History Main / Sex

[[redirect:SexTropes]]

[[redirect:Manga/{{SEX}}]]

[[quoteright:259:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vol7_5610.png]]
[[caption-width-right:259:From left to right: Kaho, Yuki, Female Yuki and Natsu]]

Cult classic manga by Atsushi Kamijou that was serialized between 1988 and 1992. Contrary to the title, it contains no sex at all (it's not without fanservice, though). In fact, "sex" refers to "gender."

The place is Japan and the time is TheEighties. Kaho is your not so average high school girl who, when her class goes on a school trip to Okinawa, seizes the opportunity to look for her childhood friend, Natsu, whom she hasn't seen in six years. But instead of Natsu she finds a strange young man named Yuki, a petty criminal who takes her for a ride in a stolen car, gets her involved in a gang fight and almost gets her killed. As it turns out, he's Natsu's friend, and the two of them seem to be involved with gangs and live from smuggling and selling stuff in the black market. Kaho is not one to be easily intimidated, though, and the manga chronicles the trio's adventures in Okinawa and Fussa, involving high school delinquents, weirdos, heists, the US army, the Korean maffia, yakuza, even ''more'' yakuza, and a shady assassin.

With its stylish artwork, movie-like atmosphere and quirky, charismatic characters, ''SEX'' is often regarded as Atsushi Kamijou's best work. [[spoiler: ThatsWhatSheSaid...]]


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'''Tropes associated with ''SEX''''' [[HehHehYouSaidX (Tee hee!):]]

* ArtisticAge: Natsu and Kaho are only sixteen. Yuki may or may not be this case as his age is unknown and can be anywhere between twenty and thirty (what we know of his past suggests that he's definitely over 20).
* ArtShift: The artwork often shifts into a more realistic style.
* AuthorAppeal: Kamijou obviously has a thing for high heels. And he's a butt person.
* {{Badass}}: Yuki, Higa and Female Yuki. Natsu starts out as one, but he becomes [[StuckInTheirShadow stuck in Yuki's shadow]] in later volumes.
** BadassLongHair and BadassLongcoat: Higa.
* ButtMonkey: Chiaki.
* CareerKiller: Female Yuki is an assassin. Also, the yakuza hitmen.
* ComicTrio: Yuki and Kaho are the weird ones, Natsu is the StraightMan.
* {{Delinquents}}: A bunch at Natsu's school. Natsu himself is a delinquent as well, but he doesn't display the stereotypical traits except for bleaching his hair.
* DistaffCounterpart: Female Yuki. (Not without a reason.)
* DistressedDude: [[spoiler:Natsu]] in the last volume. He's not particularly distressed about it, though, until his kidnapper threatens to kill him.
* DrivesLikeCrazy: Yuki. It doesn't help that he's colorblind and can't tell red and green apart.
** CaptainCrash: He has a tendency to crash the vehicles he drives. (He never claimed to be a good driver, though.)
* TheEighties ...in Japan.
** The 'dos and the outfits are probably the only things about the manga that haven't aged well.
* EstrogenBrigadeBait: Yuki, Natsu and Higa... but especially Yuki.
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Kaho - detailed in the LesYay section.
* FemmeFatale: Kaho is not quite there yet, but she has great potential to grow up to be one, hampered only by her laid-back and cheerful disposition, and her tendency to be downright weird.
* GratuitousEnglish: By the American soldiers. Also Yuki whenever he talks in English.
* HelloNurse: Kaho manages to have this effect on an entire small town.
* IdentityAmnesia: Yuki.
* InnocentCohabitation: Yuki, Natsu and Kaho end up living together, and are often shown walking around in various states of undress, there's playful flirting and groping (OK, so it's not ''that'' innocent) but apparently nothing more happens. Natsu and Kaho take a bath together once but they're fully clothed, and at one point Yuki and Kaho sleep together - just sleeping.
* InvisibleParents: Kaho's and Natsu's parents are sometimes mentioned but they don't ever show up and are not involved in the story (only as invisible plot devices).
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Higa's modus operandi. Sort of justified since he's a {{Yakuza}} miniboss.
* KavorkaMan: Women flock to Chiaki, for some reason.
* LesYay: In spades between Kaho and Female Yuki who is heavily implied to be in love with Kaho.
** Also present between Kaho and Chigira.
** And one of Kaho's female school mates is very much attracted to her in a one-sided RomanticTwoGirlFriendship way.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Higa.
** He's also a DarkSkinnedBlond (though his dark skin is just a tan).
* MeaningfulName: 'Natsu' means 'summer' which is one of the main themes of the manga.
* MadBomber: Natsu is not particularly unstable (in fact he's the StraightMan of the trio), but he has an affinity towards bombs and other explosives.
* MaleGaze: In spades.
* MissFanservice: Female Yuki is this(although due to the art style she often comes off looking pretty masculine). Kaho becomes this in later volumes.
* MistakenForPregnant: When Kaho gets sick due to PTS Meg Brown assumes she's pregnant with Natsu's child. Natsu is a bit taken aback, given that he'd never had sex with her.
* MobWar: A plot point.
* MurderInc: Mother & Children.
* MysteriousPast: Yuki.
* {{Nakama}}: Yuki, Natsu and Kaho.
* OnlyOneName: Yuki and Female Yuki. [[spoiler:Turns out Yuki unconsciously took his name from Female Yuki, so his real name is unknown.]]
* OnlySaneMan: Natsu is pretty often this.
* RuleOfCool
* ScarsAreForever: Natsu has scars all over his body.
* ShirtlessScene: Yuki, pretty often. Natsu and Higa get some scenes as well.
* ShoutOut: Yuki and Natsu are based on Harry and Ranmaru, members of the classic Japanese rock band The Street Sliders. (Vocalist and lead guitarist, respectively.)
** [[http://i54.tinypic.com/243ru3t.jpg The cover of volume 5]] riffs on the poster of ''EnterTheDragon''.
** [[TheBeachBoys ''And keepin' the summer alive...'']]
* ShowerOfAngst: Yuki, after Natsu is shot and captured.
* StormingTheCastle: Yuki and Higa when they [[spoiler:try to get Natsu back]].
* StrangeGirl: Chigira. And Kaho is pretty strange herself.
* {{Stripperific}}: Female Yuki's combat outfits usually combine this with CombatStilettos and VaporWear.
* TeamPet: Suji-Q, the leguan.
* TriangRelations: Type 8, sort of, in the trio. Natsu and Kaho clearly have feelings for each other, and everyone assumes they're an item; but there's also open attraction and flirting between Yuki and Kaho. Natsu is also very attached to Yuki to the point of being jealous of Higa, and Yuki regards both Natsu and Kaho as belonging to him.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Chiaki is implied to be this to Kaho. They get on pretty well, regardless.
* UnusualEyebrows: For some reason Natsu has no eyebrows (he probably shaves them because from time to time he displays some).
* {{Yakuza}}: A ''lot'' of them, including Higa and his gang. [[spoiler:Yuki used to be one, too, but quit to be with Natsu.]]
* YouNeedToGetLaid: Higa's reaction to Natsu's hotheaded behavior. "How about getting some of that energy out of your system? With Kaho."

