Shomin Sample (Volume #1)

Shomin Sample #1

Story by Takafumi Nanatsuki

Art by Risumai

English edition published by Seven Seas Entertainment, LLC (2016)

Shomin Sample tells an uncanny story about a strange girl’s school that catered to daughters of Japanese elite families. The Seikain Girls’ School was hidden in a remote area and unmarked in any maps because it meant to shelter its students from the outside world. The girls were groomed to be perfect ladies (read: unnaturally well-mannered) who maintained their innocence to the core (read: ignorant to the realities of life as a normal human being).

Only recently did the school management realized that their syllabus had inadvertently caused the girls to experience culture shock when they graduated into the outside world. In order to curb further culture shock among its students, the school topped their uncanny ways with yet another freakish step: by practically kidnapping Kagurazaka Kimito, a normal high school boy, with hopes that he would be a ‘sample commoner’ at school to teach the girls the way of life of a ‘common’ human being.

Kimito had been horrified when he was brought to Seikain against his will, and to be kept like a prisoner nonetheless. The girls had been awed by him like he was some kind of exotic animal, but they were eager to learn from him about a commoner’s way of life.

Kimito was chosen as the ‘sample’ for he had proven himself to be a good samaritan in life, and most importantly, the school was convinced that he was gay – and thus would ensure the preservation of dignity of the girls at Seikain. In reality, his status as a homosexual had been a misunderstanding – the school had came to that conclusion because Kimito had no girlfriend, and his closest friend had joked about him being gay, and the school management had literally believed it.

Kimito initially wanted to reveal that he was not gay, but the school had made clear that if he turns out to be heterosexual, he would be locked up at another remote facility in order to ensure he did not expose the existence of the secret school to the outside world. And, if he insisted on living on the school grounds despite being heterosexual, the school would at least have him castrated. So Kimito thought better than to deny he was gay. And there he was, stuck at a girl’s school, having been subjected to much interest from the girls, while trying to not be attracted towards them.

During his first few days at Seikain, Kimito found only Tenkubashi Aika ‘normal’ enough to befriend. Although Aika was extremely naive and could easily be fooled into stupidity, but at least her manners were like any normal human being could be. Aika did not have an air of extreme propriety around her, which made her the most approachable for Kimito.

Aika had always wanted to be popular at school, but she realized her manners were failing behind compared to the other girls. So she had sought Kimito’s help to teach her the ways of a commoner, so that she would be considered the smartest girl at school for mastering the ways of a commoner – and that would help her become a popular student.

Kimito agreed to help Aika, as long as Aika would one day help him escape Seikain in return.

And so Kimito’s bizarre life at Seikain began...