Lots of people are saying that they don't like the main couple. I liked them at first, but then found the twist jolting. Unlike some people thinking it is cliche, or disliking the darker side to it, I just didn't like the fact that Shibaura seemed to suddenly change personalities. However, even from the beginning I liked the other couple better. Oddly enough, my favorite part of this though are the one-shots. Chapter 3 was especially lovely. If only this had ended after chapter 4 I would have rated it 8, but since it continued, spiraling down along the way, I give it a 6.

... Last updated on June 20th, 2014, 7:22pm

The only reason I keep reading this is because of Kobayashi and Shuri. Now that's got more depth. The main couple is like cliche. Would have been better to make Kobayashi and Shuri the main couple.


PS: I want MORE OF THEM!!!

... Last updated on November 15th, 2013, 8:15am

Wth did I read that for XD The story was not really interesting and bunch of oneshots mingled into that were just as uninteresting.
Teacher is just using the poor uke as a sex toy or a pet or whatever and the whole main couple is just fracked up.
The art is, well not my style. But the mangaka gets better in her later works.
Honjou-sensei's newer works are quite good but this piece is just shot in the dark. If it's the first one you read from her like me don't give up try some of her other work.

I would just like to keep the hate train moving now: THE MAIN COUPLE SUCKED! There were several reasons why this manga will go down on my "no-likey" list as number 1.
1) I hated how Hounjo Rie put random one-shots in the middle of the story
2) The main relationship was just sick. It left me feeling an emotion that can't really be described with words, but it was sort like a mix of disgust and hopelessness for mankind
3) Hounjo-sensei did a really bad job of conveying Shiba-chan's thoughts. I couldn't tell if he really loved Kousuke or not. And the whole training thing left me even more disgusted and confused
4) While I thought the second couple was pretty solid, the main story was just shotty all around. The beginning was fluffy and wonderful but slowly it turned darker. Then it turned fluffy again before returning to the dark side. JEEZ JUST PICK A DAMN SIDE FOR CHRIST'S SAKE!! Is it fluffy or not?! D:<

This certainly ended up being a darker story than it first appeared. I don't mind stories about unhealthy relationships, but I felt something was missing here. I enjoyed the secondary couple more because it felt more genuine(kobayashi's hotness may have swayed me a bit also, I will admit). I also enjoyed the oneshots, especially the one about the letter(I can't recall the exact name). Overall it was a bit heavy in places and then a bit fluffy in others, and it ended up feeling a little off. Something didn't quite gel right for me. I think I would rate the main story at maybe a 6.5, but the oneshots were quite good so that definitely bumped it up. The art is good, but pretty average within that range.

... Last updated on November 27th, 2011, 6:37pm

After reading the story I really didn't like the main couple that much just because of my own opinion, but I do believe they were in love. I just didn't really like his way of showing his love in my personal opinion. After reading some of the comments I was surprised that some could say that those were not in love, so I just have to ask, how do you define love then? If you can use one way to define all types of love in the world then go ahead and try, because until then no one can say that those were not in love.
And to robertW2471
-they may be sick in your mind but does all love really just disappear after a while? I've never thought that it could disappear because if it really happens to you (the real love) then it will stay with you. I am saying this at the risk of sounding cliche though.....all in all aren't our lives just really a bunch of memories, and most of the time our most important memories make up who we are. Those most important memories were probably with something/someone you really love.

Sorry about my insufficient english.

They have such a sick relationship with each other I almost couldn't continue to read it!
Shiba is a psychopath and Kousuke has the typical traits of a psychopaths victim!

Kousuke is as sick as Shiba. He has the plan to get him back through following him in his field of work.
Love is beautiful, I know that, but to be in love with a person you didn't see in years and who did unnecessarily hurt you , is just utter bullshit! His obsession is a sickness. The memory of someone you love fades with time, and so does the love itself. You move on, that's the way of life. Everybody knows that from personal experience.

Shiba does nothing for Kousuke. He gave in to the immature love of a high school student, even drugged Kousuke to make him docile to his own hardcore sex wishes and sex-slave training program . He doesn't respect Kousuke as a person. He destroys an labile person's live for his own selfish and also immature reasons. He even referred to him as a victim.

The scene where I extremely felt shibaura's psychopathic character was when he didn't accept his friend's love confession under the reason that his friend is to self-centered and wouldn't give himself up for him. In addition, he seems to be horrified as he sees his Doctor friend sleeping with his patient but doesn't seem to realize his own sick relationship with his former student. Hypocrisy is also a psychopathic trait

This story could have been awesome if Honjou Rie would have layed more effort in the psychology of Psychopath and victim but she wandered off the subject and concentrated herself more on Kousuke's brother's love-life and unconnected one-shots. I get the feeling that she lost interest in the main couple or didn't know how to continue and tried too lighten up this dark story with lovey dovey side-plots.

