I like L-DK for a lot of reasons. It’s one of my very first live action adaptations that got me into manga, and J-dramas starring Kento Yamazaki. From there on it was a slippery slope perversely enough. It's a story that has a lot of good memories attached to it. Reading the series again from the beginning this time there's a lot of things I like about it.
Top of that list is, of course, the incredible sexual tension that is off the fucking roof with this one. You would be hard pressed to find another shoujo manga that's quite as risque without diverging into ecchi territory, the latter of which I absolutely despise. Instead, the sexually suggestive scenes are tastefully executed, putting romance on the forefront, and GOD DAMN does it give you the butterflies!
Most importantly though, the sexual exploration and curiosity is not one sided like in so many shoujo manga. The female protagonist isn’t a virginal model of modesty and reluctance who is coerced into sexual situations by the male love interest. Rather, Aoi experiences as much sexual urges as does Shusei. If anything she's more open about it even though she clearly lacks experience. She has a healthy libido for an 18 year old high school kid. Shusei might not be as vocal about his urges but it's clear that he’s very much attracted to Aoi, loves her deeply, and really wants to have sex with her as an extension of those feelings.
Which brings me to another point that I really like about this manga. Aoi’s parents are clearly present in the picture rather than existing as vague thought bubbles at the periphery of the story, only accounted for when the story needs it. Though they live in a different town, hence Aoi cohabiting with her boyfriend, they are a vocal presence throughout the story. Aoi's father even goes so far as to set up clear boundaries regarding her relationship with Shusei. He stipulates early on that one condition for them living together is that they refrain from sex till graduation. This, as Aoi clearly explains later on, is to prevent any kind of accidental pregnancy and not because her parents don’t trust these kids to be responsible.
Based on how very conservative Japanese society is, especially as depicted in this manga, it made sense to me for the parents to draw boundaries for the kids. More so, since in most manga the parents are often completely absent or somehow OK with their kids marrying while still in high school.
This does quickly veer off into crazy, overprotective father territory where, at one point, the father actually gets jealous of Shusei for holding his new baby. Like the guy actually though damn this kid looks better with my wife and child than I do gotta get mad for that! WUT??? I’m so glad we didn’t have to deal with that shit for too long!
Other than that, I’m also just so in love with the way the manga develops the relationship between our two central characters. There is a lot of emphasis, within the plot and its characters, on the folly of judging people based on their outward appearances. There is a thirst for deeper connections overlooking superficial ones. Our two main characters fall in love as they come to depend more on each other in their everyday lives and from there, understanding grows.
Throughout the manga there's also a sharp contrast between Aoi and the other girls who thirst after Shusei based on his good looks and what they perceive as a boost in status should they be seen with him. Shusei, on the other hand, only shows interest in women with whom he has some kind of intellectual connection.
Which is not to say that Aoi is pitched as a stereotypical snowflake with no female friends. Her friendship with her best friend, while initially staged as fodder for drama, doesn’t go that way. I don’ t understand when rival girls in manga get pissed that the hot they were interested in rejects them and goes for someone else instead. You don’t own people and thinking that way is pretty dumb.
Aoi does have a pretty solid friendship even if her friend disappears from the story for a few chapters and is only mentioned in passing here and there. Aoi severely lacks female friends of any kind. Even the friends she makes in her new class are there in the story because of their connection to Shusei and serve as a cause of romantic tension.
Shusei’s love rival on the other hand is just delightful. He's sweet and kind with just the right amount of sass and manliness. He went out of his way to be kind to Aoi but also respects her boundaries and her decision to reject him when he time comes.
The manga is still ongoing which sucks because I would really like to know what happens in the end. Overall up to Vol. 24, it still remains one of my favorite shoujo manga with some solid, solid characters, romance, and plot with minimum annoyances. 4 stars over all rating.