If this is what you write on under some omegaverse manhwa how will your essays look like girl
Any way i agree with you
Commenting and analyzing stories here feels like a part-time hobby at this point lol. I like to appreciate good stories. Or shit on slop ones.
i would like to see how religion impacts their worldview too. ik japan has a different religious ecosystem than just christianity but i want to see an omega who has harbors deep conservative attitudes because of it. maybe an omega who isn’t allowed into a shrine because they’re on their heat and thus impure. or one who believe in obeying their alpha husband because it’s the godly thing to do. it would be so interesting to see
”and its own implications as a system, like, it accurately explores what would happen in an actual world like the omegaverse - from the constant oppression to the body horror, the gender essentialism, the domination over a body that births whilst that same body is abused, undermined, used for unpaid labor so the alpha can be exploited for his labor, and reduced to the second gender after alpha“
Well besides the second gender part, this IS the reality of intersex/female (sex) people. Mentioning this, cuz the “what would happen in an actual world like the omegaverse“ part kinda bothered me, but maybe I’m just misunderstanding smth?
Commenting here to remind myself to read this when i eventually read this manga. Love people who can engage with media in this way and even though i havent read your comment yet am super excited!
I'm loving the mini essay! This is what I like about reading the comment section for this manga!
I do feel like he does start to feel something more for Osuzume than just his trauma induced obsession with having kids, but (in the words of master genkai) there is a 20ft wall of crap between him and his emotions. That wall seems like it is breaking down over time, but it breaks at either a snails pace, or an uncontrollable explosion. What im trying to say will make more sense when you see Ch 18.
But on another topic...
Uhhh... spoilerish...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Takatora, even an upcoming extra chapters also still seems to be envious of Osuzume's build and aperance, feeling that Osuzume is lucky to have a body like that, but in the process he also sort of disregards how Osuzume wants to look more feminine. But rather then it just being "he doesn't care" it's more of him not understanding why he would even want to look feminine.
But Kameyama also brings up how they both need to work stuff out together (he is the mediator), because Takatora is being inconsiderate, even trying to dictate what Osuzume wears (he is trying to get him to dress masculine/alpha like), but also Osuzume hits Takatora often and he has had to be taken to the hospital more than once.
That's true, so far, we haven't seen religion used to enforce gender roles and how it would treat the different secondary genders. It would definitely add to the immersion, especially seeing an omega struggle with their identity by having their sexuality be shamed and regarded as sinful for example, or an alpha who wants to date other alphas feeling like he's sinning because he's not impregnating an omega.
Yes, that's the reality, hence why I mentioned this manga borrows from the real world (real world dissection of patriarchy, as I called it). Omegaverse itself as a genre, imo, explores real world gender violence against women/fem presenting/birthing people through the lense of omegas and their experience as well as toxic masculinity through the lense of alphas ('natural born leaders', 'the dominant gender'). That's why the way this manga illustrates the omegaverse is accurate, because it speaks about issues in ways we deal with them in our world. Omega sexuality is shamed and used against them, alphas are the ones who are protected because the omegas led them on with their pheromones, and so forth. The real life parallel to basically a system of victim blaming and rape culture, protecting rapists and abusers while asking what the survivors were wearing and how they were behaving (basically their 'pheromones'). That's why, in its core, omegaverse is a (real life) horror genre. The fluffy stories exist in a vacuum that doesn't fully acknowledge the frame an omegaverse society operates in or the two people who get together in the fluffy story are just lucky to have found each other.
You'll love this manga I'm sure, it's so worth it! I hope you find my rambling enriching and maybe you find more view points and topics I've missed. Have fun reading
Oh, I'm excited!
Tbh, now that you're mentioning it, I did get a bit of that sense that Takatora was almost admiring Osuzume's body in a bit of an envy because of his general internalized alpha envy and wanting to present alpha like. Hmm, the more interesting it is to see that, from what you're saying, Takatora is kinda projecting his own need to perform as an alpha onto Osuzume, almost as if he wants Osuzume to just own it rather than cope as a dainty omega wanna -be. Hmmmm, this is getting more interesting. And wow, sounds like Osuzume is abusive against Takatora. I'm curious how Takatora copes with that, seeing he doesn't like to feel like or be seen as the victim in any situation.
I wasn’t so sure about your stance, because of that one wording. I’m not that good in English, so I probably just misunderstood.
- And I agree with everything you said
It's okay, my wording can be a bit jumbled sometimes. I'm also not a native speaker and construct my sentences a bit too long. Glad to have explained it better now!
