Nov 13, 2024
Every review starts off with explaining what the book is roughly about. I'm not. Go read the top of the page if you want to know that
[TLDR no Spoilers]:
I wouldn't recommend this if someone asked hence the review. too much happens too quickly. I dosed off more times than not while reading meaning it was hard to stay in touch with the conflicts and tension moments. the love story conveys a message to me that I didn't like. I saw too many contradictions amongst characters actions throughout the story. I saw much more potential than what was executed.
[SPOLIER ALERT]
...
to sum up the story in a single sentence:
|I'm in an abusive relationship. I did something to make him this way. I can fix him"|
The story touches a lot of hearts for reasons of I'm not sure how to say but what i would call Bulls. people who chase red flags. I dont understand someone who would rate this so high for a love story about an abusive person winning. Yeah... That's exactly what it is... You... You do remember that Haruma choked a bitch out right and then held her prisoner in her own home? We just forgetting that happened or...?
Ive listed some things below that made me lower my ratings:
1. Haruma comes back for the girl he wants to be with and the mother lets him even though she is covering her daughters "crime" and putting Haruma anywhere near her will contradict that motive. so why does she agree? "guilt" cop out to move the story along.
2. Haruma doesnt want Yoh to remember what happened even though him existing in her life IS her remembering because itll become inevitable. therefore another contradiction. so why does he come back? its selfish love and that love wins in the end sadly.
3. Haruma literally choked Yoh out and then kept her prisoner in her own home that he tricked her into letting him live in. This guy won the love battle by the way. The one that many rooted for. Let that sink in for a moment before moving on.
4. His behavior change is a contradiction because nothing stops that type of behavior in stalking and manipulation. It would continue even after he won as we saw it did when Haruma locked up Yoh. A personality doesn't change just because things go their way. A flick out of line reverts that behavior right back, as we see him lose control of his behavior when Yoh runs away, because its about control not about love. Reminder: he was lovey dovey with her before worrying about her weight and eating habits until he loses control and then reverts back to his ways. volumes 2-7 easily back this up as its literally all Haruma is doing because he doesn't have complete control yet and when he loses it he becomes an abuser. LITERALLY TEXTBOOK here. He cannot go to the personality type that he gets in volumes 9-10 it just doesnt make sense
5. The delusion of Yoh. So Yoh's behavior towards Haruma isn't what made me lower ratings, as a person in her situation would do exactly what she did, its EVERYONE AROUND HER. they all say the same thing: "why" and instead of trying to help her realize "hey this guy is crazy you are in an abusive relationship you need an out HENCE WHY YOU RAN AWAY" they say "lets help you save this relationship" like why?
6. Everyone suddenly being bestfriends after the behavior and manipulation we saw through out the book that they were all aware of AND wanted Yoh away from is very unbelievable I mean the fact Touya even calls Haruma out of friendship about Sawako is a wild idea to me after the combativeness we saw between the two. I do believe Touya is the type to make amends but I dont think he'd ever go to that extend as Haruma is the literal definition of the change of his friendship with Yoh WHICH was even stated BY HIM in the same volume.
We have massive love triangles going on, Haruma <--> Yoh <-- Touya <--- Sawako
it wasn't a bad love triangle however, the way it plays out Touya didnt receive the justice I felt was deserved nor for Sawako. His love for Yoh was because he wanted what was best for her hence why he ended up taking a knee and surrendering. He wanted what made her happy whereas Haruma's love is self serving of "shes been all alone all this time" when in reality shes had Touya and Sawako. She was alone to him because he didn't have her and he was truly the one alone due to that which fits stalker MO. What kind of destroys this love story as a whole for me is the abuser, Haruma, because that is entirely what he is for the majority of the book, cause once again... he choked a bitch out, wins the girl. the good guy finishes last and gets the left over prize to which Sawako IS a prize but was not treated as such as she had to lose it all in order to even be considered making her a consolation prize. Her and Touya were a cop out to try to make everyone happy at the end.
Art wise. pretty. i liked it.
characters: honestly all likeable. Haruma was scary, cunning and made a great stalker creeper. Yoh was a bit of a stereotype but i liked it. a bit of a demise in distress but we all need those sometimes. Touya i was rooting for the guy the whole time. golden heart. Sawako an underdog we all want to see win in an unwinnable triangle.
overall: too much happens too quickly, the plot seems kind of "how badly can i manipulate Yoh today" or "how can i be creepy this volume" like it was good creepy manipulation yes but i felt myself dose off from the story more times than I feel it was intended to. the spicy scenes were okay. definitely was not expecting that but it was alright.
In the end, for those who DID like this story, more power to you. All stories in the world will have its fans and have its haters. Sadly today I must admit I'm a hater. I do not disrespect viewers who like it nor do I disrespect the writer and artist who put in their hard work and time making this for our enjoyment, however please respect that this is my opinion as I just respected yours. I don't have some fancy degree to make allegations that I have. I'm just an old dude who loves anime manga and books. I hope this helped but also hope this doesn't offend the people who enjoyed. See you next time~
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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