i’m just happy to see the Itachi/Ten/Martin, you don’t see this Yokai pop up very often in manga (the kitsune, or tanuke are more popular - even though the Itachi is said to have stronger transformation powers). I’d love to see a Kamaitachi in BL.
Also, apparently the translators had trouble working out what he was—don’t know why—but if they used Itachi instead it would have probably been less confusing 4 readers as it would have signified it is a yokai, not just as an animal that transforms.
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ MY WHOLE COMMENT, AT LEAST READ THE 1st PARAGRAPH.
I was so excited to see a sci-fi with high ratings - why the hell did people rate it so high, I mean it if you could understand it all, you would know how stupid it is & if you couldn't, why rate it so high? So frustrating! This was so friggin hard to read, not cos I couldn't follow what they’re saying - I understood it - but cos it was so abundantly clear that this mangaka should not be writing this genre. They clearly don't have the level of intellectual understanding to write sci-fi because everything is written superficially. Leaving me with the conclusion that even though this mangaka MAY have done some research in writing this, they didn't understand the research OR they MAY have researched with bias, having decided on their story they cherry picked the information.
I noticed many said they couldn't understand it - thats because when truly understanding a concept, you can communicate it so that anyone can understand it.
So who am i to claim this mangaka is dumb, especially seen as how they seem to know all those important words. Take the 1st eg. of a statement that had huge major flaws, it made me pissed (statements with minor flaws before it, eg. the 1st sentence of the “scientist”-pg.9=there have been experiments B4 the 1 he mentions- but it tells us that it may be the, then popular, experiment that prompted them 2 try 2 write sci-fi). The 1st statement 2 majorly annoy me (pg.9), “If cloning becomes legal, then it will cause problems for our already unbalanced society. For example, if some maniac decides to clone Adolf Hitler, it would become an issue”. Leaving behind human cloning debates & debates on the state of human society in 2002 (pub.date), as they are moral & therefore debatable, my problem is with the Hitler statement. I think what happened is the mangaka tried to make the common philosophical question of: “if you could travel back in time would you go back and kill Hitler as a baby” fit and it doesn't - any knowledge in history, cloning, sci-fi, philosophy or the concept of nature vs. nurture would tell you that. Though everyone hates Hitler, he was a product of his time & both his behaviour & hatred towards Jews came from his life experiences. Also, his hatred of Jews is contested as perhaps not as intense as everyone believes as he might not have even known the full extent of what was being done to them. Many historians, with evidence, believe it was his general who was the driving force behind it all, showing many Germans of that time hated Jews. Anyway, my point is, that if you were to clone Hitler he wouldn’t turn out the same. He wasn't born a jew hating psychopath - if he were ,there would be no philosophical debate about time travel - & there is no way to transfer memories. Even if there was, i doubt you could do it without the original corpse. Besides I could think of hundreds of better, more constructive uses of a maniac’s time then making a useless baby Hitler.
The superficial logic continues throughout, for an angel that has so much time to sit around and think, he sure didn't think long or well about his argument & in both stories there were even self contradictions - was it even edited? Also, hearing what the angel said, it could be stated that the angel was only ‘that way’ because of how they had raised & used him - making his choice to continue being a cannibal their fault.
Anyway, if you read this Manga and think its too intelligent for you to understand - don't.
Thank you. I thought I was the i only one who thoughts this years ago!!!
It was cute & fluffy, but i feel like people are building it up more just because it is one of the rare ones that represent the overweight. It’s a shame we live in a world where extra accolades must be given to those willing to represent the less attractive realities of society. But then again it’s also sad we live in a world where Mangakas feel a need to represent them. Whoever the manga represents, in a perfect world it should be enjoyed for its quality of art and story, not for what group (minority or not) it represents, and i feel like if this one was not about someone overweight, it wouldn’t have got such a high rating. Also, i noticed how the Yaoi content wasn’t included until after he lost the weight & became cute & i feel the subtext of this choice should undo any good will earned by the fact that the story’s about the overweight. It just felt to me, with how it was added, like the mangaka may have only represented the overweight because the were seeking the accolades & not because they genuinely wanted to (sorry my background in humanities makes it hard for me not to ponder writer motives) & either by the drive of themselves or their editor it was decided that a fat person having sex would be too unattractive for readers. i think, if your going to, go 100% or not at all.
I also don’t like the way arai treats him - in regards to the confession, but i’ve gone on long enough.
BTW if u wondering i’m fat. i was obese but recently managed to get down to just overweight.
