I have a sneaking suspicion it's not a coincidence Kei's exes have been trash. When you have no trouble sleeping with a man you're convinced has a girlfriend, that's what you get. It's funny to me that he has trust issues when he's too selfish and doesn't care about hurting others. Dude gets no sympathy from me. He brings it on himself but then distrusts Taiga for being a "liar" because "trauma" when Taiga did nothing wrong. In fact, he's one of the most lovable and radiant tops I've ever seen.
This is called projection. We put above the actual situation a filter based on our experiences distorting the actual image. Kei said he is gay, and ML told him "I am also of your people". The only thing Kei knew is "rumors from gossip magazines" which there are always floating about singles acting as a love couple. He thought "omg are they actually a couple??" when he saw her at the same building and ML said welcome back, he saw them very friendly (he didn't know that they are good friends), he was feeling awkward thinking they might be a couple and this is a strange food outing, but she immediately told him that I like him but we are not an item and he does not show any romantic interest in me. So his misunderstanding lasted for around 2 hours. And the reason he was afraid to commit was because bf1 hide that he was a married bi, bf 2 cheated, bf3 exploited him for money. So he thought he acts like he is liking me, but if regular people can act, an actual actor can do it 1000 times better. I hope I helped
I get that he has trust issues, but he hurt taiga because of his presumptions of him being a chameleon actor not because taiga did anything suspicious. However that isnt my issue with the story, I find it kind of bland that they ended up together without any groveling. Taiga forgave kei immediatly without even a good apology…
You forgot that Taiga started the whole thing as FwB and was not like "I will go slowly and we will start from friends and I will break down your walls and you will trust me and date me". They started as a physical relationship and that is why Kei was thinking"ok he can't have an open relationship due to his job, we have great physical compatibility, and I have fear starting a serious relationship, so i am perfect for him". And when he started catching feelings he was like "bro you going down the same path as before, you are catching feelings for someone that wants a physical bond with no strings attached". Taiga had actual feelings for him from before so he was tender and sweet, but Kei does not know that, so he is like "wait a minute why you are behaving like there is something deeper already there when we know each other for a few days? "
Yeah I get the part where they couldnt build a bond, but kei really hurt taiga after he already knew of their past. But thats the thing with stories that have to end in 6 ch, so I dont blame the aurhor
It's not called projection, it's called interpretation and perspective. Please don't throw psychology jargon at me. To me he looked absolutely positive that the guy was taken but they were so compatible that he didn't care, which is why he looked mortified when he met the actress for the first. That puts his "unlucky" dating history into perspective. Some people are too kind and attract shitty people yes, but Kei was never depicted that way. To me it shows that he might overlook red flags if he's benefiting from the relationship in some way. Yes Taiga's approach wasn't the best, he could've tried being friends first, but he was told by Kei that he was over dating and was only looking for casual hookups so he took the opportunity. Other than that he did absolutely nothing wrong besides being an actor, which makes him a liar in Kei's eyes. Dude went above and beyond to redeem himself and never got much of an apology. I respect your interpretation so please respect mine and don't try to psychoanalyse me.
Ignoring the obvious facts is not interpretation. Kei clearly said "but he told me he was one of us" (chapter 2 ) and when she saw her (at the end of chapter 2) he thought "friend? He means "friend" - as FwB, or she is actually his gf?". Since he is thinking "wait is she also a "friend" or a gf" that means up to there he didn't thought they were actually a couple and he believed the "I am also one of you (gay)". The fact that they live next to each other and they are friendly make him think that they are. You ignored clear dialogue lines to adjust the story to your perspective.
And the extremely funny thing is that you did exactly what Kei did. You extrapolate in your mind a narrative that suit your life experiences and misread the actual story, as Kei did with Taiga
The irony of you accusing me of ignoring dialogue when the dude literally thought "I can't say no to my urges" after considering that the rumors might be true isn't lost on me. It would've taken him 2 seconds to ask and get his answer. Extrapolation is a valid type of character analysis as long as there is evidence from the text. But sure keep psychoanalysing me and as if that wasn't enough now you're making claims about my personal life and lived experiences? Anyway I said what I said. Unlike you I'm going to stay courteous and not make baseless assumptions about you. Have a great day/night.
I agree with you on this. The fact that Kei knew (even if it's rumors) that Taiga was dating Lilia, he went ahead and had sex with Taiga anyways. That's what I also noticed, it's an etiquette to cut off someone if they already have a lover but Kei didn't and that's what made me question his past relationships. Also, idk but the fact that theyre both having sex and have a compatibility yet Kei has the audacity to push Taiga to Lilia is making me think that he's fine doing it even if Taiga's dating the girl.
