TachibanaChiharu's Topics (177)

I really wanted to like this story but some subtle character/setting issues made the relationship feel completely forced, and I just couldn't quite get into it.

Both of these characters were interesting and they both deserved a better story and context for them to explore their feelings for each other and their situation. It was a missed opportunity, and I has a sad.

For comparison, I went and read Immoral Sandwich right after this, and while folks seem to not like that story because the plotline is uncomfortable, it is also a much better written story because the characters are all well established, their situation is very well explained, and everything that happens in it is the natural progression of the characters and plot, etc. So while the whole plot by the end feels uncomfortable because of how things got to where they are, it still feels satisfying because it makes sense for all of them. On the other hand, the cuddly, fluffy-ness of Unmei loses some of its bite because it feels like the characters had to behave out-of-character to get where they are by the end of the story.

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The omega, Nanao, hates alphas. Then why is he working at a host club that serves alphas? Given context provided by the story, he isn't being forced to work there. He isn't even trying to stealthily use the power he has with this job to get back at alphas in some way, he just goes to work and does his job and remains annoyed. Like I get that it's common in omegaverse for omegas to have trouble finding good jobs, but if anyone would be the exception here, it would be Nanao. He has the anger and drive to want to show the alphas up, but to continue to be underfoot of them in this job kinda feels dishonest to his character.

Also, the level of dislike that Nanao (the omega) harbors towards alphas feels like it needs more backstory to it. Like, all omegas have reasons to be salty about their sitch, but this particular omega has anger above and beyond that, and it should be explained why (his sibling was harmed, or he was harmed in the past, his omega mother, whatever, just anything).

Meanwhile, for as analytical and deliberate as Arisaka, the alpha, is characterized to be in this story, the story should've allowed him to overcome all of the alpha urges, to completely break convention. Like have him able to resist the pull of Nanao's omega heat as if it was nothing (they kinda do this at the end of the story but not at the beginning where it matters more). This would've given Nanao (the omega) an actual reason to start to like this alpha as being the exception to the usual alpha in a way Nanao can respect.

Also, while this story had the Fated Pair trope, it did nothing with it at all. If you're going to write a Fated Pairing story, you need to go one of two routes: 1) the characters hate each other, screw or get bite-bonded in a moment of passion, and have to deal with despising each other for the rest of eternity while being unable to separate, or 2) have external forces keep the Fated Pairing apart, and the two characters struggle tirelessly to be together. If you're just going to just write a standard "characters meet and bicker initially then grow to like each other" story, you don't need to have a Fated Pair plotline for that, and it's better if you don't because it just feels like pandering. The Fated Pair trope's presence in the story needs to mean something and needs to be central to the conflict in a way that's more meaningful than just how a typical relationship develops.

¯|_(ツ)_|¯

Ahhhhh~~~ *fans self*
That was some really satisfying shiat (chapt 79). Given how much Alex works out to maintain that ripped-@$$ bod, that dude is gonna end up in the hospital.

Also, how is not telling people you're gay considered "lying to them"? It's not really anyone's business, and I seriously doubt Alex ever stated to anyone in particular, "oh by the way, I am totally attracted to girls, yup, mmmhmmm."

I also agree with what someone else said, just how did this punk get onto the student council anyway? Aren't these popularity contests? I'm seriously doubting this guy is appealing/popular in any respect.

I didn't hate this, despite the misunderstanding plotline lasting waaaaaay too long. The characters are well fleshed out, the art is appealing, the characters have expressive faces, and I really like that the character designs are all very unique (they don't just look like different eye colors and hair colors swapped onto the same base). Also, the comedy is pretty on point.

However...

As with many of the tappytoon titles, I wonder why they bother translating these R19 comics and edit/censor them rather than just having an R19 section where they can post the R19 titles in all their glowstick glory in English. This is why I don't sub to tappytoon but do sub to Lezin. If a title is R19, I want to see all of the dick-swinging action. Cutting sex scenes also cuts character development, and that is bad for storytelling, and unforgiveable.

Anyway, onto the content of the comic.

So, both characters have annoying aspects to them, not just Siwon (the uke). Siwon is insecure and unreasonable, although I can't really blame him much, having such a statuesque boyfriend making him constantly feel inadequately masculine. Yoonsung (the seme) is somewhat selfish and inconsiderate; he could be bothered to respect the fact that Siwon needs to sleep occasionally, and stop doing such cringy things in public, ugh.

