Bummed I apparently didn't write a review when I read this digitally earlier this year? I wish I'd written down what I'd liked about it, because this second read-through, in its physical English license, was kind of disappointing.
This time through, everything felt super fast-paced and...yes, I know it's the point of the story, but it was so smut-heavy I got a little bored.
Natsume has been recently broken up with - again - by a boyfriend who told him that sex with him just wasn't good. He decides that the best solution is to do what he'd do at work...put in the training and effort to improve his performance, and then seduce his ex again just so he can break up with him for revenge.
Towards this end, he signs up for an escort service - in the Seven Seas translation this is a "call boy" - and accidentally hires his housecleaner, because for some strange reason that I do not think exists in real life businesses, they're all cleaners during the day and sex workers at night.
Except when Kou tells Natsume the rules, the first one is "no coitus," which doesn't make sense because that's literally all they do? And it's pretty clearly indicated that he had been doing this regularly with other clients up until the point where he got too attached to Natsume and quit the night portion of his job.
Some of the plot elements felt thinner this time, like how his boss told him he couldn't have romantic relationships with his client, but apparently it wasn't actually an issue once he did fall in love with Natsume. There just wasn't much dialogue or anything going into any of these decisions.
I also didn't...love Kou sleeping with Natsume for a while, then saying: hey, you know how I initially told you that your ex was an absolute jerk for the horrible thing he said to you? Actually, he might've been kind of right, you being cold and awkward about having sex with him probably hurt his feelings.
I get it? And Natsume does drop his revenge plot and have a mutual apologies conversation with the ex, who seemed like he might've actually been a decent guy. But I'm just not a fan of blaming someone for being scared of having sex. The whole point was that the ex should've cared enough about him to work through the whole experience with him, and to take it at a pace that felt comfortable for him. So Kou initially saying that, and then changing his mind and making it kind of Natsume's fault really didn't sit well with me.
There are some sweet things about their relationship, but it just didn't feel like it was founded on anything more substantial than a physical connection. Natsume says at one point that Kou "knows everything about" him but that he doesn't know anything about Kou. And he still doesn't by the end of this volume. Even though they've already exchanged I love you's. (Too fast, honestly. Kou's was apparently added at the insistence of Mamita's editor, and I don't know if it really fit.)
There is a second volume, so I hope that adds more actual depth to their relationship. It's not that I disliked this story, exactly...but maybe I was trying too hard to like it the first time around, and I saw more of the flaws when I revisited it.
Un BL cuyos protagonistas se conocen porque el más joven es el empleado doméstico de Natsume durante el día y por la noche, cuando contrata a un un escort, éste aparece y se hace llamar sencillamente Kou.
Natsume nunca ha tenido buenas experiencias en el ámbito romántico así que ha decidido convertirse en un experto sexual y así demostrarle a su ex que es mucho mejor de lo que él pensaba. La cosa es que al parecer es algo mucho más complicado de lo que aparenta ya que da a entender que nunca se ha sentido por completo cómodo con su pareja y eso llevó a que nunca culminara una relación sexual –aunque también llegué a pensar que Natsume podría estar dentro del espectro Demisexual (no es confirmatorio).
Kou, por su parte, le ayuda a liberarse y dejarse ir poco a poco, enseñándole que tener sexo involucra mucho más que solo algo penetrativo –lo cual me parece una maravilla, de hecho.
A través de este volumen vemos lo importante que son los juegos previos, el sentirse cómodo con la otra persona y por supuesto, el permitirse sentir placer sin sentir culpa. Creo que los dos tuvieron muy bonita química y pese a que la mayor parte es algo meramente físico, se disfruta mucho porque los dos se permiten ser vulnerables ante el otro.
El estilo de Mamita es muy placentero de ver así que ya por eso gana puntos.
Almost good. While Natsume's struggle with shame is compelling, Sawaya is a blank slate. To make matters worse, they have little chemistry together. The pacing also isn't the best. It's so rushed! The story could've been stronger if it's two volumes long instead. This way, we have time to learn about Sawaya's backstory and for their relationship to marinate.
