miseryxcompany's manga / #Loss of Virginity(8)

I was an utter fool to not like this title the first time I read it, I should honestly just keel over and die this is adorable. I initially had difficulty with seeing Rou as a person, he didn't feel like he had equal presence in the narrative and came accross as an adjuct to Yoshino. I don't know what the fuck I was talking about, might be because I read this when I was high. I maintain that I would've liked more panel time alloted to exploring Rou's rocky relationship with his partners and tendency to lead people on, but it doesn't actively detract from the story that it isn't given too much attention past what's neccessary to tie off any loose ends. I am told that there is a sequel to this, though.

I'm too cringe-sensitive for this. The most it got out of me was a little chuckle when Raevi was describing his virginity theifs appearance and said his dick size was a very important detail.

Who do they have translating this man, there’s no way this is the official release. If you can look past the poor translation quality, Nineteen Over is… surprisingly cute, with smooth pacing and seamless transitions into its flashback sequences. I would’ve preferred more time spent on Henry’s sadistic treatment of Noah when he was young but that’s a personal nitpick. Despite his attempts to come off as mean and domineering, I enjoyed that Henry was likened to a child throwing a tantrum. He has this deep rooted obsession with Noah that manifests as a need to control him, and seeing Noah endure pain in his stead solidified the idea that Noah belonged to him in his mind. He forces himself on Noah, which itself is an act that exercises extreme control and objectification over another, but can’t even properly veil his childish motives— “Why did you leave me?” “I told you not to leave me”— ultimately he’s upset that the illusion of Noah being his property was broken, and Noah could see right through him. You can really sense that they’re equally obsessed with each other and it’s so cute how Henry reverts to his more vulnerable, childish self and allows himself to be scolded by Noah.

He’s so, so stupid. I’d take advantage of him too.

Oh my god… The art is so smooth and fine, like a silk dress or an expensive suede heel. And Radu… so effortlessly he embodies both feminine and masculine beauty. Beneath his eccentric facade is a deeply lonely man plagued by his own immortality, who envies the brevity of human life as much as he despises it. He takes Mamoru in as a ‘familiar’ but naturally craves a connection in spite of his fear of loss. Mamoru lives in attempt to fulfill an ideal that his nature prevents, he almost gives up on furthering his education to search for work and through Radu he learns to live for himself. And this embodies the core theme of Dreaming Vampire. Time will not wait for you. Opportunity and fortune will find you and it won’t last forever, but you must seize it anyway. You cannot deny yourself good things because you fear pain. Had Radu stayed true to his plan and stayed in Romania he would have missed out on those valuable memories and experiences his life with Mamoru gave him. And that Mamoru’s death ends with him having a positive outlook on their life together, ready to brave the world again, is a testament to his growth. It also does a great job in transitioning into its comedic bits, there are no abrupt shifts in tone and it reads just as smooth as the art.

I think Afurete Shimau does well in portraying feelings of isolation in younger queer boys, especially in how Yuichi's suppression of his sexual urges have made him almost grossly hypersexual, which only causes him to punish himself further. The summer festival chapter kind of negates much of the progress made by Yuichi in previous chapters. I couldn't grasp the purpose of having him fall back into his shame over something as small as holding Wakana's hand in public, only for them to have semi-public sex in the bushes after Yuichi gets sexually assaulted. Unnecessary filler angst, especially since the final chapter provides such beautiful closure to their story through their resolve to wait for one another... while also providing purposeful angst. And bless Tomomoi, but what was the purpose of her telling Yuichi they couldn't hang out since she got a boyfriend if she knew he was gay already. I also wish they'd have committed to the role reversal.

Very boring, manufactured drama between Haruhiko and Kenichi, the entire premise is abandoned after the first chapter and why is their Senpai acting like he doesn't know why the kid is being stalked by gang members if he was there when Haruhiko and Kenichi saved him the first time? Turning 17 was supposed to give them some arcane power by virtue of being on the cusps of adulthood yet still technically being kids but all they do is run around getting into fights which isn't any different from whatever they were doing before.