There are some things that I see in yaoi series that I get a little "*sigh* alright" about-- like how Takano basically keeps forcing himself on Ritsu. And the number of times they can go from sitting around nowhere near touching to all of a sudden being naked and having sex. One of the scenes that stood out the most to me with logistics is a car scene where all of a sudden Ritsu's on the receiving end of a whole lot of Takano love. I find it slightly hard to believe that they never have problems with anything and Ritsu is never uncomfortable since it seems like every time lube and (of course, since it's yaoi) condoms are nowhere to be seen.

But the thing that I like about this series is that if you keep reading, there are things that make sense. Ritsu is getting manipulated by Takano in some ways and that's not really the epitome of a healthy relationship. But at least Takano has reasons for not letting Ritsu get away. Ritsu ran away for a decade once and Takano doesn't want that to happen again. It doesn't really excuse any dominant behavior but it at least puts it in the context of his life. And since Ritsu's personality is such that I think he actually doesn't mind the dominating, it doesn't bother me the way it exasperates me in some series.

I know I just spent a lot of time mentioning things that aren't my favorite part of the series so it may seem odd for me to say I really like it. But I do. Ritsu makes me laugh. I find most of the characters to be endearing. I like that more and more information is getting out about the main two characters' pasts. I think I also like that this series is a little bit different-- that at least the uke isn't super girly and falling all over himself to get in the pants of the domineering seme. I like that Ritsu questions what the hell he's doing even as he's doing things he can't stop himself from doing. I like that Ritsu didn't want to believe he was in love for a long time. I like the little notations which amuse me, such as, "296 days until Ritsu falls in love." It makes me curious about what will happen to finally tip the scales-- what that final moment will be when he falls completely in love.

And I like that they have problems and miscommunication but a lot of it seems very reasonable to me. Yokozawa spends all this time filling Ritsu's mind with warnings and threats that it's reasonable to me for Ritsu to be hesitant and questioning and to an extent jealous. It's reasonable to me that he doesn't fully believe Takano when Takano says anything about it because he still doesn't know whether to believe whether Takano was just screwing with him when they were younger. It's reasonable to me that Takano reacted so poorly to finding out that Ritsu had some other stuff going on when they were going out before (I'm being vague to avoid more concrete spoilers), because once you find out more about him you learn that he had a tough life and he was kind of an angry kid and he didn't believe in people who were kind without wanting anything in return. If he thinks the one person who acted that way to him, who he came to love and who abruptly disappeared on him, and who later turned out to have potentially been two-timing him all along-- it makes sense to me if he had a bit of a breakdown when you add that to the other stress going on with him.

Also, this series has made me burst out laughing suddenly a few times, like when Takano finds out Ritsu's last name was never Oda XD That scene was great.

So in conclusion, it's not the absolute omg best ever yaoi series I've ever read. It does have a few tropes in it (which is why I gave it an 8 1/2). But I think they're outweighed by the characters and the interesting dynamics and the things that are done a little differently than your every day BL. I like that the series makes me laugh. I like that the characters are a little messed up but they realize they are and that there's a fair amount of character development. I like that the misunderstandings seem to have at least some amount of realistic basis. I like the dual story lines of the way Takano and Ritsu are at work and outside of work. I like that Ritsu is so determined to be seen as his own person. I like a lot of things about this series and keep coming back to it every few months to see if there are any updated chapters.

I would recommend people read this if they're curious.

I'm including Yokozawa & Kirishima too, even though they don't make many appearances in the manga so far, I still think they have a wonderful relationship.