I liked 40歳まで so much I decided to read other Mamita manga. There's a lot that I liked here: Mamita's comedic timing is on point (the scene where Sawaya comes back as Kou and we can see his reflection in Natsume's glasses is my favourite and I screamed), the chemistry between the two characters is 👌, and also I like that Natsume managed to find closure with his ex boyfriend.
But I think it ended too quickly. At one point, Natsume realises that Kou knows him very well: Sawaya has been cleaning his flat for a year and knows most of Natsume's habits. And now as Kou, Sawaya has also explored not only Natsume's body but also his insecurities about sex. But we know nothing about Sawaya. And I kinda wish we got to see something. I did like Sawaya's pov where he was noticing stuff about Natsume where he buys tea especially for Sawaya because Natsume only drinks coffee... Wait, I guess Natsume noticed enough to know what drinks to give Sawaya??
I think the pacing could be better but I still enjoyed it a lot. If you got the toranoana booklet, we do find out that Sawaya has never actually dated anyone seriously before (Natsume gets in a downward spiral of 'What?? Have you always been fuck buddies / playing around??' 😂) So I guess they're sort of teaching each other new things as they go along the relationship.
One of the things that's hard to translate: Kou the delivery health worker is spelled in katakana and Natsume calls him katakana Kou in bed (he says hiragana Kou in the booklet but Idk because it was in the middle of sex). Sawaya is the housekeeping guy. But towards the end, Natsume is wondering what to call him and how to navigate their relationship. I don't think Sawaya understands what's happening exactly (tbf I don't know what he thinks about having these different facets to Natsume), but he reassures Natsume that the relationship and having sex is not part of his job as Sawaya. And also he resigned as a delivery health worker.
They were cute tho! The booklet is a nice addition to the story ☺️
The title means "Natsume-san wants to be developed/opened." Yep. It's exactly what you think it is. Mind the smut tag before you proceed. On the other hand, I'm an adult so if you wanna judge, get fucked.
***woensdag 24 september 2025 | paperback*** ⭐4.5 (rounded down) - really like it Translator: Caroline Winzenried
You have to be able to suspend your disbelief for some things. The strict positions, the quickness of how Natsume gets over his hesitations, and the painful sex but no lube being used.
Despite that, I really enjoyed myself! The characters are likeable. The drawings were surprisingly good in showing the erotic sides of the characters. Normally I find that aspect in 'smutty' manga very lacking. I am always questioning why some manga are plastic wrapped. This one really needed it.
The story is nothing you haven't seen done before. But the mangaka tells it in a way that I really enjoy.
Except the "I won't stop even if you want me to"-bit. Funny just how pervasive that trope is in the romance genre. No matter the culture or country. Apparently there is something about that sentence that really appeals to the majority of romance readers? It rarely works for me so seeing it so often is a bit of a let down.
здавалось би, це просто еротична манґочка з трошки silly премісом, де челу кортить стати "the biggest freak in the sheets", аби втерти носа колишньому — все ненапряжно й навіть трохи дотепно, але чому мене настільки сильно розвезло на почуття........... яким чином цій історії вдалось лишитись такою проникливою й щемкою попри все............ сорі, але вся та непевність гг, його страх та сором стосовно близькості (будь-якого характеру) мене просто роз'їбали ✋😞
мені напрочуд сподобався темп оповіді та невимушена органічність розвитку стосунків між гг. це було дуже симпатично й heartfelt! навіть всі нсфв сцени були вкрай endearing. як на мене, історія вийшла цілком собі цілісна та доладна. так, було б класно дізнатись про обох персонажів більше, якось то все розтягнути та додати деталей, а втім, історія самодостатня.
honorable mentions: всі сцени з обіймами; годинна мейкаут сешн на першій зустрічі? це було потужно; домашність; резолюшн сцена з колишнім, де вони один в одного перепросили; мальовка (!!); сльозкі
Wer mit den Werken von Mamita vertraut ist, wird auch an diesem Werk seine Freude haben.
