We’ve covered books by Homunculus here before. He’s an incredibly talented artist with a wide body of work, to be sure. He also places a huge emphasis on character and storytelling, though, which can sometimes dilute the charm of his manga. Thankfully, in his latest anthology titled Courting Etranger, the acclaimed artist has found the perfect balance between narrative and raunchiness that kept me entertained from cover to cover.
The first half of full-color material serves as the opening chapter to the volume, a short and sweet eight-page adventure titled “Physical Affection.” In this story, a husky college guy by the name of Uguisizaka invites a classmate of his over to cook some hot pot together and hang out. The classmate, Tsujidou, told Uguisizaka that he’d be bringing his sister along to share the hot pot with them, but when our protagonist’s doorbell rings and he answers the door, the only person there is Misao, the little sister in question. Her brother had to cancel at the last minute, but she was already out doing the shopping for the hot pot. She decided to come over by herself, and offers to do a lot more than just eat hot pot with Uguisizaka.
After the two have a bunch of sex, our main character is conflicted. Should he really be doing this with his classmate’s sister? Why is she even interested in a big guy like him? It turns out that Misao is really into guys with a lot of meat on them, and she’s been infatuated with Uguisizaka since they first met. Hearing that is enough for our hero to embrace the situation and reciprocate her feelings all night long. For being such a short story, I loved how much character development and setup was packed into it. Even though we get to the steamy action by page two, throughout the rest of the story our characters are talking and connecting and sharing their feelings a lot. That balance between nonstop action and a solid story made this chapter of Courting Etranger a lot of fun.
Another part of that chapter’s appeal, though, is the absolutely gorgeous colored art. Homunculus is as talented as ever, drawing slender and curvy girls who are complemented gorgeously by the lush and naturally blended shadows of his colored artwork. While “Physical Affection” is only about one girl, there’s a set of eight, single-page stories at the end of the volume that is also rendered in full color. Some of these are epilogues to chapters from the book, and some are original one-shots, but each one shows off a different girl in different scenarios who are all beautifully rendered in color. The shining rays of light bouncing off of their soft bodies and the vivid colors used for their eyes and hair are particular highlights of the artwork here that I absolutely adored.
There’s also another set of bonus pages at the end of Courting Etranger that I haven’t seen in many other hentai anthologies before. Four pages of 4-koma style mini-comics book-end the erotic hentai volume, with each of the strips serving as an additional epilogue to every story from the book. These comics drop the focus on sex, though, and instead are much sillier and more comedic affairs that show off the characters in a new light. There are a lot of great stories and memorable characters in this book, so getting to see them in a new light like this is an incredible treat.
One of the most memorable chapters of the entire volume is a chapter from the middle of Courting Etranger, titled “Secret Honey Trap.” In this story, a young guy named Eita brings some dinner over to his next-door neighbors. An adorable and petite young girl named Wakaba answers the door, thanking him for the food and accidentally saying she loves him. You might think you know where the story is headed from here, but things get thrown for a loop when Wakaba’s busty, half-naked mother Otoha comes to the door, immediately eliciting a blush from our protagonist. He isn’t just blushing because of her booty shorts, though. Eita comes over to their place pretty often, but it turns out that on a certain day three weeks ago, Otoha invited him over, had a little too much to drink, and ended up having sex with her handsome young neighbor. After that day, she’s acted like nothing happened, which has been slowly driving Eita crazy. He eventually confronts her about it and asks what that night was all about. Naturally, that conversation causes one thing to lead to another, and the two have plenty more sex together while Wakaba is away.
I had a lot of fun with this chapter, especially because of the curve-ball at the beginning. I truly expected the daughter to be the focus of the story, but the twist of the mother being the star, as well as the truth behind why she and Eita had sex that night, kept me really engaged. I also just totally loved the mom. Otoha is a young soul and a bit of an air-head, and the casual way she talks to Eita outside of the bedroom combined with the slightly shy and inexperienced way she acts during sex were a delight. This chapter is also a great showcase for the incredible art of Homunculus. Otoha is tall and fit, but has a big bust that doesn’t come across as wildly unrealistic while still being undoubtedly huge and beautiful. The loose, pillowy way they’re drawn when she’s clothed is incredible, but their soft perkiness and gorgeous nipples after she undresses left me stunned. Every page of “Secret Honey Trap” was better than the last, and it all adds up to a wonderful, sexy, and sweet story.
Courting Etranger is an absolutely beautiful book. Homunculus is one of the most talented artists I’ve ever seen, masterfully drawing an endless variety of natural beauties in touching, sweet, and sometimes even heartbreaking stories. While previous books of his focused too much on the heart-wrench or the plot twists, Courting Etranger has the perfect balance between story and sexy that makes this book a must-own.
