SpringHaze's manga / #tragedy(11)

This is not for those who seek smut and it's lyrical and bittersweet in a very Japanese way. Unrequited love and lifelong yearning.

This was a tear-jerker from start to finish but I couldn't stop ;_;

Licensed by Kuma. I cannot rate this, those stars are not reflecting my opinion :( This is tragedy mixed with religious fanatism and two beautiful boys kill themselves together at the end and it's so bleak and hopeless. Also, both have the shittiest parents and sick uke is raped by a priest when he is 7. JC everything is terrible, will not probably buy, though the art is gorgeous (also hate that it's set in America, but that is definitely something that happens there quite a lot). I was saddened that even though he is raised in an absurdly religious household (and by that I mean relying entirely on the divine about everything and not actually doing anything in terms of healthy parenting), in the end, after all his rebellious running away, uke-kun turns to what he knows for redemption - religion and stopping in every church on the road to pray for absolution.

Wow, nope! Incest x 3 and a lot of death - brother and sister get it on and sister dies in a fire screaming she won't abandon her bro (while she is married with 2 kids) and bro adopts one of the kids and fucks him cause ofc. Kids meet in hs and they fuck, too, though kid bro is just getting back at his father/uncle cause he's remorsefully refusing to touch him anymore. Do I feel sorry for any of these people? Hell, no, they are all nasty, except maybe big kid who is collateral victim and their father who stays innocent and oblivious of the incestuous drama around him. Also some really long yaoi arms and legs man, spiderlike.

This is supposed to be very emotional, and it is for the most part, I just cannot stomach quick to fall in love people (as in a matter of days). Thankfully it fast-forwards 5 years in order to have the other person reciprocate, which kind of saves it.

This is not a happy story, it's actually a tragedy presented in such an understated and minimalist manner it sort of takes you by surprise and I needed to get into the comments, because it punched me in the throat and left me bleeding. Teenage boy neglected by his parents finds himself picked up by stranger in the park and sleeps with him on a dare - which is where he actually loses control over the situation and is raped and drugged and comes back for more. The abuser disappears and we find out his teacher identity was fake all along, but the most heartbreaking thing is that the teenager, now grown up himself, repeats the cycle and picks up a highschooler, with thoughts of 'treasuring' him, because he never managed to move on and heal. This was outstanding and frankly scary.

This manga is truly a masterpiece but the subject is not for the faint of heart. It's one of Kyuugou's older works, back when she was doing psychological dramas, and apparently she's abandoned it because it was too heavy and damaging. And, boy, is it ever. I have no idea who the final pairing is supposed to be - mousy photo club boy or rough fuckbuddy - but most of it is a flashback of Kei and Roku's relationship through Kei's eyes (who later on commits suicide), Kei's forbidden love for his twin, the twisted way in which he tries to fill up that void (through sex, how else, gangbangs with his schoolmates or fucking his stepdad), the revelation of his feelings and the subsequent jump from the school's rooftop. Roku is left behind with all the questions and therapy sessions he doesn't attend, and a fear of seeing his face in the mirrors - but also takes up his twin's sex habits in order to cope or understand better what he went through, which is so fucked up and tragic. I wish we got more of this story but honestly cannot imagine how this would have turned out a happy ending.

Hidaka Shoko, how dare you?