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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I don't know why but these two are so stinking cute it's not even funny. Nemugasa's cluelessness is what kept me coming back.
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was frustrating to say the least. Maya was toxic and unlikable and Nemugasa was super clueless and dumb. They didn't get cute until the veryyy end. The back and forth arguments were kind of annoying. Maya was so overbearing and rude and when Nemugasa finally stands up for himself and gets a little attitude back it gets flipped around and everything is his fault. Sure he's clueless and is all we're just friends right? But the fact that it got flipped like Nemugasa was the one using Maya for sex was so stupid. Maya literally blackmailed him into doing it?? I don't know, I've liked my fair share of toxic relationships and characters, but this just didn't do it for me. There wasn't anything redeeming about their relationship. And it was just bad and annoying.
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
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
Questionable beginning but a solid end.
I do think it's missing some side characters - namely friends and parents I mean, where even are they? - as there is a lot of jumping between scenes of the main couple and I think it needs to just be broken down a little more.
I wasn't sure if I'd buy the rest after the first couple chapters, but after the timejump (which I kind of understand after the content of the first volume because how do you even talk your way out of that and be likeable) I'm more amenable to the idea, plus I enjoy the humour.
And who knew Maya would be my favourite by the end? Not me, that's for sure. One gripe I have though is we never find out why Maya decided to blackmail Nemu? Just makes the relationship feel slightly hollow on his side.
I do think it's missing some side characters - namely friends and parents I mean, where even are they? - as there is a lot of jumping between scenes of the main couple and I think it needs to just be broken down a little more.
I wasn't sure if I'd buy the rest after the first couple chapters, but after the timejump (which I kind of understand after the content of the first volume because how do you even talk your way out of that and be likeable) I'm more amenable to the idea, plus I enjoy the humour.
And who knew Maya would be my favourite by the end? Not me, that's for sure. One gripe I have though is we never find out why Maya decided to blackmail Nemu? Just makes the relationship feel slightly hollow on his side.
Update: Dropping the series as a whole but I did read all of this 2 vol combo. I also don't know the date I read this other than it being 2016 but I wrote as little of what I could remember down for it in 2023. So this is old but I don't really want to update it because I don't want to reread this shit book.
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Maybe it's because I'm 20, maybe it's because I'm not 15 years old anymore, maybe I'm not much more aware of how horrible everything in this book is, but the way how this relationship started bothered me to hell and back. The fact that Nemu just took the harassment (then rape) that Maya was forcing on him just angered me so much. Only the last 7 was actually something good. But throughout the book I was very disgusted by the "rape and blackmail is ok because they love you" narrative this game me.
-
Maybe it's because I'm 20, maybe it's because I'm not 15 years old anymore, maybe I'm not much more aware of how horrible everything in this book is, but the way how this relationship started bothered me to hell and back. The fact that Nemu just took the harassment (then rape) that Maya was forcing on him just angered me so much. Only the last 7 was actually something good. But throughout the book I was very disgusted by the "rape and blackmail is ok because they love you" narrative this game me.
CW: Blackmail, Sexual Assault, Bullying
This was a rocky start to the series. However, volume two was a lot better and made me want to keep reading.
This was a rocky start to the series. However, volume two was a lot better and made me want to keep reading.
~3.5/5
I was intrigued by this series when it first came out, but didn't pick it up until just now. I didn't even know what it was about, but the artwork looked good. I'm really glad I finally picked it up, though. Once I started the volume, I just breezed through it, and it was over much too soon.
Nemugasa is on a scholarship, and he cheats on a test in order to keep it. Maya sees it and blackmails him. Nemugasa goes along with it, but all he sees of their relationship is that he's being used, even as it grows into friendship.
Normally I wouldn't like these kinds of plotlines, but their relationship quickly grows into a friendship, even if Nemugasa doesn't realize it. Plus, given how obvious it is that Maya has feelings for him, and how much of a teddy bear Maya really is, it's hard not to like him.
Nemugasa goes along with it for the most part, and he's actually the harder one to like in their relationship. He's worried more about studying and school than he is Maya's feelings, and he pushes him around quite a bit. In the second volume, he finally sees Maya's and his own true feelings.
This series is quite fun. There are a lot of sexy times, and they are quite hot. But there's also a good mix of humor, and the development is really nice. I liked most of the characters pretty early on, and the art is pretty inside.
I really can't wait to get the next one.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
I was intrigued by this series when it first came out, but didn't pick it up until just now. I didn't even know what it was about, but the artwork looked good. I'm really glad I finally picked it up, though. Once I started the volume, I just breezed through it, and it was over much too soon.
Nemugasa is on a scholarship, and he cheats on a test in order to keep it. Maya sees it and blackmails him. Nemugasa goes along with it, but all he sees of their relationship is that he's being used, even as it grows into friendship.
Normally I wouldn't like these kinds of plotlines, but their relationship quickly grows into a friendship, even if Nemugasa doesn't realize it. Plus, given how obvious it is that Maya has feelings for him, and how much of a teddy bear Maya really is, it's hard not to like him.
Nemugasa goes along with it for the most part, and he's actually the harder one to like in their relationship. He's worried more about studying and school than he is Maya's feelings, and he pushes him around quite a bit. In the second volume, he finally sees Maya's and his own true feelings.
This series is quite fun. There are a lot of sexy times, and they are quite hot. But there's also a good mix of humor, and the development is really nice. I liked most of the characters pretty early on, and the art is pretty inside.
