Bitter Virgin



""I hate them! I fear them! I detest them! Because when it comes to men...""

When it comes to men, Hinako Aikawa has problems - problems which she confesses to an empty and abandoned church. Unbeknowest to her, her classmate, local Casanova Daisuke Suwa, was hiding in said church to dodge his henpecking Childhood Friend Yuzu Yamamoto and his wanna-be girlfriend Kazuki Ibuse. At first he tries to shoo Hinako away, but eventually relents. He expects to hear a minor confession, and instead receives the shock of his life in learning of years of abuse Hinako suffered. Sexual abuse from her stepfather that got her pregnant not once, but twice, and resulted in at least one birth to a child one year prior, when Hinako was fifteen.

Despite initial denial, Daisuke is forced to accept his classmate has indeed suffered these horrors. As a result, even though Hinako was the one girl Daisuke had said he would pass on, he finds himself unable to stop thinking about her. He begins to watch out for her, protect her, and inevitably fall in love with her. The main obstacles he faces in pursuit of this newfound love are Kazuki's jealousy and Hinako's own difficulties around men. For her part, Hinako herself has managed to develop feelings towards Daisuke, but is unsure if he would accept her past... Therefore, the story of Bitter Virgin by Kei Kusunoki follows the two protagonists as they work through their issues and gradually come to understand one another.

Kusunoki reveals, in the last volume, that.

This series features examples of:

