"Tomorrow, I will curse my father..." After meeting with his father who has been apart from him ever since he was an infant, Ryou suddenly time traveled to 22 years ago! He was sent to the late Shouwa period. After that, there's also his father, Konomi, who is just three years below him...! With the unfamiliar environment and the anxiety from the inability to go back to the past just heightens Ryou's worries. While trying to recover his transparent-like existence, his feelings began to change... A story released by Reimon, a long genuine series, first volume!
This is badly disagreeable, taboo even. But why do I take pleasure in this particular series? Maybe because of the way it was presented—although, I admit, the intimate scene is rather sweaty (still not a fan of those) but gawd, I'd hate myself for saying it, but it's undeniably beautiful. I hate how my heart beats for it. I'm up for volume 2 because I badly want to know what happens next!!
I absolutely love it. I've lost count of how many times I've gone back and read it over and over again. The story is so well done, and they are so perfect together. I couldn't even let the fact they're father and son bother me. I just wanted them to be happy together. I can't get enough of them.
This goes into tiktok-made-me-read-it pile. I was curious, sue me. It was.....in a way, disturbing. But at the same time, meh, i've read worst. Almost no plot whatsoever
Call me a hypocrite, but not only do I love “not equal” by Reibun Ike, I think it's one of the most profound and moving works of any genre that I've read in the last few years. It takes Yaoi tropes and wrestles them into a sustained cultural and moral critique that is astonishing in its audacity. It’s equally courageous by dealing with an issue that is hazardous for creators who are reliant for their livelihood on the good graces of a pop culture audience. I’ve written blistering reviews of authors who try to disguise child abuse as inter-generational love. This manga deals with an issue that is perhaps even worse. Said issue is incest, specifically, between father and son. I'm not sure I've heard of any kind of work, popular or otherwise, dealing with this theme. It’s near non-existence as a subject makes “not equal” noteworthy. Just mentioning father/son incest immediately triggers thoughts of abuse, manipulation, power, moral depravity and mental derangement. That Reibun deftly sidesteps these concerns by focusing on the sincere and authentic emotional needs of her characters, who start out as teenagers in volume 1 and then appear as adults in volume 2, is an impressive storytelling accomplishment. It helps that the meeting between son and father that leads to their mutual attraction occurs through a bit of magical realist time travel. In current day Japan, Ryou feels unloved and abandoned by his father, Konomi, who left Ryou and his mother when Ryou was a baby. Konomi, meanwhile, feels unloved but also profoundly alone in life. Having not seen his father in ten years, 17 year old Ryou goes to see him. Not long after he arrives, Ryou finds himself transported back in time, meeting the 14 year old Konomi in the past. Even though Ryou knows the young Konomi will grow up to be his father, the boys fall in love. Volume 1 spends most of its time in the past, showing how and why the boys fall for each other. Despite the fact that we, as readers, know the truth, the relationship between the boys feels genuine, sincere, and somehow needed by both. It's right at this point that Ryou gets yanked back to the present, disappearing before the 14 year old Konomi’s eyes to reappear before the middle-aged Konomi in the present. It’s the revelation that Ryou, his son verging on manhood, is the boy that Konomi loved so desperately when he was 14 that occupies volume 2. Konomi rejects Ryou once he realizes the truth, triggering again Ryou’s sense of abandonment but also Konomi’s own intense feeling of isolation and loneliness, this time compounded by self-recrimination. If volume 1 provides an authentic validation for the father and son’s mutual attraction, volume 2 deconstructs the myriad reasons why this love is not possible. Interestingly, Reibun makes Ryou, the son, the seme and Konomi, the father, the uke. While not eliminating the psychological and moral issues, nor the near instinctual repulsion we feel about the relationship, this role reversal does temper (or, at least, reframes) the issues of power, manipulation and abuse that such a relationship normally triggers in us. Spanning several years in the present, during which Ryou grows from a 17 year old student to a successful 20 year old IT tech, volume 2 pits the love the men have for each other against the moral and social strictures keeping them apart. The art, except for a few panels, is gloriously rendered and perfectly paced. In the few instances where the drawing doesn't quite match the rest of the work, it’s the occasional, oddly rendered profiles that seem off-key. However, regarding these few panels and going back through both volumes, I think what Reibun is doing is sacrificing representational perfection for expressive intensity. And both volumes are visually intense; riveting might be a better word. Only 1 or 2 other manga have held me so totally enthralled to the visual mastery of a mangaka. In “not equal,” visual form fits narrative function in a way I don't think I've ever experienced before. This work will disturb you. That's why, with these two volumes, Reibun proves herself not just an entertainer, but an artist in the truest sense of the term - a person whose skill and technique supports a courageous examination of the unknown, despite the potential for harsh criticism from others. Artists take us not only on journeys of wonder, but also take us to places of extreme discomfort. When handled well, we all benefit from their brave and tenacious exploration of new horizons. The two volumes constituting the “not equal” series are a perfect example of an artist stretching her wings, turning something that most would turn from in disgust into a work of outstanding beauty.
