Sotsugyousei
Classmates: Sotsu gyo sei

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Kusakabe's wholehearted dedication to bold gestures of affection contrasts so beautifully with Sajou's more shy and reserved manner. It was great getting to see how they came to terms with their relationship changing as they prepared to walk their own paths in life and figure out a place for each other in their plans for the future. These two volumes certainly have adorably fluffy moments where they casually learn more about each other, but if you're reading this series to see them explore their relationship and steadily let each other deeper into their lives, you may also be disappointed to see that there is a ... heavier focus on the child predator in this volume.

In fact, the most shocking reveal is that most of the teachers in this series are apparently pedophiles, which is treated as okay and normal by the story and makes some disturbing (and false) implications about homosexuality in the process. The incorrect stereotype pushed by bigots that pedophilia and homosexuality go hand in hand is gross, but it's particularly unsettling here when it gets used as a plot device to make the kids feel insecure in their relationship... and then they're told that that insecurity is stupid to feel because the pedophile "wasn't a threat" all along. That's so backwards and manipulative, and it's just played off as a funny little part of young love to feel jealous or worry that someone with clear power over you and your partner will use that power against you.

The only silver lining here is that the story still mostly focuses on Kusakabe and Sajou outside of all that, so if you can ignore the aforementioned issues to focus on the wholesome moments of their relationship instead I would still recommend giving this volume a read. But if any of those details is a deal-breaker for you, definitely give this one a pass.

On a final note, I do have one more tiny nitpick that should be addressed. I'm not exactly a fan of boys negatively saying they're "acting like girls" or "turning into girls" just because they're dating boys and having emotions and caring about each other, as though boys can't also feel or act that way. It's really weird and unsettling the way I've seen it handled in this genre, but the story between these two kids is still very wholesome despite those few moments, so I was able to let it slide because it's not so bad that it comes across as sexist or fetish-y like in some other BL series I can think of.

Once again, I instantly fell in love with Sajou and Kusakabe. They also give me this heartwarming feeling of tenderness. When I was reading this manga, I couldn't help but smile. The story was told at a slow yet comfortable pace. I like how the tension between Hikaru and Rihito builds, and we can see the difficulties they face. Also, the enthralling art style, as well as everything else, is stunning, and it makes me love the story. However, I still get uncomfortable with Hara sensei when he tries to touch Rihito, whom he knows is in a relationship. Even so, I enjoyed reading it ... because we get to witness how their relationship grows and it's just so heartwarming.

Same shit as the previous manga, but now with french kissing and sex. Which I imagine is desirable content for the target demographic.

Do the characters have any actual personalities now? Nope, they only role is still just being a gay couple, nothing less, nothing more. Is it even at least hinted as to why they have fallen love with the other person? Still nope. Is there any actual plotline this time beyond string of random scenes from that are supposed to be romantic? Nope.

In fact, although I started reading this right after finishing the prequel, I was immediately confused as where in the story am ... I. The storytelling feels chaotic and the opposite to thought through, like the author is just drawing whatever came to her mind. Well, not much of a storytelling to do when there isn’t really a story in a first place, to be fair. And bruh, why are you adding new characters when you haven’t even developed the current ones? Was that chapter really supposed to be there or was a random chapter from a different manga included by accident and nobody noticed because weird transitions between plotpoints is the normal for this title?

I also feel like the art is getting worse. Like, you could still call lot of it just stylized, but at some point it looks just straight out bad, not excusable by an art style. If you thought yaoi hands were bad, here you can get yaoi torsos. Surely this is just because it’s an older work and the author’s style just didn’t fully develop yet, right? I thought so too, but she literally has manga six years older that look much better. Maybe she’s just getting lazy with this franchise in particular?

Once again, it’s not bad by BL standards, but once you stop judging it by comparing it only to other works of the secluded genre, it starts to fall apart.