* {{Delinquents}}: A bunch at Natsu's school. Natsu is a delinquent as well, but he doesn't display the stereotypical traits except for bleaching his hair.

* HelloNurse: Kaho.

* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Kaho.

* LesYay: In spades between Female Yuki and Kaho.

* Stripperific: Female Yuki's combat outfits usually combine this with CombatStilettos and VaporWear.

* InnocentCohabitation: Yuki, Natsu and Kaho end up living together, and are often shown walking around in various states of undress, there's playful flirting and groping (OK, so it's not ''that'' innocent) but apparently nothing more happens. Yuki and Kaho even sleep together once, without doing anything aside of sleeping.

* TriangRelations: Type 8, sort of, in the trio. Natsu and Kaho clearly have feelings for each other, and everyone assumes they're dating; but there's also open attraction and flirting between Yuki and Kaho. Natsu is also very attached to Yuki, and Yuki regards both Natsu and Kaho as belonging to him.

* {{Yakuza}}: A ''lot'' of them, including Higa and his gang. [[spoiler:Yuki used to be one, too, but left.]]

Cult classic manga by Atsushi Kamijou that was serialized between 1988 and 1992. Contrary to the title, it contains no sex at all (it's not without fanservice, though).

* {{Badass}}: Yuki. Female Yuki, too. Natsu starts out as one, but he gets OvershadowedByAwesome in later volumes.

* TriangRelations: Type 8, sort of, in the trio. Natsu and Kaho clearly have feelings for each other, but there's also open attraction and flirting between Yuki and Kaho. Yuki and Natsu are pretty close, too, and Yuki regards both Natsu and Kaho as belonging to him.

* UnusualEyebrows: For some reason Natsu has no eyebrows (he probably shaves them because later on he displays some).

** BadassLongHair: Higa.

* HelloNurse: ''Kaho.''

* TriangRelations: Type 8, sort of, in the trio. Natsu and Kaho clearly have feelings for each other, but there's also open attraction and flirting between Yuki and Kaho. Yuki and Natsu are pretty close, too, and Yuki regards both Natsu and Kaho as belonging to him. (At one point he even says it out loud.)

With its stylish artwork, movie-like atmosphere and quirky, charismatic characters, ''SEX'' is often regarded as Atsushi Kamijou's best work.

* MissFanservice: Female Yuki is this trope incarnate (although due to the art style she often comes off looking pretty masculine). Kaho becomes this in later volumes.