
it never ends well for the MC nor the friend. either the friend is a creepy stalker, works with said creepy stalker, is secretly an asshole, or just a pathetic little bitch. please, for the love of God, give me a BL where the best friend is actually a friend and doesn't want to ruin MC and ML's relationship. ( ̄へ ̄)

i just finished binging the anime like.... an hour ago and decided to pick up where i left off in the manga (it's currently 1am where i am lol). but... oh, my god. this is really up there with my favorite romance manga ever - might even be one of my favorite manga ever. the pacing is smooth despite juggling three separate couples, the characters are well-rounded (and hot, holy hell) and the story is simple yet full of so much development and growth. of course, before i continue with each couple and my opinion on them, i know the manga is still ongoing but here are my initial thoughts.
Suo and Tokiwa caught my attention right at the start (mostly Suo because obviously, she's the Prince, haha). but as the story went on, they kind of just... fell off? i don't like the trope where one of the characters is super popular, causing fuckass, parasocial freaks stalling ANY kind of progress, and this was unfortunately the case. Tokiwa also just doesn't associate with the kind of world Suo is in, as he says, so that kind of wall between the two really threw me off as i read (i also didn't like how Suo would throw herself at him, then back out immediately. stop being a little bitch ). but in the recent chapters where Tokiwa actually made some moves, it finally gave that push the two really needed for their relationship to move forward.

ASAGI AND FUJI, MY LOVES!!!
they're my OTP. my bread and butter. my cream of the crop. i fucking love everything about these two. i am a sucker for the cat/dog pairing in romance. Asagi is so cute, his little :3 is adorable, he's kind, helpful, clingy and loyal to his Fuji-san lol. i love how he just goes along with whatever Fuji says just because. but i also love Fuji. she's a little shit but it's hilarious every time (especially when she made Suo jealous in ch. 44). i also am a whore for kuuderes - blank face characters, and Fuji fits that description perfectly. i also like the subplot of Fuji being a BL mangaka and Asagi helps her while having no idea what she's even doing. anyway, imma stop yapping because i could talk about them for hours.

Kouhaku and Hagi...
hah... it took me a hot second to get behind their pairing, but when i actually took the time to think about it, the more i saw myself reflected in Hagi. their relationship is the perfect depiction of slow burn done well. unlike Suo and Tokiwa where their relationship moves then stagnates (sorry, had to dunk on them again), Kouhaku and Hagi actually take one step forward and ten steps back, as Hagi said one time. at least, that's what it was in the beginning. and what i mean by seeing myself in Hagi is that i am literally the same when falling in love with someone. sure, i can find people cute and everything and be a little cringe, but when i fall in love? i fall hard and it's a mess up in my noggin'. honestly, i said things to Hagi that i wish i could say to myself (don't know why i said that, Hagi can't hear me, but you get it). i overthink wayyyy too much and over-analyze every situation i'm in with them. i'm a pathetic little bitch, unfortunately.
but the slow burn was worth it, all the miscommunication and misunderstanding (hate it usually, but it's done well here, another point to this manga's creator) led to an amazing confession and it honestly brought tears to my eyes.
i have never seen a smut period, regardless of straight BL, or GL that do a panel of cum just spilling out and dripping like that. that's hot as hell.