So, I'd never ever heard about this manga before despite having read Ogeretsu Tanaka before. But I watched the anime and, even with all the craziness happening, I could see the plot underneath. I don't usually go for comedy, but I really wanted to know what was going to happen. But... sigh
This HAS potential, I'm not saying it doesn't...it just didn't get there yet. Really, we're currently on chapter 17 and it'll need at least 3 more volumes to properly cover all the story lines:
- Toono and Kashima. The most obvious, central couple, but...despite it being that way since the very beginning, little has happened in terms of development. They seem like barely friends, much less becoming a couple. Despite Kashima having confessed, Toono doesn't seem to take him seriously at all, and when they do have any cute little moment or physical contact, it doesn't seem to advance their relationship, but instead feels more like a placeholder. It's frustrating, since that first kiss was one of the highlights of the entire series (especially in the anime). I don't particularly love either of them. I don't dislike them either, they are just very typical yaoi seme/ uke. Kashima is nice enough, Toono is very very common, but at least not girly.
- Yuri and Fujisaki (I don't get why most translations have his name as "Jimmy"?). Yes, they are both weird, and although their relationship is the one that's advanced the most physically, it doesn't seem to be the case for the emotional involvement. I have my theories about Yuri, but I'm afraid the manga may not even get there with him. I think he's mostly just pretending to be incoherent, because there's no way he'd be able to ace tests if he was actually crazy, and there have been instances when he really wanted to communicate properly that he was able to form a full sentence, especially when it matters. I'm also hoping there's a reason that his face is never shown aside from aesthetics. He's one of the hottest characters in terms of design, but all the drooling and nonsense is kind of off putting to his sexiness. Not much to say about Fujisaki, he's your typical megane crybaby, definitely not my type.
- Akemi and Itome. No idea what's going on between them, but the combination of their apparently involuntary open relationship and glimpses of Akemi's past hints at something really fucked up. Itome is clearly in a lot of emotional pain and I'd definitely like to see that explored properly. Again, not sure it'll ever get to that. He's also a strange character - I often feel like manga in general don't deal well with exploring the "quiet types"' personality, they just use it as an excuse for them to not have one. As for Akemi, I don't know what his deal is. Up until recently, I thought he may just be pretending and actually be a really cruel person, especially since he seems aware of Itome's feelings, but he's recently redeemed himself in the Shikatani arc. I would definitely love if we were given proper development for him, given the character potential, but who knows.
- Shikatani. Not really a couple, as far as we've been shown, but it is getting more interesting. Since the latest chapter seemed to give him some sort of closure, it left me wondering if that's all we'll ever get. He definitely stepped up from the previous chapters. Before, he was my least favorite character, and now I seem him as more real.
- Tamura and Yaguchi. I left the best for last, as this is my favorite couple and also my two favorite characters. Unfortunately, it's the one we've seen the least of. There has been basically no development whatsoever aside from a few moments that were completely one-sided (on Tamura's part). Yaguchi doesn't seem to have ANY feelings for Tamura, or even care about his existence. I was disappointed that his investment in Toono was so short-lived, but at least it'll leave him more open for Tamura, hopefully. I don't want him catching real feelings for Toono. I also love his real personality much more than the front he puts up. As for Tamura...if only every character was like that. I really love that type, there isn't much to be said. What could be better than a sad, rough, sexy, guy that's actually really sweet deep inside?
Then there are the relationships which aren't romantic, which really adds another layer to this series, with all the genuine friendships (especially between none less than my favorite, Tamura, both with Toono and Yuri., proving he's truly the best person there). I only have comments about Yaguchi and Kashima. Well...at first I liked this plot, but it's gotten so big that its importance surpasses that of the couples and characters themselves, and that's really upsetting. At least it seems like that's over, so I'm really hoping we can move on from focusing on this in the next few chapters.
As for all the subversion of stereotypes., I like that this series is all about sex, not only for us fujoshis, but also to normalize it. But, while it's a change of scenery for the yaoi world, there are some things I definitely can't get over. I really don't like the seme x uke switching, but I can tolerate it in some cases. But when it's a couple like Akemi and Itome, it's just really un-sexy to me that the more feminine, smaller guy is the seme. Then there's Yuri and Tamura sleeping together all the time despite being best friends. I get that they all do it and that there's no feelings involved, but it's really not for me, either. Finally, and that's the very worst, the gang-bang scene with Tamura. I swear I'm not one of those people who are sensitive about rape in yaoi, I normally don't care at all - but it has to be between the seme and uke. That? Nope, can't handle it. It's one of the most degrading and humiliating scenes I've ever read, even if Tamura ended up liking it. It's just painful to me to think that was his first time.
Finally, the art is really gorgeous, I don't think I've seen such hot characters for a while. Oh, but I'm not a fan of the pubic hair lol
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