maybe bc im older than these charas i find it overhyped. it has a pretty hackneyed premise: rich playboy pining over a poor kind boy bc hes different from all these other rich kids who all want to use him. is he different bc he was raised with love? he hides his problems and worries bc he doesnt want to add a burden to his poor family? why is it so important to him that he needs to set a good example? is mc the normal one bc he has common sense, or is he "special" and everybody around ml the normal ones, therefore their self-absorbed behavior is normal? it sounds like the typical case of making everyone worse so mc can shine. anyhow, i think this difference shouldve been better emphasized (with more explored characterization) bc mc's words that resonated with ml and made him fall for him just felt contrived, even when it is a reflection of his values. from a structural standpoint, i think the author took some liberties with paneling to capture some dramatic moments in the latter half, but it felt excessive at some times (the mom pleading to mc to help ml, the confession scene). the story also went in some contrived directions (the extras talking about them, ml's fight, mc finding the notebook, etc). still, lovely abeit cliche coming-of-age storry; couldve gone without the smut, since they are 10-11th graders. and pretty sure the mc is bi, the scene mc saw in ch 1 was focused on the girl and the sounds she was making, not ml, and he clearly said he got hard from seeing it, and said nothing about ml. if ml's gender was a girl, and the story direcition was the same, mc would've still fallen for him.
maybe bc im older than these charas i find it overhyped. it has a pretty hackneyed premise: rich playboy pining over a poor kind boy bc hes different from all these other rich kids who all want to use him. is he different bc he was raised with love? he hides his problems and worries bc he doesnt want to add a burden to his poor family? why is it so important to him that he needs to set a good example? is mc the normal one bc he has common sense, or is he "special" and everybody around ml the normal ones, therefore their self-absorbed behavior is normal? it sounds like the typical case of making everyone worse so mc can shine. anyhow, i think this difference shouldve been better emphasized (with more explored characterization) bc mc's words that resonated with ml and made him fall for him just felt contrived, even when it is a reflection of his values. from a structural standpoint, i think the author took some liberties with paneling to capture some dramatic moments in the latter half, but it felt excessive at some times (the mom pleading to mc to help ml, the confession scene). the story also went in some contrived directions (the extras talking about them, ml's fight, mc finding the notebook, etc). still, lovely abeit cliche coming-of-age storry; couldve gone without the smut, since they are 10-11th graders. and pretty sure the mc is bi, the scene mc saw in ch 1 was focused on the girl and the sounds she was making, not ml, and he clearly said he got hard from seeing it, and said nothing about ml. if ml's gender was a girl, and the story direcition was the same, mc would've still fallen for him.