The fact that anyone actually reads/buys this manga worries me. It's serriously the most socially backward depiction of a young woman I have seen for a long time. That the mangaka can put the pathetically weak main character, Hatsumi, into all these awful situations in the name of entertainment is, to be plain, disgusting. Hatsumi is submissive to the point that if someone told her to jump, she probably would. She gets blackmailed, almost raped, generally mistreated by every guy in the manga - and she never retaliates. And the worst part is, she happens to LIKE one of these bastards who treat her like sh*t. I mean, come on girls, how can you stomach this stuff? I find it just plain sickening. The most worrying thing is that it even got published in the first place. It shows Japanese society still has a long way to go before attitudes towards women change.

Even ignoring this MAJOR flaw, the manga is still pretty bad. I know it's shoujo, but this is just melodrama overload. It's like a very very bad soap opera. Actually, the ending made me laugh out loud (which I don't think the mangaka intended).

The ONLY redeeming features of this manga (and no way are they anywhere near outweighing the bad points) is the Subaru/Akane sidestory. There's no domestic abuse there and it's quite sweet. I'm also quite loving the art.

This manga pisses me off. The girl is too stupid.

I have been seeing this manga title everywhere in the Internet since 2005. I wasn't too pleased with the first chapter's cover as well as with the heroine's character description. The heroine of this manga, Hatsumi, happens to fall on the category of the typical shoujo leads---those air-headed types.

As typical as the heroine is her hero, Ryoki. Arrogance and intelligence are two traits that usual manga heroes possess; however, Ryoki's trait did not blend well with Hatsumi's, resulting into a cheesy love story of how a dominant guy drags over a helpless girl into series of complications caused by both of their selfishness.

The manga wrapped up quite simply.

Okay, I read this quite awhile ago. The art was nice. The storyline was good. The ending, I HATED.



... Last updated on July 26th, 2008, 12:06am

I couldn't stand this manga and couldn't finish it. I wanted to find out why it was so popular and cannot even begin to fathom why any woman would even begin to enjoy reading this. It is a serious insult to any independent and thinking woman out there who has any amount of respect for herself. I know I shouldn't expect much from a feministic standpoint when I read mangas, but this was beyond horrific. The heroine was disgustingly pathetic and the man she falls for is even worse, I guess they sort of deserve each other in a sick sense of poetic justice but still, this sickened me. It really bothers me that people actually read this and enjoy it, I mean come on women! Where's your sense of pride, dignity, and self-respect? Making abuse/rape seem acceptable is grotesque and abhorrent. I cannot express my hatred for this manga enough.

I realize that this is a piece of fiction, but the normalization of submissive women and the general affirmation of kyriocentric thought is extremely disheartening. What some people don't seem to realize is that even while you think you are escaping into a piece of fiction, you are being molded and indoctrinated into that society's expectations.

... Last updated on October 23rd, 2011, 11:39am

Maybe it's just that I can't stand those series where "hot" guys pursue an ordinary/boring girl in a variety of overly interesting ways, but this series left a bad taste in my mouth. The girl is utterly useless, practically one of those cardboard cutouts with a hole for a face, behind which other girls---the readers, I guess?---can pose. Not that anyone should want to be in her position, ever. Apparently the guys she knows express hate and love in similar ways, namely attempted rape, sexual harassment, and harassment in general. It's impossible to build sympathy for the characters, as one spends most of one's time baffled as to their ridiculous behavior and the rest marveling at the ugliness of the art.

Perhaps calling it ugly is unfair--it's not terrible, but inconsistent and unremarkably shoujo, especially in the first few volumes. I had expected the work to be a fluffy shoujo with a love triangle thrown in, had expected mindless entertainment and perhaps enjoyment. That, needless to say, did not happen. Hot Gimmick has all the clichés and contrived plot lines typical of shoujo romance series, but none of the refreshing innocence that balances those series out. Just... silly people. Really really silly. If you're a master of suspending disbelief and that sort of thing floats your boat, go for it, but if not, avoid it like the plague.

It gets one extra point, though, 'cause I liked the brother

... Last updated on April 15th, 2008, 1:53pm

SPOILERS AHEAD

I have experienced abusive relationships and I'd hardly call Ryo and Hatsumi's relationship abusive. It was just another manga about growing up in love. I don't know why some people are taking Ryo's slave threats so seriously. Is it because he got so close, or because Hatsumi let him get so close? Or maybe, its because he wasn't the 4 year old making threats and a grown man? I see no difference, they were still young and inexperienced most importantly. The manga had people having physical relations left and right so I don't see why their close encounters were such a big deal. Ryo believed he could get whatever he wanted because of the way he was brought up. He didn't just sit there and wait to be fed though, he got whatever he wanted by any means necessary. I liked that about his character; he wasn't the stereotypical lazy rich guy. He put so much work into the relationship, some times I forgot he was rich and pampered. Many were turned off by his aggression, I found it hilarious that he had to try so hard to learn how to be gentle. He was also so calculative and plotting while Hatsumi was hardly thinking; the epitome of LOL's when a guy is trying so hard and the girl is not. Would you have read a book where a guy is sincerely trying to be gentle and kind? How many time has that been done? Wringing the dry cloth for more water = yawnfest.

