A manga with a lot of chapter requires a long review, so please be patient with it.
About the content itself, I have to say this manga wasn't nearly as predictable as I was thinking. REALLY! First of all, their relationship took a hell of a long time to develop, which I love, because yaoi's never really believable because everything happens so fast. But in this one, they take their damn time. Some chapters really made me go "wooow!" [(spoiler]like the beginning of the 11th, when Ryoumei dreams of Ao. I thought it was real!)[/spoiler] And those moments of anticipation, they were SUCH a good feeling! Each chapter ended in a cliffhanger and even though the next one was just pages away, I was so curious!
I specifically like how the elements in this story work to make it go further. The friends always coming between them or giving advice, which was also realistic, because that sorta thing happens in real life.
For instance, though Shunpei actually made them fight by butting in, if he hadn't done it, Ryoumei would never realize he missed Ao's presence.
Then and at every misunderstanding between them and every push they need, Shuu-chan interferes to move them forward. Even the aunt helps out
! when she asks Ao to go to the cake store and Ryoumei finally assimilates that Ao's going to move
.
As for the characters, I like Ao's straightforwardness, but I cant's stand his "hey, I look like a girl appearance" and even his personality is overly girlish...even so, I like how he's always aroused and tries to attack Ryoumei, which is different from most of the ukes out there. Though I like that, as Ao grows more mature, he's not as bold as he was in the beginning because he realizes the weigh of his words and actions. I love when characters actually develop during a story! I love the contrast between the adolescent and the adult.
Ryoumei, on the other hand, is really really hot and I like his personality too, but he can be a pain in the beginning because he’s just a little too slow for a seme...but as his tsundere-ish sides goes away, his mood suddenly changes when he's into it! He's always so embarrassed by every romantic line, and then when they're in bed, he says really forward stuff! It's so adorable how he loses control like that! And his "I wanna do perverted things with you" made me sigh with joy and warmed my heart. So absolutely cute! Then again, I love the tenderness of his feelings towards Ao too. It's not only that he wants him, but that he cares for him deeply and even pays attention to every moment they had, how Ao grew up...and he didn't understand his own feelings, of how someone he once only took care of suddenly became someone he desired.
As for their relationship...though Ao just basically suddenly falls in love, it's pretty expected from a guy his age - especially for the "wet dream" reason, since he's a guy. At first, he doesn't believe it himself, then he starts to get curious, until he finally realizes he's in love for real. Ryoumei isn't rushed either, and though I criticized his lack of response in the beginning, it is to be understood, it's quite believable and I like that characteristic.
I like how Ao quickly changes his sexuality, because it fits his blunt personality and only later does he realize he really likes a guy and not girls anymore - same as the kiss, that he only thinks about the consequences later. Meanwhile, Ryoumei's totally stiff at first, and takes his damn time to realize his feelings towards Ao. In his case, it's not about sexuality, but loving a specific person, which he didn't seem to do before, as he refers to women he dated as only things to have sex with.
The secondary characters are pretty well developed too.
At first I thought Shuu-chan was in love with Ao, only later did I realize he was just trying to help...but he was already my favorite character since the beginning, hehe
Shunpei, though I don’t like him, is the most interesting character. We can't be certain of who he likes, even in the end. I thought he loved Ao, but then he denies it as if it was a joke. He always seems pissed at the main couple’s relationship and is always interfering, which at first seems to be to make it worse. But he’s always giving Ao good advice, in opposite to it. He says he likes a boy and that he’s waiting for him, but we don’t get to look deeper into it. I guess it remains a mystery.
I love Masato too ‘cause he is so cute, haha He's always so clueless, I laugh at his scenes!
Oh, and I adore Aka! His personality is so like the hot-tempered uke! Wish he had his own manga and fell in love with a guy, instead of a girl! BUT! I still don't get what's the importance of him and Ao being twins specifically...I mean, Ao could have a brother, especially because Aka developed his own storyline and was another reason for Ao to stay, so I get his importance. But why a twin? They're usually used in yaoi when they want fetish or when the twin pretends he's the main character and tries to get in the way - which is what I thought Aka would do, at first.
I also don't get why Ao went to live with his aunt while Aka didn't...
if their mom was having money problems, she just chose Aka over Ao and that’s fine with all of them?!
Oh, and what's up with the names, anyways? "Ao" and "Aka"? Why are they colors? Is there a reason for that?
As for the ending, after their first night it was just a drag on, you gotta admit it. But Sakuragi-sensei managed to do it quite well, so nothing to complain about. I do think the part where most yaoi titles slip is the ending, because they have too much chapters about the couple being lovey-dovey, when there's no conflict there to solve and just attending to the manga's popularity...
But since Ryoumei forgot to say he loved Ao, it was quite okay.
In the end, Ryoumei had to lose his shyness a little, so I guess it did fit in some way. I even like the cliché that they finally get together in a situation similar to the one when they just met! And I love how Ryoumei's dream is NOTHING like reality! I just knew Ao's real reaction would be like that xD
As any manga couldn’t miss, now comes the bad criticism.
I can't help but say that some moments were really ruined by the author's will to make it funny. I mean, when they're having sex for the first time, I was expecting only overflowing emotions and serious moments, but Ao's supposed innocence wasn't fit for the situation - such as him taking of his pants and whatever, especially because he isn't innocent, and we all get to know that. - I did laugh at that part, but it was totally unnecessary. What I think is the kind of adequate humor for that kind of situation is Ryoumei's commentaries during his process of trying to give pleasure to a man. He notices everything, from the nipples to the expression. That is hilarious and fits the scene! Then it gets cute, when he's sincere about never having done it with a guy and trying his hardest for Ao.
Then comes their past. We did get a good view of their past together. Maybe even more then necessary. But what about them as individual beings? Ao’s not a virgin, and we don’t get to see why and who he’s dated. Ryoumei briefly mentions that he’s “experienced with rejection girls” and we don’t get too look further into it. And the same goes for Ryoumei. We know he’s dated women before, but nothing else – though he’s case isn’t as bad as Ao because it wasn’t brought up as frequently. Even Shuu-chan. He’s divorced! Why? I know he’s just a secondary character, but if so, why bring it up?
Ah, and I hate to complain about that since it’s got nothing to do with the manga itself and the people who do it spare so much of their time for us, but...the translation was really bad in the last five chapters or so. Not only spell mistakes, but also grammar ones and things that didn't even make sense. That makes the reading much more difficult =/
PS: I can't hear "Ryoumei-san" even ONE more time, seriously. Ao says his name ALL THE FREAKING TIME!
PS 2: The art is gorgeous!
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