I think this series is really impressive. While there is a male lead who is central to the main narrative, I think that the series' portrayal of the three "main" female leads (an adolescent, a single teacher in her mid 20s, and a young wife), their sexuality, and how that affects their lives (not to say that the male lead contributes nothing, he has a pretty convincing arc about adolescent male identity). While I am in no position to say how complete their perspectives are, I think the series manages to surprise me time and time again the sensitivity it has in showing the nuances of the deep angst of these characters, in both revealing monologues and subtle notes that the reader is left to understand. To be honest, almost every line uttered and thought by these characters (and to these characters) always had some sort of insight that made me better appreciate the context of these characters' lives.

But the biggest obstacle here is the presence of sexual assault/rape in the narrative and the main perpetrator is an active character in the series. Again, I am not in a position to say whether the graphic inclusion of these acts were of perfect intentions. However, I will say that I felt that, in my opinion, the victims' feelings of intense anger and injustice never felt tempered by the narrative. The eventual closure (and ultimately, forgiveness) feels representative of the women's coming to terms with their sexuality, but never finds a place for this sort of violence in justiced society.

I hate Hayafuji. He's serial rapist, pyscho
No, I can't keep reading this manga anymore, even though I admit this is an interesting and intriguing manga. But nope.. I hate Hayafuji.