Wow. What an awful male lead. What an awful brother. What awful parents. How unpleasant. Luckily the main character was fine with the male lead's crap attitude because the MC was in love with him and felt undeserving of him...so romantic...
I can't enjoy MLs who act like that just because I know they either already love or will eventually love the MC. Sigh.
OK, I've got that off my chest. Everyone else can go back to gushing about the characters and throwing high ratings at this as usual.
Spoilers
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Also, it bothers me that it didn't really explain how the brother could be affected by the MC's pheromones. In most omegaverse worlds family, or at least immediate family, isn't affected - or else there'd be incestual seduction and rape all over the place. This story didn't really address this point. Is it canon in this story the family IS affected, and if so how is this dealt with in society - are omegas just so rare that it's not a societal problem and omegas just have to cope with the situation individually? Or are the brothers not actually blood related? Otherwise, surely the brother has some kind of disorder or something that makes him vulnerable when he shouldn't be and he probably should be trying to get some treatment for that?
not to mention he hadn't even hit puberty yet or NOTHING?
I've only ever heard of that being an undesirable technique, likely to cause hand/wrist problems...
Was that a translation error or are we dealing with a webtoon creator who doesn't have a clue what they're talking about? (Which wouldn't be unusual, but it's so much nicer when they know at least a bit about the playing the piano properly.)
Being an instrumentalist myself, that REALLY IRKED ME. It hurt to read. Proper technique is oh-so-important! They won't keep their wrists in tact for long if they continue like that.
I feel the author skimmed wikipedia and wrote their script with a terminology glossary in another tab. Like giving the definitions for piano and forte at the beginning? Felt somewhat redundant. That could just be me though.
Yees. I get that it's difficult to truly understand something you don't have experience in yourself, but that's where you use a mix of an experienced advisor and cleverly avoiding getting too detailed. Oh well, I'll just have to remind myself that webtoon creators are massively overworked and try not to expect too much from the details. It's a pity, though.
This isn't the most excitement-filled webtoon, but in later chapters I've discovered myself actually smiling in real life while watching some of their heartwarming playfulness together while doing things.
Does anybody know if this is one of those stories with the main characters all having messy love relationships (love triangles/squares and so forth)? The other manga by this creator is lovely, so I'm hoping not, but I'd like to know in advance because I don't enjoy those messy love dramas. (I don't need to know actual spoilers of who ends up with who or anything, just generally is it straightforward 1 x 1 or not. ) Thanks if you know!
Sameee cause like that the same thing I'm wondering about. I hate love triangles and love squares so much and avoid stories with them so I'll be sadden if this manga has it too
At ch 101.
Yep. The main female characters have practically no personality other than pushy or angry. High school friend constantly hit the MC and got angry at him for not behaving as she wished. Actress pushes everyone around even when it's for a "good" purpose. Sister orders him around whenever she can get away with it (at least she gets to be a concerned family member sometimes, although that's still not an actual personality trait).
Despite being the stereotypical kind and motherly nun/orphanage head, the orphanage Sister is the only one so far who's had a clear personality, a meaningful impact on the MC and the story, and genuinely complex feelings about something (the MC trying so hard to save her when she'd already accepted things made her clearly conflicted because you could see she wanted to struggle to survive for his sake but also wanted him not to struggle against what she felt was inevitable and be more hurt because of it). But she was barely in the story.
It's not that all the male characters are complex, there are of course the usual amount of generic enemies and bullies etc. However, there are also key male characters that provide interesting and enjoyable interactions and through their distinct personalities propel the plot forward and bring out different things in the MC.
It's also nothing new for stories aimed at a male audience to have trouble writing female characters with genuinely interesting personalities and purposes within the plot, it's just a pity that they are wasted when they could be adding as much (or more) to the story as his friends or the secretary. The reason so many people complain about romance in these action stories isn't that romance itself is bad, it's that it's not done interestingly and instead feels like it holds up the real plot. It would be different with compelling female characters who are interesting to read and have complex dynamics with their MCs that add to the overall plot make you want to keep reading.
Anyway, just having a little sigh as I struggle through a tedious part of a webtoon I'm otherwise enjoying and invested in. It's OK if you're still enjoying this part, this is not any judgement on that, I'm just letting out my personal disappointment at one aspect of the story that could be so so much less mediocre and more incredible!
...So this is just chapters of a novel?
I’m translating one of the official short novels, yes! There will never be an English translation lol, so I decided to translate it in case anyone wanted to read more content for this series.
(๑•ㅂ•)و✧ I’m having a lot of fun with it so far, and I’m hoping people don’t mind reading it jdgdhd
There’s two more novels too but I’ll get to those maybe next year.
Ah! Ok! Good luck, thanks for replying!