Also, this is a good time to point out that in comic and anime settings, there is no way to judge whether or not a character is considered "hot" unless the other characters in the setting say they are. Most comics are drawn such that all characters are appealing to the reader/audience, but that doesn't mean the characters in the setting think so too. Siwon only had people comment on his appearance (saying he's 'cute', ugh, just what an insecure guy wants to hear) in the later chapters of this comic (not once in the first comic), meanwhile Yoonsung had people saying he was hot early on in the original comic (the Jaehyun/Jumseok one). And ofc Yoonsung is drawn with a huge, brawny, ripped-@$$ body, meanwhile Siwon is drawn to look like a shota. Siwon is totally right, there is a huge appearance disparity between them, but given how long they've been together now, he did definitely go overboard fretting about it. Anyway, tangent over.

I think the most aggravating thing about this comic (so far) is that this whole misunderstanding thing could've been avoided and/or short-circuited any number of times by any number of characters doing any number of things differently. First off, Siwon could've just talked to Yoonsung like Jaehyun told him to really early on. Or Yoonsung could've pressed him harder about what was wrong (and given how easily Yoonsung's able to pressure Siwon into other *ahem* things, seems like he easily could've). Srsly, they're both adults, they should've just talked. Siwon should just straight-up be a lot more trusting in Yoonsung's devotion to him given they've been with each other for 8-and-change years and I imagine Yoonsung's acted like a lovestruck mooncalf the whole time. Also, Yoonsung should already be aware of Siwon's feelings of inadequacy since they've been together for so long (this didn't just appear suddenly out of nowhere) and should always be cognizant taking measures to avoid triggering an overreaction. (srsly, just tell him you're voicing a BL drama - you are both adults, adults talk to each other about their work, this should've been known to Siwon since before Yoonsung even started recording)

Meanwhile, Jaehyun knew there was a huge misunderstanding pretty early on and could've done any number of things to put a stop to it, between yelling Siwon into silence, or sending him a text message that wasn't cryptic rather than saying "read the webtoon" over and over (esp after Siwon told him he didn't want to read it - you can't make people read things they don't want to). The lack of action on Jaehyun's part is the most egregious here, and reflects on his vaguely crummy personality. Especially given how much effort Siwon and Yoonsung went to, to help him and Jimseok get together, it feels a little shytty.

Haha, wow, I cannot tell if the wingmen are helping or hindering this situation.
http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/the_next_door_neighbor/uu/the_next_door_neighbor-chapter-30

Despite the rushed/confusing start, this one turned out to be really good. I loved the side characters too! (also, appreciate the translator's notes early on; they definitely clarified a lot of things that would've been confusing/misinterpreted otherwise. kudos!)

Turbo seme mode activate!
http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/the_next_door_neighbor/uu/the_next_door_neighbor-chapter-23/19/

This manhwa was a pretty ok read. It is well-paced, time actually passes in it, the art is pretty great (although the facial expressions could use some work), the baddies are obvious and the author does a good job making you hate them, the other characters are generally likeable, and there are even some supporting cast members that are really great and could use side stories of their own.

All in all, a pretty decent read, but there is better stuff out there for (childhood friends finally realize their feelings) or (psychological drama of damaged characters) if that's what you're looking for in a story. Still, even for the cliche things this manhwa feels the need to lean on, it still executes them well, so I do still find it worth reading.

The list of things that bug me about this manhwa are below (spoilers), but it's more nitpicks than anything. Anyway, here's some of the good, unique parts about it first.

The best part about this story, and the most unique part about it, is Taesung's mother.
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Her backstory, her relationship with Haebom's mother, her relationship with her parents, and how all of this worked together to create such an awkward climate between her and her biological son is pretty great. I have particularly enjoyed how she has started to try and make up for her past treatment of Taesung on into season 3, especially with Haebom's help, nudging both characters toward each other. Also I appreciate her grounded reactions to things that happen around her, which is refreshing, such as their first time drinking together and other stuff. And, up through chapt 71, not all of the mother's backstory has been "officially" revealed yet, so there is still plenty to look forward to here.

Taesung's friend Yonghee is just great. I really, really want to see a side story for him. He's suuuuuuch great support for the both of them. Also Jia pops in for an assist here and there, and would've liked for more detail into her silly love life, even if it's a hetero relationship. Also Hyejoo has been a great addition since season 2, and is generally a strong character all on her own. Her completely innocent presence made Taesung rethink his absurd jealousy, which is a great contribution to the story.