 * Abuse Is Okay When Its Female On Male: Kazuki and Daisuke's relationship isn't the worst example, but her abuse of him (stalking, verbal abuse, harassment, false accusations, manipulation etc) is treated as nothing more than an annoyance by most of the characters. Izumi seems to be the only character with anywhere near the appropriate attitude to this behaviour. Particularly off-putting when one considers that the story as a whole revolves around Hinako's attempts to recover from abuse.
 * Also jarring is the Death Glare Daisuke gives Yamamoto for pinning Hinako to a wall, completely oblivious to the fact that Kazuki has been giving him the same treatment for almost the entire story.
 * Abusive Parents: Hinako's stepfather. And don't let her mother off the hook for slapping her and calling her a liar (and "never noticing" Nagashima's abuse).
 * Adults Are Useless: Hinako's mother is in denial about her abuse for a LONG time. Contrast that with Daisuke's mother, Nana.
 * Though Hinako's mother could never make up for what her daughter went through, props to her when she finally accepts the truth and chases the stepfather out of the house with a knife.
 * All Men Are Rapists: Due to the extremely small cast, Daisuke and his unnamed friend are pretty much the only guys who appear who aren't sexual abusers of some flavour. The Unfortunate Implications of this were pointed out by the That Guy With the Glasses team.
 * Alpha Bitch: Kazuki, complete with Girl Posse.
 * Attempted Rape: Hinako, mid-way through the series.
 * Attention Whore: Kazuki, at one point using a quote very close to the one on top of the Trope's page.
 * Babies Make Everything Better: In Daisuke's Imagine Spot in volume 3, anyway. The series as a whole
 * Baby Carriage: In Chapter 2. Daisuke even hangs a lampshade as he runs towards it.
 * Backhanded Apology: Daisuke's "confession" in the church. "These hicks will believe anything, so can you blame me?"
 * Be a Whore To Get Your Man: Kazuki's strategy. It doesn't work.
 * Berserker Tears: When Daisuke beats the ever-loving shit out of a thug who attempted to rape Hinako. He's mortified for "looking so uncool" in front of her, but she's clearly touched.
 * :  although thankfully it's left up in the air and really depends on what you think will happen.
 * Brain Bleach: Unsettling images of what may have happened to Hinako find their way into a disturbed Daisuke's head several times. His reaction is usually a standard "Don't think about that!"
 * Broken Bird: Hinako slightly, though she does not become cynical or cruel to cope.
 * Break the Cutie: Hinako, before the start of the series and shown in flashback.
 * Cannot Spit It Out: Every damn where, and frequently with very good reason, given the heroine's past.
 * Casanova: Daisuke, in the beginning.
 * Chivalrous Pervert: Daisuke again, though the "pervert" aspect is toned down very quickly, most likely for Hinako's sake on his part. In the first chapter, he freely admits to wanting to "mess around", and seems to look forward to university mostly for the, er, social aspect, but he leaps into White Knight mode after hearing Hinako's story, which disturbs him to no end.
 * Cliff Hanger: At the end of each chapter.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: Kazuki;.
 * Confessional
 * Cool Big Sis: Izumi. Also, Yuzu is something of a surrogate Cool Big Sis to Daisuke, at least in their childhood years.
 * Cooldown Hug: Hinako to Daisuke in chapter 13.
 * Creator Breakdown: Kei Kusunoki wrote this manga right . Hence, why Hinako lost her first baby..
 * Curtains Match the Window: Hinako. And possibly Daisuke, but the cover art is a little erratic.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: Hinako. Also implied (in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it line) for Kazuki.
 * Defiled Forever: Hinako definitely has issues with this.
 * Disappeared Dad: Both Daisuke and Hinako lost their fathers for unspecified reasons at a very young age.
 * Does Not Like Men: Hinako.
 * Elegant Gothic Lolita: The cover art on a few chapters depicts Hinako in this way.
 * Epiphany Therapy: Well and truly averted. The road to recovery is long and hard indeed for Hinako, and Daisuke frequently says that he can't expect to ever heal or even completely understand her pain - all he can do is support her in any way he can. Even at the end of the manga,  but she's on her way.
 * Ethical Slut: Izumi, mostly.
 * Flashback Nightmare: Most of Chapter 12, which details Hinako's abusive past, as she's slipping into a near catatonic state due to being assaulted.
 * Flower Motif: Quite a lot for a seinen manga. It leads to some genre confusion.
 * Follow in My Footsteps: Despite Daisuke's vehement refusal, Nana Suwa can't quite let go of her hope that he'll take over the restaurant. (Prior to Izumi's departure, she got the same spiel).
 * Fragile Flower: Hinako again.
 * Girlish Pigtails: Kazuki is never seen without them. Contrast Yuzu, below.
 * Girl With Psycho Weapon: Kazuki and her scissors.
 * Give Him a Normal Life: Why Hinako gave up her second baby into adoption.
 * Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Hinako was made to carry her second pregnancy to term for the sake of her health.
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars: Hinako's C-Section scar.
 * Hates Being Touched: Take a wild guess.
 * House Husband: Definitely in Daisuke's future. Years of helping out at his mother's restaurant have made him a fantastic cook, and (at least where Hinako is concerned), he won't accept any help with domestics, either!
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Daisuke and Hinako, probably to highlight Hinako's vulnerability.
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Every chapter title contains the phrase "Ano ko (that child/girl)", written with a combination of hiragana and katakana.
 * If It's You It's Okay: Hinako comes around to the fact that she feels fine if it's Daisuke. Mind you, it does take some time.