I totally understand. I realized all of this while reading too. Still I don't have the energy to get bothered by it since it's known most yaoi is made by women for... Women. By starting there I think it's clear that they just portray a fiction world bases on a unknwon "reality". People who don't give it deep thought can empathize with this but understanding this details make it difficult to fully enjoy the story. I hope you could understand what I tried to say with my shitty english hahhaha.
PS: I'm still a sucker for lovely things. I try hard not to notice the background so I can enjoy it fully and feel the fluff so after this I'm going to forget this matter. (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
Don’t get me wrong, i enjoyed the story & i wouldnt say i was bothered by it either. The story itself gave me no reason to write my post, it was the high total rating that did.
After reading this cute manga I looked at the rating & thought: “huh, it was good, but i didnt think it was near that good. I wonder why it has such a high rating?”
Ive seen it too often, with too many manga - people rating things based on the genres & topics covered, not on the quality of the work. I don’t think its fair & its annoying that i chose this 1 cos it was rated higher. Its also terribly disappointing when a Manga doesn't meet expectations.
As i wrote my educational background means that I'm able to analyse, what i didn't write is that I’m autistic. Always being autistic mean you sometimes forget others brains don't work the same way as others. Autistic people have monotropic minds, which means we have difficulty dividing up our attention like in social situations (body language [eyes, mouth, hands, etc], tone of voice, volume, language usage, direction their looking, pauses, etc), which are filled with vast and varied cues (not to mention you have to try to control all these factors within yourself at the same time), all of which small amounts of attention are automatically allotted. However, while we have difficulty dividing our attention, we can easily enter what is called a flow state (a state many scholars have to study & practice at for years before they can do it properly), which allows us to focus all of our attention on one task. So, while i often analyse the “background” stuff, i cam also fully enjoy the foreground, while also processing a huge amount of other things about it. For myself, instead of taking away from the manga, i think it adds to the experience as you are reading the full manga at every level. Besides i’ll always be autistic & its the only way i can do things, so I'm content with it.
By what you wrote: i still don't understand why the fact that Yaoi is written by women automatically means we all should just shrug our shoulders & say anything’s fine? (if thats what you meant by that)
PS: During this reply, if anything seems angered, sad, confrontational, or narcissistic- i apologise, as I'm writing this with fairly neutral emotion, i just like covering everything & have trouble knowing what info to leave out, because to me all info is important to better understanding.
Thank you for replying. I'd love to explain my thoughts but english is not my first language so I probably won't make much sense :(
First of all, I'm glad you explained. Now I understand what made you feel that way. I can also understand it.
Secondly, I'm not a fan of thinking everything passes just because it's written by women. It's just that I've read so much yaoi that at this point I find it pointless myself to analyze each detail which points out everything that's off of each manga. Clearly, this is just me being lazy(￣∇￣"). But I still appreciate when people do it, somehow it's like someone else is doing my job for me (￣∇￣").
You also took in consideration the ratings which is something I never would have taken into account.
That said I'm glad you explained your opinion with detail.
Oh! My little brother is autistic too. He's currently 13 years old. I'm happy I read your comment. It doesn't look angered or anything like that :D/
I’ve only read vol.1 so far but to me, a person who has Autism, it seems clear that Nakahara has autism (*FunFact-In Autopsy Autistic brains actually look different . A lot of times, when he expressed himself in words or thoughts, he seems to feel the same way as myself & others with autism:
—He explains feeling distanced from those around: “Its like I’m watching everyone (from a raft) on the shore while i slowly drift away” - a lot of autistic people in their teens start to feel like they are getting further and further away (mentally) then those around them and unfortunately that feeling is with you for life. I say its like being the only sober person in a room full of drunks.
—He’s a loner, but doesn't seem worried about it. Its not that we don't want friends we just don't know how to get them (currently i don't have any friends - haven't for over 15yrs). So usually the only friendships we get are with those who approached us.
—He actually shows surprise at being called a friend. We have difficulty identifying our relationships with those around us.
—Having a grumpy face, when its actually he’s normal face. I’m always having people ask if I'm ok all my life, but i only realised why when i was told in my teens. Unlike others we don’t have that natural instinct(?) to smile when we see others.
—Autistic people Monotropic minds [focuses its attention on a small number of interests at any time & interests that are active at any given time tend to consume most of the available attention]. So we tend to have a limited number of, often obscure, interests & we also tend to now everything about those interests as well.
