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pinkyrae's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Death, Homophobia, and Death of parent
icedcoffeeandmanga's review
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Pedophilia
endemictoearth's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
2.25
This single volume manga is trying to do a LOT, and I don’t think it’s very successful. There is a pretty horrifying depiction of the rape of a child in the middle of this pastel covered manga. Arima/Maria was born a boy and raised as a girl by his famous (former?) actress mother, which has led to some gender dysphoria in the young child. We meet Arima and Taiga when they meet each other in an acting class. The latter is very enthusiastic and idealistic, and he blunders into his admiration of Arima. Their relationship is kind of adversarial, but only bc that’s how Arima operates with everyone.
In a kind of unbelievable twist, Taiga’s detached father turns out to be the man who saved Arima from castration by his pedophile teacher (I’m telling you . . . it’s really rough and the description didn’t really prepare me.) I think it was too much for this tiny volume to tackle, and the ending seems a little forced/rushed. I think Arima needs some intensive therapy, not a boyfriend.
In a kind of unbelievable twist, Taiga’s detached father turns out to be the man who saved Arima from castration by his pedophile teacher (I’m telling you . . . it’s really rough and the description didn’t really prepare me.) I think it was too much for this tiny volume to tackle, and the ending seems a little forced/rushed. I think Arima needs some intensive therapy, not a boyfriend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
Moderate: Dysphoria
avidales's review
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Reviewer is Trans and Nonbinary
Deeply disappointed and disturbed by this book.
I was excited for this book and it's reported Trans/Gender nonconforming representation, however the the GRAPHIC assault of a child and the fact that this story is not about a transgender character made it unreadable to me.
The character Arima/Maria is AMAB (assigned male at birth) and forced to dress and live as a girl by his mother. He clearly from a young age did not want to dress or present as a girl and is obviously distressed by not living as a boy (his assigned gender). This is disturbing child abuse, not a trans or queer story. This "plot device" is utilized in many stories that confuse and misinform the audience about trans/gender nonconforming/nonbinary people, their lives, and why they are who they are.
This is famously the same premise as the 1983 slasher horror "Sleep Away Camp" which has a AMAB child forced to live as a girl by his aunt which drives the child "mad" and goes on a killing spree. These type of narratives reinforce the myth that LGBTQ+ people are queer due to child abuse/assault. This is harmful as it implies that LGBTQ+ folks are broken/disturbed and takes away from their actual gender exploration and identity.
Very unfortunate especially because I enjoyed roughly the first 3rd of the book as the characters are likeable and Taiga's (the love interest of Arima) attempts to understand and show affection regardless of Arima's gender sweet despite his fumbling and naivete.
Deeply disappointed and disturbed by this book.
I was excited for this book and it's reported Trans/Gender nonconforming representation, however the the GRAPHIC assault of a child and the fact that this story is not about a transgender character made it unreadable to me.
The character Arima/Maria is AMAB (assigned male at birth) and forced to dress and live as a girl by his mother. He clearly from a young age did not want to dress or present as a girl and is obviously distressed by not living as a boy (his assigned gender). This is disturbing child abuse, not a trans or queer story. This "plot device" is utilized in many stories that confuse and misinform the audience about trans/gender nonconforming/nonbinary people, their lives, and why they are who they are.
This is famously the same premise as the 1983 slasher horror "Sleep Away Camp" which has a AMAB child forced to live as a girl by his aunt which drives the child "mad" and goes on a killing spree. These type of narratives reinforce the myth that LGBTQ+ people are queer due to child abuse/assault. This is harmful as it implies that LGBTQ+ folks are broken/disturbed and takes away from their actual gender exploration and identity.
Very unfortunate especially because I enjoyed roughly the first 3rd of the book as the characters are likeable and Taiga's (the love interest of Arima) attempts to understand and show affection regardless of Arima's gender sweet despite his fumbling and naivete.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
*Graphic* depiction of an elementary school child being sexually assaulted by their adult teacher. The teacher also brandishes a knife and threatens to mutilate the child's genitals. This story is not about a transgender character, the character Maria/Arima is AMAB (assigned male at birth) and forced to dress and live as a girl by his mother. He clearly from a young age did not want to dress or present as a girl and is obviously distressed by not living as a boy (his assigned gender).softghoul_jpeg's review
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
what a beautiful one-shot. don't know why i kept putting this manga off, honestly. maybe it was because everyone's stated how sad it is. and i didn't think i was ready for the emotions i would be feeling while reading it. needless to say, it was stunning as a one-shot--it would have been even better if there had been a few more volumes to flesh out the story even more. i would have loved to see taiga and yuu's relationship flourish! i loved both of these characters and would have loved to see them grow more. but as is, this story was heartbreaking in its depiction of love, gender-identity, and ways in which we metabolize our trauma. my heart broke reading into both yuu's and taiga's pasts. they both went through a lot in their own ways and tried to manage as best as they could with what they had and with what they knew. i'm usually a huge crybaby, but i managed to hold back streaming tears. don't know how i did it, honestly.. and. uuuummmm, the internal scream i had when it was revealed that taiga's dad saved yuu?!! wtf! i would have loved for taiga's father to realize that yuu was the child he saved! ahhhhh!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Dysphoria
inky4568's review
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.0
Reviewer: nonbinary/transmasc Adult
Definitely no kidding on the Mature content. To be honestly I wasn’t expecting it to be very heavy on subject matters like rape or pedophilia because the cover does not specify specific subject matters anywhere on book because it only says Older Teens 17+. This was kinda a hard read to get through some parts that made me feel really uncomfortable that I basically had to skim some parts.
It was kinda hard to switch back between funny moments and tense scenes. But overall I do love the characters and their development, especially with the main characters in how each one tries to tackle their own problems and try to find how to cope with it.
Definitely no kidding on the Mature content. To be honestly I wasn’t expecting it to be very heavy on subject matters like rape or pedophilia because the cover does not specify specific subject matters anywhere on book because it only says Older Teens 17+. This was kinda a hard read to get through some parts that made me feel really uncomfortable that I basically had to skim some parts.
It was kinda hard to switch back between funny moments and tense scenes. But overall I do love the characters and their development, especially with the main characters in how each one tries to tackle their own problems and try to find how to cope with it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
mathildedhs's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
wellreadsquid's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I truly enjoyed Arima's conflict with his gender. The only downside is that I wish he hadn't been assaulted, but it made perfect sense to the plot as to why he was the way he was and how he was able to overcome it.
This is a short and sweet BL story that I plan to keep on my shelf. Though it doesn't explore gender too hard, the implication is that Arima is genderfluid and is struggling with how to live that way. I love the conflict and the reflective nature of his struggle. Definitely a must read.
This is a short and sweet BL story that I plan to keep on my shelf. Though it doesn't explore gender too hard, the implication is that Arima is genderfluid and is struggling with how to live that way. I love the conflict and the reflective nature of his struggle. Definitely a must read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
Child Sexual Assault on page 120-125.nimphrod's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
Moderate: Dysphoria
curiiously's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
rape/pedophilia, definitely worth reading tw's before picking it up. i sure wish i had!
romance was ok, pace was too fast i didn't find it particularly believable. i did spend the last half wondering if it was implying that gender nonconformity is the result of sexual assault.
romance was ok, pace was too fast i didn't find it particularly believable. i did spend the last half wondering if it was implying that gender nonconformity is the result of sexual assault.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Transphobia