I agree with the earlier comment about "it doesn't belong to your "You typically fall in love with your rapist" category."
It just seemed to me that the relationship turned abusive because Taki is in denial. He obviously enjoys the sex, but he doesn't wanna be come the "woman." Also, Taki is a royalty in a sense; he has way too much pride. His submissive position in sex destroys that pride, but he is still very much in love with Klaus because the love surpasses the pride at the end of the day.
For the comment about not reading the sex scene because he/she wants to take the story seriously; I must object. This is a romance, more than it is about war....(people can object that, but im here to read more about the romantic aspect of it, which is obviously influenced and shaped by the war). Sure the backdrop is a battlefield, but the romance takes the lead in my opinion. You won't understand the relationship between the two men without reading the sex scene; their interaction, non-erotic wise, gives clues to their dynamic relationship. I find it fascinating; kind of like a love and hate relationship, but really based on miscommunication. Their interaction is filled with love, devotion, trust, and sexual tension. Tension. Tension... It's really cool to read.
It's about a very intense love between the master and the "mad dog."
It's about a very intense and trusting relationship between the Japanese commander (during Imperial era ~late 1920s) and a Western soldier (who abandoned everything to be with Taki, the Japanese commander).
The art is beautiful---beautiful!!! It's a bit rough here and there, but that cannot be helped since it IS a military manga after all.
I must admit, though that I found it hard to follow... maybe its because Im not really a seinen fan...It skips scenes too often for me...