—Lastly- the women he had sex with (in case you don't know having sex with a minor IS sexual abuse). I heard on a documentary that 90% of women with a mental/cognitive disability are sexually abused at some point in their life (sorry, i don't know the male figures). Any flirting or suggestive behaviour or words would have been lost on him, but she would have thought he was receptive. Even when she took him back to her home & started putting moves on him, he still wouldn't have understood. Afterwards he wouldn't be angry or happy or any emotion other than confusion and discomfort. So he wouldn't understand his classmates reactions (i was sexually abused at 5 and was only left with those feelings - i didn't even know it was abuse until my early 20s, cos i didn't tell anyone cos i didn't know i should.
As you can see there is A LOT of evidence that he could have autism - i could have just simply listed the points, but because most people don't know much as out autism i thought it best to explain how those points lead to autism.
Oh- i didnt even think of that. Thanks for spreading awareness! (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
And i hope youre doing fine :)
A lot of other comments branding him as a pedophile or gross, but while it’s stated he ‘likes’ the students, he doesn’t actually state a sexual attraction & seen as how it’s just thoughts, why wouldn’t he? Attraction is different to sexual attraction. I mean, grandmas outwardly say (remember he was thinking) they ‘like’ kids & “the springiness of youthful skin” & “the supple developing muscles”, it would be acceptable if said from a grandma, in fact everything he says would be.
In all honesty, if i had to pick, he probably is sexually attracted to the boys, but i think one could still debate he’s not, & i try not to be judgemental unless i’m sure, so i don’t look stupid. I’m mostly unsure from the fact that he became so scared when the student tried to rape him. I’d be more judgemental of how the teachers handled that. I cant be entirely sure, story being set in Japan and all, but there are rules guiding teachers & how they respond to these things - a.k.a. reporting them, at least to the school, if not, the police.
But most importantly, i defiantly would not have it affect the star rating - one star? - it asks for a RATING, not if it’s morals are the same as yours. How boring would life be if everyone rated this way, everything would be all fluffy and YAOI WOULDN’T EVEN EXIST. If this story upsets you so much, then don’t read anything with the genres Yaoi, Yuri, Josei, Seinen, Adult, Mature, or Ecchi - cos your inability to separate your personal feelings from your objectivity, like an adult, makes things hard for everyone else who are actually aware ITS JUST A STORY!
Remember: Rating has NOTHING to do with whether or not you agree with the morals of the characters AND the author doesn’t necessarily share the opinions & morals of the characters in their FICTIONAL story. Finally, those who read these & give it a decent rating, usually don't agree with the characters morals either, we just know what ‘rate’ means. And finally, if you give a manga a good score and its characters have questionable motives, others wont assume YOU have these motives (if their not idiots).
I also want to add that even if he was sexually attracted to the students, he is not acting on those feelings. You can't fight attraction but he is perhaps fighting his desire to approach them sexually and that I can accept.
I agree, he’s not acting on his thoughts, good for him, self control and all. I mean, if we’re really honest here, how many thoughts does a human have in a day that they dont act upon (eg. thinking a friend or family members outfit looks bad - most people dont just say it - unless your autistic, which i am)
I did consider making that point, but apparently, according to my dictionary to be counted as a pedophile only has to FEEL a sexual attraction to children, Which i have mixed feelings about in itself.
I agree with you. Its like my attraction to high school boys (im 20) i like tht they're handsome and all but if it comes down to sex or like being im relationship with them i absolutely do not have any of the urge. Some are attractive but i still know tht they are minors 'x' i just treat them as an eye candy or sum like tht lol
Geez, I’m honestly getting sick & tired of seeing this:
It says: How do you RATE this manga” NOT “How much did you personally enjoy this Manga”. Rating it low & bad mouthing it because you didnt like the genres, either means that your too stupid to judge what you yourself might like or dislike OR your punishing the writer for a mistake of the uploader or person that wrote the summary (but this summary seems to explain it very well)- its not really fair to give the author a low rating for something they don't control. If you are one of these people - you should probably steer clear of the following: Yaoi, Yuri, Seinen, Josei, Smut, Adult & Mature, as they'll only upset you.
People can rate however they want, it actually feels more stupid to me how people are trying to police others how OTHERS should rate something. You can't control how one feels about a work and how they should rate it.
Its rare to get such a well written summary, a HUGE thankyou to whomever wrote it, for putting in the effort (& for not adding needless & confusingly placed “!” / “?” / “...” / “!?” / “!!”)