Oooh so deliciously scandalous! Forbidden love at its finest! Like honestly, I tend to stay away from this genre, but this story.. was just.. so beautifully written! The romance, the angst, ugh! ;-; ♡
Ok, so the concept of this manga is really messed up, but the story was so sweet and I found myself wanting the main characters to get together, even though it was wrong
One of my favourite BL manga ever. Weird, strange, some my find it disturbing or disgusting. But it taught me a great deal of things. It was a good comfort reread.
Con este romance yo ya sabía lo que iba a encontrarme -más o menos- y aún así la historia logró atraparme, conmoverme y dejarme llorando, sintiendo como mi corazón se sentía roto por dentro. Sentí un montón de nudos en mi pecho, bastante dolor, pero también me quedé inmensamente conmovida por lo mucho que Ryu amaba a Konomi, y de una forma incondicional que pocas personas tendrían.
Excelente Manga que te mantiene al borde de tu silla sin saber en qué va a terminar, o si los protagonistas tienen alguna posibilidad de vivir su amor prohibido. Me ha encantado
Sovint les recomanacions de Twitter l'encerten i de vegades, com és aquest cas, no tant ^^' Una història polèmica, amb l'incest com a protagonista, però amb l'atenuant dels viatges en el temps, cosa que alhora complica i redimeix la trama. La diferència d'edat d'adolescents (14-17) em grinyola perquè el jove sembla massa petit i la relació evoluciona de zero a cent. En definitiva, malgrat que la polèmica premissa es tracta amb cura i bon gust, tot plegat se m'ha fet massa dramàtic (encara que m'imagino que aquesta era la intenció). Com a darrer apunt, m'ha deixat al·lucinada l'evolució de l'art de la mangaka. Not Equal és del 2010 i només 7 anys després va publicar Pelea de sables 1 o el 2019 El taller del mago Sylvain.
Adding memorable yaoi/BL I’ve read. Ike is doing some complicated acrobatics to make incest okay, which leads to lack of consent and very messy morals. With all of that though, the story ends up being strong emotionally, for the son stuck in the past, for the father whose been pining for someone who vanished for 15, only to have him turn up as his son… Questionable in some parts, but this hooked me more than most manga I’ve read. The time travel scenes are far stronger than the angsty fallout later on though.
Honestamente, creo que es una de las mejores historias con relación incestuosa que he leído.
La forma en la que la autora desarrolla la historia te mantiene atrapado de inicio a fin, logrando que empatices por completo con toda la situación, además de esperar que realmente puedan ser felices sin importar nada.
Creo que la forma en la que se utilizó el salto en el tiempo fue bastante interesante y original, y aunque no tuvo una explicación que me dejara satisfecha, creo que todo fue bastante conveniente para la historia de una buena manera.
Mi manga favorito de Reibun y el mejor que he leído sobre el tema tabú del incesto. No solamente está bien hecho (y la autora hace un manga ambicioso con éxito a ese respecto) sino que mezcla el viaje en el tiempo.
Sensei era consciente cuando hizo esta obra que no sería del gusto de todo el mundo, pero a mí me conquista cada vez que la leo.
Polêmico Incesto é um assunto delicado para muitos, aqui foi muito bem explorado junto a situação de viagem no tempo que deu o toque final para tornar esse mangá único. Eu achei belo a forma como as coisas foram se desenvolvendo, e se tratando de uma ficção o tema incestuoso não me causa nada negativo. Gostei muito, muito mesmo. Gosto de obras corajosas assim!
This is such a good story! I really enjoyed it but honestly didn't think I would. The art was wonderful and the complexity of the stories and feelings really made the story good.
A lot more philosophical than I'd expected in places, as the character tried to rationalize the taboo of his love for his father as well as speculate the cause of discrimination of homosexuality in general. I think I was a little less bothered initially by the fact that it was his father, and a bit more uneasy at the realization that his father was younger, and considered a minor (by US law) during their first sexual encounter (although I do realize that the age of consent varies in Japan...and technically, they were both "minors"). Fascinating topic that brings up a lot of ethical questions, sweet and often sad romantic tale. This one will have me thinking long after closing the book.
For some reason, back when I originally/initially read this, I loved it. Now, I’m like, why did I like this time travel incest story? The story was okay, the time travel thing was interesting, but did it have to involve that particular taboo? Why’d it have to be his dad he wanted to get with? I’d have felt slightly better about it if it was, like, his dad’s best-friend or something.