otakulys's manga / #angst(9)

I really liked this at first, because I hoped, despite having read enough yaoi to know better, that it was going to be about the main character getting with his love interest after overcoming the psychotic bully who was abusing him. The moment his attacker was given some development, I knew this was going to have a typical Yaoi-land ending. To be fair, as far as rape forgiveness in yaoi goes, this is absolutely not the worst I have seen. At least the uke was upset for a while, and even later, the seme wonders if the uke is still scared after what happened. But it's still annoying as hell. I don't mind rape in stories when the rapist gets what's coming to him, or at the very least doesn't end up in a relationship with his victim. But that's often not how these things go in yaoi. Still, I liked the manga enough to give it four stars despite the rape to love. It's pretty and emotional, and it's *almost* realistic, outside of the sexual assault and coercion.

Sort of strange and sad so far. I imagine the main two get together, but I kind of wish it wouldn't go that way. I'd love to see a story where a straight character is such dear, loving friends with another boy who struggles with accepting his sexuality. Anyway, I'm interested and hope the manga stays intriguing.

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."

Hard to rate it when it's so short. I may be confused, but it seems like it's saying it's tied to something else? So these characters are part of another story. I'm not sure, though. It says it's a oneshot, but it also says it's TBC, so...? Eh, I like her stories, and I like her concepts, so even if it's rough and short, it could be worse.

What the fuck... The first little oneshot was gross, though the mini-story with the one guy as a little bat pet thing was cute. The main story is okay, I guess. Nothing special. At least they were respectful of one another. The other couple, though, ugh. As far as rape to love goes, the most disgusting thing for me is when the victim starts apologizing to the rapist for hurting the rapist's feelings or some shit. I always wish the uke would die after that to really destroy the seme, since the seme is always doing it out of some sort of intense jealousy or love. You don't deserve a happy ending, you piece of crap.

Hmmm... Interesting so far. I need more chapters to get a better feel, so it's a four for now, but could go either way. Only one chapter at the moment. It's got a concept I'd like to see more often in yaoi, overcoming homophobia and what not. But how it unfolds is tricky. We'll see. EDIT: Five stars for going much better than I thought it might! I need to read it again from the start, after these few chapters, but it's such a sweet, touching story. Sad, too, but in the right ways. I also like that it wasn't some random dude who wouldn't take a hint. I was worried that was the case, so I'm glad it ended up being more complicated between them. I really wish there were more stories like this. I love the whole overcoming homophobia thing, the fear and the bravery and the growth. This was a great read, and I love the twist with Matsuri. I hope he gets some love soon! Maybe in an extra chapter or something. He deserves his own manga.

Too rushed and short to make much of an impact. It's sad to be that he had confused feelings over a father figure, but I'm really glad nothing ever happened between them. It does make you wonder if he's denying his sexuality, though, which would be a bummer.