World of the S&M

World of the S&M (Japanese: SとMの世界, Hepburn: S to M no Sekai), released in English as The World Exists for Me, is a 2001 Japanese manga series. The series is written by Kunihiko Ikuhara with Seinosuke Ito (credited jointly as Be-Papas) and illustrated by Chiho Saito. The series is Ikuhara and Saito's second collaboration following the anime and manga series Revolutionary Girl Utena.

World of the S&M
Second manga volume cover.
SとMの世界
(S to M no Sekai)
GenreHistorical fantasy
Manga
Written byKunihiko Ikuhara & Seinosuke Ito[lower-alpha 1]
Illustrated byChiho Saito
Published byKadokawa Shoten (1st edition)
Shogakukan (2014 reprint)
English publisherTokyopop
ImprintAsuka Comics
MagazineMonthly Asuka
DemographicShōjo
Original runAugust 2001 (2001-08) – February 2003 (2003-02)
Volumes2

Synopsis

Japanese high school student Sekai Maihime confesses her romantic feelings to her classmate Midou while on a school train tour through France. A mysterious boy named Sovieul appears, and the train suddenly derails; Sekai is knocked unconscious, and awakens transported back in time with Sovieul to 17th century France.

Sekai and Sovieul travel to the court of Louis XIV, where Sekai is accused of being a witch working for Montespan, Louis' mistress. In reality Montespan is working with Machiavellio, a man with the ability to jump through time who strongly resembles Midou. They again travel to the 15th century, where Sekai and Sovieul are captured by Gilles de Rais.

Media

World of the S&M was created by Chiho Saito and Kunihiko Ikuhara, who previously collaborated on the anime and manga series Revolutionary Girl Utena as members of the artist collective Be-Papas.[1] Seinosuke Ito is credited as a co-creator, while Kiwa Takado is credited as associate costume designer.[2]

In Japan, World of the S&M was serialized in the manga magazine Monthly Asuka from August 2001 to February 2003.[1] The series was collected into two bound volumes published by Kadokawa Shoten in 2002, and reprinted as a single volume by Shogakukan in 2014.[3] In North America, the series is licensed by Tokyopop, which released the series as two volumes under the title The World Exists for Me.[4]

No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 November 16, 2002[5]978-4049249163December 13, 2005[6]978-1598160345
2 July 17, 2003[7][8]978-4049249460 (SE)
ISBN 978-4048536554 (LE)		April 11, 2006[9]978-1598160352
1&2 November 15, 2014[3]978-4091914507

Reception

The series received mixed to negative reviews. Publishers Weekly called the series "flat and incoherent", arguing that "with more self-awareness, this magical historical romance could be a parody of goth-styled fantasy manga, but it's played all too straight."[10] In her review for Anime News Network, writer Melissa Harper praised the series' artwork, but criticized its pace and lack of character development.[11] Empty Movement hypothesized that the series' poor reception was due to its audience "looking for another Utena," noting that in contrast to Revolutionary Girl Utena, World of the S&M is "a fairly straight shoujo [manga]."[12]

Notes
  1. Jointly credited as Be-Papas.[1]

References
  1. "New Manga from Utena Colaborator". Anime News Network. 15 August 2001. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  2. Saito, Chiho (13 December 2005). The World Exists For Me Vol. 1. Tokyopop. p. 8. ISBN 978-1598160345.
  3. "ＳとＭの世界". Shogakukan (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  4. Macdonald, Christopher (5 August 2005). "Tokyopop License Updates". Anime News Network. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  5. "ＳとＭの世界 第１巻". Kadokawa Shoten (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  6. "The World Exists for Me #1". Comic Vine. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  7. "ＳとＭの世界 （２）". Kadokawa Shoten (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  8. "特典つき限定版 ＳとＭの世界 （２） ─Ｌ'ｅｄｉｔｉｏｎ Ｓｐｅｃｉａｌ─". Kadokawa Shoten (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  9. "The World Exists for Me #2". Comic Vine. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  10. "The World Exists for Me Volume 1". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  11. Harper, Melissa (24 November 2006). "The World Exists for Me: Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  12. "Sekai to S&M". Empty Movement. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
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