The rape scene was handled poorly. If it pushes the plot forward or even just ties in with the natural progression of the story and character development, then I usually don't mind it. But here, if you remove the rape scene, you wouldn't even notice. They had been building up the trust and friendship between them, and deepening that with Tomo's confession felt like the next natural step. Then BAM rape! It felt like the editor stepped in and said "let's add in a quick rape scene here because rape sells well." It felt disingenuous and out of left field. At the very least they could have made some effort to tie it into the masochistic play they kept hinting at.
The rest of the story was really cute, but the timing of the rape scene at such a crucial moment in the plot overshadowed it for me, which is too bad. It stole the thunder of his confession which I had been looking forward to and anticipating for multiple chapters.
Not shaming anyone with a rape kink, I know it's hella common, and goddess knows I've got my own messed up kinks too. Just wanted to comment on it from a storytelling perspective.
Such mixed feeling on this! If the seme wasn't so pushy to the point that a lot of this was noncon, this might have been a top-rated for me. I really loved sugiura, his facial expressions were so cute and he had more of a backbone than most ukes. Overall I still loved it, but can't rate it more than 4 stars.
I've tried writing this comment 58384 times and I just don't know how to express all the emotions I feel right now. T____T
Yu Yang is probably the most well-developed character I've ever read in any comic. I love him so much! I love all of them so much!
I also really loved the conflicted Chu Huan Wen. The author did an incredible job conveying the sense that he was reaching his limit at the same time he was falling hopelessly for the sweetest Ji Yuan. The slow burn between them was so pure! I only wish we got to see more of Ji Yuan falling in love too and their first kiss.
The plot was perfect, the pacing was perfect. I laughed, I cried. As soon as I can afford to, I'm buying all the chapters so I can support this masterpiece.
I hope the author gets to take a good long rest, but I'm also highly looking forward to what they create next!
The inner struggle and the subsequent growth that we see both of them experience is really beautiful. I always appreciate deeper BL manga like this.