And, why does Taiga have to focus on Kei's feelings when he treasured Kei all throughout. Kei already knew how affectionate and different Taiga is whenever he's with him but still rejected him and called him liar...
Thank you! Like what kind of guy thinks: "Who goes out to dinner with his girlfriend AND the guy he's sleeping with, does he not understand social cues?" (direct quote) if he doesn't think they're dating? The dude didn't think that social cues involved NOT sleeping with another guy when you have a girlfriend but simply not meeting both of them at the same time. Also thank you for reminding me that he tried suggesting Taiga date Lilia, yeah that was sleazy behaviour.
Saying that the author's note was a slap to the face is an understatement. I want the emotions I invested in this back.
Dom dude deserves much much better. Sad seeing him sell himself short.
This is (in my opinion) what Dawn of the Dragon was trying and failed to be. I can't wait for S2.
agreed!
I can understand why this made many people cry. Beautiful art, the tragic death of a friend, and unresolved feelings of guilt are the perfect recipe for an angsty story. But I feel like something is missing. Maybe it's the tangled jumble of emotions in this story that created some kind of distance between me and the events? Or somehow the unrealistically long time it took Nagisa to come to terms with how he truly felt? I know that experiencing attraction toward a friend of the same sex can be very confusing, especially when it's a friend you grew up with and feel jealousy towards. Maybe that's exactly why I feel like not enough was done to untangle these feelings. Also that whole thing with him wanting to suffer via having sex with Kaito was weird.
This was trashier than I expected based on the comments. Even worse, it was very boring and nonsensical. I found myself just skimming through it at the end. The same stuff over and over. I hate that it has the "psychological" tag because it's too shallow to be called that. I miss when psychological meant exploring complex dynamics instead of whatever this was.
Question: why do some people feel the need to complain because many didn't like this and expressed themselves in the comment section (literally what the comment section is made for). Do you feel called out? No one is telling you that you're wrong for liking this. Most people are just expressing their thoughts and don't care if you like it. No need to get defensive, it makes you sound lame and whiny, especially if you start using buzzwords like "woke." Some people don't mind rape as long as it serves the narrative in some way, which it doesn't in this case (there's barely a narrative). Others (like myself) adore beautiful art and felt like it was wasted on a stupid story. Others might like the author and expected better based on their previous work. There's a million reasons someone could read this and dislike it. Is that a novel concept for you?
because it gets annoying when 95% of commenters r pussy complainers hogging the comment section. it’s like going to a pizza shop and complaining why they don’t serve burgers.
There are plenty of commenters who like this and express that much. You can choose to interact with those. Too bad others don't like the same stuff you do but that's life.
Unfortunately ya.
Maybe there are 95% complainers cuz it was just straight up shit ? Also calling someone who doesn't like r*pe (a sane person) a pussy complainer is kinda wild maybe get yourself checked
No but that’s the thing - a lot of people tagged this as rape, and yet rape haters (sane people as you call it) still went on and read all 6 chapters then complained about how they don’t like it. They set themselves up for disgust and they run to the comments to write it out? Your crowd of “sane people” are actually insane, nosy as fuck, and can’t mind their own business.
Claims to hate reading forced sex but act like they’re being forced to do so? That’s a cute irony. So do y’all hate forced actions or not?
Idm people coming in here saying it’s lacking in certain areas but the fuckass majority of the complaints are just “oh nooo it’s just rape” Oh yeah? Way to advertise it to the average toxic yaoi reader.
PREACHHH
as someone who can handle dark content it actually wasn’t shit at all. i quite enjoyed it. ppl r only complaining bcuz wahh wahh there’s rape in it as if they can’t read the TAGS?!!!
Just because you enjoyed doesn't mean it was good or that others enjoyed it
Cuz there can be stories with rape that aren't just that and actually good? Also a comment section exist to share your opinion obv there won't only be praises
Am I the only one who wishes they tried switching once? They're both so hot
You are so real, don't worry you're not alone
For anyone confused let me clear this up once and for all. In chapter 1 p.13, the person spoken to when one of the gang members says "yer 18 yerself" is not Mori. It's not clear who it is but they respond that they're working, and Mori hid the fact that he works from everyone except 2 people (as evidenced by ch.3 pages 4-5). An argument could be made that it's a different job, but ch.4, p.3 sounds pretty conclusive to me. He says that he was a "little younger" than 25 at the time so he must've been 24/23, a far cry from 19 if you ask me. Realistically, what 18 year old is leading a gang like that?
