I think where people (myself included) take issue with the conclusion is that we don't really see this growth happen in Sera throughout the entire story. This decision in him to ask Ryo to try dating doesn't seem to come from any romantic desire on Sera's part at all, but rather from his rather childish thought of "I won't be able to see him anymore... I don't like it." It takes the assumption that Ryo might have been jealous over him mentioning another hookup (which was an asshole thing to do in the middle of sex, btw, FWB or no) for him to have a silent 'heart-throb' moment, but up until that point, what indication have we had that Sera would actually be interested in a romantic relationship with Ryo? None, in my opinion. I mean, he literally says to Ryo in this very chapter that he thought they were good "friends" until Ryo suddenly decided to cut things off.
Sure, the end point is that they get together, which is what the readers want, but the path there does feel incredibly rushed, because the resolution to their conflict is incredibly bare-bones. It's literally resolved within the final twelve pages. Sera realizes that Ryo might have been jealous, then goes to tell Ryo that he won't sleep with someone else again, and asks him to "try" dating as a couple. But he slept with someone else just one chapter ago, and sure, that was casual and didn't mean anything, because Sera and Ryo in a casual relationship and they can sleep with whoever they want, but would that not suggest that Sera measures his relationship with Ryo in the exact same way as the other hookup? Casual, free of consequences, no emotional attachment anywhere to be found. No strings attached all around!
So for four chapters, Sera has viewed Ryo as strictly a FWB, one so casual indeed that he feels he can freely talk about his other hookups with him, but then suddenly, upon realizing that Ryo might have been jealous, he's now ready to date? Based on what?? Where did this come from? Did him realizing Ryo might like him prompt him to realize he had some underlying romantic feelings for Ryo in the span of an afternoon? We can assume that, but none of that is actually made clear. The writing doesn't have to literally spell out Sera thinking, "omg I like him..!" but it's completely out of left field to show him squeezing his heart after assuming Ryo was jealous, and then jumping to their final confrontation, where everything is resolved immediately.
As for Ryo, for him to then go from being determined to cut Sera out of his life for good to "okay I accept your 'confession' and 'confess' to you as well" in the span of that one twelve-page conversation where Sera basically says the equivalent of "I won't sleep with someone else again" and "I want to know more about you, let's try dating!" is, again, rushed. It comes out of nowhere, especially considering his reasoning for breaking off their FWB relationship in the first place. It would have been rushed for a non-traumatized person to get over it so quickly, but for someone who watched their mother go through several self-destructive circles? Just because Sera shows a "pathetic side" to him when he asks him to "try it out" as a couple?
The fact that Ryo would agree in return for a "try" seems so contrived when he spent the first half of the chapter thinking about how he won't be like his mother, he won't fall for someone only to be hurt in return. I dunno, it feels like there's either a whole separate conversation or inner monologue missing where we see Ryo come to terms with his inner fears of love or something.
And then for Sera to immediately go "Alright, yay, now let's go to a motel!!" afterwards, like bro... it really makes it seem like he just doesn't want to lose access to Ryo. So yeah, at least in my opinion, it did feel rushed. Too "easy." And not every story has to have a super dramatic conflict-resolution arc, sure, but then you run the risk of taking the steam out of the engine, and in my opinion, that's what happened here.
Completely summed up my feelings about this. The build up to the climax was great but the resolution was severely lacking and unsatisfactory. Sera's obsession with Ryo was never properly conveyed as romantic and Ryo's "break up" was dealt with so flippantly that it made light of his trauma. Every one is right saying it needs a second volume because you can't address this without diving deeper into their intentions, emotions and backstories.
Yeah, I feel like it would have needed at the very least one more chapter in between that scene where Sera has his "heart-squeeze" moment and the final confrontation, and in that chapter, both Sera and Ryo would, either alone or with the help of others, process their emotions and think about what they actually want and need. That way, we as the readers could get a little bit more insight to the decisions the characters make in the final scene, because as it is now, I can't wrap my head around why Sera suddenly would want to date Ryo (other than still wanting access to him, which is, yuck), or why Ryo would agree to date him, considering how determined he was to cut him off. Growth has to be gradual; you can't just go from point A to point Z and not fill in the gaps in between and expect it to make sense.
So at least one more chapter, but preferably an entire second volume to go into depth about how they learn to navigate their weird new relationship would reeeeally help to make the story feel fleshed out.
hey guys its the uploader morse_fellow here, and i wanna talk about the ending. For me, the ending did not at all feel "flat" or rushed - I can see where you guys are coming from, but to me it's actually one of the better, deeper, and NUANCED endings I've ever read to a manga.
From the very start, Sera is depicted as a character who is extremely straightforward and is really only in it to experience new pleasures, and chases after Ryo: "I want to know more about you." I think it's actually refreshing and I appreciate that his character is consistent. You can TELL SERA HAS GROWN, and that he says he was only interested in having sex, but now, he wanted to "know what you like, what you don't like... how you grew up, what makes you laugh... I think it would be even more fun if I could learn those things..." and its only in the end that Sera's character breaks and there's sort of a gap between his cool, charming, relaxed personality to him desperately trying to act confident.
"my intentions are still the same! I don't want it to end. I want to know more about you."
he's so shy and sheepish when he says it, it made me really happy to see him be honest.
Ryo, as well finally opens up. "In that case, tell me about yourself too." throughout we see him talking about how he doesn't want to fall in love like his mother - THIS IS HIS CONFESSION. HE WANTS TO LEARN AND TRUST SERA TOO, AND FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM.
To all the ppl who said it was unsatisfying, felt too rushed/short, I DISAGREE (though the side story for a blow job was kinda ass)