I definitely understand your feelings, and even I think this is going to sound a bit strange, but... I'm kind of all right with it. The manga didn't go into it too explicitly, but I think it was more that Aoki ended up falling in love with him because Tengoku saw and understood him, and accepted him. To the point of figuring out his issues, and somehow turning them into something less negative, and something he didn't need to carry all on his own.
In a country like Japan, where there's still so much stigma around admitting you need help with mental health, going to see a psychologist etc., I really do wonder what people do to learn to cope with issues and traumas from their childhoods or traumatic events.
Oh and one more thing, sorry! It was also mentioned that Aoki ended up thinking about his mother every time he tried to have sex with a woman, and couldn't get it up because of that. So I don't think Tengoku was the one making Aoki think about his mum, I think it came from Aoki (which yeah is still unsettling). Tengoku was the first one who managed to let him experience sexual pleasure despite all the mummy issues, I guess by working with Aoki's issues rather than ignoring them??
Yup weird, but in the end I still think it's a good partnership;
neither of them are what you'd call 100% normal, average, vanilla types!
I thought it was all kinda Freudian, like he was truly seeing his mother in Tengoku, but it was more like seeing his ideal mom...one that hits him but also understands him. That’s more weird though...but it’s okay cuz Tengoku has a bro complex, so they do their Freudian things together
I do think Aoki's upbringing affected him deeply throughout his life. I don't think it's anything like him getting turned on by thinking of his mother. His masochistic tendencies may be from when as a child, his mother would see-saw from being violent and hurtful, to comforting and apologetic; instilling a twisted, confusing form of love. Not only that, Aoki carried the weight of his mother's high expectations, constantly being 'disciplined' if they weren't met. This definitely affected his relationships with his previous girlfriends and his ability to 'perform.'
Whereas with Tengoku, the weight and worry of expectations didn't exist. For the first time, in a long time, Aoki could let go enough to actually feel sexual arousal. I'm not trying to defend Tengoku's sadistic behavior, because that was all sorts of messed up, but it does kind of explain Aoki's physiological responses and why he would accept such a relationship into his life.
Well...this is just my interpretation. All in all, I love this manga and it's been a long while since something has made me think and feel this much!(≧∀≦)
^^^Agreed!
100% agree with this! I think it's a spot-on interpretation.
Everybody has something they cant stomach in a story line and for me is the fact that the nurse manipulated the teacher in to falling in love by sexually arousing him in the same way his mother used to punish him...no gross and i cant get past it. Its like he is getting aroused by the thought of his mother and it makes me a little sick.