Ok...sooo...it was okay. Not good, not too bad, just okay.
I do have to say that it had potential. If Itsuki-sensei had taken it to her advantage, it could be a really interesting manga, BUT it lacked some things.
First of all, this plot is really overdone. The bet was just an excuse for the real plot underneath, which was just an older guy falling for a high school student and having past issues.
The differential here, though, was Taka's homophobia. Itsuki-sensei could've used that to make a really unique plot (like in Koisuru Boukun). Instead, she opted not to care too much about it, and it ended up making Taka like any other uke: he doesn't really hate homosexuals, he's just unaware of his own feelings. That made the kinda story in which the seme throws the uke against the the wall and the uke's like "ahh...no...don't...ahhhn!" but actually likes it. Like I said, overdone.
Also, I think Fuji's presence in this title wasn't very good. He should've only appeared a couple of times for us to see he liked Taka and then his story should be told only in "Interval" (which, opposed to this one, is actually REALLY good).
I'm not going to say it doesn't have good points, because it is actually cute.
I'm not really a fan of Taka's (especially since I read "Interval" before "Self Portrait"), I just stand him. But I REALLY love Kiwamui. He's not my usual type of seme, but I just adore him! He's not too pushy, but he puts his feelings inside Taka's head in such a manipulative way that it's almost as if he knew right from the start how to make Taka fall for him! I totally love how he tricks Taka into doing whatever he wants again and again. He's so good at romance techniques! And even though I don't usually like clingy semes that are cheerful and all, he's always so confident too, which makes him an absolutely adorable seme! -
But the most important part that I liked's got nothing to do with yaoi, and it's actually the only thing I think makes this manga memorable: I.LOVE.SHIZUKA~!!! Even more than the main characters themselves or Fuji, I just love Shizuka -
And that's because I identify with her and I would do the same thing if I was her! xD
But then there's something I REALLY didn't like: Katsuro's storyline. Like, WHAAAT?! First of all, him AND Tooya are children. They're only in 6th grade, and I hate it when the characters are bellow 15 years old or so!! There are indeed some exceptions, but this was not one of them!! And they're story's just plain strange!! Tooya's a cross-dresser (which is also something I really don't enjoy in yaoi), but is the seme even so. He's also taller than Katsuro, and seems much more mature than him, which makes it look even weirder. Katsuro doesn't try to stop him a single time even if he keeps saying he only likes him as a friend, and even that "I hate you" part was totally unconvincing! Really disturbing.
Also, when Kiwamui/Taka's relationship it was finally getting good and I was into them, Itsuki-sensei suddenly changed into Katsuro's storyline!! Damn! Like everybody else said, it gave the feeling the main couple's storyline was left incomplete.
One more thing. I don't intend to be mean, but...was there even an editor to this manga? And I'm being really judgmental here, because I don't know if this was actually the scanlator's fault, but...problem is, WHY does Taka mention his brother "dating a cross-dresser" if that's only revealed to us in the last two chapters?! And from what I got, they're story is in fact still unfinished at the point Taka said that, and only goes further in "April 4th"! (which I'm probably not going to read, because it's totally not my type of story).
Some more problems that I'm not sure are related to the manga itself: first, is Shizuka actually dating Taka, as the description said?? From what I get, no. Even though he says "I have a girlfriend" right on the first chapter, it seems that either he used it as an excuse or it's all in his head. Shizuka herself said that he didn't confess to her before and she didn't seem much into it when he did either. Second issue: scanlator's fault. There are pages that are out of the order and that really sent me back a couple of parts there.
Overall, don't expect much. If you're looking for something to get you out of boredom, it's good enough. But it's not a memorable and unique manga.
PS: Did somebody else notice that Katsuro was playing Pokemon in the 8th chapter? -
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