well I am not saying that I wasn't angry at Ryou for his stupid, reckless way of showing love. I seriously hate such characters who can't deal with their problems in a rational way and always messing every one's life around them. some people are considering such behavior CUTE and INNOCENT, but I don't think the same.

Yet despite all these annoying details, the story was surprisingly good. the style of artist really caught my eyes and I liked the way she was telling her story, while opening the doors to the hearts of these characters one by one. yes, Ryou is a real stupid, idiot and a number one jerk who cheats on her beloved in front of him and even lets a love rival comes to his life and hurts the man he loves with constant abusing and stalking. he is not a person who can support and cherish his beloved, he is beyond pathetic and I despise him truly but so what? this a story about twisted characters and their unusual way of loving each other and in this aspect I found it quite a good one. a story with a good plot and lovely art, even if I don't like these people and their way of dealing with their problems I still love the author's style and her story.

any way, if you can't bear watching rape, blood, murder and cheating, better stay away from this story but it will be such a waste in my opinion to miss a chance to read it.

I know that it's just a manga, but I have to agree with many of the reviewers when they say that the first story portrayed and glorified an extremely unhealthy relationship. The themes here, rape and abuse, were made rather trivial by the author. Ryou, the abuser, is portrayed as a bad dog who doesn't understand what he's done wrong. He is obsessive, manipulative, and violent. He follows Akio around and waits for him like a dog in the rain. Unless, of course, a girl happens to walk by and offer marriage, in which case Ryou will go off with her and only come back to Akio when he feels like it. Of course, he will look very contrite and dog-like, and Akio will forgive him anything because he's an idiot. Whenever Ryou is "bad" (), he gets a smack on the behind with a rolled up newspaper and the reader, I think, is supposed to say, "Aww, how cute!". Well, I don't think it's cute. I think it's sick. Akio is not a dog. He's a human being who should know right from wrong, and if he doesn't, he should be locked up for the good of all mankind. Many reviewers here state that this story does not trivialize or glorify rape and abuse. I have to disagree. Akio says, This is a direct quote. If that's not glorifying the abuse, I don't know what is. Statements like this are made several times in the story. Yes, Akio's friend tries (unsuccessfully) to talk some sense into him, but his efforts are rather weak and very easily ignored. I just don't think that this mangaka understands the themes she's trying to work with here. Since she's written another manga with the theme of "I'll rape him until he loves me!" and that completely trivializes abuse in the first volume of the series, I believe that I'm right.

I have this to say: It's NEVER okay to abuse the person you claims to love, never EVER. It doesn't show that person how much you care, only how screwed up you are. Why do so many authors (especially those of the BL genre) believe that abuse equals love? Maybe it's that luckily, they've never had to experience that kind of abuse. And so, they don't understand how it feels to see it so trivialized. Or maybe many women believe that having a lover obsess and become crazy over you is romantic and flattering because, again, they've never experienced just how terrifying it can be. I'm never quite sure.

What bothers me the most about this is I'm not saying that these things are wrong to be included, but that there is a way that they should be included. Showing it as a testament to love is the wrong way to go about it. Seeing that made me feel a bit ill. I really hope that there aren't kids out there that will believe this stuff.

As for the characters themselves, both were idiots in their own way. One allowed the cheating and abuse, like Schetenei said, and one did the cheating and abusing. But it's hard to put your foot down and make ultimatums when you're afraid to lose the one you love, so I can more side with Akio than Ryou here. Cheating is also never okay, especially when one uses "but I'm weak-willed and lonely!" as an excuse. If I tried that crap, my husband would buy me a one-way ticket to Abu Dubai and tell me to kiss off. Yes, later we find out that there is a reason that Ryou cheats on Akio. It's an extremely trivial reason and it does not make cheating and abusing his lover right.

Honestly, I wanted to like this first chapter. I loved the art and the facial expressions really did make me hate Ryou less than I ordinarily would have. However, between the abuse and characters who need to have some sense beaten into them by Mr. T, I just can't like the first story.

Now, the rest of the manga is good, and I truly enjoyed it. The second story. is sweet and well-written. Both characters are cute and I feel like their relationship has more meaning than that of the couple in the first two chapters. The third story is good as well, though short. I'm giving this manga a higher score now that I've read the whole thing, though the first story nearly had me tossing it aside completely.

... Last updated on May 23rd, 2010, 6:45pm

I don't know if the reader is supposed to be charmed or disgusted by this manga. When I reached the end of the first chapter, I actually felt a little sick.

Messy, screwed-up, broken romance can be a turn-on, fine, but if the authorial voice isn't strong enough in making clear quite how unhealthy this is, even if they let their characters do it anyway, then there's no excuse for portraying it like this.

Also, as seems to be par for the course with Madarame Hiro, the portrayal of women is ridiculous and insulting.

... Last updated on October 7th, 2009, 9:17am

"there is a reason why Ryou sleeps around and searches for love with other women."

I am sorry but in my opinion there is never a good enough reason to cheat. whatever excuse people come up with to cheat, is just that, an excuse. the fact that he is willing to cheat on his partner basically means that he is unhappy in the relationship and that he is willing to risk losing him by cheating, what kind of love is that?

Ryou simply is a pitiful character, he has no backbone, and the only things that go for him are his looks and docile personality. Such a character is very easy to hate, if it weren't for the excellent chibi's and puppy-eyes by the mangaka, which unables you (and Akio) to loath him. Also, there is a reason why Ryou sleeps around and searches for love with other women. I definitely recommand anyone interested to read this with the dramacd. The pianopieces are so fitting, and I must admit, I cried. I cried while listening, and I cried without. It's truly a powerful story.
The second story, "one-night-stand", I didn't like as much as the first one, since I'm not into relationships that start like that. It's cute though, so to those that don't mind, it's still highly recommanded.

EDIT: to mangafan321
I never said I aproved Ryou of cheating. But I do understand why, he wanted to push his limits, to confirm how much Akio cares. Since Akio didn't show much reaction, ofcourse Ryou would continue his bad ways. It's perverted yes, but I do see that happen in rl. Also, there are two ppl involved: those who cheat, and those who allow them to cheat.

... Last updated on May 21st, 2009, 4:55am