Aiko's manga / #Manhwa(206)

4.7, this was one of the first manhwa I’ve ever read and it’s been a while so my criteria for an adequate read is higher. It’s easy to take a break from this manhwa for a long period of time as it’s quite long and has a tendency to slow down in parts but it’s great story telling. There’s backgrounds for the two main characters that indicate their individual characteristics (beliefs, thought processes, devotion, desires, etc.) as well as their interactions with one another. It hurt me for sure when the ukes mother died which added to his emotionally and mentally stunted state. This stunted development of his made it unclear as to why it was permitted into his adulthood and propagated by his now partner. This aside, I do admire the love they have for eachother and any opinions I have on their behavior I see as a necessary part of the character, nothing that needs to be improved. It adds to their personality. Despite the seme being a green flag and the adorable endearing uke having a fairly healthy happy relationship (without the common SA rope trope), the ending was not satisfactory. The story comes across as a revenge plot thus setting an understandable expectation to audiences, only to end with what feels like a very diluted end where the mother gets a minimal punishment followed by them living back on the island in a very sudden way. I could reread this again but again due to its length and partial disappointing ending, it’d probably be less likely.

One of my favs for sure, the relationship itself is very loving and healthy it’s refreshin

1, because of the art being captivating. The focus of most of the comments is the art style being so vivid especially in sex scenes since it seems to be the only thing this sorry has going for it. A plot centered around a uke with a pretty face that’s a naive gullible helpless idiot is lame. A plot not worthy of recognition. On top of that, there’s literal gang r@pe. It’s not a story, it’s a porn show essentially which is why the feelings are detached, there’s no moments in which there’s a romanctic scene that makes your heart thump because they’re undermined by the fact that it’s manipulation-induced. The only reason im even reviewing it than deleting it is to ensure I don’t read it again.

3.5, I’ll be honest. I will NOT lie. The smut scenes are very well drawn, the style is a sparkly work of art, and I think the main couple can be cute at times. But I feel pure irritation when Akira continued to mislead, bully, and technically grape Hotaru. Hotaru felt pain when Akira felt jealousy and took it out on him, not cool. I don’t care of Hotaru is okay with it, it doesn’t make it okay, and that makes me sad because I know that Akira has a real love for him and genuinely wants to make him happy. I just wish the plots of these BLs could assent past the weak, helpless, basically rug of a person trope that allows these Ukes to get so easily pushed around. There’s flaws in both characters that I feel like could be developed better and more drawn out. Hotaru matures to stand for himself, Akira lives with guilt for his actions and makes up for it somehow with them both learning to communicate and express better. The typical issues that would upgrade a manga but never is present. But the uploader is a gem <3 best meme annotations ever.

4.0 or 4.8, less than 5 because their first time was NOT consensual, he was in a intoxicated state (heat). Despite the cute story and art style, non-consensual sex is a turn off always. It’s endearing that the king began to take sou’s feelings into consideration (which should’ve been the main concern in the first place, regardless if he misinterpreted any invitations to continue), warming him up to affection so that they could finally consensually be one. And it’s cute how the mother cheers for them as well as sou’s friends. Not sure this would be on my top list of rereading but it’s not the worst.

2.0, the art has potential but this plot is majorly r@pe. It’s deceiving since their first time is led by the uke but it’s still dubiously consenting for the seme but it gives you the illusion that all was well, except for the fact that the transpiring coitus are all questionable. One could point out the obvious which is that the seme is manipulative and the uke is naively blinded by “love” and the type to be swept away or make excuses with rose tinted shades, major downside to their dynamic. And in the end it’s undeniable that the Seme did not make an effort to reveal the truth and communicate his since gender nor his true intentions in a reliable mature way, thus making for a sloppy ending where he’s accepted despite not facing consequences for his actions (all b/c the Uke is so accepting after being gr@ped for some reason). Disappointing honestly.

5, these stories are actually really cute. No red flags, no SA or r*pe, and they really take care of eachother which is bare minimum but rare. I reread this semi-frequently.