Manga Review: Unicorns Aren’t Horny 1 by Semi Ikuta
Emuko Esuyama isn’t asexual or aromantic, just to be clear. She’s attracted to men and would very much like to be with one eventually. But she’s not into one night stands and somehow she’s never managed to fall in love, or vice versa. Thus it is that she’s a virgin in her twenty-somethings. While perhaps less common than it used to be, it’s not that unusual. What is unusual is that she’s rooming with a unicorn.
As far as Uni knows, he might be the last unicorn–he’s certainly not seen another since he crossed over to the Japanese archipelago centuries ago. The unicorn spends most of his time hiding in the wilderness to avoid being hunted for his magical horn, but since meeting Emuko by chance, he’s been crashing in her apartment. This is because, as legend has it, unicorns are attracted to virginal maidens.
Emuko isn’t entirely thrilled with this arrangement because first, it’s a constant reminder that she isn’t getting laid, and second, the story treats Uni’s attraction to Emuko as a fetish. Her sexual purity…excites…him. He can’t exactly act on his urges for a number of good reasons, but it’s a frequent conversation topic.
This is a gag comic, mixing longer pieces with four panel strips for a gentle situation comedy feel. The roommates banter and squabble, learning about each other slowly. There’s a small cast so far as Uni is of course a secret from the outside world. Uni is a bit obnoxious, even outside his fixation on virginity, while Emuko doesn’t have a lot of social circle and so is not given to going out much.
Emuko self-describes as “plain” but the cartoony art means her face looks “normal.” Uni’s magnificence is likewise something you’ll just have to accept as said.
Late in this volume, we learn that Uni is not the only magical creature in Japan, but the protagonists do not, and this isn’t the kind of series where that reveal necessarily means conflict.
Content note: Fanservicey shots of Emuko in her underwear, Uni’s weirdly horny vibe, other characters have extramartial sex. At one point Uni goes into rut (mistranslated as “heat.”) Older teens on up, I’m thinking.
This is light entertainment with fun characters that might seem too real for some audiences. Recommended for older unicorn fans.
If you like “a girl and her unicorn” tales but want something more kid-friendly, may I recommend Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson? https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2022/11/27
