(Review was written after reading 39 chapters)
The description for it was not helping as well. It was not that appealing as I'm not a fan of relationships established around abuse or forced affection. The description gave me this preconceived notion that it's just another yandere manga centered around an obsessive relationship. Contrary to my expectations, it didn't happen. I was expecting the author to take the usual shoujo route where people are forced to develop feelings for one another and sugar coat everything and the audience will have to accept it without questioning prior occurrences within the relationship. Halfway through I scratched the romance out of the story despite it being a tag on some websites. For me, it was a story of dependence and looking for a reason to live.
Plot/Story (8/10)
The plot of the story is centered around xxx-san (who will be then named "Sachi" after a few chapters) who was
I was a bit cautious to continue on as the beginning of the manga was following the typical slice of life route, depicting their daily lives as their time together passes. But I was still curious about what prompted these characters to make these decisions so I continued reading. Things started to pick up around chapter 5 so I was glad I continued reading.
I love how the manga continues to remind the characters, in extension the audience, that what is happening to Sachi is bad. The manga makes it clear how dysfunctional and how the whole kidnapping this is absolutely unacceptable to society. At the same time, it also points out how it is technically the best option Sachi has for now. It continues to remind the audience that kidnapping is unacceptable but at the same time it begs the question, what if it's the best option? I was in constant dilemma because of this.
Again the story starts off a little dry and slice-of-life like, but as you go down the ladder things started to heat up, and cracks from the characters masks starts to show up. More characters are added in and the plot thickens.
Though this can be viewed as another kidnapper x victim, it wasn't really the point after a few chapters.
Which brings us tot he next point, the Characters.
Characters (10/10)
Two people with their own complicated circumstances end up depending on one another. It's a relationship established around dependency and the benefits they can make out of it, not out of love. That was one of the reasons why I ruled out the possibility of a romance between them.
The characters were the main appealing point for me throughout the whole story. Both characters are smart and very aware of what they are doing and the consequences of their actions. It was very interesting to watch them struggle through different problems. This led to very interesting discussions between the characters.
For one thing, the character's interests and thoughts about their relationship are not necessarily aligned with one another. It's not a "us against the world" situation. The "us" part in their relationship started to draw a line the moment their true intentions are revealed. It was interesting how they can depend on one another but at the same time have different intentions out of the relationship.
While we have the chance to pry over the character's inner thoughts, the characters are very guarded. The readers get to see a few glimpses, but I as the reader, was also led to believe that they, as the characters, don't understand their thoughts that much as well. Which led me to think that the main characters are very unreliable narrators of their own tragedy.
As of now, their personalities and ideologies are starting to clash and the characters themselves are slowly changing as well. I can't wait to see how they will influence each other on the future chapters.
Art (9/10)
The art is clean and fits well with the story. As much as I want to see what is hidden beneath the mask of "Onii-san", I get why we don't get to see that yet. Over all, the character designs are really great as well! I especially like Hijiri Matsubase!
Overall (9/10)
So far, the plot is very promising. The characters are well-rounded and the story keeps you grounded despite its themes. Entertainment wise, this story s definitely worth your time. If you like complicated stories with deep psychological close-ups on how the characters will react to different provoking situations, then you are in for a ride. ____
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