Aiko's manga / #Manhwa(206)

4.8, I like this one for its amazingly well illustrated art but also because it’s a unique cultivation of Vampirism, Dystopia, SM dynamics, and biologically supernatural traits all in a single manga. It seemed obvious that there was a fine line of touching on all these subjects without going overboard and I say this because I feel it had a good balance of it all. At times, I do feel like there were aspects that could have been improved upon in a more fine-tuning way (such as creating perhaps a smoother introduction of the Uke and Semes initial encounters that led to their one-of-a-kind relationship and less reptitive scenes of the Seme getting drugged, beaten, or nearly killed consecutively - as in spacing these occurrences out more or reducing the amount of them). But yeah it’s great, I’d reread

4.8, it wasn’t terrible by any means. I think the plot builds under the guise of consent but not actual consent because there’s substance influence involved. Then again, a lot of plots with catalysts that use the ‘one-nighter’ dynamic are common and it happens irl so I could overlook it (but it does admittedly put my off, because it pairs with the stubborn Seme who’s trying to bulldoze his way into the Ukes heart for better or worse). Getting that detail out of the way, thankfully this extremely determined Seme is thankfully a good character with green flag traits so their union isn’t one I would protest against. It’s cute that they form a relationship and develop trust over the chapters, I also appreciate that the Seme somewhat allowed the Uke to take time to develop those feelings alongside offering reassurance. I could reread again for a little change but it’s not a top fav unfortunately.

5.0, it’s kind of a cute story actually taking into account that it takes the time to show the backstory of not only the fantasy world it’s set in but both the main characters as well. I’ve seen some say that the Seme isn’t portrayed as being as in love with the Uke as the Uke is to the Seme but I beg to differ, the Seme felt PTSD in a way that he immediately felt betrayed by the Ukes choice to hide some vital information which led to the misunderstanding. Fortunately, it wasn’t dragged out and a lovely side character kindly explained everything and even gave advice based on observations all to help the Seme process the situation in a more accurate way. Throughout the process of the Seme falling in love as well, he found (similar to the audience) the Uke actions to be quite cute and found a lot of traits to be attracted to which was all outlined in internal dialogue and supported by the side character that made a move. So I like this story for sure, very cute. I could reread this one.

3.0, this one is worse than Window to Window for the following: 1) if you're peeved thinking window to window is all sex minimal plot, this one is gonna blow your brains out because it’s a longer manga with, yes, more sex than plot. 2) for some reason there’s a point in which it seems Dowan forgets that Chamin has sexomnia and I understand it’s extremely hard to distinguish when Chamin is awake vs asleep but once he discovers this sleeping disorder— he still misunderstands. How? We established the disorder. And it really think his misunderstanding was unnecessary motivation to prolong the discussion he has to admitting what’s been happening between them at night. 3) The warning says SA but it seems like plausible r@pe, I really hate that in BLs. 4) the sexual acts continued even after it was discovered that Chamin had been SAed, how is that okay? I get it, he tried to be considerate and honestly Dowan is a green flag but there’s some misguided moments of coitus that I feel don’t match the characters personality. 5) im sorry to say that while it is creative, sexomnia is a bit ridiculous of a plot catalyst. And why does it seem it wasn’t a problem until after they learned about it in class, as if it manifested upon discovery. On the bright side? The art is beautiful really and there were moments included where Chamin was mindful of Dowan, he felt bad that he had been doing things at night that misled Dowans feelings. That’s quite nice. And they had cute moments closer to them officiating their relationship. Plus, Dowan is pretty fine ngl. Don’t know if I’d read again tho ʅ（◞‿◟）ʃ

2.0, the art is fine I suppose, it’s unquestionably original but it seems inconsistent at times like an initial piece. I think the affection scenes are nice and cute if I pretend it’s not the main couple, because unfortunately a dynamic I loathe is an extremely juvenile miscommunication plot and a Uke thats nothing more than a pretty face (with an IQ of single digit of course). And I already saw the misunderstanding a mile away, it wasn’t necessary for 5 full chapters of it only for it to end with the confirmation I saw coming. It’s a bit repetitive in that aspect, the Uke “tried to seek revenge” and failed miserably for too long. Similarly, tried to mend things for too long. The Semes an idiot too, doesn’t confront what he wants to say the end during their so called angst period AND he doesn’t understand that his first love is the Uke. I guess they’re made for eachother that way. Also kiss and touch was not consensual for a majority so. Usually I’d keep my rating low because of SA or r@pe in pair with a toxic plot but I also rate this low for mangas that feel like a waste of time. Won’t reread again.