Ibitsu

Before reading this review, there are spoilers, especially about the ending.

¿Are you drawn to stories where domination and emotional complexity are intertwined?
Ibitsu brings us that, a manga about a student girl and a perverted outcast.
The story, in short, tells the tale of Kakeguchi, a man who doesn't usually interact much with people and is a pervert. One day, when he sticks his hands in places he shouldn't, he meets Madoka, a student who at first glance seems frivolous and who changes our protagonist's life. She begins to have fun with Kakeguchi, as he is unable to protect himself or set boundaries for her, leading him to humiliation. However, after these actions, they grow closer, forging a bond deeper.

Main characters Kakeguchi
Kakeguchi is portrayed as a lonely, perverted man who works at a sex toy store. He has lost most of the people he once loved. As a virgin who reviews sex toys online, he finds purpose in something society considers abnormal. We're also told that he doesn't like physical contact, something that certainly gives this character its charm (at least for me).

Madoka
Madoka is shown to be playful and carefree, enjoying teasing and dominating Kakeguchi. While she shows empathy toward him, her interactions with others are distant and indifferent. She also has a friend named Meg who cares about her, but her relationship with her mother is not as good.

Essential characters I want to mention Meg
You could say she's a close friend of Madoka and cares about her, the two have a good relationship.

Tou-Sensei
A teacher who, when asking for a sex toy, runs into Madoka, as Kakeguchi asked him to make a delivery, but then Madoka discovers he's her teacher.

What I liked

1. I actually like the art. I really like the facial expressions, especially Kakeguchi's.
2. I admit the relationship between the two characters is morally questionable, but you can grow attached to both of them because of what has happened in their lives.
3. The construction of the doll is a VERY STRONG symbolism of their union, as well as the promises they made.
4. The ending was raw, and while it could have ended better and differently, it's like saying "your actions have consequences." Maybe it could have been less harsh, but I'm not complaining; it just depressed me and left me feeling empty.

Overall I liked most of the things that appeared in the plot, I loved the close moments they had and how both were able to take refuge in each other, but I wouldn't be so capable of romanticizing only the sexual actions, only those approaches were the ones that somehow made both protagonists get to know each other a little better, but I would have liked a background of more things about both of them and slightly more normal interactions, more special moments shared.

Things I didn't like

1. I felt like Madoka's personality had become somewhat flat afterward, especially when the teacher showed up. What happened to our tough girl? She took charge and tried to control the situation, but she actually made it worse. If she didn't care about her reputation, why did she allow it all—both the harm to her friend and the manipulation of the teacher? In a way, this reaction is human, as she was still a student. However, she was still dissatisfied with Madoka's actions. Just because he was a teacher, she considered him an absolute authority.
2. Kakeguchi's weakness was a double-edged sword in the work, my favorite character, but something I do not forgive him was that he was also clumsy when trying to help Madoka from the teacher, he acted stupidly and although Kakeguchi really did not know very well what he felt, it simply did not help, he could have made better decisions, he could have behaved more maturely, it could even have been an eclipse of a change in his life, a moment of overcoming, but it was not like that, Kakeguchi only redeemed himself and lost.
3. The damn teacher had to ruin everything, the truth is the execution of the character is very good and I liked how they integrated him into the plot, more than any complaints about his development as a character and influence in the work, I simply did not like him for being literally bad, I hate him.

Personal opinion Ibitsu is a manga that when I first read it was only because of an unpleasant meme that said something about the death of a character, when I got to the panel I realized that in reality no one ever died in that scene, in the same way that being morbid I couldn't stop reading, I really liked the other girl that Kakeguchi was talking to (I think she was the boss of the sex toy store) and above all as I mentioned before I loved that friction between Kakeguchi not liking physical contact when Madoka does the opposite, something like a connection as deep as having a sexual bond and losing it along with the emotional one, I simply have no words to describe what I feel, maybe it would be something like a heartbreaking scream, it was a good read and I really liked it, I give it a 10/10.