Natürlich ist es schon sehr verwunderlich, wenn die Haushaltshilfe auch ein Callboy ist, aber wer liest BLs schon für die Logik? ;>
Die Geschichte ist ansonsten eher einfach: Natsume möchte sich im Bett verbessern und trainiert daraufhin mit einem Callboy. Schnell flammen die Gefühle auf und „Kou” nimmt keine anderen Aufträge mehr an.
Kou kümmert sich wirklich gut um Natsume, und die Geschichte lässt sich sehr angenehm lesen. Natürlich geht es auch heiß her, und Mamita hat einfach ein Händchen dafür.
Der Hauptkonflikt wird in einem guten Tempo und auf glaubwürdige Weise gelöst.
Panini hat hier wirklich eine sehr schöne Lizenz geholt. Generell muss ich Panini Manga an dieser Stelle einfach mal loben, denn sie haben mittlerweile ein richtig gutes Händchen für BL-Lizenzen.
This manga was so cute and I enjoyed it a lot. The premise of the story is interesting, the mc is trying to get revenge on his ex for saying that he’s bad at sex p. But in reality, the mc seems to be some form of asexual, maybe demisexual. When he hires Kou as an escort, he starts to develop feelings for Kou, Kou reciprocates, and the mc explores his body and sexuality with Kou. It’s a sweet endearing story. As someone who is demisexual, it was so nice seeing it represented in this manga. Mamita ate with this!
This was surprisingly wholesome/sweet when you consider the fact that the plot is literally “MC hires an escort to get good at sex to get revenge on his ex for saying he’s a bad lay but instead falls in love with the escort as he shows him sex doesn’t have to suck or be scary” 😂 I like that the LI falls first too, because it inverts the “fell in love with my escort” trope so it’s not icky. Mamita’s art is beautiful, as always. I love their attention to detail, especially when it comes to the blushies.
Mamita does it again! I’d give this book ten stars or more if I could.
I love her stories and she draws the hottest guys. I also like that one of her guys is usually age 35 and up. I liked the story. Natsume wants to get over his sexual insecurities and he finds out his housecleaner is also a sex worker. No heavy trauma, but all heart.
This is the sixth Mamita book I’ve read and her work is an instant buy and read. Looking forward to the next volume
I’m a sucker for green flag stories, so almost all of the ones I enjoy get a 4-5 star rating from me. I’m a simple gal and I like simple things ya know?
The story is simple but sweet and I really really like how there was no major conflict. A bit of angst because of the ex but I think it was resolved and handled well. Their chemistry is off the charts too. I was giggling and kicking my feet a lot with this one.
Me encanta como inician su relación y su development aunque he de decir que con unos capítulos más queda algo perfecto porque vemos como el uke, no sabe nada pero NADA del seme, quiere llegar a conocerlo pero hasta allí llega, no sabemos si sabe algo de él y nosotros tampoco es que sabemos mucho. Pero quitando eso, es muy bueno.
well…yes 🫵🏽🙂↕️ the ending was a little abrupt, but i loved the couple!! natsume is a cutie pie who wants to get revenge on his ex, hires a call boy who turns out to also be his housekeeper (because of course) and helps natsume realize it can be good with the right person <3
also a moment for the art style because it’s stunning
Another beautiful art style and 🍒 on the top that spicy uncensored scenes😉
The pacing was decent for a “sex lessons” storyline and since they have known each other already as employers/housekeeper the relationship development doesn’t feel rushed for a one shot. Would I have liked a bit more story? Yup but it delivered on what it said it was and I’m satisfied
This has been my favorite Mamita so far. I really enjoyed this one. I think my one gripe was that we don't really get to know Kou that much, but since there's a sequel I'm looking past it for now. This is definitely one I'll come back and reread.