This is like…healing. I’ve been in the place the uke was and his journey and growth really struck a chord with me, man. I’m so glad he worked it out and found a life life he loves—and person in it who cares about him in it. Asada Nemui is really good at writing couples with complex dynamics, and even though they’ve had a lot of issues I just get the vibe that they’ll work it out and be happy :)
I love their relationship too because I feel like this is the first time the ML has actually dealt with someone who’s like, on his level and doesn’t exist just to humor him. Like in the early chapters he saw right through the people who were scheming against him and was bored because they weren’t clever about it and didn’t strategize properly. And the men he slept with all just told him what they thought a man as major as him wanted to hear with little regard for him as a person. Even though he knows what the MC is doing, he’s doing it in a way that’s on his level and intellectually cunning, and hr treats the ML like a person. A person he doesn’t like, but still a person
I love this mangaka so much.
Did I personally dislike this manga a lot and find it incredibly uncomfortable and gross? Yes.
Is it an interesting thought piece and thoughtful exploration of the concept? Also yes.
Asada Nemui never shies away from uncomfortable topics and fully dedicates herself to exploring them in their entirety. Even though it personally wasn’t my cup of tea I applaud her commitment and willingness to entertain the subject and treat it with her signature gravity and care. She took two of the most reprehensible acts a person can do, assigned them to a character, and explored ideas of consent, payback, and ultimately romance through an unforgiving and unglamorous lens. It never once makes excuses for their behavior—what they do is wrong, but does that make them right for each other? A unique concept that I will not be reading again haha
God I LOVEEEEE this mangaka and their first intimate scene is like exactly why. The scene was like equal parts erotic and neurotic, lol, which is perfect for them. She writes such unique couples with different sexual thresholds and idiosyncrasies so well. It’s so interesting to read about how they accommodate these things and develop as a couple.
This is a really mature story and I love how raw it was. It didn’t shy away from uncomfortable things, like the idea that the seme having been in love with his brother at one point, but rather centered on the mutual healing and growth between the two leads. I know some people are uncomfortable with that but it’s not meant to be comfortable and I thought added some really interesting complexity to the character—they were both imperfect in their own ways but their relationship helped them grow as people and get over their respective hang ups.
When I was 14 I qualified for the Olympics but couldn’t go because of a permanent injury caused by another person during a match if my sport. It’s been a long long time since then but this manga rang so close to home. The feeling did inferiority and trying to find a way to go on and find something to love…lowkey I was crying by the end. This is just so cute