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Please excuse my English.
This manga is pretty cute and the drawings are beautiful. However, I don’t think the ‘representation’ part is that good as people want to push and I want to focus on that aspect. Don’t get me wrong, is obvious a lot of research was done, I personally appreciate the focus in accessibility. And I think the mangaka put great care and love in here. I liked that.
What throws me away is this narrative that MC disability makes him somewhat 'incomplete'. Now, I know MC is pretty insecure, but is always able bodied people who help him overcome those feelings. In the first part, when he shows insecurity about flying for the first time, the lover tells him how 'wheelchair users are amazing and can do the same as others' and ‘he is not a burden’. This puts some blame in MC as, I’m pretty sure, making disabled people some kind of ‘superheroes’ is a pretty common ableist motif.
Another thing is that MC broke with his lover because he feels ‘he was too broken (as a disabled person) for him’. Now, this comes from a place of insecurity, but it would have been amazing if the mangaka put more care on this and acknowledge MC thinking as wrong so able bodied people (the main readers of this manga) understand the weight of this way of thinking. IDK, this conflict feels like a cheap way of creating drama. I feel the mangaka lost the opportunity of making this better, like if they fleshed those feelings a little more and focus in more context, where they come from and why they exist in the first place. I think is better to show how this way of thinking is part of something bigger: internalized hate than disabled people suffer and not just some individual insecurity from MC.
Lastly, the second volume gets a little better. However, still feels like MC relays in his husband and their relationship too much for validation, instead of himself. I don’t have that much problem in MC wishing to walk, but how those feelings get brushed under the rug when his lover gives him a ring. Again, he even says ‘There are more things I can’t do that things I can do’, I would prefer if the mangaka explore more the psyche of the MC. I feel it would make the story much better in terms of representation if MC gets to a point where he can love himself in a more fulfilling way.
At the end, I do like a lot of details and I think their love was crafted beautifully. Is just the ‘representation’ part that bothers me, as I think this mangaka has great potential. If you look at this manga for better representation, I don’t think this is the best example (though is way way better than other stories), but if you look for a cute love story between two people who respect each other, this is something you can enjoy. Just be aware.
Art 8/10
Representation 6/10
History 7/10