really love the slow awakening of isaac to his feelings, and how emotionally like aware he is?? usually the ml is slow and takes too long to realize his feelings, and you don't actually get a friends to lovers arc that doesn't make you go why the hell did he take so long to make a move. and yeong is also slowly getting feelings, although i think it'll take some time for her to recognize it, she's a little bit dense with personal relationships.
all of the couples really make sense and are fun to watch develop too! with dojin and hana they both have tempers and similar mindsets even though they externally present like grumpy x sunshine. and yeol is the calm hypeman to the strongest trembling woodland creature in the school.
ep of all time. dual roasting via isaac and yeong to that jerk, saeyi losing her shit and then crying, and then upperclassman yuri. perfect, chef's kiss. i hope ruyi now gets to beat someones ass, it's all coming together.
every single one of these characters overthinks so much, and lowkey that's so real.
i really really like how introspective yatora is. a lot of the time with these like very focused self-driven mangas it can get kinda cliche and preachy, but yatora is constantly working on himself and his understanding of the world. love when a protag can admit his faults and grow from them productively without needing anyone to really hold his hand. all of the relationships in this manga are so complex, they really feel like real people that fuck up and don't do everything perfect all of the time.
love how most of the conflict in these earlier eps was fully just isaac just overthinking so much.
i really liked how iseon was sympathetic but it was still a point of him being selfish in the relationship. it would be one thing if he hadn't come to terms with his aromanticism, but he already had? you have to communicate in the relationship and it's shit that he turned it around on her being like does my love not matter? and then treated them getting back together as something that was inevitable. maybe they could continue to be friends, but he's a little too entitled to her and her feelings just because they're aimed towards him.
You worded this immaculately. He just feels uncomfortable that her feelings are not directed toward him, that sense of stability, and care Yumin gave him….he didn’t realize until it was gone, not only that, someone else was the new recipient of it.
this is such an interesting take on the rofan genre. usually, it's always reinforcing classism and highlighting the fact that nobles are inherently better than commoners no matter what. while this story is still about nobility, it doesn't ignore the basis of the setting, namely that the things that prop up "nobility" are tools of oppression. even philanthropy, no matter how well intentioned, is still a way for wealthier people to reinforce their superiority. al (crown brother prince) is so intensely sympathetic, as he had a mental breakdown bc he was without a support system and tugged in every which way due to his role as a public figure. some of the writing is still a bit clumsy, but everything is pretty thought out and seems to have a coherent message.
the only real note i have on this story is that it should have been a butch x butch story instead of the fem x fem story we got.
ngl yumeka saying that she was going to win the winter cup like that kinda ticked me off? especially considering that she was like, of course i picked it back up easily, i'm a natural. it felt like a continuation of their past relationship, where yumeka treats chi like she's either not as good at her but amazing because she still puts in effort. idk it feels condescending. ofc i'm just being uncharitable bc i think yumeka's kind of a bad friend to chi, but the point still stands.
everyone is so hateful towards my girl tamaki's naming sense. sensual customers and population crisis prevention are such good band names???
Exactly like those are good band names, maybe ot was how it sounded in Japanese but in English it's pretty good
ohh my god yeong?? crazy plot twist