axelmania's manga / #josei(291)

i really value this as a cultural and historical work, but its incredibly transphobic and this author is now in a straight relationship so. lol

this isnt romance. if youre going to read this, throw that expectation out. this story is about what to do with feelings that cant go anywhere, and how a relationship can be mutually loving and have value without being romantic. a highschooler watches as her six or so years older childhood friend marries her older brother in whirlwind fashion, and suddenly realizes shes in love with her. but because of a traumatic event revealed late in the manga, she is living with her brother and sister-in-law, and pushes herself to grow up quickly and leave with an amount of persistent hard work i find astonishing. the most interesting character is the sister-in-law, caught in a limbo between her forgotten teenage years and her failed adulthood. theres something wrong with her life but she just cant place what it is, often desperately lonely but unable to properly quench that need when her husband avoids her and her young sister-in-law keeps her emotions locked away. overall, is this a fun read? im not sure. the side-characters stories have little to do with the main plot, as is too common in manga, and while id say the relationships evolve in a satisfying way, there isnt as much strong emotion in this as youd expect for the subject matter. is it compulsory heterosexuality or just the blindness of crushes, marrying someone even though hes never shown or said he loves you?