Dislike and entrenched prejudice often make us forget that people who err, are capable of repentance, capable of feeling guilt, pain, and hurt just like any other person—and that they too, can grow out of their past selves and become a better individual. It's through acknowledging this that Ogeretsu Tanaka is able to create such a layered, complex, wonderfully flawed, yet relatable character like Kan. He's impossible to hate in this story because he serves as a mirror to each and every one of us at some point in our lives—we all want to go back to that one moment so that we could say something differently, do something differently.
Often which, many authors forgo portraying or even acknowledging this very human flaw in the process of fleshing out a character, in favor going for the route with less effort: by creating a one-dimensional, antagonistic character that has no complexities whatsoever, with the capacity to only perpetuate pointless drama (they usually come in the form of random 'exes' that appear out of nowhere).
Morality is a volatile, capricious part of ourselves. It morphs and re-defines itself with each event one experience. Ogeretsu Tanaka has conveyed that through this particularly masterful piece of art. There's a resounding message told through her work: that the past does not define the current you. The depicton of Ken's struggle to come to terms with this fact is one that is not just extremely crushing and debilitating, it's also extremely realistic and that's what makes it so satisfying and rewarding when we finally see that in the final chapter, Ken can finally, finally embrace his previous wrongs and surpass it.
It's been a long while since a yaoi manga suceeded in bringing tears to my eyes. This was an absolute masterpiece that explored heavier themes that are not usually explored in this genre—abuse, morality, etc—of which were handled so delicately and executed so elegantly, it made this manga a heart-wrenching and powerful story.
At the end of the day, partner abuse is still wrong, and shouldn't be condoned in any way. But true repentance deserves to be answered with patience, love and forgiveness for one to really grow past one's ugly mistakes. And goddamn am I glad that Kan could reconcile his past with the present, and found not just his well-deserved closure, but also his smile, through a wonderful lover like Shuuna.
Dislike and entrenched prejudice often make us forget that people who err, are capable of repentance, capable of feeling guilt, pain, and hurt just like any other person—and that they too, can grow out of their past selves and become a better individual. It's through acknowledging this that Ogeretsu Tanaka is able to create such a layered, complex, wonderfully flawed, yet relatable character like Kan. He's impossible to hate in this story because he serves as a mirror to each and every one of us at some point in our lives—we all want to go back to that one moment so that we could say something differently, do something differently.
Often which, many authors forgo portraying or even acknowledging this very human flaw in the process of fleshing out a character, in favor going for the route with less effort: by creating a one-dimensional, antagonistic character that has no complexities whatsoever, with the capacity to only perpetuate pointless drama (they usually come in the form of random 'exes' that appear out of nowhere).
Morality is a volatile, capricious part of ourselves. It morphs and re-defines itself with each event one experience. Ogeretsu Tanaka has conveyed that through this particularly masterful piece of art. There's a resounding message told through her work: that the past does not define the current you. The depicton of Ken's struggle to come to terms with this fact is one that is not just extremely crushing and debilitating, it's also extremely realistic and that's what makes it so satisfying and rewarding when we finally see that in the final chapter, Ken can finally, finally embrace his previous wrongs and surpass it.
It's been a long while since a yaoi manga suceeded in bringing tears to my eyes. This was an absolute masterpiece that explored heavier themes that are not usually explored in this genre—abuse, morality, etc—of which were handled so delicately and executed so elegantly, it made this manga a heart-wrenching and powerful story.
At the end of the day, partner abuse is still wrong, and shouldn't be condoned in any way. But true repentance deserves to be answered with patience, love and forgiveness for one to really grow past one's ugly mistakes. And goddamn am I glad that Kan could reconcile his past with the present, and found not just his well-deserved closure, but also his smile, through a wonderful lover like Shuuna.