screamingincoherently's manga / #childhood friends(6)

The value of family, especially found family/chosen family, is so beautiful. There wasnt some annoying romance subplot shoved in, it was just a beautiful story about three boys in the foster system that learned the importance of family in each other and personally? I think it was amazing.

Listen, low-key love the comments but low-key hate the comments, cuz 1)the young Eric chapter is awkward and uncomfy, absolutely, but I also think it shows a really interesting part of Eric's views of Nao, cuz after he has this dream he immediately starts sobbing and apologizing for dirtying/violating the Nao he remembers, which just pushes that innocence that is integral to the success of their relationship. Honestly just wished the illustrator hadn't included him visually handling it and just implied it. Would've gotten the point across while also not having a lil 13 year old Eric on the page 2) Absolutely the racist depiction of the black guy is a shock, but it's also Japan??? China and Korea have the same issues, in varying degrees, and I recently watching a commercial where a woman shoves a black man into a WASHING MACHINE to wash the black off of his skin, so this is pretty on brand. Yes it should b better, but it's also expected, and shouldn't even be surprising cuz they literally do the same thing in Eric's mind when he imagines a gang in the first chapter(or the second, I can't remember off the top of my head now). It doesn't take away from the rest of the story(which I think is honestly so sweet and adorable, and I love the way Nao comes to the realization of his feelings for "Eri", it's so fuckin cute and I can't stand it), or at least, not as much as some ppl in the comments are making it out as. Definitelya head turner, but otherwise its there for all of 5 frames in total and gone again. But yeah, the depiction of African American individuals, specifically men in this case, is bad, but the author also leans into stereotypes with Eric, talking about how "foreigners have bigger dicks", Eric comparing stuff to drugs or illegal activities, and even the visual of Eric's parents, especially his dad. Like I said, really love the comments for calling this shit out, I think it's really important to call creators out on the prejudices and inappropriate imagery displayed in their pieces of media, regardless of the quality of that media. I just would also love to see some ppl gushing about Eric and Nao and the healthy communication we see displayed towards the end, especially with how rare that still is in BL fiction. Seeing both of them apologizing to one another after their respective miscommunications and talk it out is so refreshing in comparison to having them stew on their sadness for 3-5 chapters and almost break up before admitting to what's bothering them. And for all the times Eric cries and displays this adorable naivete, they don't make him emotionally infantile and instead lean into this honest himbo personality that is so fun to read. So TL;DR, for all it's fault I really enjoyed this one, I think that it's a really solid BL where the main couple both behave and interact like adults and communicate like a healthy couple, and I'm really happy about that.

I'm ngl dawg I'm confused. Why did Sei/Arata even agree to get with MC?????? Where was the character growth taking place???? Was it just that MC was the only one that to prioritize his comfort/pleasure??? I need this explained to me like a kindergardener in a college class.

It's fine but Shige is mad controlling, hk can't stand him. Kinda wanted Yoichi to get over him and find a new man by the end of it, although Shige does seem to b a lot more civil once the relationship is official, so silver lining ig.