This is probably the weirdest graphic novel I've ever read but the premise was very interesting. Could've done without the additional story at the end.

Look, Beastars is one of my all-time favorite manga. I recommend it everywhere I go, and I’m excited to see where Paru Itagaki goes next. While I understand there’s some questionable content in Beastars, it’s never to a point where it’s uncomfortable. It seems that Itagaki went all the way with this with the single volume tale Drip Drip. The premise is intriguing but is dripping (pun intended) with sociopathic characters and copious amounts of gore and sex.

Mako Higari is a model office worker with a bit of a clean streak. She needs everything so clean that she has massive nosebleeds should she touch anything dirty. By nosebleeds, I mean huge gushing streams of blood from her face. This unfortunately affects her intimate relationships, and she longs for one thing only.

To get laid.

What follows is a handful of chapters as Mako unsuccessfully tries to woo unwitting suitors to uh… know her biblically. While the first half of the story features standalone vignettes, the second half sets her up with Ryunosuke Tokuma. A childhood acquaintance brought back by fate, the two start to have a relationship that may test her bloody limits.

The premise was actually interesting (a girl who gets constant nosebleeds from touching anything dirty). However, the execution of the whole idea missed the mark. Instead of exploring something more emotional, the narrative uses any excuse to strip Mako and her one-night stand excessively. We’re exposed to full frontal depictions often, and it’s always in a way that feels unpleasant. This is also mixed in with huge amounts of blood, which works to the manga’s detriment. Itagaki’s art style is amazing, but it’s marred with black ink all over, and I can’t properly enjoy it here. This manga wastes its Mature rating on sleazy depictions of sex and nudity.

It doesn’t help that the characters are one-dimensional and unlikeable. Mako just wants to do it, and she won’t even let her parental issues get in the way. The people she gets involved with are just as horny and selfish. Even the one person that seems to be likeable turns out to be the worst one of the bunch. It says something that the one-shot included (called White Beard and Boobs… yeah) was leaps and bounds better. And that story was about a sex worker trying to seduce Santa unsuccessfully! I understand this was released in a seinen magazine, but it all feels so juvenile.

Speaking of that one-shot, it’s thanks to Drip Drip that we’ll see more of ripped Santa in… Sanda. Itagaki asked to use the Santa character from the one-shot to a (presumably shonen) magazine. The editor agreed on the condition that she write a one-volume serialization for the current magazine. I guess this was a necessary evil, but I can’t wait for Sanda to make it to the west.

Even if you’re a fan of Beastars, I would wholeheartedly recommend skipping this entirely.