Mangonificent's manga / #annoying uke(2)

Didn’t expect this to be so sweet. Such a good read which finely addresses issues that might be present in an age-gap romance while not forgetting the wholesome moments. I also find the art charming, it’s refreshingly unique, and the visual storytelling is just beautifully done. Definitely recommend to check it out. However... I have a significant aversion towards misunderstanding tropes and here the whole story is built around one(s). At times this could make the experience extremely frustrating, even reached a point in which I was screaming: “MOTHERFUCKER, USE YOUR WOOOOORDS!!!!” I do realize the relationship is intentionally messy and that’s fine. These are flawed people. Mistakes are made and later acknowledged. But dear lord, when the main misunderstanding is something that could be solved with just ONE sentence but it drags on and on because the uke completely refuses to communicate his thoughts, EVEN when the seme directly asks “Let’s talk so I can do something about it.” …that's just irritating on a stupid level. IMO this could have been cut shorter while putting some more attention to the ending which, in contrast, felt rather abrupt. For above (and other) reasons the MC increasingly pissed me off but, to his credit, he later does spell out EXACTLY what I thought of his behaviour. Not that the seme is perfect, nor does he have to be, but I still found him relatable and charming, less immature and erratic. (Well, I guess he has age on his side. No wonder I tend to prefer older men). Thankfully, my annoyance with the MC didn’t stop me from enjoying the romance because the chemistry and sexual tension between the two worked great. Even the sex scenes kept me highly invested (yes, I easily get bored of those if proper context or sensuality is missing). Really loved how sweet and responsible the seme was, taking some time to actually educate the overeager uke. All in all, I must commend the quality of this work because it has tropes I dislike but still managed to keep me heavily invested.

Maybe the author is a hidden genius who makes fun of the genre and its’ fans because in some universe this COULD actually be a great satire of stupid yaoi tropes. It basically has all the things I detest the most in yaoi, the obvious ones being the: “I express my 'love' for you by repeatedly raping you, uwu!” and the dumb doormat uke who never stands up for himself, easily forgives all the shit that has been done to him, AND looks like a 10 year old girl with a dick. Then there’s also the stupid “don't u dare suggest I'm gay, I just like fucking this speshul boy” crap, absolutely ridiculous proportions (I mean, size difference is kinda my jam but here… pffft no), almost nonexisting plot with smut for the sake of smut and so on. The seme is such a huge asshole that while skimming through the manga I was just head-canoning the uke ran away with the henchman (and the boss spontaneously combusted, never to be seen again). You know, since Homare seemed to be the only one with goddamn self-control and actual respect for the uke’s own wishes, even acknowledging him as the victim who should not be excusing those using him (like the dumb doormat he is). Every other guy who had the hots for the twink apparently saw him as this giant “RAPE ME!” sign. It was actually kind of amusing how the manga itself is aware of this and poked fun at the fact that Homare could have something the dickwad seme never will: a consensual first time with the uke. In fact, these glimpses of self-awareness and humor is one of the only reasons why I gave this 2 stars instead of 1. Granted, I’d hope them to actually DO something about it instead of just acknowledging the fucked up stuff but it's better than nothing and has some satire-like comedy value. I also actually liked some of the side characters -Homare, his twin and the okama specifically- so some tiny little enjoyment was received instead of it being a complete waste of time. Oh, the okama's dad was rather fun too because everyone who slaps the asshole seme around is good in my book.