I truly agree. Japanese Jane Doe in older mangas are completely selfless. The plot is usually centered around how big of an asshole the men can be. There's always infighting between the women (usually about men) and the girls usually end up becoming teachers or caregivers lmfao. This is why shoujo manga gets harder to read in adulthood, because any critical reader can see that the shoujo manga formula is rooted in so much sexism and double standard.
exactly!! makes it so hard to read them, like i’m looking for a sweet time, trying to read something that makes flowers bloom in my heart but instead i’m left feeling irritated. i like how in recent years novels from east asia now has the opposite trope going around of a mature experienced female lead and the male lead being very innocent, sensitive and in LOVE with the mc. but it’s also just such a rare find in general.
I agree with you completely when it comes to fl being this "ideal woman" that enables her husband to do anything he wants, when it comes to Kira there is a reasoning she does this - she doesn't want to be abandoned. She sees herself as defective and incapable and therefore tries to win the favor of others by being agreable. While I do not like this type of character and it infuriates me to no end, I can see how her logic works in this manga specificaly. Albeit, there are plenty more mangas where the execution of this type is just horrendeus.
But that is precisely why this was such a frustrating and sad read to me. I wish she had learned to be more confident and loved herself more. I am so happy that nowadays mangas and anime have a FL that has a backbone and doesn’t let themselves get trampled all over by a guy or others. I don’t mind a shy or flawed character, but I still felt so frustrated with how much she did for this guy. It almost seemed she loved him way more deeply than he truly did. He really is just some dude while she has had so many things behind her and then goes for someone so shallow. My girl deserves a deep, thoughtful and loving guy by her side but not everyone ends with the right guy unfortunately.
While the Ml is certainly flawed, he did some inexcusable sh*t in the manga (completely unnecessary), I do think he loved her but had to contain himself (considering the rest of his family and their poor excuse for "love"). Up till her, he had no good example of love. Also, by the end of the story, she had grown to love herself more, and he helped her with that. Also, while I am a bit older than characters in the story, looking at the time the manga was released and taking into the account their age, I think that their love is not actually that bad. Toxic? Sure! But, most of high school romances are just that, regardless of how we glamourase them. He is just a dude, I'm not saying he isn't, but he also did a fair share of sacrifices for her as well.
I do not think he didn’t love her (if you read my original comment), but I do have to criticize the relationship dynamic and how this manga is, to this day, so hyped despite it portraying some questionable situations. I don’t hate Rei’s character but I had a hard time with many of his decisions (almost raping Kira when she was literally traumatized from getting SA’d by an adult when she was a child, she’s still one btw, and then over a reason that Kira had literally no fault in, he wanted to leave her and cheat with some woman. Which only didn’t happen because he couldn’t get it up, ultimately). So, yeah, he did love her in some way but even at the end of the story when everything was cleared up, she’s joking about how he will always stare at some other woman’s boobs, which feels like some kind of cynical joke in that moment. This is my personal take. I do not see the appeal in a love interest written this way, no matter how realistic it might be. I’m just tired of the typical playboy x shy girl combo. Not every shy girl lacks resolve and standards, but in these kinds of stories they always do. I also have to leave some reflection towards the time this story was written and the societal standards at the time (which are still prevalent today). Women just give up a lot for a guy, especially in japan. They literally have to apologize for their husbands wrong doings if they mess up in something (e.g. they are a public figure etc.).
Yeah, certainly. I agree with all of these things and I really disliked the decisions he made in the mentioned parts. It's just (in my personal opinion) a little bit better (accent on the little) than mangas that came out in similar time period, such as Red river, which is even more hyped and 10x more problematic. There are way better mangas, usually modern ones, that portray this these archetypes way better, I'm just saying, it could get way worse. Also, my main problem with this manga were the horrible excuses for mothers. Her mother was the villain in this.
I agree. What can hurt more than an abusive parent can be the other complicit parental figure. I do think this manga had some cute romantic moments but because of my personal preference, I didn’t end up liking it that much. It left me feeling frustrated. I prefer male leads that are the opposite of a playboy, like more sensitive and innocent. Also, I can see how this manga can leave some sentimental value because of the nostalgia. Sure, some works of this time were definitely wayyy worse, but I still couldn’t really enjoy this as a romance because of the many disturbing moments and the weird relationships dynamic (Kira self sacrifices all throughout the manga). But I agree with your main point nonetheless. I just couldn’t enjoy it that much, unfortunately.
nah cuz if i was kira id have left his ass wth. on a more serious note, my issue with this story was precisely how everything was revolved around Rei being happy and free and Kira sacrificing herself every single time. all the people appearing that wanted rei and kira just letting them. and rei being lustful even when he’s in a relationship. if he didn’t get erectile dysfunction in that one scene he would’ve slept with that women and that’s what just pisses me off. the entire story is about Kira being this selfless girl letting rei do all the things he wants because she wants him to be free and happy. this is so reflective of japanese society to this day, women always needing to give up for their “man” because he is just wild, horny and reckless. it’s in his “nature” they try to tell us. but as a scorpio baddie i absolutely hate this trope and don’t believe in it. i know those were different times but i just HATE when the guy is a lustful hoe and the girl a literal innocent angel. i hate it when she goes out of her way to let him have his freedom and tolerates all the crazy ahh shit he did (like wanting to rape her after already guessing she was raped as a kid and then wanting to cheat on her just bc he couldn’t “protect” her). this type of guy is my worst nightmare and genuinely sounds like self hate to let yourself go through that type of pain by trying to date someone like that. kira’s point was only to enable him and every scene revolved around her being so insanely selfless and just accepting EVERYTHING he did. this, like ive said earlier, reflects how japanese society wants women to be. a girl that’ll let me be however shameless i am (instead of criticizing the unnatural behavior i portray) and will just accept me as a lustful playboy who needs to be wild and free (bitch u ain’t lana). on the bright side, they did seem to genuinely love each other or at least it had to look like that for people to even consider reading this manga. i don’t hate this manga, just find it a nightmare when i look at this relationship dynamic. the only relationship dynamic i can stand is gomez and morticia. i rest my case.