• Chapters: 84 (16 scanlated)
• Status: Ongoing
• Genres: Comedy, Drama, Ecchi, Romance, Seinen, Slice of Life, Supernatural
• Serialization: Tonari no Young Jump

Synopsis

A cripplingly overworked man becomes the victim of a succubus attack. Unfortunately, his depression has left him with no sexual drive nor life essence for her to extract from him. So in an attempt to be able to do lewd things with him, the succubus helps the man overcome his depression.

Also, none of the characters have names and only ever refer to each other with pronouns. So for the sake of making things easier, I'm going to call them Yuuutsu-kun, Succubus, and Angel.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

Having the ability to enlighten me or change my views is something I admire in any media. With that said, I really appreciate "Depression With Succubus" for being such a down-to-earth and comprehensive take on the concept of depression. I've mentioned this before that I want drama to integrate with comedy. Moments of levity are the only way that I can really appreciate when things are getting serious. Otherwise, it all just fades into white noise. "Depression With Succubus" is a textbook example of executing this concept properly.

What Does it Mean to Move On?

What "Depression With Succubus" is constantly trying to advocate for is that depression is something that needs to be addressed before you can move on. That moving on is not the cure for depression itself. Succubus herself begins working a part-time job and managing Yuuutsu-kun's finances so that he doesn't need to go to his job. Her philosophy being that until his soul has healed enough that he can have sex, he is in no position to work.

This point gets hammered in even harder once a third character, an angel, is summoned to help him overcome his depression. To this effect, she spouts motivational quotes like a self-improvement audio CD.

"Everyone else can do it, you know?"

"You just need to put more effort into it."

I wonder if the author heard similar words from his parents because I sure have. Every word that comes out of her mouth subtly jabs another knife into Yuuutsu-kun's heart.

Being a Leech vs. Taking Someone's Shoulder

Despite all that, I'm not quite sure whether Succubus' methods are correct. This entire manga could be seen as the logical opposite of the "Spongebob Squarepants" episode, "Can You Spare a Dime?" An episode where Squidward is fired from his job and starts leeching off Spongebob. But unlike Squidward, Yuuutsu-kun emulates the Japanese sense of duty to be a productive member of society.

He doesn't want to be a burden to Succubus, but she stresses that him having sex with her would be the best way to return the favor. The idea seems to be that people have purpose beyond filing paperwork all day. Yuuutsu-kun hasn't gotten to the mental state where he can sleep with Succubus yet, but he frequently massages her breasts. He even starts keeping a notebook of techniques and the best spots to fondle.

You can just take all of this as blatant fan-service, but I see this as representative of Yuuutsu-kun doing what he can at the moment. He wants to make someone he cares about happy, and determines that this is the best way to do so. This sentiment does not go unappreciated either. Succubus is almost brought to tears when she finds this book. Just replace the breast massaging with cooking, landscaping, or whatever else, and it suddenly makes more conventional sense.

Conclusion

I don't have much to say regarding the technical elements. The actual drawings are simplistic and amateurish, but there's a good sense of panel flow. It's not really important though. This isn't Berserk, or a Junji Ito manga where the visual component defines the experience. You're going to be reading this for the pleasant attitude, and the juxtaposition between serious societal issues and silly, exaggerated comedy elements.

One problem with "Depression With Succubus" is that it is very very steeped in Japanese culture. One joke was about a song to help people memorize the stroke order of a complicated kanji. No way I was ever going to get that. Besides that, I think this is a nice, light-hearted drama. It never becomes too melodramatic and is even heart-warming at times. If that sounds like something you want, then check it out.

If you can read Japanese, the author has released all 84 chapters on this website here.