 * I Want Grandkids: Daisuke's mother Nana, on occasion - and her son hasn't even left school yet! She comes out with such unknowingly inappropriate gems as "Why don't you conceive a grandchild for me with Hinako?"
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Subverted by, but eventually played straight.
 * Daisuke, throughout the manga. He gradually comes to develop a crush on Hinako, but resolves himself to secrecy when she flat-out tells him the reason she's (relatively) comfortable with him is that he doesn't see her "as a woman". He spends most of the manga terrified that she'll fear him if she finds out he's in love with her.
 * Karma Houdini: Beyond being chased out of the Aikawa house, Nagashima is never punished for his crimes. As we all know, this is sadly Truth In Manga.
 * Kazuki is a milder example, some of her treatment of Daisuke (especially the false rape accusation) would generally be enough to warrant police attention, let alone that of the school authorities.
 * Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Hinako and Kazuki, respectively.
 * Like Brother and Sister: Yuzu and Daisuke,  who have shared an extremely close relationship since childhood.
 * Luminescent Blush: Oh, Daisuke.
 * Moment of Weakness: When Hinako obliviously drops a Just Friends on Daisuke, he angrily blurts out he knows her dark secret. Lucky for all involved, she wasn't listening to him at that precise moment.
 * Nature Adores a Virgin: Averted, though Daisuke has to go to some lengths to convince Hinako that he in no way considers her "sullied" due to her experiences.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Daisuke sends one after Hinako's would-have-been assailant in the first part of volume 2. He would have quite literally beaten him to death if Hinako hadn't given him a Cooldown Hug.
 * Nobody Thinks It Will Work
 * Not What It Looks Like: Hinako sees right through it, despite Kazuki's attempts to make it seem exactly what it looks like.
 * One Steve Limit: Averted. Yuzu and the bespectacled boy from the class next door who has a crush on Hinako share the same last name, Yamamoto (admittedly a very common Japanese surname).
 * Panty Shot: A plot-relevant one, it reveals her cesarean section scar, dispelling Daisuke's doubts concerning Hinako's story.
 * Parental Incest: Hinako's abuser was her stepdad.
 * Pet the Dog: In the final chapter,
 * Rape As Backstory: Guess who.
 * Rape As Drama: Milked for ALL it's worth.
 * Rose-Haired Girl: Kazuki, according to the colour sketch on page one.
 * Sanctuary of Solitude: Hinako's attempt at this is the event which kicks off the plot. Daisuke's sister also seeks Sanctuary towards the end of the story.
 * Secret Keeper: Asymmetric, as Hinako does not know Daisuke knows. . On the other hand,   is Hinako's symmetric keeper, since she willingly told her what had been going on.
 * Secret Secret Keeper: Daisuke knows Hinako's darkest secret, and there's no way he can let anyone know, even Hinako herself.
 * Shrinking Violet: Hinako.
 * Slut Shaming: Izumi,  gets this from several of the townspeople, including Kazuki. Everyone who treats her this way is presented as the Jerkasses they are, of course.
 * Social Services Does Not Exist: A horribly abused 15-year-old is allowed to run off and live on her own for a year? Really?
 * Stalker With a Crush: A lot of Kazuki's behaviour definitely qualifies.
 * Stepford Smiler: Hinako.
 * Teen Pregnancy: Twice for poor Hinako.
 * The Three Faces of Eve: Kazuki is the seductress, Hinako the childlike innocent, and Yuzu the Team Mom (though Izumi also fits the role). The first two in particular are interesting in that Hinako is not a virgin, while Kazuki is - just one more in the list of common myths surrounding sex and sexual violence the story makes a point of avoiding; namely, virginity=purity (or vice versa).
 * Tomboyish Sidetails: Yuzu, as a contrast to Kazuki, with whom she frequently shares scenes.
 * Trauma Conga Line: Oh Hinako. First she looses her father at a very young age, then she is continually raped by her stepfather starting from the age of 12 or 13, slapped and called a liar by her mother when she tries to tell her, impregnated, suffers a (painful) miscarriage, impregnated again by her stepfather, and has to undergo C-section to deliver the baby, whom she never sees before he is given up for adoption (and the thought of whom continues to haunt her). She lives alone for a year after her second pregnancy with no-one to support or care for her, despite her horrible trauma (and likely undiagnosed PTSD), and spends her school days in isolation, which is only broken when Kazuki and her gang begin to bully her after Daisuke begins showing interest in her. Oh yeah, and she was attacked, beaten and nearly raped again by that pervert.
 * Tsundere: Yuzu is something of a Type A.
 * Valley Girl: To a degree, Kazuki.
 * The Woobie: Hinako, too.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend:
 * Unresolved Sexual Tension:
 * Verbal Tic: Hinako says "Eh?" a lot. And stutters.
 * Villain Has a Point: Maybe he doesn't exactly earn the title of "villain", but when  setting himself up pretty nicely as one more in a long line of abusive bastards,
 * Wacky Cravings: Izumi.
 * Wham! Line: Hinako's confession in the church, while expected by the audience, definitely has this effect on Daisuke. Quite aside from the face he pulls, there is the subsequent alteration in his character.
 * What Is This Feeling?: Daisuke's a Ladykiller in Love and Hinako always assumed she'd never fall in love with a guy for obvious reasons.
 * Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Kazuki accuses Daisuke of rape, with the intention of turning Hinako against him.
 * Yandere: Kazuki.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: Hinako definitely has a lot of the traits associated with this archetype - she's sweet, humble, and outwardly extremely vulnerable, but she shows plenty of unexpected courage in confronting those who harm her or people she cares about (albeit, understandably, usually only if they're female).
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Most of the girls sport a Grade C in school.