On the question of whether this constitutes grooming or not, how do you guys define grooming? It's any act done to gain a child's trust for the purpose of sleeping with said child. He showed Tora preferential treatment for a whole year. Grooming is often depicted as relentless, but in reality it's very covert and insidious. Some small things you'd never pay attention to can be constituted as grooming, especially acts of kindness. As for whether he was planning on sleeping with him from the start or not I don't think that matters. He did it and it wasn't a heat of the moment thing. He took his sweet time buying condoms and all. So what makes his actions different from grooming? Is it intent? What more could he have done to concretely turn this into grooming?
I understand wanting to enjoy this manga, but please don't try denying the facts. Feel free to create your own headcanon by changing their ages, but I'm sure the mangaka intended the story to be this way. I say that because there's precedent (see Nirameba Koi vol.1, ch.6). I enjoy a few things about this manga, especially the biker gang concept, but let's be honest with ourselves. I respect the people who admit they change the details in their minds more than those frantically trying to deny the facts.
You're right about the grooming requiring intent but it also entails manipulation and exploitation. I don't think there was intent, in the way that you think, and I definitely don't think there was manipulation. Tetsuya had condoms because he was the leader of a bike gang, single, and in his early 20s (he likely gets it all the time, I doubt any other person in that position wouldn't have condoms). Also he didn't have lube, he had to use olive oil - he didn't plan to sleep with him then. I think it happened because of the fight beforehand and the rising tension within the gang, making Tora step back a bit (this is where I think Tetsuya started realizing his feelings).
Additionally Tetsuya was 23-24 (someone calculated it), he too was a kid, despite the arbitrary 18-20 year old age of adulthood. Humans don't have fully mature noggins until they are 25. BUT he was older by a decent enough number of years and a highschooler 16-17 years and that puts the situation on him, especially since Tora was already reeling with his feelings about his brother, the gang, and his budding love of Tetsuya.
Now in terms of intent. I really don't think it was there. It struck me in the beginning that Tetsuya saw Tora as a smart ass kid who made the gang a little more fun (Tetsuya even mentioned that he made it less boring). Then a kid who railed up the leader to ride his best by 1. doing his best on his worst subject and actually succeeding 2. questioning his abilities to ride (this leads to shared adrenaline, respect, and companionship). The threshold likely happened (like I mentioned before) when Tora started pulling back and tensions in the gang at an all time high. Now you may argue that Tetsuya having feelings for him and acting favorably to him would be a definition of intent but I will remind you that Tetsuya actually told Tora that he could not ride with him for a while. So if anything, he actually took a step back.
Finally, this is set in Japan (I am not going to say this is right because that is not how I feel). There was (and I think the thinking is shifting) a belief that high schoolers were essentially adults when it comes to relationship. My highschool Japanese friend was actually dating a working corporate man (which really shocked me) and mentioned that it was actually pretty common. You've also probably noticed all the manga out there with highschoolers and adults in relationships. I'm just putting in this point because I think that explains the seme's relaxed attitude when they had sex. If their coupling was a result of grooming, there would be some element of maliciousness behind it (because grooming is malicious and groomers know they are doing something bad) whether it is visible or not. In this story, that is not the case at all.
Also there are no signs of Tora being groomed: no isolation, possessiveness from seme (in fact possessiveness came from Tora), no gifts, no secrecy between them, I would argue the excessive attention since Tora started the whole riding behind him and it was a shared enjoyment (more like friends), there was no fear, and there was definitely no sexual inappropriateness (not including the actual sex scene - this is an underlying theme before the fact when grooming is present).
I agree. While the age gap when they first sleep together makes me uncomfortable (shouldn't be sleeping with anyone with anything below a 2 in the decade place for age), I don't feel like Tetsuya groomed Tora. Yes, he showed him favouritism for just over 1 year, but it was in the presence of others (not isolated), and it was maybe a few hours most days (no way he went out every single night as a highschooler - he passed his test [they even mention not seeing him for a while] and probably got sick at least once). He also didn't ride with Tetsuya for the whole time (he rode with Tomo once he officially joined the gang). And there was no manipulation, that I saw. I do think both were attracted to each other fairly early on, but didn't recognize it. I also think their first time was closer to heat of the moment than planned, for the reasons you state.