So, I have mixed feelings about this. In short, ideas and plot have decent potential, but the execution and where the story was taken, and how much wasn't explored properly, made it kinda mid, even bad at times.
The world building is a typical guideverse post apocalyptic dystopia, it's to be expected. The fact espers and oni as well as gon share similar traits could've been explored more, as it added an interesting dimension to the world building and could've explained how the oni and espers came to be in the first place. The origin of it all, so to speak. Did people mutate into espers and oni, some manifesting into humanoid, zombie like sludge while others kept their humanity and even fought against the monstrously mutated? Or was the mutation of oni as a separate organism the kickstart of people, coming into contact with oni material dispersed in the world, mutating themselves as to adapt and fight against them? What was the oni core, how was its power similar to the powers of espers? The near corruption state of an esper basically looks like the same sludge of the oni, as if the esper is reverting to the monstrous state of oni, losing touch with his human side... Even the fact oni and espers alike are drawn to guide blood was a hint there's a link there, set out by the story itself, so it's a shame it wasn't explored further. Also, I was expecting that the (guide's) blood would come into play between the MC and the ML, but it never did. It's called Blood Poker and we barely saw blood be important or frequent enough in the story, apart from the villain using it to attract oni for his super evil plan to create a gon from an esper and feed his own guide to it. (Bro just wanted to find the link the story didn't bother to explore lol) We also didn't learn much about district 13 (we could've seen more of MC' life there, and how he bonded with the hyung he was grieving for), about 'the Nature', the United Nations or any other countries dealing with the oni plague. With all this, we just had the world be flat decoration, the background stage for the main characters to live out their own struggle and drama, packaged in an esper/guide dynamic that's justified, but nothing deeper than that.
Then there's the main characters. Both felt rather one dimensional, especially the ML. The MC' tragic backstory and loss of his hyung was barely explored, so I couldn't care less about it. The sleepwalking seemingly stemming from his unprocessed trauma wasn't properly addressed, not by the story or the ML, but it was used as a way for the ML to violate consent (ch 30). The MC experienced a rebound attachment of some sort with the ML and through him, wanted to relive and correct what happened with his hyung, but from the ML's perspective, he was just a very compatible guide he started to fall and lust for. It's understandable to an extent as the MC was the ML's first ever opportunity to experience a better quality of life, less corruption risk, pain, etc., with a guide who isn't pushy or creepy. Still, the emotional foundation didn't feel solid enough to make their quick bonding (that happened without the guide's full consent as he was sleep guiding, which IS needed for it to happen as per the forced guiding/bonding conditions...) feel substantial or like it truly mattered. Their bond didn't feel genuine or deep enough, despite the story trying to present it this way. The ML was a snooze fest most of the time, and it's no wonder since his backstory, too, was barely touched on, and his personality was either tired af or horny (I mean, relatable, but I don't want to read about it while trying to get entertained). Both characters had barely any personality, but the MC had more of it.
What I did like was the pace tbh. I like it when characters take time to explore each other, to get to know and warm up to each other (in this story, it wasn't taken anywhere though, it really was just waiting for them to fuck and that's it). What I enjoyed the most was the way the guiding process itself was written here with the energy filtration, how match rate influences the filtration process and how a low match rate means more energy loss, etc. Pretty neat! The fact the possible power imbalance between esper and guide was briefly touched on and how esper and guide both have to consent was also something I usually don't see as clearly mentioned in guideverse. The aspects of guideverse I do like were also included here, like near-rampage/corruption states, emergency guiding, an esper who gets protective of his guide, even the last sex scene where the esper gets so excited he breaks the bed (hot!), etc. It was a touching moment as the MC met the young ML in his subconscious while he was in a coma, telling him that he's beautiful, and showing him he's loved. But that's it with this story - bits and pieces are cool and nice, and individually, you can see some solid ideas, but the final product where it all fits together is just meh. The art style was super inconsistent at times, and that sums up the quality of execution of plot and ideas here - inconsistent and with untapped potential.
