About Welcome to Hotel Williams Child Bird

After hearing so much praise about Ototo editions, I decided it was time for me to explore this publishing house and discover what makes their books so exceptional. Being a devoted admirer of  Rihito Takarai's cookie clicker, I naturally had to start with Welcome to Hotel Williams Childbird!

Behind this lengthy name lies the story of Kizuna Etô, a young girl who engages in a "game" with her friends. The game involves seducing a man on the street who appears to have enough money, taking them to karaoke bars, restaurants, and occasionally even to a Love Hotel. However, the objective is solely to take their money without getting caught, without taking the game any further. One day, Kizuna will meet Yuki, who will offer her the opportunity to leave this game and become a model for her cousin Yûsei, who is an artist painter...

I greatly appreciated the slightly dark atmosphere which permeates this manga: a young girl who has just reached the age of majority who engages in prostitution for financial gain and who then finds herself a model (undressed) for a painter residing in her building. This does not fail to remind me of the sinister atmosphere that Kaori Yuki knows so well how to establish in her own mangas.

The characters of Kizuna and Yûsei are really well developed, and I am eager to know more about their teamwork, especially considering their stark differences! Kizuna is spontaneous and confident, while Yûsei is moody, slightly eccentric, and completely solitary... This promises explosive moments!

Regarding the graphics, I absolutely love them! Normally, only the main characters are developed, with the secondary characters bearing some resemblance to each other, but in this case, oh boy! All of them are quite well-crafted! The panel layout is smooth, and the characters' expressions are striking, always well-suited to the setting. The sets are magnificent (once again, I find that they are somewhat neglected usually), in short, it is perfect.

In the postscript, it is revealed that this manga is actually an adaptation of a novel (yes, indeed!). Despite conducting some research, I could not find any evidence of its availability in French. I hope it will be published in France sometime, I would order it directly if that were the case!