Not Simple

Description

Ian, a young man with a fractured family history, travels from Australia to England to America in the hope of realizing his dreams and reuniting with his beloved sister. His story unfolds backwards through the framing narrative of Jim, a reporter driven to capture Ian's experiences in a novel. [Viz]

Type

Manga

Related Series

N/A

Associated Names

Complicado (Brazilian Portuguese)

Непросто

ノットシンプル

Groups Scanlating

N/A

Latest Release(s)

N/A

Status in Country of Origin

1 Volume (Complete)

Completely Scanlated?

Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter

N/A

User Reviews

N/A

Forum

1 topics, 5 posts

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User Rating

Average: 8.3 / 10.0 (153 votes)

Bayesian Average: 7.97 / 10.0

27%

21%

24%

14%

Last Updated

June 7th, 2022 9:49am PDT - 3 years ago

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Genre

Drama Mystery Seinen Slice of Life Tragedy
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Categories

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Author(s)

Artist(s)

Year

Original Publisher

Penguin Shobou (2004-2005)

Shougakukan (2006)

Serialized In (magazine)

Ikki (Shougakukan)

Comic Seed! (Penguin Shobou)

Licensed (in English)

Yes

English Publisher

Viz (Complete)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)

Weekly Pos #752

(-25)

Monthly Pos #1671

(-141)

3 Month Pos #3380 (No change)

6 Month Pos #4990

(-114)

Year Pos #6956

(-14)

List Stats

On 88 reading lists

On 411 wish lists

On 355 completed lists

On 7 unfinished lists

On 176 custom lists

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Forum Posts Click to view the forum

Identity of Woman Ian loves (spoiler)

14 years ago

User Comments [ Order by usefulness ]

Pretentious drivel the length of a movie.

by BeAsOne
5 years ago

Rating: N/A

This is pure Oscar bait. Boring and pointless dialogue, boring framing and the art stinks. You could replace them for stick figures and nothing would change.

Was this comment useful? Yes

Jarring; Truly Not Simple

by FeyFujoshi
7 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

An excellent story where I can find no fault. The incidents of

child rape and prostitution are dealt with in a mature manner, which completely blew me away. The family dynamics are shown with such detail and maturity, and so is the earnest-foolish of an unrequited love. This degree love and care, is simply world shattering for me. Media representations do matter. They do. And, this is an excellent way of having conversation around such fraught and delicate topics.

Was this comment useful? Yes

What a fake melodrama

by nsstrungis
12 years ago

Rating: N/A

Totally unbelievable. I don't really care much about the artwork, since I read a lot of mangas that possess a slight or totally different art, but the storyline is just terrible, it looks like a badly done soap opera script into a manga.

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Ono Natsume, I love and hate you so much...

by infinity9001
13 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

I only give 10s to mangas that provide such a cathartic experience that all other mangas completely pale in comparison afterwards.

The art isn't everyone's cup of tea. I love raw art styles, because they capture emotion so beautifully, but they're not pretty to look at. So if you want your bishounens and pretty females, look elsewhere. Half the people look sort of like lemurs, but honestly speaking, for this the art is secondary. It supplements the story, but it's the characters and the emotions that are the most important things.

The story as everyone has mentioned is beyond beautiful. It's so simple and realistic, and yet so tragic and heartrending. The way it's written makes it feel like this was truly someone's life story (for all we know it could have been O_O). This one is a tough story, and it's hard to stomach at times. If you don't think you can handle, don't read it. Definitely, don't come into the story hoping for happily ever afters and a beautiful sparkly view of life, b/c you're going to be sorely disappointed.

Overall, an amazing read that reminded me just how talented Ono Natsume is.

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Tragic yet satisfying...

by hobbitelf518
14 years ago

Rating: 9.8 / 10.0

I gobbled up this volume in one sitting. The way the story is narrated is like watching a critically acclaimed indie movie that deserves an Oscar-nod -- I kid you not. You want to cheer for Ian and wonder what is going on in Jim's mind. Though tragic, like Reppu said, it is strangely satisfying (I think it is because of ONO Natsume's genius way of telling the story in a nonlinear fashion). Definitely not a happy read, but a very interesting, believable and endearing slice-of-life.

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Amazing story.

by yumemiru
15 years ago

Rating: N/A

I hesitated to buy this volume at first, seeing as how I didn't like some of the oneshots I had read by this author before. But there was something about the cover art and the summary that compelled me to buy it. I'm glad I did. This story...it's so fascinating. The story behind Ian's life and the personalities of the people involved in it---it's just amazing. Amazing and tragic, but nonetheless, it captures something incredibly real. As Reppu said, it's justly labeled 'slice-of-life'.

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Definitely recommended

by Reppu
15 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

This book has certainly opened my eyes to the beauty that Ono Natsume can weave into stories. The story seems to be fragmented, filled with many different parts, but by the end, they have all come together in ways that one would never predict. The title character Ian remains faithful and lovable until the end, as does his friend Jim; for most of the story, it is nearly impossible to tell who depends upon whom in their friendship. While the story will definitely pull at your heartstrings, the ending is well-crafted and strangely satisfying. It is not light BL, not a fluffy shoujo, or even an action-packed shounen story, though it does have elements from each of these forms. The genre "slice-of-life" really does fit it best.

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Poignant ...

by yblees
15 years ago

Rating: 8.0 / 10.0

A gorgeously crafted story, but so heartrending that I hesitate to recommend this to my friends (T__T).
Prepare a hanky or tissues to cry into - and never, ever read when depressed.
Even so, once read, I believe this story will stay in your heart and mind forever.

... Last updated 15 years ago

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