Only two chapters but I'm definitely hopeful for this one based on these. The MC has flaws but is fundamentally very decent, which I like. The quirks of all the characters do far are a feature of the story that make it interesting so far, but there's the promise with this creator that we'll get to see more than only that as the story progresses without losing what makes them interesting. There's an underlying heart in this.
Just want to list out some negatives to get them off my chest because I was quite hopeful about this and have ended up disappointed. I know a lot of people are enjoying this and I don't want to dampen your enjoyment (nor be disrespected for validly expressing my opinions).
- Why does the solution to a problem with a man (the stalker) have to be solved by relying on a man? Urgh. Not just within the story, but as a plot decision at all. I do get that manga creators are always coming up with ridiculous reasons to throw the main couple together, but this story is making a big deal about men looking down on women and having a strong female lead, and then makes this fake marriage the premise for the rest of it. It's also a really bad trait that many men have to not respect women saying no unless they already have a boyfriend - as if we're obliged to be with them unless another guy already has dibs. So, I doubly would've liked to see her solve that problem on her own, even if it was because she gained some support when she returned to her family home. I'm honestly not really enjoying them having to pretend to be married at all, I think they could've had a good cohabitation and faux-to-real family story without it, but at the least they could simply have had Futaba somehow misunderstand and then they went along with it so she felt secure, rather than have it start as a solution to get a stalker off her back.
- There hasn't been a character so far in this story who doesn't just jump around doing and saying whatever they want or deciding what others are like without considering anybody's feelings. It's really frustrating. Don't drag people into a lie, throw don't throw people about if you don't like what they're doing, don't force people to be together, don't force people to hug/kiss etc. MC, ML, child, brother, friend, neighbours, media people etc etc. It's making the story feel really rushed and inconsidered.
- Uh. She's fallen in love with him why? Because he's a rude, discriminatory, uncommunicative, judgemental prick but he cares about tea and threw her one or two unsexist comments. Guess that's one way to get her to lower her standards. And yes, I know he's of course a good guy because he's the male lead, but I'd like to actually properly see it if she's going to become devoted so easily, not just him mostly being awful but - oh, he meant well. This manga is like some self-conscious feminism from the 80s written by men. It has well-intentioned ideas, but it thinks by showing how men can discriminate against women, by having a plucky "strong-willed" female lead, and then having a guy say one time that he doesn't care about her being male or female he just looks at her as a person, suddenly we've achieved some wonderful equality. In the meantime the female lead has fallen in love and is only motivated 40% by fixing her family legacy and 60% by impressing the guy she loves and supporting him in his work. Which is always a FINE option for a woman to choose, but hardly a new or particularly empowering path to show. I'm just a bit disappointed. (As a side note, I kept hoping she'd come along and have insight and skill from growing up in a tea-making family that she could use to teach him what he's still lacking in tea-making. But oh well.)
- Can we just SLOW the hell down a little? One of the reasons I have all these issues above is that there isn't a lot of time spent on anyone's thoughts or reasons, apart from the MC's recent reflections on her unconvincing new feelings of love and devotion. It feels like they only met four days ago and he's barely treated her like a person more than a few fleeting times. Merely being treated like a person is just basic, it's not romantic. I don't know, everything just feels really rushed and chaotic. I wouldn't mind some if the actions and decisions characters are making if I could see a little more intelligence, common sense and consideration.
I think there are probably more things and things I could have explained better, but I'm just sort of thought dumping in an effort to process why I'm a little disappointed in this. I can see its potential but sadly this is not it for me.
If you actually read this, um...good job? I'm sorry? If you disagree, that's fine, I don't really mind, it's perfectly valid for people to take different things away from the same piece of media. I'm happy people have something they enjoy reading and that the the scanlators' efforts haven't gone unappreciated.
Oh, oh, I should clarify that I have stopped reading at chapter 7. I'm not interested in continuing, but of course there will be more moments and things if you have read all the current chapters!
yea it's kinda trash. 9.4 rating?? who are these people voting??
Yeah like Jinx can compare, now that is true trash. Idk but from my perspective this manga still deserves it's raitings more than shit like jinx, it's almost 9 .
With the first point, I think this was a scenario where depending on a man and pretending to be married was more justified. She left the city in a hurry without telling him where she was going and he shows up despite this and multiple no's? The biggest crime-related death for women is domestic violence and her ex was sending up all the marinara flags of abuse. Those are the type of men that don't understand no as an answer.
I agree with the second one: people need to stop and think first. The only one really getting consideration is Futaba.
She's falling for him because of the tsundere principle: he has a prickly exterior and she gets to see the soft interior from time to time. I don't think she's ready to have another relationship as it seems since she went to the city, they've all been volatile or transactional. She might be experiencing a strong attraction just because he's the most stable thing she's had in a while and her brother is alone all day.
