This is a "romantic" story between a twenty-year-old and a forty-year-old, student and teacher. That already sucks. It's a relationship based heavily on dominance: the teacher has control over Kim Garam because he's in a superior position, and obviously, Garam will do anything to receive compliments from him, like all of the professor's student wants. The dynamic doesn't change. The teacher remains someone who uses his power over Garam. Furthermore, the concept that "love cures everything" is a concept that makes me sick.
I also think there are so many people who want the two of them to end up together because this work has a predominantly female readership. Society teaches us that we must "tame" men, grit our teeth and tolerate men's behavior. It's no coincidence that this dynamic is so prevalent in romance novels. In fact, I'm 100% convinced that if this had been a WLW story, there wouldn't have been so much desire to see them together until the end. Lesbian couples are already much more hated, especially when they're complicated. I've really noticed this difference, especially if I notice the difference between how a couple like vi and catlyn are treated from arcane. But in this story the professor becomes docile overnight. How is that possible? Apparently, with the power of love. Of course. Furthermore, this back-and-forth is boring: Garam gets hurt, acts offended, they don't talk and it ends or with sex or with the professor plays the piano a bit, Garam says "with the power of music, anything is possible," and this is repeated OVER AND OVER. After a while, it's enough. Furthermore, the cherry on the cake is that the professor completely doesn't realize he's a piece of shit. In the reviews, Jeffrey it was criticized when his behavior is not different from the professor: neither of them knows he's a piece of shit, and they justify their behavior. They said "at least the professor knows that he is evil" but that's not true, the professor knows he hurts people because they told that to him, but then he can't figure out which of his actions are wrong. Jeffrey is a victim of the professor, and he gives all of that excuse he wants the respect of the professor. In the ather heand the professor is a genius, frankly a child prodigy, and very often these people have a lot of problems relating to people, but that doesn't justify anything. Child prodigies suffer from the social pressure placed on them. The teacher was immediately introduced to this world, everyone always reminded him that he was "born for music." This inevitably leads you to 1) give less importance to everything else and 2) always give your best even at the cost of self-sacrifice, because if you fail, you are no longer "the child prodigy."
That's why he drives all his students to exhaustion, because that's most likely what others have done to him and that's what he's done to himselfto meet people's expectations
In fact, I'm very sorry that it isn't mentioned enough, it would have been very interesting also because it's a topic that isn't talked about much. Even the fact that he's described as "non-human" leads to a complete downplaying of what he does.
If he is not human then if he behaves like a non-human it is not something new, but it is a simplistic way to give an explanation to the behavior of a human being.
I also find the myth of Eurydice and Orpheus quite distorted. Orpheus turns away precisely because he loves Eurydice; this is one of the key points of the myth. But if we want to make a comparison, the professor never turns around to look at Garam, because he knows he's following him, no matter what evil he is. Initially, I was hoping the work would take a more dramatic direction, like the two of them being together, but with the idea that they were together not out of love, but rather out of an obsessive need they have. Because that's what it is: obsession. The professor isn't "healing."Also the fact that everyone around Garam says the professor is "sweeter" now simply because they see them talking. Like... The only one who can stand him is literally Kim Garam; without him, as we've seen, he's completely alone. I was hoping it would take this more tormented direction: a victim who doesn't want to heal and his tormentor. But I think it'll end up as a great, squalid romance, I hope is not the case.
I'm going to write a fairly long comment where I'll give my opinion on this manga and also criticize manga written by women. I realize manga is generally read by women who fetishize gay men, but I feel like we're taking a bit of a dump here. It's nothing new to see a completely toxic gay couple in manga, with all the girls rooting for them. But I think very often when women try to write manga, they completely dehumanize gay men. First of all, this is a "romantic" story between a twenty-year-old and a forty-year-old, student and teacher. That already sucks. It's a relationship based heavily on dominance: the teacher has control over Kim Garam because he's a difficult superior to please, and obviously, Garam will do anything to receive compliments from him. The dynamic doesn't change. The teacher remains someone who uses his power over Garam. Furthermore, the concept that "amoew cures everything" is a concept so perpetuated by us women that it makes me sick. We women are constantly taught that with "our love" we can "cure" these sick men. Well, you can't. Yet here, apparently, it is possible. The professor becomes docile overnight. How is that possible? Apparently, with the power of love. Of course. Furthermore, this back-and-forth is boring: Garam gets hurt, acts offended, the professor plays the piano a bit, Garam says "with the power of music, anything is possible," and this is repeated OVER AND OVER. After a while, it's enough. Furthermore, the icing on the cake is that the professor completely doesn't realize he's a piece of shit. In the reviews, both Jeffrey and himself are criticized as victims who behave no differently from the professor: neither of them knows he's a piece of shit, and they justify their behavior. The fact that the professor can't say it isn't because he has difficulty speaking, but because, as Literally showed us, he doesn't even realize his mistake. And I'm sorry, but I immediately made a comparison to the domestic violence women suffer. Men who beat women, just a bouquet of flowers and everything is known. I also find the myth of Eurydice and Orpheus quite distorted. Orpheus turns away precisely because he loves Eurydice; this is one of the key points of the myth. But if we want to make a comparison, the professor never turns around to look at Garam, because he knows she's following him, no matter what evil he does. Initially, I was hoping the work would take a more dramatic direction, like the two of them being together, but with the idea that they were together not out of love, but rather out of an obsessive need they have. Because that's what it is: obsession. The professor isn't "healing." The only one who can stand him is literally Kim Garam; without him, as we've seen, he's completely alone. I was hoping it would take this more tormented direction: a victim who doesn't want to heal and her tormentor. But I think it'll end up as a great, squalid romance. Too bad. It could have been a beautiful work.