| Creator | Atami Michinoku |
| Japanese Title | |
| Japanese Title (Romaji) | Hajimari wa Naka kara |
| Japanese Publisher | Junet Co. |
| English Publisher | Renta |
Where to Buy/Read
EbookRenta
Boys' Love Database, Manga
It Starts from the Inside by Atami Michinoku
Sho Itoguchi, an office worker who runs a site selling urethra bougies as a hobby, finds his boss’s name, Noriyuki Kiyama, within the list of prospective buyers. Later on, he brings some urethra bougies to Noriyuki’s home and starts his “lecture” just like that. Despite it being Noriyuki’s first time, he’s drowning in pleasure in front of Sho. Sho can’t hold back his excitement…!
2 reviews for It Starts from the Inside by Atami Michinoku
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fried green fujoshi –
My impression of “It Starts from the Inside” is that it is a smut comic with a gimmick first and foremost — there is a plot and some angst, and a bit of a twist as well which makes it more interesting, but it is primarily structured around sex scenes and the theme of urethral sounding so calibrate your expectations appropriately. If that’s what you’re looking for this should be right up your alley; if you want something with a bit more depth this one might not cut it.
The art is gorgeous, as to be expected from this mangaka. The bed scenes are well detailed and everyone gets equally naked and exposed — there’s none of that business where the top always keeps his pants on. I also appreciated the nods to safety considering the risks associated with this particular activity — they use gloves and lube, and make a point about always disinfecting the equipment. Mild spoiler: this even becomes a plot point later in the story.
Side note: I had to look up “bougie” because I had no idea that was an actual medical term for the equipment and was like…surely this isn’t what they’re really called…I’m still not fully convinced this term was the right word choice since if you look up “urethral bougie” all the results are medical and any time I’ve seen any reference to the sex act it’s called sounding and the equipment a sound or plug. Minor issue, but it was a little jarring not seeing the terminology I would have expected.
I felt like some of the conflicts got smoothed over a little quickly; Noriyuki is acting on some pretty terrible advice, but the framing of his insecurity between the conversations with the bartender and the conversations with Sho felt a little inconsistent. I also wondered how much of that insecurity was caused by this dude telling him horror stories about dating straight men. I was honestly expecting a small scene (perhaps as an extra) with the two of them going to the bar afterwards and some words between Sho and the bartender over his crappy advice. It’s a minor issue overall but contributed to me feeling like the relationship issues that were raised in the middle chapters didn’t get completely aired out before everything rolled into the happy ending. There’s only so much room in a single volume and the priority here leans toward the sex scenes over the drama, but it did leave me wishing there had been at least one more chapter, both to give the drama more room to breathe and to get in some of those scenes we didn’t get (from the afterward) like Sho being on the receptive end of some sounding play.
I read this one on Renta and can recommend it as at least a rental, but consider buying permanently if you’re a fan of Atami Michinoku and want access to this gorgeous artwork for more than a one-time read.
Rating: 3.5 rounded to 4
Christine –
I loved it. It is first and foremost smut, but it took me by surprise that there was such a sweet story involved. Sho falls head over heels in love with Noriyuki, and the story revolves around their everyday interactions (albeit usually smutty interactions) and slice of life and going from sex friends to lovers.