I noticed that most people either love or hate this series, but I'm on the fence. There are some things that I absolutely love, like the art. I normally don't like "girly" ukes, but the contrast between Ayase and Kanou is nice. However, their enormous size difference takes away from it. It almost looks like kiddie porn, and that I hate. This story has a "Beauty and the Beast" feel to it, which I really like. However, the beast is really too despicable for me to like.
I really like the supporting characters (the twins and Kanou's childhood friend are priceless), but I don't really like Kanou. He's a brute who swears that he loves Ayase while forcing him over and over to do something that he's not comfortable with or happy about. That's rape. You don't rape someone that you love, no matter how much you want them, and are still considered to be a good person. It doesn't matter that it feels good to Ayase. He still says "NO". And that's still rape. Too many mangas treat rape as casually as a handshake, and that's not okay to me. Kanou's excuse that Ayase doesn't remember him, or that he helped Ayase out of a bad situation, or that Ayase really "likes it", are just that: Excuses. It still makes him a rapist scumbag who took advantage of someone's bad situation in order to harm them. He keeps using the word "love", but I doubt highly that the man knows what it means. I hope that he will learn as the series goes on, but it's been 8 volumes now, and he still treats Ayase the same way.
Ayase I like. He's cute and sweet, if just a tad bit dumb. I also feel terrible for him, because I think that if Kanou had behaved like a decent human being in the beginning (or at any point after), Ayase would have given him the love that he wanted and been happy. He doesn't deserve the treatment that he gets from Kanou, and he certainly didn't ask for him to come swooping in and take over his life, treat him like a sex toy, and keep him prisoner. I don't blame Ayase one bit for being miserable. Kanou treats him horribly and insists that it's out of love. Many fans of the series insist that Ayase owes Kanou for all that he's done. Some forum posters feel that Ayase owes Kanou love and that he should do more in bed for him. I think that Ayase has more than paid Kanou back. The arrangement that Kanou made with Ayase was for him to sleep with him until his debt was paid. Nowhere did he ask for (or deserve) Ayase's love. He isn't getting treated with love, so why should he give it? I do think that Ayase has feelings for Kanou, but Kanou makes it near impossible for Ayase to feel good about it. And reciprocating in bed is meant for real lovers, not one-sided sex or rape. I think that Ayase will reciprocate when and if he's ready.
The writing is very good, and interesting. The series does drag, and many chapters do nothing to further the plot, which can get annoying. There's quite a bit of comedy, which I like. The "How to Care for Small Animals" bit was adorable. I think that if that part had come before Kanou forced himself on Ayase, and that he had tried to follow it, I would have liked it more.
I almost don't want to see Kanou get Ayase because he doesn't deserve him. It would be nice to see Kanou grow up and start treating Ayase the way a loved one should be treated. I want to see Kanou become a man that deserves Ayase's love. If that happens, I will like the series much more. If the series continues in the long-held manga tradition of "raping until they like it", I will be miserably disappointed.