If you think that Hatsumi was a pushover ready to submit, then you missed a vital trait. What Hatsumi needed was confidence. She received confidence when Ryoki chose her again and again, despite having more attractive and luxurious offers. Bigger boob size, more money, intelligence, mother's approval, you get the idea. Remember when she told off that girl? Yeah, Hatsumi had confidence in Ryoki loving her.

Hatsumi was jealous of her sister's good looks, and did not think much of herself. Then came Ryoki, a guy who wanted to possess her and have all of her attention to himself. He was quite in love with her, and I admired that. What he thought was love though and being in charge, he grew out of and learned how to better handle things. Eventually when he is fully sure of her loyalty (possibly after marriage) he will quit being paranoid and stop labeling. She did not realize how dedicated he was, until Ryoki chose a different more obvious approach. There was Ryoki's development - softening up a bit and learning how to love differently. Had Ryoki approached her like that in the beginning, the manga would have been boring and tiresome. Call it abuse, but I just think it was growth between two individuals.

Also for those who think that Hatsumi was still a pushover at the end of the series and that Ryo was still boss; you're wrong. You're not supposed to look at it that way. Ryoki learned exactly how to love her while still keeping his sassy attitude and natural leadership and Hatsumi gained the confidence she needed to be with RYOKI. She gained the confidence specifically to be with him, and nobody else. Hatsumi naturally fits the submissive type and that didn't change. Both personalities didn't change, but their approaches and views towards love and for Hatsumi themselves at the end of the manga did.

For those who think the author handled Shinogu roughly, I think your just bitter that the author chose to be very realistic at the end. I found it as incest, because she could never stop looking at him as a brother and could not find any chemistry between the two. I'd have rather seen Azusa and Hatsumi's relationship developed a bit more, though I liked that Azusa was the lone wolf at the end. Seemed to fit him. I think most here were turned off at Ryo's calculative way of learning how to love her, but lets not forget he also experienced an emotional roller coaster as well. Pissed then worried then jealous and even self reflecting at times.

Some might be mad that Hatsumi was so self sacrificing, and was willing to keel over to his demands and wouldn't stop him. Doesn't mean she has no backbone - it means she is a nice, self sacrificing person as displayed with how she handled her family relations. She may be on the dim side but she has a strong heart and is very humble. Sorry if the author didn't spell it out for you, or you cannot see yourself as being someone so self sacrificing. They're people like that in the world - I'd know.

To end, I thought this manga was done well and I would read it again in a few years.

This series is not 'great' and it is nowhere close to 'good' or even 'decent.' It is absolutely terrible. So bad I can't even give it a 1 because I believe it deserves NOTHING.
I don't even know how it made it up to 12 volumes. But let me tell you.. it was 12 volumes of pure angst. Now before people go about "nobody made you read it" and all that boring nonsense, let me just say this, in the beginning I read it because I found it amusing then it started falling into a sh** hole, but I had hope that it would dig itself out in a new found glory. Every chapter I hoped and prayed, but by the time I reached the end of volume 11, I knew I had to abandon any hope I had for the series and I was too far ahead to just toss it out.

SPARE yourself the torture and don't even CONSIDER reading this series.
After reading this I was left with such a bad impression I don't even want to touch any of the series AIHARA Miki does.

... Last updated on July 14th, 2011, 6:38pm

it is a sluttier version of hana yori dango,i couldn't finish this manga it was soo bad...The main character can't make descions for her self. The guy ryoki is awful and as far as i can tell is only interested in her for her body, and because she is easy to boss around. There is no actual chemistry between them i don't know why they say they are in love. the brother is a wimp, some will say that he is sweet like a devoted puppy in how much he loves her, but he just bothered me in how much of a cloud of selfishness and depression he was.
the plot was soo predictable there were absolutly no suprises

and this for those of you who care, i wish i would have known before i started reading otherwise i wouldn't have read it.

I started this manga because I had heard good things about it. It started out pretty good and I liked the drama. I especially like Shinogu and all his problems. But Ryoki was just annoying. All he ever saoid was 'slave this' or slave that'. And hatsumi just takes crap all the time and never ever grows stronger.

i kept reading until v08 to see if it turned any better but eventually I gave up. anyways, it turned into a really terrible soap opera. Waste of my time.