Buuuuuut... while the manhwa doesn't do anything wrong per se, it does seem lean a bit heavily on the tropes, like a yaoi trope paint-by-numbers affair. And while it doesn't execute them poorly by any means, we still gotta tick all the boxes:
✓ childhood friends
✓ stepbrothers
✓ tragic backstories
✓ years-long misunderstanding yet they've both loved each other the whole time
✓ hot seme/top attracts all the women everywhere all the time
✓ seme/top is basically perfect in all ways (rich, powerful, hot, strong, popular)
✓ seme/top is only imperfect in the hottest of ways (sad backstory, horny, jealous)
✓ cute uke/bottom attracts all the gay guys and/or turns guys gay for him
✓ uke/bottom is a doormat and is virtually useless (no family, poor, cute not hot, wimpy, unpopular) - he gets better in late s2 and on into s3
✓ uke/bottom has a shoujo-heroine-esque heart of gold
✓ some sunbae makes the hoobaes (our leads) drink too much
✓ someone drinks booze for another because the other has been forced to drink too much already
✓ girls are harpies (thankfully, not all of the girls are harpies though)

I'm also confused as to why Haebom was ever unpopular. He's so cute and such a nice guy that anyone would want to be friends with him. If he had never gotten into that state to begin with, it doesn't seem like he'd have any trouble at all making connections with other people, which kinda makes that whole first arc feel a little forced. Ofc you can only realize this when you're reading season 2 and reflecting back on the events of season 1, since Haebom easily makes friends in s2, and it then starts to seem weird that he was ever in such a bad state at the beginning of s1.

I also appreciate Haebom's character growth in late season 2 / season 3. He does become a lot less of a doormat, but I don't know, it feels a bit late to have started that sort of thing. Those people who are sick of doormat protags are going to have bailed before then. I would've preferred Haebom to take the punch from the bully in s1 and then stand up again and still argue with the bully before Taesung intervened. Then his development would've started sooner, mid s1, and would've seemed more natural.

Also, while I can more than appreciate some R19 smut, it really feels like it was rushed in FAST at the beginning of season 3, and maybe should've had a bit more lead-up in s3 rather than "Haebom's trip to the combini to buy condoms and then they do it next chapter". Like I realize the author had been delaying the R19 stuff for a while by the time s3 came out, but idk, it just felt too sudden. Also, with a protag like Haebom, I'm not sure I really wanted to see him gettin' busy in the sheets. It didn't seem right for his character for the manhwa to show it. But I'm probably the only one who thinks this, so, ymmv. (I still read it anyway, so...)

I also could've used a bit more personality from Taesung. When a character like him is shoved so hard into the yaoi top/seme trope mold, they often come out cookie-cutter and interchangeable. Only Taesung's attempts to heed Haebom's nudging about various things has made him in anyway unique, but he hasn't done enough of this by s3 to really stand out yet. Well, whatever. He's all our dream-boo anyway. (I'll take the black-haired model, though *^_^*)

I think everyone else pretty well summarized the problematic issues with Rei and Chun's dad, so I'll just agree with everyone else here and leave that part of this comic be.

What I came to complain about was a few head-scratchers.

Rei challenges Taka again on national TV and it doesn't happen? Was it supposed to happen years later in the pros? Did I completely miss a few chapters where a second challenge took place? Like, I completely lost track of what happened here.

Ignoring what it was over -- what the heck is a professional baseball player doing challenging a college student who is on a non-competitive baseball team to a baseball duel? How lame and petty can you be? That isn't even remotely close to fair.

This story could've been a lot stronger with the following change:

Chun is a pitcher too. It is stated at the beginning of this manga that Chun, as a pitcher, relies on and thus has extremely good ball control. Chun's position on the team is pretty much completely forgotten after this, focusing only on his captaining activities. Seems like an oversight.

But ignoring that tangent - what should've happened is that when Taka is doing his training montage in preparation to defeat Rei, it should've been the case that Chun teaches Taka ball control and how to do trick pitches, and then when combined with Taka's raw power, their techniques together end up defeating Rei. Then it would've avoided making Taka into a typical, tropey, "prince coming to defend his girlfriend's honor" love interest while his girlfriend sits on the sidelines. Obviously this is an annoying trope present in both shoujo and BL. I liked Taka enough that he deserved better than to become statistic for this trope.

