​”Health teacher Naoko Tsuji is still on a mission to advise her students on how to navigate the birds and the bees in modern times. And when it comes to friction, it's even more important to separate fact from fiction—whether it's about how to give and refuse consent, the ins and outs of menstruation, or addressing the stereotypes and tropes found in boys' love manga. The lesson is clear: There's more to sex education than you can shake a stick at!” (Yen Press)
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The first volume of “Sex Ed 120%” combined humor and education, delivered from an eccentric teacher looking to teach her female student about the ins and outs of sexuality. This gave the title a humorous narrative that made the lessons on ‘birds and the bees' a little easier to digest than actual curriculum. However, the second volume draws focus away from the teacher and begins to narrow on the culture around sex and the daily lives of the students. More serious in tone, “Sex Ed 120%” loses some of its charm in the shift to broader issues.
Notably, subjects such as gender roles and inequality become a heavy focus of this volume. Valid lessons for youth, yet ones that begin to push the series from playful exploration of sex into the realm of social commentary. In addition, the closing chapter does speak rather poorly of men, pointing out that it is never okay for a man to hit on a woman. Reading between the lines, this obviously speaks to pestering and inappropriate behavior only (not to mention the sentiment comes from a lesbian couple), but presented at face value to younger men it could be heavily discouraging to want to seek romance. Not to go as far as say the work is harmful, but volume two shows that the work is aimed, almost exclusively, at women. A fact which seems slightly in opposition of the impartiality of the inaugural release.
The series still retains some of its charm from the first, with the teacher having enough of a presence to offer some abrupt observations with comedic enthusiasm. Furthermore, the shifted focus on the girls over the teacher does result in the most interesting chapter to date, dealing with BL manga. Showing the importance of understanding narratives different than your own experience, the girls' exploration of why a lesbian would enjoy BL captures the acceptance of others that the series stumbles over in other chapters. Overall, the shift does not offer some new insight while not entirely abandoning that idyllic blend of humor and education.
Visually, Hotomura's aesthetic stays consistent, with a particular knack for capturing awkward outbursts from the teacher or students when discussing sensitive subject matter. Furthermore, the artists' foray into romance within a couple of chapters highlights their ability to capture youth in love. The book, undeniably, would not be nearly as successful if it was not how complimentary the visual style of Hotomura is to Kikiki Tataki's writing.
“Sex Ed 120%” still has some valuable lessons to teach its readers, and even as an adult I am pleasantly surprised by the odd fact that filters through that I was unaware of. There is some reason to be hesitant to see how the series progresses, as the heavy focus on social commentary made for a more somber read and the focus on students over the eccentric teacher is certain to dissuade some. For now, the series still stands as a quirky and insightful look into the world sex education.
