ML is fucking annoying, somehow

I think it's also the fact that mc literally doesn't care about himself, even after the initial risk of dying, he ends up buying the tonic, so i think that's why the ml becomes a bit annoying and persistent. Mc acts very boldly and without care so ml has to be a bit harsh i think.

Could be my bias too since i love them both.

I hear you but he is a yandere and he saved MC multiple times due to MC’s reckless behavior. does he do it in the best way, no, but it sounds like tsundere yanderes are not your thing and that’s coo too

I do agree with you. I used to like this story so much back when I read it in high school, but now that I'm an adult, I've come to understand what a healthy dynamic looks like so PERHAPS that's what puts me off. No hate to the story or author, of course. Just that I found the characters to be mildly annoying. Except for that autistic mage guy, he's funny.

no way aresh is an yandere we're losing the ancient texts. he's not sickly obsessive, he cares about other people in his life and he doesn't harm anyone around seichirou. he's just jealous and protective, perhaps a bit much for a healthy relationship, but that doesn't make him an yandere.

well at the end of the day, you are going to and can believe what you want to believe. But he is a yandere. it has nothing to do with violence; a yandere *can* be violent to their partner or other people imposing a threat to their partner but they are not mutually exclusive to actually being a yandere that is simply one of the actions commonly associated. you know how they say “everyone has narcissistic traits but not everyone is a narcissist? it is similar in that way, if that makes sense.

the key to a yandere is that they display a type of “controlling” aspect onto their partners life. and if you have not noticed how Aresh does that then I honestly don’t know what to tell you haha. he quite literally starts controlling Sei’s life after he gets magic sick. he is possessive and disregards how his actions affect others, even sei sometimes, so long as his desired outcome (sei’s closeness and safety) is a given. again, has nothing to do with violence or hurting. he is controlling though in a pretty green flag way I agree overall. if you still don’t see it then I’d encourage you to perhaps check back up on what a yandere is. there is a spectrum like any other psychological experience.

let me just finish by saying I love Aresh and his spunky personality and he has saved MC’s life more than once so he gets multiple gold stars in my book.

yandere comes from two japanese words: yanderu and dere dere. yanderu is related to being sick, while dere dere is related to being in love. yandere, as a stereotype in japanese popular culture, means someone that loves to the point of obsession, loves to the point of being sick, that sickness being sociopathic behaviour, while maintaining an innocent behaviour, like yuno gasai from Mirai Nikki. which aresh is nothing alike.

being controlling or inconsiderate doesn't directly mean someone is an yandere. yandere, again, is a specific archetype in japanese media. plenty of love interests in western media are jealous, controlling, inconsiderate, even sociopathic (i would even argue that Aresh is much closer to the abrasive man we see in western romance novels than an yandere), but we have to understand yandere as not the characteristics, but a whole that means something in a determined culture. it's like saying a pie is a cake just because it's a baked sweet.

i understand that things are a spectrum, but also words have a meaning. if we use yandere for anything minimally controlling, we will forget that they are an archetype that represents a violent stalker

I see.

If not a yandere, is there perhaps a sub category between yandere and a possessive person? I see Aresh engaging in unhealthy behavior that is not simply typical in a relationship and am curious if there is an equivalent middle ground trope here instead then?

I think he's just selfish and possessive. Not yandere at all IMO. He's not obsessive either. Again, just really selfish.