otakulys's manga / #slave(8)

The third one was sad but interesting. These stories were all a bit rushed, and some of them were pretty strange, but they were entertaining. This author really has a thing for rimming, haha. Three and a half stars.

The translation is awful, and I've always wanted to go back and clean it up, but I actually like the story. It's been a while, so maybe I need to re-read it, but I actually like the darkness of the ending. I think some of the explanation was lost in the translation, but I don't think it was as black and white as people are making it. Ultimately, the boy just wanted to be free, to be his own person, rather than someone kept by one man or another. The obsession of another crushes out his light, until both the boy and his captor are trapped.

I understand why so many people are saying they felt unsatisfied with this manga. There's definitely something annoying about it. I feel like it would have been better if Kichou hadn't been so annoying and wishy washy all the time. At first, it made sense that he was doing things to protect Kagerou, but then he would lure him in and lead him on, then act like a dick, and all of it was supposedly because he loved him, but that didn't really add up overall. I hate how cocky and smug he was all the time. And of course the mildly rapey sex, all with that creepy smirk. So yeah, I'm annoyed, too. I wanted to really see Kichou suffer at some point and truly regret the way he handled things. I feel like I would have preferred an ending with Iwasaki getting what he wanted. But ultiimately, I am glad they have a happy ending. If I take out all the parts that annoy me, I really do like the concept of the story. Two boys, raised in a brothel, and their forbidden love--it was a recipe for a really good manga, and it could have been so much better. But it wasn't awful, and the translation was good. The art had weird moments but it was mostly rather beautiful. So 3.5 or so stars.

I read the comments and actually expected this to be way worse. It was too brief to really have an impact, though the ending was certainly cruel. It made me sad when his friend was so excited to hear from him and see him, when we know the true reason for all of it. Other than that, it was kind of rushed, and I skimmed the smut scene because I wasn't fond of the art, nor the type of sexual exchange. At any rate, it had potential to really offer a sucker punch at the end, but it's otherwise unremarkable.

Damn it. I didn't check to see when it was last updated, and now I have to just sit and wait for updates that may never come. What's worse, it appears the story has a tragic ending. This is all bad news for me. x_x I was really interested in this, but I knew it would be fucked up. I guess I was just hoping that there'd be something worthwhile at the end. Oh well. I guess it doesn't matter anyway, since this may never actually be updated. I looked at the raws and tried to fill in my own blanks, but it's not the same.

Tentative four until there are more chapters. Pretty art, though the plotline makes me nervous. Gross things often happen in stories like this, plus the racial divide makes me uncomfortable. But I'll reread the two chapters from the beginning once there's more here, and I can form a better opinion then. Fingers crossed that it's good.

Wow, so sad and miserable! I dunno, I guess we'll see how it goes. I really hope this guy treats him well. It's like one shitty thing after another.