For those of us who also read Ashita wa docchi da, I think the comparison with Ken easily comes to mind since both manga have the same author. While Ken is also a cold-hearted Tsundere (only 2% dere like Kirara said) and is often rude to Kirara, he has been able to show concern and affection towards Kirara. It's not that he's acting "sweet" in the traditional sense, but there are some hints here and there that show how much he treasures his partner. Which goes to show that creating a deadpan tsundere character who demonstrates affection and tenderness is doable.
Yet I don't sense any of that coming from Kenji? Sure, he lets his guard down a bit when it comes to Yoshito by letting him treat him to dinner and do sexy stuff but all these things are for his own advantage in the end. He's only there for the good times and has never done anything for the sole purpose of making Yoshito happy. This isn't my first rodeo, I've been reading yaoi for more than 10 years so I know that Kenji canonically loves Yoshito. But I think that so far the author has failed to show us readers any reason or proof of his love for him.
In the last chapter, we've been shown Kenji supposedly praying for Yoshito's recovery instead of simply visiting him. This could have been cute but I didn't get any feels from that because his overall attitude whenever he's in Yoshito's presence is just mean. He's not acting like a tsundere, he's acting like a bully.
For those of us who also read Ashita wa docchi da, I think the comparison with Ken easily comes to mind since both manga have the same author. While Ken is also a cold-hearted Tsundere (only 2% dere like Kirara said) and is often rude to Kirara, he has been able to show concern and affection towards Kirara. It's not that he's acting "sweet" in the traditional sense, but there are some hints here and there that show how much he treasures his partner. Which goes to show that creating a deadpan tsundere character who demonstrates affection and tenderness is doable.
Yet I don't sense any of that coming from Kenji? Sure, he lets his guard down a bit when it comes to Yoshito by letting him treat him to dinner and do sexy stuff but all these things are for his own advantage in the end. He's only there for the good times and has never done anything for the sole purpose of making Yoshito happy.
This isn't my first rodeo, I've been reading yaoi for more than 10 years so I know that Kenji canonically loves Yoshito. But I think that so far the author has failed to show us readers any reason or proof of his love for him.
In the last chapter, we've been shown Kenji supposedly praying for Yoshito's recovery instead of simply visiting him. This could have been cute but I didn't get any feels from that because his overall attitude whenever he's in Yoshito's presence is just mean.
He's not acting like a tsundere, he's acting like a bully.