Aiko's manga / #Manhwa(206)

2.5, not something I’d reread.. I wish their dynamic had more fluid development. A large proportion is them in denial, corporate enemies, until closer to the end. And from then on, it would soften up and become more romantic until a confrontation occurred and right back to the beginning. Not bad, believe me there are worse on the forefront but not something I’d reread. Plus unfinished.

5.9/5, to start the art is absolutely beautiful and individualistic, I’ve read a lot over the years but I’ve never quite seen any illustration like this, to make the Edo period look so accurate while somehow maintaining the aura of a pretty soft hearted uke is a balancing act. And on the topic of the Edo period, the fact that real facts of the Edo period were interwoven into the plot added that much more to the stories dynamic. And of course, I really do like the progression of their relationship. Though dubious consent always bumps a rating down by 1-1.5 stars, in this case the dubious side of the consent in the first run-in actually was very quickly and easily consensual; in addition, it was a necessary stepping stone in character development so it didn’t leave me with a pit in my stomach.

4.5, always take off stars or more for dubious-no consent which in this case is obvious. thing is though, their relationship thereafter was never really abusive, too manipulative, or toxic. The seme genuinely loves and is devoted to the ukes happiness. In addition the uke didn’t cheat/sleep with anyone after meeting the seme, any misunderstandings were immediately squashed, and they end up happily ever healthy

4.9/5 this one was quite cute, I think the progression was good and everything was immediate explicit consent so the plot could be the focus. It’s a light plot nonetheless which matched the vibe for sure, little bit off because I’m not sure I would read it again. I could definitely but just isn’t the top of my list of ones I’d reread 10x

4.9/5 A lot of people who commented seemed to strongly dislike this one, and some really liked it. There was no dubious consent or r*pe, the seme is actually avoidant of the uke leading the uke to take charge and explicit ask for things to proceed which is the perfect foundation. From there, it’s a genuine story about the two discovering more about individual preferences while growing fonder of eachother. It’s surprisingly sweet despite it being a fetish manhwa. It feels as though there may be more chapters (side chapters even) that involve them going on dates/trips together, I’d love to see that. Def would read again

100/5. Fkin love this author and their stupendous work. Always the best honestly, been following since it was first posted. Things got prickly but it was necessary pressure for a plot of this type and it’s certainly a signature of this author. Though this story is one with less constant attachment (i.e. the mains aren’t constantly around eachother at a certain point, as implied by being split between locations by their positions of power), this is consistent as a theme and it’s still implied that they are still rather committed by seeing eachother when possible. And from the backstory of both the characters to the nations they reside, to the era, there is so much richness in it all as well as depth that adds flavor to this story. I love it, I’d certainly reread this again.

4.3 or 4.5. Lower score because of dubious consent/SA. This is an example of there being no ill-intent with the SA being done and it’s disguised in a manner because of how the Uke and Seme clearly feel about another the entire time but it’s non consensual regardless. I appreciate at the very least that there was a side of the Seme that would sober up and not take it all the way until full consent was granted but sadly it didn’t prevent some hand business which crossed the line. But the charisma between the characters and side characters was amazing, the panels and art is really beautiful, movie-esque actually. Though it did drag on for a bit if you compare it to the amount of chapters available, I’d like to think this was done purposefully to exhibit how long it took him to decide his feelings. Unfortunately it did make it seem like a rushed ending since it basically occurred in the last two ch. I could reread this

4.6, though the plot at times felt quite silly I honestly think it’s a more pure story than normal for this genre. I’m not sure redemption arc fits this narrative so I’ll call it a glow-up arc which is essentially self explanatory. This glow-up arc was pretty well-intended, it was motivated by admiration and in the end we confirm that though it went out of its way to hide the past, the Uke reciprocates that admiration in the end. And their love is really cute. Love to see a bashful Seme now and again, without context you’d probably think he’s the uke. The art is great, very nice. My only grievance would likely be how abruptly it’s ended, I feel the pressure of hiding the past was dragged out a little long too but since it was a driving force to this plot (probably the purest misunderstanding-plot) I understand and forgo to that. I do wish it was dissected a bit more, for example having Jaehyun explain to Joo that the shame and disappointment he’s feeling is self loathing that he’d need to work through psychologically but that they could work on it together through their relationship. This could’ve led to a side story chapter in the future when they’re both older and a bit more mature (where the Seme has a new hairstyle IE the shower scenee where his hair was peak), where they’re seen as mutuals in a happy stable relationship showing they still can make each others heart race but they’ve clearly lived a happy life together getting to know each others habits etc. I could read this again if there were a smoother ending.

2, because the art is pretty and the characters are significant from the original story (since this is a side). Good lord was this disappointing. The plot is a mess, and the uke is irritating for no good reason- the entire plot was catalyzed by the ukes obsessive pride. Mind you, yes, there are people out there like this who simply can’t accept when good things happen to them but it doesn’t make this any less annoying. I was shocked by how many chapters there were, their conflict did NOT have to take this long to resolve. Just because someone is stubborn, prideful, and egocentric, does not mean they don’t know how to communicate. Did their side character participation in the main characters story building teach them nothing? Truly? Also the character dialogues are so clunky it might as well be in novel format. On the bright side it has comedic tendencies but unfortunately for them it undermines their conflict. On another note, as much as I appreciate an uploader that wishes to show readers the entirety of a manga, I feel the random raw chapters were unnecessary. If raw chapters are going to be uploaded with the intention of ‘making sure no important parts were missed,’ running it through Google translate before uploading it wouldn’t have hurt. Instead, the raw chapter as uploaded, and we were suggested to translate ourselves once again with Google. Again, appreciate the intention, but the actions didn’t do the intention justice. Not reading this again.

1.8, this was poorly. How can the plot include the seme accidentally hurting the uke and say it’s the equivalent of the uke deliberately manipulating and hurting the seme? Honestly awful. On top of this, the whole story reveals that the Seme is fairly uncomfortable with all this play meanwhile the Uke is manipulating the Seme into it just to soaking it up unapologetically. Granted usually the seme/dominant are the red flags but to give power back to victims which are normally ukes, you don’t turn the ukes into toxic semes like characters. You empower ukes so they have the upper hand, etc. this is just sad. Bummer too because the art is actually great. But the dom/sub relationships are difficult, these commands aren’t sexy or anything, there’s a sexiness to foreplay and etc. not ‘Stay.’ Or ‘Sit.’ Or ‘Present’. Sliding in a praise here and there was useful but idk, something about it felt empty. Not reading again.