あ's manga / #BDSM(16)

Not sure how to rate it. BDSM manga (without being a "verse") that includes mentions of safewords and aftercare (briefly). I feel like the trauma surrounding our titular Do-M wasn't developed very well. It's origin was shown and we got to know about his past, but the clear trauma he still has was barely brused upon, I feel like the author wasn't able to more realistically show it or the relationship between it and Misaki. I understand he's the type of person/character who downplays it and tries to ignore/forget it and move forward, not letting it affect him, but his unhealthy tendencies, especially his lack of regard for his own safety, weren't adressed or explored properly besides the "I'll take care of you" of his boyfriend. I would also have preferred the manga to have made a clearer distinction between his past and his masoquism; the way it's writen it can easily lead someone to belive his kink tastes were developed because of what he endured to cope with it, and therefore very unhealthy (and those not familar with BDSM will probably extrapolate that for other kinksters). It can be the case, but if it was something he developed to be able to endure what he was living, the story didn't adress it properly and neither did it do the self-reflection of "well, this arised from this, this ends up being used as a coping mechanism, I need to seriously evaluate how I go about navigating this because it can probably easily turn destructive for me". It was generally a kind of okay manga, it does have some unique parts about it, and I generally feel like it was fairly neat. However, it was lacking in some aspects, like the relationship itself wasn't in my opinion well developed, it's the usual "guy who falls in love at first sight and who is willing to do a lot for his lover" × Misaki, who I feel is a more well-developed character with a more well-established personality. His partner doesn't have that much characterization going on besides being a 'good guy TM', and the relationship is kind of void in a way, it exists but I think we end up not seeing much of it (in a romantic light at least). Like, they could well be in a purely platonic yet exclusive relashionship and not much would change, saying the proof of Misaki's love is him feeling good when touched by his lover is also the kind of idea I dislike in manga. Well, it was the first manga of this author, and it wasn't initially planned to be more than a one-shot, so in terms of developing characters and story, it's quite possible it will be improved with time (not for this story but others). I wish the author would drift away from more cliché and shallow ways to write romance, but it's up to what they want to do/end up doing.