Ouch the Edge TM I picked up Yakedo Shoujo after watching a multihour long iceberg video in whence the Youtuber coldopened the video with the dictionary definition of the word Horror. So basically I knew I was going to be getting exactly the kind of content I was looking for there. Yakedo appealed to me in particular because Im finishing up another semester in my endless groundhog day length career of school and Im slipping further into the pit of despair and I just need some good fun wholesome edge okay? And Yakedo delivers perfectly on that promise. 500https://i.ur.com/3VYwKhH.png The concept of edge as a narrative tool in general has been fascinating for me to think about lately. I was the edgelord back in my middlehighschool emo conservativechristianfamilygirl sneakingovertomyfriendshousetosmokecigarettes beingtoldImmatureformyagebyboys5yearsmysenior Girbackpackwearing days. I was writing the edgy DarkHetalia fanfiction on DeviantArt. I had an entire birthday party where my friends gathered around my shitty laptop to play The Path. I was definitely terrified of Salad Fingers but watched it all anyways. My most beloved manga growing up were Elfen Lied and Mirai Nikki. Edge will always hold a special place in my heart. And Yakedo has some interesting things to say about the nature of edge. 500https://i.ur.com/wrFsnI9.png On its surface Yakedo Shoujo is a manga about a girl whos bubbly and wants to die and a boy whos gloomy and doesnt want to live a very important distinction here. Its about these two falling in love and being in a dysfunctional relationship and having a plethora of other dysfunctional relationships surrounding them. So basically its about any group of alternative high schoolers. Youll have people online talk about this manga and list it on their Top 50 Most Disturbing Manga of All Time but in comparison to a lot of other fucked up manga Yakedo is pretty tame. It has some relatively disturbing scenes of animal abuse and there is sexual abuse and suicide but if you watch/read a fair amount of edgy shit youve likely seen most of it before. I dont think the content in this manga is there for shock value but is rather there to be a narrative device for getting its characters to a certain emotional state. There are some things that are just best expressed through messy edge. 500https://i.ur.com/ORzcwyd.png On the internet and especially on review websites such as this one the term edge is almost exclusively used as a derisive term. If a piece of art utilizes edge is is bad because it has not expressed itself through a more sophisticated means or it is making light of serious topics that deserve to be explored with more tactfulness. I agree with this to some extent. There are definitely moments when edge is used for shock value and since edge is an aesthetic that necessitates aestheticizing certain taboo topics like abuse and suicide and underage drug usage and suffering in general. I think these are valuable conversations to have and I would never say that people are wrong to be put off by these aspects of a piece of media. However as a former edgelord I must go to bat for edge and attempt to make a case that it can be a valuable tool and that most importantly preteen and teenage suffering deserves to be taken seriously rather than chided for being just a phase that the teens in question will grow out of. 500https://i.ur.com/To7oK5c.png But now we must return to this manga that I am purportedly writing a review of. I dont find it useful to examine the story of this manga because there really isnt much of one to speak of. Girlfriend wants to die but Boyfriend only kind of wants to die. They are both into some pretty fucked up shit but its clear that they both care for each other even though theyre perpetuating a toxic mindset cycle for themselves. They have both also suffered some pretty massive trauma that ends up playing a big role in why theyre both fucked up and want to die. At the end of their journey Boyfriend decides that he does not want to commit double suicide with his girlfriend and then Girlfriend promptly disappears out of his life forever. I find this to be particularly interesting because the girlfriend Shiina blends the chuunibyou archetype with the depressed gf archetype I mean cmon shes eve got the eyepatch. In this way she becomes the perfect manic pixie dream girl for our male MC. She allows him to have sex with her to strangle her to use her. She commits acts of violence in front of him so he can be a voyeur and learn about himself through this violence. Then at the end of his journey because lets not kid ourselves it is his journey he learns that he actually doesnt want to die and ends up leaving this messy situation a changed and better man while we never get to know the conclusion of Miss Thanatos. 500https://i.ur.com/HMKqvvY.png Well that sounds entirely unappealing. So then why does this story and any story with edge in it for that matter attract any kind of female audience. I cant speak for everyone but in my case its because these Death Drive girlfriends are iconic and relatable. I can see so much of myself and my former friends in these characters. I thought they were cool when I was their age and now that Im an adult I find them nostalgic. There is also a part of me that wants to be able to shield these characters and by extension my former self from the trauma that is being a 14yearold. Being 14 is fucking hellish and I do not wish it on anybody. It is shocking to me that so many people make it past their teenage years with the no support that is there for them. Especially 14 year olds that are neurodivergent or queer or marginalized or part of an alternative subculture or are going through abuse or any of those things combined. I remember what it was like back then and it fucking sucked and sometimes the only way you have to express any of that teen angst is through edge. Once you get older and are able to reflect and crystalize your experiences you and express those feelings in a more codified avantgarde way a la Houseki no Kuni but until you get to that point you just have to paint your nails black cut thumb holes in your hoodies wear knee high socks put on some MCR and muck it out in the trenches. And thats why I will always have a special place in my heart for edge. Even the bad edge. 500https://i.ur.com/abEUOOg.png And dont get me wrong Yakedo isnt bad by any means. It fumbles the landing on some of its characters but ultimately I find it treats its deathobsessed teens with respect. It never once points a finger at them and laughs at their suffering. These teens also find a support network within themselves. God knows its not a perfect support network but I think a lot of people will be able to relate to having most of your friends in high school be suicidal and having to stay up with them some nights just to be there for them. Yakedo also makes some attempt to explain why teens would be suicidal and why saying things like it gets better rarely works. I saw one review on MAL mention that this manga was made for people who think im14andthisisdeep posts are actually deep and they were saying that as a point of derision but also they were right. Yakedo is for 14 year old edgelords and I think thats great. Teenagers deserve to have their suffering taken seriously and edge deserves to be examined as any other narrative technique would be.