I'm reading this for the art, and the female lead. She's unpredictable, strong-willed, and a realist. She's hot-blooded, but self-aware. I love that.
To tell the truth, I was getting ready to drop this before I even finished chapter two. I was worried it was about to go into the whole Men are Strong, Women are Delicate thing, with her being so shocked to see blood when both of them are supposedly from big, influential yakuza families. I was concerned she was going to be some sheltered, easily shaken, constantly screaming/shouting Damsel in Distress. I was writing it off as yet another story in which the female lead with a promisingly complicated background would prevail through all troubles through sheer force of will/a caring heart.
MC proved me wrong. I definitely did not expect her to go that far in proving me wrong though. I have high hopes for her now.
The male lead, on the other hand, I have...less positive feelings about. Yeah, he's drawn pretty. Yeah, his face and body are bishounen-like. Yeah, he's rich, smart, popular, and charismatic. Yeah, he's a Bad Boy. But he's also a mentally unstable, immoral, bloodthirsty, manipulative, sadomasochistic prick with psychopathic tendencies.
As we learn more about him, readers grow to understand his profile a bit better, and perhaps even sympathize with him on a very basic level. Like, don't get me wrong, parts of his life are traumatic and his depraved persona is an understandable result of both nature/nurture. In a way, he is pitiful.
That said, he's still a twisted mofo, and the worst of him is inexcusably cruel and inhuman. It's like how you can understand a criminal's actions without condoning them. I hope no reader think his wooby moments outweigh his so-called "yandere" constant.
All of this is pretty obvious if you read this as an adult, but I'm worried about the young, impressionable minds reading this. All these kids and teens reading stories about "yandere" and Christian Grey look-a-likes being slowly inured to these terrible relationship dynamics, and growing to normalize abusive romances... ugh.
I might rec this to a friend, but I would not rec it to people who do not yet understand the impact media can/does have on their perception of romance/relationships/the other sex/etc. I would definitely not rec it to someone who doesn't understand why "yandere" aren't attractive in any way.
Edit: The gender roles and sexism ingrained in tradition and the attitudes of the men around her with regards to her place are really irritating. The whole keep-the-women-in-the-dark/women-don?t-need-to-know thing is beyond stale - at this point it?s just rotten. I am still half in love with the female lead, and her pragmatism/bluntness just tickles me, but... it is getting harder and harder to keep reading.
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