially inept, maybe even anxious or agoraphobic, so getting to see him have one good moment was nice, even though he's pretty much a horrible person (stalking a high school girl?? So gross!).

I'm still a bit interested to see where we go from here, so on we go!

[Kate]

I can't decide what I think of these books. Are they meant to be titillating wish-fulfillment for men, or are they supposed to be a thoughtful commentary on being a teenage girl? Both, I guess? But can it be both? As a former teenage girl, I feel kind of gross reading this. The art style is very male gaze-y. That said (and I'm conflating the 2nd and 3rd volumes because I read them all at once), there are some very earthy depictions of, for example, a girl getting her period, and I sort of appreciated seeing that. And the sheer horror of living in the actual, sometimes-disgusting body of your lust object is gonna be compelling no matter what else is going on. But I guess I'm waiting to see what kind of point the author ultimately decides to make. And my hopes aren't super high, especially after reading the book-ending "what is eros?" series of comics.

[Kastie Pavlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I binge read volumes 2 - 9 so this is a generalized review until finale. The story was weird, and uncomfortable and funny at times. The eros commentary at the end of earlier volumes was probably creepier than any single moment in the books. The first volume described this series as having a "scifi" twist, but every volume after that stays a "dark" twist. There is no sci-fi. That mischaracterization made me form a theory that was way off the mark, but I caught the change early and let my imagination take over. I tried more to enjoy the story rather get than figure it out. Without spoiling anything, I did enjoy the entire series, am glad I opted to collect the effort series, and and satisfied with the conclusion.

[Brianna Jo♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing much really happened. "Mari" or should I say "Isao" encountered the scary place that is the girl's locker room, had a bizarre sleepover with Yori where she partially confessed to her/him, then "Mari" went shopping and did some karaoke with friends. The volume ended with "Mari's" first experience with menstruation. We'll see where this is going next. In my experience, Oshimi's stories are usually a slow crawl to-- how do I say?...' exciting'. His story, "Happiness" which I am also reading, is the same. Very slow-paced. Hopefully, something more interesting will happen or pick up in the next volume or so.

[The Wrath of Eleny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man so much intrigue, I can't wait to get to the third one. This manga so far has not disappointed, super original, but I gotta say it's still kinda creepy.


Okay I'm starting to see where this is going I think? I feel like the girly with the glasses that's been helping out Mari needs to cool it. I get that she's trying to "help Mari", but her stalking is super creepy, she wants to maintain Mari's "lifestyle" but the sleepover was a bad call so was following her around. Mari's bestie is catching on that something is up, I mean if she really wants to help why doesn't she just tell the dude how Mari acts normally, she's not doing enough of that.

[Nicholas Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe three and a half stars. A bit more fan service this time. The story remains full of mystery. While the main character is a creep, he is desperately trying to do the right thing. And failing anyway. This time Isao (inside Mari) continues trying to figure out what’s happened to him with the bristly help of a strange social outcast girl who seems to have a crush on Mari. However, Isao can’t emulate Mari’s life effectively, which causes an array of problems. And Isao still has a lot to learn about what it means to be a girl.

Definitely engaging. Definitely creepy. Good art.

[Robert Pierson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The yard works nice and I do like the fact that The writer knows when to hold back and doesn’t show full nudity wouldn’t be necessary in a book like this the story is interesting I do like the whole body swap and how it’s making the main character extremely nervous and probably doing things out of their normal character which will come in when you’re in somebody else’s body would think also I like the fact that it shows the coming of age and how revealing the secrets of people that you may not know and how that could impact your feelings about them.

[Bonnie_Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no supernatural stuff going on - Shuzo Oshimi is playing this straight. This manga really gets into the psychological warfare of teen girls. Mari's personality really comes out - she discovers she loves singing karaoke (to the point another student has to tell her to stop and sit down so someone else can have a turn) and playing video games. The constant pressure between people who are trying to "help" her maintain her social standing and those looking for any crack they can exploit is becoming quickly overwhelming.

[Litwithlove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going in to Inside Mari (phrasing is not my strong suit) I was worried that there was going to be SO much of the male gaze. And there is, but in volume 2 I realize how intentional that is. There are many many many loose ends that would need to be tied off to end this series in a cohesive way, and I hope that it keeps me intrigued enough to get to the final volume. (Vol.9) I am all in on Inside Mari.
(Phrasing. Sorry.)

[Elaine Ker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Après le tome 1, j'ai hésité à arrêté car l'histoire ne me passionnait pas plus que ça, mais comme j'avais le tome 2 sous la main, j'ai décidé d'essayer quand même. Je dois dire que la vie de Marie m'intrigue beaucoup !
Par contre j'ai toujours aussi peu d'affection pour le personnage principal, et pas plus pour son "alliée".

[Phou · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
I'm liking the illustrations a lot more. Can't say much else about the rest. Not sure what to make of this series.

Didn't really like it overall but probably will continue reading because I'm curious i guess.

[Ivy~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m actually kind of happy that I had the main plot twist of this series spoiled for me, because I think some of the stuff in this volume would have made me way too uncomfortable otherwise, yet since I knew the context, it became interesting.

I’m excited to see how things further develop.

[julsemulse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yori is getting on my nerves jeez. I can‘t understand why she‘s SO obsessed with protecting „Mari“. That bitch is a clichee loner with no damn friends. I get it that she is spying Mari so none of her friends can suspect smth but girl u suck

[Rhys · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine I think Maris friends are going to stop hanging out with her or something. I think maybe this is all in Mari’s mind and none of it is really real. I do want to see where the plot goes I feel like there is potential. 6.2/10

[Bryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first 3 of these all in a rush and don't remember which part of the story was in which volume, but I love how Oshimi is showing some of the unspoken social rules of femininity.

[Sanne Blomme · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun!

[Anna Long · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75
I liked this issue a lot more than volume 1! The developments are a lot more interesting, and I'm really enjoying seeing how Isao and Yori are unraveling more and more about Mari's personality.