Anyway, instead, the story took all narrative power away from Chun, and that's just crappy. He deserved to be in a better comic. :/

This is a psychological drama about eff'd up people effing up each other's lives and the terrible results of the things that they do to themselves and each other. The story is tightly plotted (no filler), good pacing, no stupid plot holes, the characterizations are on point, and one of the most amazing things is that the series is able to lean on the tired Yandere trope without the use of it coming across as forced or cliche.

I can see how the subject matter (age gap) would make people uncomfortable, and people made uncomfortable by the subject matter would be very disturbed by the ending. Also, while this is not really my kink, the story was so well written I didn't care and read it (and enjoyed it) anyway. A couple of points to make about this (list time!!!):

* Both Kyunghee and Sihyun are past the age of majority, and are perfectly allowed to make what decisions they will about their own sex lives. Doesn't mean they're good decisions, but they are allowed to make them nonetheless.
* From context, I get that the relationship between Kyunghee and Sihyun began within the past year or so, and both were still of majority age at the time, so unless I missed something implying the relationship began like 7 years ago (US) or 5 years ago (Korea), there really can't be any complaints on the age gap from a legal standpoint.
* Kyunghee and Sihyun are both depicted in the story to have feelings for each other (yes, even Kyunghee). It's easy to miss, so no blame going out for not catching this. It's pretty subtle. (I was actually disappointed by this; I liked Junsik better. But it's not my choice, it's Kyunghee's)
* Sihyun is definitely manipulative and creepy, and is definitely abusing his position of power over Kyunghee. However, Kyunghee is depicted as more than wily enough to understand the situation he's in, he just doesn't have enough traction in life to force a change on the situation. If he even really wants to -- which is at best untrue and at worst unclear.
* Because Kyunghee is the main character, it makes the reader want to think of him as a good guy, when he really isn't. All 3 of the main characters in this series are jerks in some way or other, and Kyunghee doesn't get a pass on his crummy behavior just because he's the main character and has had more backstory work to explain his tragic past.
* The ending is appropriate because it's true to the characters. Doesn't have to leave the reader with any kind of good feeling, but it is appropriate. (the author explains in the note at the end that s/he had planned to end the story this way from the beginning)
* This whole rotten scenario is compounded by the fact that society's impression of a gay relationship between a guy and another guy twice his age would never be accepted, both characters know that, and constantly wound each other because of it, despite liking each other. The system was against them from the beginning, which made it impossible for them to come together without significant sacrifices and a boatload of angst.
* Final point: just because I say the characters are all jerks doesn't mean I don't like them. I like all 3 of these characters, they all play their roles well, and come together to bring to life a very well-written story.

Anyway, if you can get around the age gap and don't mind a good tragedy, give this one a try. It is very well-written. 5 stars from me.

I just wanted to state that this is my favorite (dramatic/R19) BL property and I currently read it on Lezhin as soon as it comes out.

This has pretty much everything I want from a good comic: great characters, great storyline, great artwork, a sprinkling of adults scenes in which plot stuff actually happens. Tropes are at play here but they are actually used in meaningful ways, like the "brothers" trope and the "celebrity" trope.

I love Haesoo's shoddy attitude which stands in stark contrast to his pretty face, I like Taku's sensible approach to life yet mixed with his growing obsession for Haesoo, and I like Joowon's obsessive personality but childishness, where he's unable to express his affection properly and ends up just acting like a jerk all the time. These characters are all a little bit broken, and all very interesting, and I love seeing them ping off of each other.

I love how the author has seeded a bunch of juicy plot stuff that is in the process of boiling up to explode later. I cannot wait to get to the photo shoot w/Haesoo and see what happens when Joowon sees these photos, when they are released. It's gonna be so great I wish it was 6 mos from now so I could read it already.

I love the backstory on Haesoo/Joowon; it all makes perfect sense given their relationship in present day and doesn't seem forced or far-fetched. I love how it casts a dark shadow over their family situations in present day, and affects how they attempt to and fail to have relationships with others (and each other).

This story is so good I just can't for the life of me figure out how it's going to end up. Like, I can't tell which of Taku or Joowon that Haesoo is destined to be with, if even either. Not being able to predict how this is all going to fall out is just great. (Usually with BL properties you know the end goal and you're just there for the ride; with this one, you don't know either)

Lastly, I specifically have to call out how much I love Taku's non-standard BL character design. His crazy hair and stuff is a really nice change from the usual. ^_^

Aiiiiieeee.... the parent-killing mangaka strikes again! And this time she dials it up to 11! Chapter 1 was like 3 mangas worth of arcs jammed into a single chapter.

Also, the second half of the last chapter was pretty hysterical.