I really can't wait to get the next one.
[Read more at my blog, Geeky Reading!]
2021 UPDATE:
It's been a little more than 2 years since I first read this. I didn't really remember anything about it except the non-con, but I needed something to read that was short, easy, quick and didn't require a lot of thought - because I'm completely mentally rundown. I picked this out of a dozen manga on my Kobo, because it's the oldest and I was actually surprised. Going in, knowing about the non-con, was far less shocking. In the end, I enjoyed it A LOT more, without that initial shock.
I've bitten the bullet and bought the rest of the series, since it's now finished, so wish me luck!
--------------
Okay, first off, let me say...this story wouldn't exist without rape. When the blurb said that Maya would blackmail Nemugasa and it would result in "steamy action" I assumed it was because Nemugasa was the ill-fated geek in love with the school-God and that God was going to take advantage of his attraction. Nope. Nemugasa is a straight boy who is tricked into cheating on a test, by Maya, so that he can be blackmailed. However, it's not blackmailed into sex or a relationship. Their first encounter is nothing but rape.
And it continues. Nemugasa says no repeatedly, and...you get the point. Rape all over the place.
Saying that...and I never limit or downplay rape, no matter what the story...IF that part hadn't been rape, I could have believed everything that came after. I actually could see Maya's feelings from early on, that he was attracted to Nemugasa, but that it wasn't really acceptable for him to and he felt he had to make it out to be something it wasn't. And I could see Nemugasa slowly falling for Maya, in return. If they had come together with a different blackmail, I would have totally shipped and loved and fallen for these two.
But, the deep-rooted problem with Yaoi, as much as I love it at times, is that a lot of the relationships are centered around rape. And usually always of a young, teen age male who is straight, who suddenly and inexplicably becomes super-hyper-in-love with his rapist. That is NOT a message that should be spread to anyone.
So...I gave this 5* for the story that *could* have been, without the beginning. And I took 2* away for the completely unnecessary and graphic rape scenes at the beginning, as well as the unnecessary use of rape between two characters who eventually love each other. Isn't not even Stockholm Syndrome, because that at least would suggest long-term psychological abuse and coercion. Sadly, Nemugasa just falls madly in love with Maya's abusive behaviour and doesn't realise it until it's gone.
It's been a little more than 2 years since I first read this. I didn't really remember anything about it except the non-con, but I needed something to read that was short, easy, quick and didn't require a lot of thought - because I'm completely mentally rundown. I picked this out of a dozen manga on my Kobo, because it's the oldest and I was actually surprised. Going in, knowing about the non-con, was far less shocking. In the end, I enjoyed it A LOT more, without that initial shock.
I've bitten the bullet and bought the rest of the series, since it's now finished, so wish me luck!
--------------
Okay, first off, let me say...this story wouldn't exist without rape. When the blurb said that Maya would blackmail Nemugasa and it would result in "steamy action" I assumed it was because Nemugasa was the ill-fated geek in love with the school-God and that God was going to take advantage of his attraction. Nope. Nemugasa is a straight boy who is tricked into cheating on a test, by Maya, so that he can be blackmailed. However, it's not blackmailed into sex or a relationship. Their first encounter is nothing but rape.
And it continues. Nemugasa says no repeatedly, and...you get the point. Rape all over the place.
Saying that...and I never limit or downplay rape, no matter what the story...IF that part hadn't been rape, I could have believed everything that came after. I actually could see Maya's feelings from early on, that he was attracted to Nemugasa, but that it wasn't really acceptable for him to and he felt he had to make it out to be something it wasn't. And I could see Nemugasa slowly falling for Maya, in return. If they had come together with a different blackmail, I would have totally shipped and loved and fallen for these two.
But, the deep-rooted problem with Yaoi, as much as I love it at times, is that a lot of the relationships are centered around rape. And usually always of a young, teen age male who is straight, who suddenly and inexplicably becomes super-hyper-in-love with his rapist. That is NOT a message that should be spread to anyone.
So...I gave this 5* for the story that *could* have been, without the beginning. And I took 2* away for the completely unnecessary and graphic rape scenes at the beginning, as well as the unnecessary use of rape between two characters who eventually love each other. Isn't not even Stockholm Syndrome, because that at least would suggest long-term psychological abuse and coercion. Sadly, Nemugasa just falls madly in love with Maya's abusive behaviour and doesn't realise it until it's gone.
This review originally appeared on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2019/01/14/2018-mini-reviews-to-wrap-up-the-year/
A two-in-one volume in a series of m/m romance. And props on the 2-in-1 edition, as manga can get expensive, not because the books cost more than an average paperback, but because each volume can be read in an hour or two, versus a traditional book that would take much longer to read. The basic premise of Don’t Be Cruel is that one student catches another one cheating on a test, and blackmails him into a relationship. As the story goes on, it becomes more obvious that it’s consensual and that both characters have feelings for each other, but it takes a little while to get there, and starts out feeling a bit rapey.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2019/01/14/2018-mini-reviews-to-wrap-up-the-year/
A two-in-one volume in a series of m/m romance. And props on the 2-in-1 edition, as manga can get expensive, not because the books cost more than an average paperback, but because each volume can be read in an hour or two, versus a traditional book that would take much longer to read. The basic premise of Don’t Be Cruel is that one student catches another one cheating on a test, and blackmails him into a relationship. As the story goes on, it becomes more obvious that it’s consensual and that both characters have feelings for each other, but it takes a little while to get there, and starts out feeling a bit rapey.