Unfortunately, this story didn’t have as much of an emotional impact on me like I expected/wanted it to. The synopsis sounded really interesting, and I really liked some of the author’s other works, so I was eager to get to reading this.
And…generally speaking, I did like the story, overall. I really liked all three of our protagonists and each of their own individual struggles and concerns. Yuuichi, who is wondering whether he’s enough for Ayumu. Ayumu, who fears being a burden to Yuuichi. Ryou, who saw his child self in Ayumu. Honestly, I might reread this at some point; it was a good read all around.
But, I also can’t help but feel like something was missing? Maybe this oneshot could have been split into two volumes, for better buildup and natural cohesion of all the various story elements and plot details? I’m not sure, but another reviewer mentioned that the story felt unbalanced, and I have to agree somewhat. I can’t put my finger on it, and it’s throwing me off lol.
Like…there were a lot of emotional points, and I can see that they’re intended to be emotional, but it didn’t grip me the way the story wanted me to, so now I’m sad 🥲.
I’m rambling at this point, but oh well lmao. I also wish we had a bit more development between Yuuichi and Ryou—I would have liked to see them hanging out more and having fun :,D.
Oh, and did Ryou have intercourse with his step-mom?? 😀😭 Or did I read that wrong, cuz man uh😟 He has a lot of trauma which was never dealt with properly, so sir, may I suggest therapy!! it’s for your own good!! OH maybe that’s one of the things that was missing?? Like further improvement or discussion of Ryou’s trauma maybe?? Not a resolution but more,,acknowledgement? (As you can tell, I really don’t tend to plan out my reviews lmao).