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To preface, I didn't read this as a teen (thank god) and I only read it because it was mentioned in a YouTube video that categorized it as trash which made me morbidly curious. There was just so much wrong with this that I can't even put my thoughts into words. I'm going to try not to spoil anything but it's going to be hard. Hey, I'm trying.

First of all, this manga has one of the stupidest main characters I have ever seen. She is spineless and I hate to victim blame but since she's not real, I'm going to. I read some earlier ... reviews saying that there are real people who have a hard time recognizing when they are in an abusive relationship, but this is not at all a real-life depiction of that type of scenario. To compare this manga to real life is just insulting and I'm not going to entertain that conversation. The love interests purposefully and intentionally put her in these incredibly disgusting and abusive situations, yet she is so willfully ignorant that she chooses to believe that they've got hearts of gold despite the mounting evidence that would say otherwise. She never speaks up for herself and has little to no self-awareness to the point that she should be embarrassed. I want to say more, but I'd just be describing every single conversation and scene in the manga.

I might have enjoyed this series if you could see real growth in the MC as the chapters went on, but there is none to be found. She could have learned how to be more confident in herself and overcome her insecurity. She could have learned how to advocate for herself and those that she loves. Through trial and error, she could learn what a healthy relationship looks like. It's not only based on love but also respect for boundaries and making her feel heard and secure. If there were some growth, I might have been able to excuse a number of the choices that were made with this manga, but there isn't any so I can't.

It's clear the MC has never heard the phrase, "There are plenty of fish in the sea." For some reason, she only has the choice between the three love interests which all live in her apartment complex and all of them are just terrible. One of them less so, but honestly how did incest end up being the best-case scenario? (I know they're not related by blood, but if you one day told me that my siblings were adopted I would never in a million years suddenly view them as potential romantic interests.) Just pick a random boy from her class and I guarantee he would be a significant improvement. Again, like my complaint with the MC, none of the boys show any sort of emotional growth. They are exactly the same at the end of the manga as they were in the beginning. This is kind of bad considering they're all predatory and abusive, not to mention one of them intentionally orchestrates *that* scene and never faces any real repercussions. You know what scene I'm talking about. Is this all we're given to work with? They consistently sexually assault her, defy her wishes, hurt her family, ignore her feelings, and even just physically abuse her (she gets slapped and there is no consequence!). How desperate are we? Really?

Why is this classified as a shoujo manga? If it were an ecchi, I think I could forgive it, but it's supposed to be aimed at teen girls. I know that sometimes people want to read trash where every guy wants the MC but come on. It's just so poorly written and caters to the lowest common denominator. It's repetitive and claustrophobic in that they only rotate between five different settings. The stakes are so low here and the conflict between the parents feels laughable tacked on. And the dialogue (in the VIZ translation anyway) is annoying to read. There are too many "likes" and ellipses that it was confusing at times to make out what the heck they were trying to say. If you want a shoujo with the "slave" trope, just read Wolf Girl and Black Prince. It's a million times better, even if somewhat problematic. At least it's well-written.

If I had to say one good thing, the art is kind of nice.

I started off very excited to read this manga. I really liked all of the characters and I was particularly interested in the relationship that blossoms between Mamura and Suzume. Their ragtag group of friends were all really fun to watch as well as Suzume's fun relationship with her uncle. This is kind of where my praise starts to end.

I would have loved this manga if the teacher trope had been a one-sided crush that teaches Suzume a lesson about love. I was not really expecting her feelings to be reciprocated by the adult and for their "romance" to be drawn out so long. ... This was my least favorite part of the manga which is a shame because it makes up a large majority of the series! She does end up with Mamura but their scenes together felt so so few and far between that you don't really get to see their relationship grow the way that it does with Mr. Shishio. I was racing through chapters that focused on him because I was hoping I'd see more of Mamura. And I haven't even mentioned how problematic it is that a TEACHER let a relationship with a student get so far. He even acknowledges how he does his best to keep a distance from his students to avoid this from happening, but he just lets it happen anyway. If I were Suzume's uncle... I'd have put that man straight in jail the MOMENT he admitted to still having feelings for her during their second confrontation.

I loved the art and the characters, but I can't really recommend this series to anyone without them thinking I'm a creep.