So the first chapter really got me hooked.
I fell in love with art right away, I was getting enthusiastic about the characters, the pace was a little quick from the get go but I kept focused, thinking -- the hell with it, more time for love. Everything was going swell. Then something awkward happened.
There was this guy, Yoshito or something, whose presence grew stronger and stronger from page to page. Likewise with the older brother. At first I thought I'd just put up with them for the time being, since they were being funny and all... but then the third-wheel appears. All of a sudden I don't even know whose story I'm reading about. I try to recall and I get this idea of a very charming, very sweet priest and a stern, straightforward young man who the former just confessed to. Weren't they the main characters? And who's this dude with glasses? Why do I care? And the cleaner -- Yoshito, is it? Why is always popping out of nowhere, what does he want, where does he come from? Again: why do I care? And then, to top it all, every now and again you're given these little pieces of nothings of the two guys you ACTUALLY care about that lead you nowhere (I don't mean the part they can't go past the kissing, of course) because all the others keep stealing the page. For some f-cking reason!
Oh my god! Way to ruin a perfectly satisfying reading. I've never been this angry at a spoiled story before.
Thank god for chapter 5.2. It was all about Saburou and Yuuji and it was sweet and funny and I really, genuinely enjoyed it. Because this is how it works. You don't just prepare the readers for this or that narrative and then randomly decide to change your focus. Side characters are side characters, they are not suppose to shove the protagonist out of the picture -- not intentionally. Of course it may happen when the main character is as interesting as a rock but that wasn't even the case here. Indeed, this second couple - although I do like the characters, separately - are so cliché and predictable it's not even entertaining when they show up in tandem.
I liked Saburou and Yuuji so, so much. I loved the awkwardness and even their lovey-dovey moments were freaking cute. Of course there was a lot of stupidity going on but that's part of their appeal, I think. The plot itself (I mean, the trying to move on to the next level and not being able to for whatever reason) is not absolutely new, but I think it works quite well in their case. It's probably the chemistry between them. But I really can't look past the older-brother's issue. I mean, for crying out loud, there's a forth guy on it too? Two weren't boring enough already?
The author should've stuck to the original idea (or at least what I make of it as the original idea). The cliff-hanger is not even a cliff-hanger to me. I just felt almost heart-broken that the chapter ended there, as if those were the real main characters of the story, not Yuuji and Satorou. I don't even know if I'm looking forward for an update or not, seeing as this second plot will probably drag on for while.
Mixed feelings. Mixed feelings indeed.
I'll wait for it to end so I can rate it.