otakulys's manga / #manipulation(28)

Very sad, but powerful and meaningful. The story wouldn't have had the same impact with a happy ending, but I wish I could see more of this character. She's interesting, and her story begs to be examined further. Oh well. I wish I could see her ripping out the hearts of those dick guys from before. It kind of reminds me of this horror manga that I found hilarious, about a girl who starves herself to get a guy to like her, and after she gets super skinny, he's into her, but as they kiss, she gets incredibly hungry from starving herself so long and eats him. That's how all guys like that should be handled.

3.5 for being kind of weird and rushed, but interesting, haha. It's too short for what it is. It's definitely on the disturbing side, but it's kind of funny despite it being about something horrible. Just that twisted "person beneath the surface" thing. I'd like to see that explored more, but without it being a cheesy comedy. I feel like most things like this are played for easy laughs rather than the dark essence seen here. It's a shame that isn't more common.

I really appreciate how Harada handles evil characters. She sets her work apart from yaoi where these things happen, but the author treats them as cute or part of romance. This is how shota, rape, abuse, etc. SHOULD be written--as the evil, fucked up things that they are. Her stories can be so subtly twisted, and if you took out the pedo aspect, that would have been the case here. It was too short, though. I'd like to see more about the characters. Either way, I love Harada for her beautiful art, dark and complex stories, and intense character emotion. But I especially love her for making messed up things happen and not pretending that they could ever be forgiven. ETA: Oh yay, it is continued! Glad that it was mistakenly labeled as finished. Just as screwed up as ever. I like the new girl. I hope something interesting happens with her. Maybe she's as fucked up as the rest of them. This is definitely the first time I've ever read a story about a young man who's in love with a pedophile. Count on Harada to make that work.

Harada is the master of subtly manipulative and evil characters. The ending was a bit more spelled out than most of her stuff, though. I feel like readers knew what the real situation was before the reveal, so it didn't need to be so overt. Still, creepy-crazy face is always off-putting in a fun way, haha.

This was one of the few BL stories I've read where I REALLY wanted them to just stay friends. Tomo is obviously straight, and I loved that he was so supportive to Hideaki being gay. It's hard to have an unrequited love, but I wanted to see them each find happiness while continuing to love one another platonically. I hate the "It's okay if it's you" trope SO much, and the sudden shift comes out of nowhere. Tomo never once showed any indication that he harbored romantic feelings for Hideaki, and the ending comes across as forced because of it. I'm still rating it high just because the art was beautiful, and I otherwise really enjoyed the story. But damn it. And I was surprised to see Hideaki's role in the bedroom, as was Tomo, it seems. They're sweet, but I feel like the manipulation and weirdness between them should have been better addressed.

Wow, that was the twist I was hoping for, but I wasn't sure if I'd get it. I feel like the first shot of his face kind of makes you wonder, though, haha. Not sure if this is a oneshot or not, and it's screwed up either way, but it was a good read.

It's a satire of internet trolls. Or trolls in general, rather. These people instigate and find any way to play the victim, purely to screw with people and try to make themselves feel powerful. The usage of random categories like liberal and conservative (especially when he's insulting both, and with no real connection to anything) further backs this theory. It's pretty much exactly how the internet functions and why you should never read youtube comments. Outside of the internet, you can see this sort of behavior in sociopaths and narcissists. They feel weak and impotent, and this is their own, cowardly way to control others without being assertive. Anyway, plenty of weird psychological ways to look at it, but it's nine whole pages, so I probably shouldn't write an analytical essay on it.

These were all really weird and mostly disjointed, though the twist at the very end of the first story made me chuckle, and the final exchange of the second one made me laugh a little, too. Each oneshot involves a psychotic person, usually more than one, which is played for comedy in the first two, but takes a messed up turn in the third. I got the feeling that we were still supposed to be laughing, but it was so sad and mean. Like, moral of the story, never be nice to anyone. After that, though, it doesn't seem to follow any sort of pattern other than the "no happily ever after" theme. Mostly unrequited love throughout, though the mood really changes. That final story made me cry, despite my best efforts. It was just so pointlessly sad. Is this guy not aware that gay men can also have children? Adoption isn't an imaginary thing. Anyway, sad and weird, rather abrupt, pretty uncomfortable. Mixed with strange humor? That about sums it up, haha.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I really can't stand when omegaverse stuff uses female terms for male omegas. "Wife" and "mother" and "mom" just sound weird, but the issue I have is that whole "being penetrated makes you a woman" bs that ties misogyny and homophobia together. I mean, trans men who give birth don't refer to themselves as mothers. It just irks me. Plus his "mom" had that super dorky mom haircut that you see, making it really hard for me to remember he was a dude. That aside, the fact that the alpha supremacist father so easily flips around like that made me roll my eyes a little. There were things here and there that irked me, and I debated on my rating of this one. But ultimately, it was an interesting story with a sweet pair (though with the risk of him being bitten and claimed by someone else, why not just get it done with?), and even with its flaws, it was better than a lot of the stuff that happens in many omegaverse stories. At least this one doesn't treat rape like it's a firm handshake. So four stars it is.

Whaaaaaaaaaat, I somehow didn't see that coming. XD I should have, all things considered, and Harada's work is always so deliciously fucked up, but I've never seen her play with perspectives like this before. Of course, it wouldn't really be Harada if it weren't terribly twisted, right? Haha, I love her. I can't believe it took me this long to read this one. Twisted as can be, with an ominous, ambiguous ending. So calculating, right to the very end. Harada doesn't pull any punches. She knows her characters are sick and wrong, and the narrative doesn't make any apologies for it. If only more yaoi stuff didn't act like psychotic, abusive behavior could be fixed or forgiven. This was a great read with an ending that satisfied me. I don't know how else it could have possibly concluded without it being a bit irritating. (Though a more violent end to a certain someone would have been nice, but that'd sort of ruin what the story was going for, haha.)