otakulys's manga / #sad(233)

I read the comments and actually expected this to be way worse. It was too brief to really have an impact, though the ending was certainly cruel. It made me sad when his friend was so excited to hear from him and see him, when we know the true reason for all of it. Other than that, it was kind of rushed, and I skimmed the smut scene because I wasn't fond of the art, nor the type of sexual exchange. At any rate, it had potential to really offer a sucker punch at the end, but it's otherwise unremarkable.

Noooooo, update soon, please! I so rarely find manga that truly scratches that hurt/comfort itch. I crave this sort of thing. It's so dark and beautiful and messed up. It made me cry, but in just the right way. I'm not sure what to expect in the future, but I really hope that there's an update soon. I'm worried this has been abandoned completely, since it's been a while. There are so many things I love about this story. I wish there were more like it out there. At the same time, I wish that love triangles didn't have to end in someone "choosing." Why can't he be with both of them? They're all fucked up anyway. They're all so damaged, especially the ukes. You can't entirely blame them for doing stupid, selfish things, given the way they've been taught to survive. Anyway, I'm going to die if this isn't updated.

Wow, this art is GORGEOUS. I don't typically like doujinshi, for many reasons, but this is well-drawn and interesting. Not much story, but it works. I just wish we could have these two, drawn like this, in a longer story.

Very sad. Beautiful art, complicated human emotions. Reading the comments made me think I should skip this, but it ended up being painful in a satisfying way, rather than in a way that destroyed me. I actually preferred the complicated, messy story to the first story. I'm not a fan of incest, for one, but it was also just more typical and cliche than the second story. Didn't hate it, though. I haven't read the precursor manga, so I was sort of filling in the blanks as I went, but I appreciated the nature of the character unfurling, these people lashing out, hurting others so that they can feel your own hurt, etc. Definitely sad, and it leaves a little empty feeling in your gut, but... I've seen much worse. At least they're still trying. (Just from this, though, I wish Sato would dump Akira and find someone better. He's the only one who doesn't seem redeemable, but maybe he's featured in the first story?)

Read this in the full collection. It's kind of confusing, trying to follow the time line with all of these oneshots. I didn't know where to start.

Said this in the comments, but basically: I can actually relate to the uke, but in a less extreme sense. I don't do it anymore, but as a little girl, I used to set up situations in order to make myself feel unloved and unwanted. I'm not sure when it started, but I guess it was a form of masochism born from my need to cope with being ripped away from my loving mother and raised with mean children and crappy babysitters because my dad would rather my mom suffer than his daughter be happy and healthy. Basically, it's the sense that if someone supposedly loves or cares about you, some part of you has to prove it isn't true. It isn't that you actually like it. It's more of a compulsion. I don't know why I did it. Maybe to prove to myself that I was incapable of being loved. If someone claimed to care about me, I was much more likely to lash out at them or hurt them. Granted, I moved past that by high school, and I was never cruel to anyone but myself. I just understand where that comes from. I don't know, it's dumb, but this manga really got to me because of that. The uke doesn't want to be vulnerable, so he acts like a dick. He's testing this guy, but pretending it's because he doesn't care. That way he won't get hurt. But secretly, he wants the guy to keep passing the tests. Not-so-secretly by the end, hence the tears. It made me cry, too. I know a lot of people are hating on the character, but I think it's clear he's just a damaged person. Doesn't mean the seme should just tolerate the abuse, but I'd like to imagine a future with them working through all of this together. Maybe they can even be friends with the other kid? I like that it's open but it's still so sad. I wish there'd been more here. You don't see this kind of personality explored often. I wish it were easier to explain, that sheer contradiction of wanting to prove that no one can truly love you and desperately, DESPERATELY wishing that you're wrong.

I don't typically enjoy het romance, and I'm usually not up for pointless misery on top of it, so I almost didn't read this. I'm really glad I did, though! I'm curious to see how it ends. Either way, I found the way it unfolded thus far to be intriguing. The first sixteen chapters are interesting, for sure. I wasn't fond of the main guy for most of the story, and while I knew he'd eventually fall for the chick, I was annoyed by the thought of it. They changed my mind, though. I'm not sure what sort of conclusion I'm rooting for now. It seems pointless if they live, but cruel if they die. Either way, I look forward to updates.

Ugh, I'm still crying. Why is it that every time I find a new mangaka lately, there's hardly anything out. I love her art and the warmth of her storytelling, and I want more. Mooooore. D: Rio doesn't deserve hate at all for everything. She wasn't certain in high school, just had a hunch. It isn't like he told her he loved him and she ran off and took him for herself. She realized later that they both liked one another, which is why she broke up with Gaku. Obviously she loved both of them very much. If she hadn't died, they would all be together and happy. It's not like she would have tried to ruin things. Anyway, such a sweet and sad story. Poor Rio. But I liked it a lot, and I really want more from this artist.

Stories like this really frustrate me, because there's so much potential, and it's all thrown away for some simple rape to love. I was really hoping the second story would just end after the first part, focusing on the messed up relationship they had that would mean they could never be together. It's better than what it was, and seeing the uke drop to his knees like that really grossed me out after what that jerk did to him. Being "in love" doesn't give you a free pass to hurt someone. The first story, I found the uke interesting but the seme boring. However, the art is so pretty, and I did enjoy elements of both stories, even if the way they wrapped up annoyed me, so I gave it four stars instead of the two it would probably get based on those endings alone. Also, I love the guy painting the house, totally like, "Ah, I see you're in chains. That's nice."

I'm not big on incest, but this was an interesting story. A little rushed, but I liked the way it came together at the end. It reminds me a little of Dogville, which is weird because I got that sense even before the twist. At any rate, that's what they get.