V3.5.5
Okay....Up to this point I was really enjoying myself with these two's chemistry. For as much BL as I consume, very little actually touches on actually Gay or Bi characters, amazingly, so seeing blatantly stated queer characters and the various issues we face in context was refreshing as all get-out. But past a point, it just started to become catty, unnecessary run-around BS of the two emotionally manipulating each other, especially Fumi. Him acting so angry and upset about Shunpei keeping things from him, especially the comparatively harmless meeting of an ex, that he didn't even intend to, all the while he himself keeping a very direct and serious threat of romantic interest that his boyfriend specifically asked him not to involve himself with and /he himself sought out/ even if it was under duress.... It was stupid and only serves to make him look manipulative AF. He had already been proven wrong! He had no reason to hide it, and yet he absolutely blew up in Shun's face about his secret-keeping, while Shun lightly reprimanded him but mostly /reassured/ him! No! He needs to be called out for his bull, Fumi was comparatively much more in the wrong.
Somehow this series doesn't feel very complete. I know there's the Dj, but the other couples were just kind of haphazardly thrown in and out by the plot's whim, and the OG couple are...well, I've already talked about them.
thank you so much for this bc i fully agree. shunpei's sister was so creepy & gross like... yo, that's your brother. and no one called her out on that gross behavior, either, not even shunpei, and im just like??? whyyyyyy this
So this is where that baseless lie came from! Kids, it's absolutely a falsehood that nipple play arousal = anal play arousal. ...Or maybe that's just me lol
Also, I feel like if this manga were more self-aware, Aki-chan would've been a very good parody of fujoshi culture?? Internalized homophobia, fetishizing and romanticizing the "fantasy" aspects of queer culture, forcing real actual relationships to either fit into her preconceived mold of what should be a "good" relationship or just flat out denying and seeking to destroy the existence of one because it's "gross"....but it wasn't that. It wasn't even a lampshaded version of it. It was played straight, no pun intended. You were so close! And I wanted to much to keep with my trend of liking the female side characters, you broke my streak. I will admit that her sharing her manga with her brother was cute though. Maybe it's because I've got a sibling complex but I could literally never see my siblings as anything but the most adorable and beautiful people, so I always get turned-off by mean sibling chemistry haha