OMG!! What the hell was this?! So good! Really, I can't describe it correctly, the exact feeling or how well developed this is. You have to read it for yourself - but just do. I swear you won't regret it. What I liked at my first glance to this was how the story telling went, different from all I've seen before. It goes in a fast rhythm and right into the climax already. The first story isn't just about infidelity, it’s about psychological – and physical – torture. Tae was one of the worst manga villains I've seen, because she doesn't only annoy the characters like most women do in yaoi, but she keeps on going after Akio. Ryou contributes to that. He keeps begging Akio to come back but being a jerk, until a point it's unbearable.
But I like the second story better than the first, and the reason for that are the characters. The first story characters are not to my taste.
Akio bothered me a little, in the sense he was doing exactly what that bitchy girl was telling him to. That first time was his only chance to put up a fight and not give up that easily, because after that he was almost being bullied and it became impossible.
Ryou is just a plain idiot. It's not like he's a playboy, he's more like a baby, because he can't live without other people, no matter who they are. He doesn't make it slightest believable that he loves Akio, in the beginning. Strangely, he began appealing more to me when he went out of his mind, because then he finally had some real feelings to him. But then he became freaking annoying! He's so clingy, I don't know how Akio can stand it. Also, it's weird that Ryou’s the seme. I mean, his appearance totally indicated it, but his personality is sooo ukish!
My favorite character is actually Yamamoto...I just freaking love him. He always helps Akio out and even saves him, but, instead of being those usual friends who hate the main character's lover and want to get him for themselves, he even saves their relationship.
Differently from a lot of people here, I don’t think the cheating or the rape are a big deal. Not even the attempt murder. Yes, it is all controversial, and the rape in this manga is more violent then most (since normally is more like non-con sex and people tend to make such a big deal out of it – how are they not used to that already?!). But I do think Hiro-sensei solved it pretty greatly. Of course Ryou is freaking twisted. And Akio is a masochist for real, but I also think it’s romantic. Obsessive, wrong, maniac and painful…but romantic. It’s supposed to be a screwed up relationship, not a normal, cute one. That’s precisely what makes it interesting. Also, I think people tend to put their beliefs as the character’s. Just because you can’t do this or can’t be with someone who does that, it doesn’t mean it goes the same way for Akio and Ryou.
As for the ending, while I do have to agree with a lot of people here, that the first chapter was enough, it left me with a bittersweet taste, and that’s why I think there was a second one. When the first one’s over, you have no guaranties they'll be fine together, as Ryou turned into a declared psycho. We can't tell if Ryou won't cheat on Akio again and at first it left me sad, because their relationship would be full of the most intense and deep love there is, but also full of suffering. But the second chapter corrected it all. Though it comes with a problem: it makes it not as good. If it had stopped in the first, I would’ve never seen anything like this manga, that “highest form of love there is”. But the second chapter made it just like any other manga. Also, the second chapter was off the trails in the sense it didn’t follow the dark feeling of the first one, like it didn’t even happen. The thing I liked about it having a continuation, though, were the sex scenes, that were absolutely gorgeous.
Overall, I didn't personally like the first story as much as many other manga, but it was very original at parts. And the art style of it all, though I didn’t like it much at the first story, I loved it in the rest.
If you like mangas about infidelity and this kind of thing, you should read Kawai Touko's Overdose.
Then comes the second story, which is very intimate, well drawn to every detail. I loved it, because it’s just my type of story, full of pain! And I also love how there were mute dialogues towards the end, only showing their expressions.
Of course it’s pretty predictable, but it’s still very sweet…and it gave me a good time reading, so who cares, right? Hehe
With that one I just came to the conclusion that I love how Hiro-sensei draws sex scenes…they’re always so good!
But you know what? The best story was the last one. The short, last one, with just overflowing feelings and all in the character’s minds (actually, only on Keigo’s).
It left me with a bittersweet taste, because they don’t tell each other their feelings much. While Keigo doesn’t admit to himself easily, he eventually thinks about his love for Naoki, but doesn’t tell him often, and Naoki keeps on thinking he’s been unfaithful. At the same time, there’s Naoki’s fear of bothering Keigo, which leads him to, for instance, sleep early and Keigo doesn’t feel loved.
It’s actually a bit sad =/
But it was cute, overall…how they cared deeply for each other, even with the lack of communication.
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