pluckaduck's manga / #shounen ai(96)

i want to like it, but its all over the place and charas are introduced with buildup.

v3. to oversimplify the dynamic, it's good upright student x violent rebellious sociopathic gang leader. the mc is abruptly pulled into the world of youthful rebellion bc of ml, and both feel a visceral attraction to each other for sum reason. I'm rolling my eyes at how utterly smitten the mc is with him, despite all the shit the ml did to him. it's absurd, but the narrative does seem to be self-aware, and doesn't hold back in portraying the ml the ruthless crazy scumbag that he is. later on, the story seems to be trying to justify him by giving him an equally sociopathic father, and a mistreated grandma that he alone cares for. also, why is it trying to depict as if both wrongs to each other are equal?? it is far from equal, ml put mc in a lot of misery, even letting his goons rape his gf... as if mc stabbing him is a deed of equal measure. mc does not need to seek forgiveness at all, but i wish he wasn't all so in love with him.

the themes and intent was there, but it was poorly executed with the relationships and stereotypes. if there was a point to the age gap relationship with the married man, well, im just not see it. and I'm not gonna act blind to the issues in the story, but simplifying the story a great deal to just incest, pedophilia is self-manifesting what the author is saying. in any case, the mc's internal struggles and process of coming to terms with his sexuality feels realistic and was touching. it might be a bit too melodramatic but he's a high schooler and society in japan frowns upon homosexuality. also, yall being too hard on the girl; she's a high schooler for god's sake

ending knocked off half a star. was cute story but needed more closure, esp for the childhood friend

as i write this right now, im sobbing my eyes out. i came here expecting the two mcs to be canonically in love with each other, but it turns out ash is more like the protagonist, and eiji is more like his driving force that advances the story, and at best it's stated they perhaps loved each other like lovers, but that's just speculation. still, the story's fucking amazing, and the action is fast-paced, and ash is one of the most resilient mcs I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. i knew it was a tragic ending, and i was prepared to get teary-eyed, but i did not expect that ending. it just made it a lot more sad, bittersweet, and painful, the fact that he could've lived, but chose not to. the author really ripped my heart out in this one.

it has a lot of tropes i like-- smart mc (although mc is a bit mary sue), harem, POLITICS, and various chara dynamics and banter. even without reading the novel, i know a lot of detail is being left out in the manhua bc a lot of the scenes's transitions feel very awkward, and it messes up the flow of the story a lot and breaks my immersion. the art is pretty, but it's only good for 'fan art' level of art, not made for storytelling, bc of the framing and camera shots and general flow. the facial expressions and poses sometimes felt incongruent with the dialogue and scene. for example, panels of a single chara showing an emotion/reaction are confusing bc it was incongruent with the previous panel and/or the emphasis was all wrong. they also need to explain how mc gets his knowledge, like the pencillin thing? felt that should be important enough to tie back to mc's character. i enjoy the dynamics of mc and his love interests; some are problematic, but well, i already turned my brain off. but if there is one thing that i find disconcerting, it's mc's age-- he's 17 yo at the start bro. HE'S 17 YO. yet these old men keep lusting after him and flirting with him (talking about the guard and prince of yu). i know age of adulthood is different in ancient china, but christ, why couldn't he be at least 20 yo before the older mls start liking him?? also, i find it hilarious their kisses are censored, but not mc's nipples lol.

entertaining, cute and funny, but the cover design gave me the wrong impression that it'll be a love triangel, but it's not. sehun's role and personality is pretty different from what i expected on the cover. and not really a viable love rival in the first place bc mc never even considered him an option and he got his own lover later on. he barely gave the ml trouble or inconvenience at all; if anything, he helped him a lot and was a good friend most of the time, so yeah, it's misleading.

i think i would cry the day the manga ends. i need them to all end up together