So my last two points channel into your last one as well. It is indeed going too fast. If anything, she needs to stop and discover who she is and what she wants before going into a relationship.
I still like it, if only because we are starting to head towards her personal growth. She's in recovery and she's got people in her corner. Isshin has a bit of personal growth left to do as well, just not nearly as much as she does.
So right about jinx
Yes, I do think you make a good case with your with your first point. For me, it's more that it's frustrating that that's the plot the creator chose after an early set up of being discriminated against by men regarding her work (and then by the ML). Would have been more satisfying for me if they hadn't put their MC in that position after making such a point of her being dismissed for being female.
In fact, that's similarly my issue with the second point as well. I feel like in this story and far too many others we're supposed to do a certain amount of the heavy lifting as readers because we know who the male lead is. As such, we are expected - and tend to - see the male lead as attractive or sympathetic and root for them even when they're not being the greatest guy in some way. On the other hang, characters like her childhood friend tend to be automatically viewed as annoying just because we know he's NOT the ML. I totally understood what they were going for with this male lead, they just haven't shown it skilfully enough for me to actually feel properly convinced by it once I separate what they're making him do and say from knowing in advance that he's the male lead and end game (haven't shown up to the point I've read, there might be more later). It leaves me feeling unsatisfied, so I wanted them to do better with him.
I get why others would be able to go along with him as the male lead. He's a pretty common type and as manga readers (especially shoujo/josei readers) we're used to the journey we go on with male leads like this and know how we're supposed to interpret the early roughness and glimspses of better character.
I'm glad you're enjoying it, though, thanks for nicely sharing your thoughts!
I agree with everything you said. It's a good thing you dropped it, it only gets worse. I can't understand why she fell for that man so hard, changing from being scared of leaving her job and becoming only a housewife supporter (even having nightmares about it) to deciding to be exactly that for a man who was also openly sexist. Her ex was trash and crazy, should be in jail, but the ML isn't all that to justify this 180º change.
Until the end, the MC never found any passion for herself or any personal interests. She is solely focused on supporting the ML. Moreover, the ML never properly conveys his feelings to her because he is 'shy' in that aspect, imo he is just cold and uninterested, he is not making much effort. One funny aspect I found was that his way of showing affection is making her good tea for her to smile. Although it was already something he was passionate about and always did, now it's 'for her'. So, whether she is neglected, left alone in that house, for him to work with his ex who is actively trying to win him over again (even saying this to their faces), or if the MC is left almost to die in a tempest, or when she traveled to meet him in another city, only to be left waiting and going back without meeting him because the ex had a minor issue and had to go to the hospital (oddly, no one else could stay with her but him), the MC just accepts all this.
Honestly, I feel sad for her; she deserves better. She should find a passion for herself and a better man. The only feminist message I get from this work is that women are strong and don't need that much love to live happily. I don't think it's a positive message... she accepts a man who doesn't show his feelings properly and has a passion that often neglects her for this passion. She doesn't have any ambition for herself, like he has, and only thinks about supporting him. That's the ending.
┑(￣Д ￣)┍
Sheesh.
Thanks for affirming that I made the right call early and this isn't the story for me!
Aw, really? She has no personal growth? Bummer.
And someone saying they are doing what they love for you is BS; you're already doing it, loving it, and would continue to do it even if she wasn't there. Include her in the process but don't believe for a second it's all for her now.
If you really love someone, you try and share some of their hobbies, if you don't already. Or do something different.
I don't remember everything, it's been a while and I didn't even read all the chapters, I skipped some in the middle. But yeah, that's the ending. I supose her 'growth' is becoming less insecure about the ML? But, in my opinion, her insecurity wasn't even her fault, it's quite reasonable to feel insecure in a relationship where the partner barely makes an effort. There's a part where she has to ASK him to say nice and sweet things to her, and he STILL doesn't! I think he joked, saying 'chocolat' because it's a 'sweet,' or something similar, because he is 'shy' about showing affection. －.－) And this was after she traveled to another city where he was working at his ex's factory and didn't get to see him. She was left waiting for a loooong time because he was with his ex in the hospital without a phone to tell her, and he doesn't even apologize later, he just accepts her video call days later (and she is super happy just for that ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ). As for sharing hobbies, she becomes very interested in tea, right? But the reverse doesn't happen. I mean, there's no opportunity for it to happen because they don't even show any other interests she has besides helping the ML. On the other hand, he is REALLY passionate about tea, like is all he can think about. In the end, after a lot of drama, MC feeling insecure and lonely while ML worked in another city for a long time, they were already truly together at that point. He returns and shows her a new tea named after her, the tea he made there, and she is happy. She accepts that's his way of showing affection. And he had the idea for this tea thanks to her; she almost died trying to protect the plantation from a storm while he was away (the things to hold were too tall for her, so she failed and almost got really hurt) this gave him the idea to use the damaged leaves to make the tea (theres one kind of tea that is made with damaged leaves) and it was approved and praised. Sorry, my way of telling spoilers is terrible, my memory is awful too (￣∇￣")
I disagree with you, personal fulfilment is not attained in everyone's case through professional.She is happy. I'm not sure about the feminist message, cause it's been a while since I read the whole thing.