I thought Kousuke's brother would be more protective of him but he looses interest when he get's his own boyfriend and just accepts the relationship between his brother and his teacher. He even has the inkling that shibaura is a dangerous person but does nothing at all to stop it. He could have gone to the principal, police or their parents. Kousuke would have been devastated but he would have had the chance to live a normal life or to rediscover a mature love to shibaura, while not forgetting his own value as a self-dependent person.

I just read the story till the end to see a big showdown and confrontation but my effort was useless.
I thought that Shibaura's childhood would also play a role in the story, and I didn't expect a happy-end at all.

But Rie-sensei rushed to a questionable happy end without closure at all.
I know that it is just a story but if you are writing about a dark theme in a shallow way, it always fails to capture the more mature readers.

This story calls for a continuation in a more serious way!

Edit: comment to jelaaay

There is a big difference between love and to be a slave to somebody.

And there is a limit to define love as well. If you give yourself up completely to a persons will but the other person does nothing for you, then the fine line between love and sick obsession is exceeded.

So nobody was worth to be the loved one of Shibaura but the masochistic Kousuke who was psychological corrupted as a teenager?!
Who would fall in Love ( I mean real love not just lust and curiosity) with a person who gives nothing back to you but uses you and hurts you out of self-satisfaction?
I tell you who. Just a labile, weak and masochistic individual. And we know from history that a relationship like that destroys the person who is the victim. In this case Kousuke.

... Last updated on May 22nd, 2011, 11:42am

Though I completely understand why others would strongly dislike them..compared to Shuri and Kobayashi, of course. So what if the main couple's story was more on the dark side? It made it more interesting that there were such opposites. Shuri and Kobayashi were a couple where Shuri was Kobayashi's guide to "light". On the other hand (oh gosh this will sound corny) Sensei was Kousuke's guide to "darkness" (-_-). But that doesnt make the latter's love for each other any less. I mean sure, Sensei's way of loving was twisted. But I seriously believe that his love for Kousuke was genuine. There's no "limit" as to how to define love. Everyone has their own perspective of it. Note that in one of the stories, Sensei described his ideal lover to be someone I personally love their relationship. I like couples that have their own world where only they can understand each other. Overall, they were the main couple, the story revolved around them, it kept me interested in the end so I'm partly satisfied.

Now about Kobayashi and Shuri, I get why others like their story. It was simple and less frustrating to read. But you gotta admit, it was kinda short. And it felt like their story just kept popping out of nowhere. I think it would have been wiser if their story was a sequel. Meaning, a whole manga solely focused on them. Involving them with the main couple just made the plot look like it was all over the place. Anyway, putting that aside. Kobayashi x Shuri story was just any typical yaoi story you often encounter. Regardless, they were still cute so thumbs up I guess.

The other stories were, *sigh* unecessary? (some) unrelated? (mostly) Could've been put in the very end. It felt like the mangaka had so many ideas for plots that she just had to put them all together...The King's Lens was sweet but typical. A Grave's Sin was too much..the misunderstanding was unrealistic. I'm in love with a demon , now that one was cute. A little cliche, but I still enjoyed it. The uke was adorable. No place to return , this one is what I refered to as "unecessary". He was another extra character we couldn't care less about.

I can't remember the other side stories. Oh, about Last Letter , gosh.. que horror! that was an unexpected addition. I disliked it the most. I was interested in the beginning but then finding out that the uke died..I was so unprepared. I mean, I don't see tragedy anywhere in the genre.. you might as well know. So if you're not into tragedy dont read Last Letter

Inhale.

Exhale.

I'm giving both the main couple and the 2nd couple a 7. I'm not including the art cause we all know the art's fabulous..especially if you've read her other works.

... Last updated on January 6th, 2011, 11:22pm

It's so hard for me to rate this manga because I *love* the secondary couple so much yet hate the main couple equally. Shiba actually made my skin crawl after a while. He says it's his way to love but it's really manipulation. Plenty of yaoi have a manipulating seme, which I'm not a fan of in general. But at least there the manipulation is coupled with love. Shiba's is a detatched type of manipulation which was sickening to see.

If it weren't for Shuri- Kobayashi, I wouldn't ever have finished Vol 2. Their story is filled with so much sweetness, I'd almost recommend this manga. Almost.

... Last updated on July 4th, 2010, 4:40am

lol I'm giving it at 10 BECAUSE of Kobayashi and Shuri. They were my favorite. <33 So cute, love them. And of course, the art, I always love her artworks. Basically, that's the only reason I read this manga. I didn't like the main pair, shiba and kousuke. Their relationship was just too creepy for me. Shiba's just way to sadistic =o=; So I didn't quite enjoy that story.

But, i also enjoyed the one-shot "A Grave Sin". I liked that. one of my favorite one-shots.