So, I have mixed feelings about this. In short, ideas and plot have decent potential, but the execution and where the story was taken, and how much wasn't explored properly, made it kinda mid, even bad at times.
The world building is a typical guideverse post apocalyptic dystopia, it's to be expected. The fact espers and oni as well as gon share similar traits could've been explored more, as it added an interesting dimension to the world building and could've explained how the oni and espers came to be in the first place. The origin of it all, so to speak. Did people mutate into espers and oni, some manifesting into humanoid, zombie like sludge while others kept their humanity and even fought against the monstrously mutated? Or was the mutation of oni as a separate organism the kickstart of people, coming into contact with oni material dispersed in the world, mutating themselves as to adapt and fight against them? What was the oni core, how was its power similar to the powers of espers? The near corruption state of an esper basically looks like the same sludge of the oni, as if the esper is reverting to the monstrous state of oni, losing touch with his human side... Even the fact oni and espers alike are drawn to guide blood was a hint there's a link there, set out by the story itself, so it's a shame it wasn't explored further. Also, I was expecting that the (guide's) blood would come into play between the MC and the ML, but it never did. It's called Blood Poker and we barely saw blood be important or frequent enough in the story, apart from the villain using it to attract oni for his super evil plan to create a gon from an esper and feed his own guide to it. (Bro just wanted to find the link the story didn't bother to explore lol) We also didn't learn much about district 13 (we could've seen more of MC' life there, and how he bonded with the hyung he was grieving for), about 'the Nature', the United Nations or any other countries dealing with the oni plague. With all this, we just had the world be flat decoration, the background stage for the main characters to live out their own struggle and drama, packaged in an esper/guide dynamic that's justified, but nothing deeper than that.
Then there's the main characters. Both felt rather one dimensional, especially the ML. The MC' tragic backstory and loss of his hyung was barely explored, so I couldn't care less about it. The sleepwalking seemingly stemming from his unprocessed trauma wasn't properly addressed, not by the story or the ML, but it was used as a way for the ML to violate consent (ch 30). The MC experienced a rebound attachment of some sort with the ML and through him, wanted to relive and correct what happened with his hyung, but from the ML's perspective, he was just a very compatible guide he started to fall and lust for. It's understandable to an extent as the MC was the ML's first ever opportunity to experience a better quality of life, less corruption risk, pain, etc., with a guide who isn't pushy or creepy. Still, the emotional foundation didn't feel solid enough to make their quick bonding (that happened without the guide's full consent as he was sleep guiding, which IS needed for it to happen as per the forced guiding/bonding conditions...) feel substantial or like it truly mattered. Their bond didn't feel genuine or deep enough, despite the story trying to present it this way. The ML was a snooze fest most of the time, and it's no wonder since his backstory, too, was barely touched on, and his personality was either tired af or horny (I mean, relatable, but I don't want to read about it while trying to get entertained). Both characters had barely any personality, but the MC had more of it.
What I did like was the pace tbh. I like it when characters take time to explore each other, to get to know and warm up to each other (in this story, it wasn't taken anywhere though, it really was just waiting for them to fuck and that's it). What I enjoyed the most was the way the guiding process itself was written here with the energy filtration, how match rate influences the filtration process and how a low match rate means more energy loss, etc. Pretty neat! The fact the possible power imbalance between esper and guide was briefly touched on and how esper and guide both have to consent was also something I usually don't see as clearly mentioned in guideverse. The aspects of guideverse I do like were also included here, like near-rampage/corruption states, emergency guiding, an esper who gets protective of his guide, even the last sex scene where the esper gets so excited he breaks the bed (hot!), etc. It was a touching moment as the MC met the young ML in his subconscious while he was in a coma, telling him that he's beautiful, and showing him he's loved. But that's it with this story - bits and pieces are cool and nice, and individually, you can see some solid ideas, but the final product where it all fits together is just meh. The art style was super inconsistent at times, and that sums up the quality of execution of plot and ideas here - inconsistent and with untapped potential.