I could be misunderstanding, but your comment makes me believe as if being a house wife while being content with her life is a bad thing. She's still in her late twenties - early thirties she has a life to explore her interests. She escaped from hell and faced the environment from which she ran away earlier in her life. She grows a lot through her life after moving because she finds a new passion. And Japan is still an Asian country, many if not all asian cultures have deep conservative roots. I'm not justifying sexism in the least, I'm just saying that assuming that the western psyche is what's in a deeply Japanese culture is an error. Trying to understand something doesn't mean you agree with it, thus me understanding why the characters are how they are doesn't mean I say they are 100% correct in all the dimensions of morality, ethics, etc.
Honestly I hated his ex, and if I'm not mistaken she was clearly abusing her power as a superior to the ml. But I have to read it again to actually recall what was the deal. But part of being an adult is how you can't throw tantrums even when things get shitty like that. Does that mean that it wasn't wrong? Not at all. But that was Mac's way of handling it.
About ML suddenly making is seem like a thing he was passionate about his whole life was now because of MC: I think you can have a thing you've enjoyed for a long time and get when someone appears and gives you this positive push, encouragement or you just want to do something for them, all of this makes your new passion for that thing greater than the one you had beforehand.
And I don't think MC is a victim for staying behind in a tempest alone, she assumed responsibility to handle the situation and ML believed in her that's why he left the harvest in her hands. How she almost got into a serious accident wasn't ML's fault.
Not everyone's way of conveying their emotions is through effective conversations. Every human is different and that's what's complicated and unique about us. For me honestly it would be too frustrating being with a person like ML, but for another person maybe it isn't such as big of flaw at all.
Lastly she does have ambition for herself, as I said before she is fairly young, and her discovering a world where her father was almost considered a king opened her heart to the tea brewing business (or whatever it was I don't remember). She's there cause she likes being there with ML, with all the other people. She likes herself more like that. And I respect her growth, even if she didn't become a CEO.
I agree with everything you said. I wouldn't tolerate an ML like that either. But the MC was happy. I don't understand, and it's not for me. And I'm not saying it's bad to be a housewife and just support the person you love, I just said I don't get that was literally her nightmare, how she changed so fast and why. As other people say, the story starts hinting at one direction of empowerment and a strong, independent MC, only to end with a MC whose dream is to be the best possible support for an ML who isn't the best (about him, she's happy with breadcrumbs, let's be honest （￣へ￣）
Hm. The problem with this story to me was that everyone just jumped from this to that without enough transition. "Oh I'm happy!" "Oh I'm upset!" "Oh, you shouldn't be upset!" "Oh I'm sorry!" "I'm sorry too!" etc. In older brother's story we'll sometimes get a whole chapter of them, especially Naoto, processing his feelings, talking aspects over with others, thinking things through on his own, making attempts to understand Toudou's feelings, seeing Toudou's perspective etc.
And while I'm not saying I wanted things in this manga to be tediously drawn-out, I felt unsatisfied with many of the problems and interactions along the way because there was often too little of this. I get that Hokuto is younger and also seems to naturally act on his immune emotions without much thought, and that's fine...However, it felt more like a summary of events sometimes when someone would say a single line to him and he'd suddenly be behaving differently, without us seeing his internal process.
I wanted more of that from Suzuki, too. We got a longer and not very appealing sequence about him liking to tease Hokuto (that characteristic is always a turn-off for me anyway), but never really got to see his reactions to problems - was he annoyed, was he confused, did he reflect on his own behaviour, did he genuinely not worry much? etc. Again, it's not that I wanted everything dragged out, but sequences like the friend visiting or the fight between brothers felt shallow and rushed. Honestly, the friend visit probably should have just been left out.
There are lots of strong aspects to this story, it just lacked some of this in order to be properly satisfying for me - to make the main couple's behaviour feel properly nuanced and sympathetic enough.
immune emotions = immediate emotions
I find it interesting that there are a number of comments about Akira being annoying, when for me it's always been Kento who's the less-likeable, frustrating one and Akira's pretty relatable. Interesting that people can have such different reactions.
The main thing I like about these two, though, is that they're balanced and not not without nuance.