Hikikomori/Neet – Eve Healy

Tag: Hikikomori/Neet

Hikikomori: A Japanese term describing a person who goes through a severe social withdrawal to the point the individual is unable or unwilling to leave their home. The individual is usually a young adult and does not attend work or school.

NEET: An acronym for “Not in Education, Employment, or Training,” and refers to an unemployed person not receiving an education or vocational training.

Manga Review | A Stomachful of Secret Delights by Tsutako Tsurusawa

Manga Review | A Stomachful of Secret Delights by Tsutako Tsurusawa

Published by Eve Healy on April 28, 2023

Title: A Stomachful of Secret Delights
Author: Tsutako Tsurusawa
Artist: Tsutako Tsurusawa

This is the sequel to Saving My Favorite For Last.

Melo suffers from intense anxiety. His anxiety is so strong that he suffers from chronic hematuria, which puts his health on a major decline. The reason for his anxiety? It could be anything, but the main culprit is his lover Noris. They’d been together for as long as Melo could remember, having been childhood friends since their families were close. From the moment Melo saw Noris eat his food with a smile on his face, Melo made it his mission to marry Noris.

So far, so good, until Melo catches Noris smiling at his new coworker. Melo has never had competition before, having thoroughly monopolized all of Noris’s affection for himself. Melo’s anxiety has reached a fever pitch with a few new suitors hanging around. Not even his meds can stave away the stress anymore, and with the increased pressure, so follows the steep decline of his health. Will Melo be able to keep his one love to himself, or will he die before he even gets the chance?

Manga Review | Mr. Mini Mart by Junko

Manga Review | Mr. Mini Mart by Junko

Published by Eve Healy on April 23, 2023

Title: Mr. Mini Mart
Author: Junko
Artist: Junko

Nakaba has become a NEET. He dropped out of school due to intense bullying and has spent every day at home ever since. He would be in high school right now, but the thought of returning to that situation is too much to bear. But being stuck in his room for the rest of his life is neither feasible nor ideal. So when the opportunity to work at a relative’s convenience store comes up, he takes this chance to get back out into the world and start a new life for himself.

Unfortunately, it isn’t all that simple. His coworker, Yamai, is a big tough guy, and even though they are close in age, Nakaba can’t help feeling intimidated by him. Nakaba also can’t help hating him, even just a little bit. That is until he catches Yamai saving a kitten in a busy street. Yamai smiles so gently and tucks the kitten into his jacket. Nakaba isn’t sure he’s looking at the same person. Now that he knows that prickly exterior is hiding a much softer inside, Nakaba wants to get to know this sweet Yamai. But will getting close to another person lead him to a devastating end like his school life had?

There’s only one way to find out.

Manhwa Review | Trap? Trap! by Ichika

Manhwa Review | Trap? Trap! by Ichika

Published by Eve Healy on March 10, 2023

Title: Trap? Trap!
Author: Ichika
Artist: Hanmomi

Baekyeon hasn’t left his apartment for years. After being bullied, harassed, and assaulted throughout high school, Baekyeon developed an intense fear of people and the outside world. Thankfully, with his writing talent, he has supported himself while working from within the confines of his home as an adult novel writer. Unfortunately, under the imposing and obsessive eye of his editor Soohyun, Baekyeon has no motivation to leave, clean, or do anything beyond writing.

That is until he finds some unexpected guests living among the refuse that has slowly built up around him: cockroaches. There is nothing in this world that Baekyeon hates more than bugs. Unable to do anything until his uninvited guests are evicted from his home, Baekyeon begs Soohyun to call an exterminator. Begrudgingly, Soohyun does, but that means Baekyeon will have to face his greatest fear: a stranger in his home.

Thankfully, the exterminator that comes over is Junghyuk, a kind and extroverted man who just happens to be Baekyeon’s type. Maybe strangers aren’t so bad after all.

Manhwa Review | Home Alone Together by Shin Yuri

Manhwa Review | Home Alone Together by Shin Yuri

Published by Eve Healy on August 5, 2022

Title: Home Alone Together
Author: Shin Yuri
Artist: Shin Yuri

Junwoo is a hikikomori – a young adult who has become a recluse. For the past five years, since graduating high school and after the death of his parents, he has holed himself up in his childhood home, where he spends his days in idle existence. The only thing he has to look forward to is the occasional visit from his neighbor Hanbit, a guy he’s had a crush on since he was a kid. Otherwise, his days are filled with severe loneliness and the self-loathing he hasn’t been able to shake.

One day, Hanbit comes by, implying that he might be moving in with Junwoo. This lights a fire under Junwoo, and he immediately assumes this is his chance to win over Hanbit. However, when Hanbit comes over, he brings along a stranger: Wooyeon. It turns out that Hanbit isn’t planning to move in. On the contrary, he is moving away to be with his longtime girlfriend. However, in fear of Junwoo being left alone unsupervised, Hanbit has the great idea that Wooyeon should move in with Junwoo.

Neither Junwoo nor Wooyeon seems jazzed about the idea, but both seem compelled to go along with it because of their affection for Hanbit. So begins the awkward orbiting the two have as they live together. Despite their disdain for each other’s company, slowly but surely, they grow to tolerate one another. And soon, that tolerance evolves into something more, something neither of them expected it would be. But these two have a lot of old wounds that threaten the peace they have created with each other. Will they be able to move forward, or are they destined to drown amid their surging trauma?