The levels of (very up to date) social commentary here explored through the omegaverse are INSANE - from socioeconomic to medical, reproductive rights, autonomy, gender ideology, beauty standards/sexual dimorphism, sexuality and labor topics, even discussions around choice vs intersectional feminism (omegaism), and to what extent omegas can be agents and enablers of the alpha dominated system, when is it a systemic issue and out of their control as omegas, and where, beyond oppression and systemic programming, individuality (and with that, personal motives and the humanization of both the oppressed and the oppressors) starts. It's not just a very applicable dissection of real life patriarchy and capitalism (the duality of doom, one can't function as efficiently without the other), but it also makes absolute sense within the omegaverse and its own implications as a system, like, it accurately explores what would happen in an actual world like the omegaverse - from the constant oppression to the body horror, the gender essentialism, the domination over a body that births whilst that same body is abused, undermined, used for unpaid labor so the alpha can be exploited for his labor, and reduced to the second gender after alpha.
The layer of horror specific to the omegaverse that adds a whole new level to the sexual exploitation and an omega's vulnerability is the pheromone and heat cycle phenomenon, which, ideally, puts alphas in a position of responsibility and the omegas - in a position of protectability. The nature of the heat cycle, rendering an omega sexually oozing outside of their control and ability to consent is utterly horrifying and as in almost every omegaverse, is exploited as well as abused by alphas. They don't see themselves as responsible to control their own sexual behavior or inhibit the response to pheromones, especially when omegas are in heat, but rather use an omega's reproductive function as proof they are weaker and thus, to be exploited; that this is just nature, and based on that, the natural hierarchy. This, very specific to the genre central part of omega plight, in this manga, is packaged in nonetheless realistic struggles for equality, rights and humanization beyond gender reductivism.
What I find particularly intriguing is how each character here represents their own way of coping with the system and how the characters themselves clash - we have Takatora who is an opportunist, a conformist and wants to bend himself to the system as he copes with internalized omegaphobia and alpha envy, given his alpha upbringing and socioeconomic status (he has many privileges and being an omega is that one disadvantage that sends him in a spiral). Watching him struggle so deeply with his omega existence and identity was very painful at times, and then seeing how he's obsessed with passing down his genes further indicates to me that he's coping with that, but then also trying to prove to himself that even with his same secondary gender sexuality, it's possible to create a family, a legacy. The pressure to be what he never will become, not realizing he's trying to serve an ideal of a system that is fundamentally against him ,is something so real and relatable to probably many marginalized groups irl. He's the epitome of 'the issue is not the system, it's you' and individualist thinking. He can afford that mentality, though, because he still has socioeconomic and lookism privileges, and profits from the system the way it is.
Then we have Kameyama who embodies the idealist, the activist and the big picture thinker, opposing conformity and seeing each struggle through an intersectional lens. The fact him and Takatora got together was brilliant because it exposed (and opened up) the conversation about making sense of one self as an individual whilst having to come to terms with the fact nothing happens in a vacuum and the system will always influence you, no matter how much you try to swim against it or bend for it. Takatora seemed to cope a lot with gender essentialism and notions like people having individual agency (a privileged view considering he's rich lol), the fact omegas lose their humanity when one only looks at them as victims (the way he thinks Kameyama sees it, which he doesn't), however, to me, that revealed how he probably feels about himself - he doesn't want to be framed as the one gender that gets victimized, because this means he'd have to come to terms with the fact that whatever he does, he's still an omega in an alphaist world. It made sense Kameyama was drawn to Takatora as he saw a hardworking, strong omega in him, but he realized his reasons and motives for that were to be conformist and compete with alphas, not to show to the world that omegas are capable and strong as they are, while improving conditions for them and dismantling systemic hurdles, both visible and less visible ones. He outgrew Takatora, but learned his strength and discipline.
Osuzume to me represents both gender dysphoria, and generally
struggling with gender performance and chasing beauty standards. The more interesting it is to see Takatora, the alpha performer who goes for the daintiest of omegas, pick him towards the end. It still feels like an impulsive rebound to me and I can't exactly pinpoint how sincere Takatora is and how much it's just his breeding obsession, but it would be admirable to see character development happen for Takatora through exploring a connection with Osuzume, making him unpack whatever he wasn't able to fully confront with Kameyama. (Although I feel like the relationship with Kameyama must have planted many seeds for him to wake up. He will become woke!!!!)
Each and every character here tbh deserves their own story, like that alpha pharmaceutical worker (through him, the conversation about medical underrepresentation of omegas and their endocrine systems could be opened up; how the fact their heats are part of what's holding them back often is a problem that could be treated more efficiently, but isn't to keep omegas more vulnerable and dependent on alphas), his background, and his relationship with Arisaka (my boy Arisaka has been through so fucking much and I feel like he still sees himself as the stereotype put onto him by omega-sexist society, I'd love to see more of his inner world) or the two other dainty omegas. I want to see more of Enma and his scientific research as well as motivations and life philosophy, upbringing, etc.! Everything about this story and the characters feels so fleshed out, so tangible, so real!