I agree that the uke (Makoto) was mildly frustrating. Because he knew that he liked the seme (Shouta) since he was younger. But when the opportunity came to be in a relationship, instead of communicating his frustration and the things he doesn't like, he runs off. Yes, he eventually stops sleeping around with people, but it would have been easier to just confront each other about the incidents. Communicate who Makoto slept with and why. What it meant to him, and what he felt. I know that it was in the early stages of the relationship, but it would help this relationship with a solid foundation.
A lot of people here are calling Makoto a slut and a communal cum dumpster, but I don't see what was wrong with him sleeping with other people. I get that because of his personality he isn't seen as assortative and someone whose easy to take advantage of, but he's bold enough to have sex with others which are consensual. It's not forced in anyway. Time and time again, the other people ask "Are you sure you want to?" "Is this okay?" And when he doesn't want to or doesn't agree with it, he pushes them away, and they back off without refusing. Yes I don't agree with what the old guy insinuated in the beginning (mainly because there's such a large age gap between Makoto and the old guy), but we don't have a whole lot of information to make a clear call on whether it was consensual or not.
Overall the frustrating thing about this story is the fact that the characters are unwilling to be open about their feelings about each other, when for everyone else it's very clear that they are attracted to each other. In regards to Makoto sleeping around (Although I already addressed it) I think a lot of people see it negatively because for the most part, sleeping around is seen as something shameful and something only people who are "clearly not right in the head" would do. And I think that's something people are projecting onto Makoto (Because it's often something we're told when we're younger. Most of the women reading this are projected themselves on Makoto since his personality is much more feminine than all the other male characters.) We live in a world where being misogynistic and controlling women's autonomy is a norm. Instead I hope anyone reading this know that it's not bad to sleep around or to have sex with others. That rather we should be careful of who we have sex with more than the number of people we have sex with. And if anyone hurts you in the process (whether that be lying to you or taking advantage of you) it is the responsibility of the other person, not you who was the victim. You are not less of a person for sleeping around. If your worried about his safety, then say so without shaming him as a person for being open with his sex life and how often he sleeps with others.
wow this is a really great comment! and i agree with everything you said
but im not too sure about the uke though, he can sleep with whomever he wants but his mindset was kind of wonky....
I dont agree with the Uke entirely, since I also dont see a point of having sex with whomever is available or whomever finds me attractive. But I cant judge him or make him out to be a bad person because he sleeps with who he wants. I empathize with him because hes working through his trauma. I understand that first hand, it's not easy, and finding a coping mechanism isn't easy. I hoped that he worked through his trauma a bit more before jumping into a relationship, but even then, I'm not in control of who he is or what he does. (Even if hes a fictional character, I have no reason to be mean or harsh on someone else. And I personally would like to empathize with the characters and try to understand their feelings)
(Please dont interpret this as me disagreeing, or being angry, I struggle with communicating without sounding harsh (=・ω・=))
oh don't worry, you didn't sound harsh at all! you're really well-spoken so I love reading your points hahaha. yeah I agree. though it's kinda hard to change people's mindset once they're in the 20s already but yeah, even if he's fictional, I hope he grows/grew out of it. just really kind of makes me uneasy how he makes some serious stuff seem so trivial because other mangas I read with slutty ukes/ ukes who sleep around, at a certain degree, had their own morales intact and had their head on their shoulders - knowing what is morally wrong (in this case, I'd have to point out cheating, even minor). the uke here is child-like, and as much as i also see that in other manga, he seems like someone who hasn't really matured compared to other adult "child-like" ukes (idk how to explain this part properly). unlike you though, im not so good with words so im sorry if i said something wrong
No it's okay lol! I got what you mean! He's super dismissive of the others around him, and doesn't see that what he does can actually be harmful. Like you mentioned, the cheating, he's not aware that through his actions, he can hurt that relationship, even if it's not him actively seeking out the guy, he's enabling the cheating by not putting a stop to it. Which depending on the girlfriend's reaction, it could cause some serious trust issues in the future (even if she decides to break up with the cheater). I think that in a lot of ways, the Uke needs to mature a lot more, because him sleeping around can be dangerous for his own health and safety. The relationship he just entered (the seme of this story) realistically won't last long if he's not willing to understand that he's got a lot of issues and is enabling bad behaviors. I've read other ukes similar to this guy, and I agree, a lot of them understand that what their doing is dangerous and can lead to bigger problems in the future if they aren't to careful. But are capable of understanding that the source of their problems are from unresolved trauma from their childhood. Thus continue this "child-like" behavior as a means to get what they want. This uke, I feel, is to oblivious to their own trauma or is purposely ignoring them for the sake of being connected to others. He may be respected consensually, but obviously there are going to be repercussions for his actions and the actions that he enables. (I feel I don't make sense here, but I'm going with it lol)
you make total sense! wow im amazed you were able to expound that better. thank you so much, reading insightful points and detailed explanations makes me happy cause im learning and also get to understand what im feeling/what my own opinion centers on better.
No problem! (=・ω・=) I'm not the best at explaining things, but I'm glad you understand!
I think that the husband is experiencing ED because he feels he's under pressure to produce another child. When in reality he probably doesn't want another one. He probably didn't want kids to begin with but gave in because he was attracted to his current wife and didn't want to "lose" her. But I hate the husband cause he isn't willing to communicate about what he feels whatsoever. The wife pisses me off, I can't believe how she thinks that by doing this swap meet ups that he'll just stop having ED, but it'll just become a regular thing. In reality it's just a psychological issue he's dealing with more than it anything about her or her body or who she is. He wanted to be in a relationship with someone but didn't openly communicate whether he wanted kids or not. He ended up hating the responsibility of raising kids and having a family. I doubt that he even loves his wife anymore. He stopped looking at her as a husband to a wife. He saw her as an obligation and these swap meet ups are just excuses to escape them. Just get a fucking divorce man
Overall I hate all the characters, so whatever lol
Although she is the one who excuses a lot of the bad behaviors men/boys are doing in what is essentially "boys will be boys ╮(￣▽￣)╭" I wonder how much she was convinced of this when she was younger. I wonder if the first people who sexually assaulted her were people who she had close relations with, and if maybe managed to gaslight her or convince her that she was at fault for everything, and that the assailant was innocent, even if he was clearly not. She was probably told by people who were meant to protect her (i.e. her parents, relatives, teachers, siblings, etc) that she had to keep quiet, or that she was at fault for what happened. She's probably reflecting that behavior. If anything, as much as I am unhappy about her actions and what she's doing, I feel bad for what's happen to her. It just makes me wonder how much fucked up shit happened in her life to get to this point.
Please excuse my grammar mistakes!
After rereading this for the 100th time, THIS IS A SAGITTARIUS (Meguro) X GEMINI (Akino) PAIR LMAO!! Meguro cooking for Akino because he's like "I didn't know he liked the food I made," proceeds to make EVERYTHING AKINO LIKES. This is peak Sag x Gemini behavior tbh. The noncommittal bit is just too funny and accurate for these two (fellow Sag btw)