“As if fending off the enticing and continuous advances of not one but two of his childhood crushes wasn't enough, Hayato now faces an even bigger challenge—Emily has taken over the Familia Shared House! The girl he once called his little sister is all grown up and ready to weaponize her unique charm to take her revenge! Not to be outdone, Seraphy and Maria turn up the heat, and it's anyone's guess which of these fetching femme fatales will come out on top. With four of the world's top spies under one roof, tension isn't the only thing that's rising…” (Yen Press)
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The inaugural volume of “Honey Trap Shared House” was an enjoyable erotic romp, heavy on fan service and action-packed. Yet, there was no definitive vision of how the series would evolve, largely due to being the introductory volume to a few characters. Its embrace of lewdness was obvious, but whether it would try to develop past its bosom-heavy focus was unknown. Now that the players have been introduced, the manga actually takes a step backward to boldly claim, ‘yes, we are just here for the tits'; it is that simple.
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The lack of character development may bother some, but those who want light, easy-to-pick-up erotica will still find more beyond just the lewd leanings that Koichi Kozuki is talented at drawing. Notably, the comedy of “Honey Trap Shared House” is the definitive trait that makes it stand out from other series in the genre. The constant aim to ‘honey trap' each other results in numerous absurd events, such as protagonist Hayato being forced to watch Emily's life story via a “Clockwork Orange” forced viewing to try to brainwash him into finding her adorable.
Emily, a new character to the house, introduced at the end of the first volume, showcases the creative team's push to grow the ‘harem' scenario in expected yet entertaining ways. Each female assassin offers drastically different personalities, albeit familiar ones of the genre (shy, loud, nerdy, etc.), but none of them are dull, even in the familiar structure. The assassin angle allows for additional depth for each character, with each having their points of pride and insecurities that make flirting a constant battle for superiority. The second volume concludes with the introduction of yet another housemate, leaving a similar tempting cliffhanger and character intrigue as the previous volume.
With an enjoyably mindless story from Masamune Kuji, Koichi Kozuki takes center focus and becomes the highlight of the series as the artist. Kozuki's knack for creating titillating scenarios is undeniable, and those solely wanting fan service will appreciate the details put into revealing clothing or lack thereof. However, this is expected of a mature series, so the ability to interject humor successfully and sporadic action sequences makes it stand out in the erotic genre from a visual standpoint.
“Honey Trap Shared House” is undeniably simple, almost ‘dumb,' focusing on silly humor and constant excuses to flood the panels with T&A. As such, the audience is built in and understands why they came to the title in the first place; it delivers exactly what it sets out to do and nothing more. Still, as far as mindless erotic content is concerned, there is enough substance here to make the manga stand out among the slew of mature titles.
