Kindan Series

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This is an updated and re-review of the manga. I want to first say that this is not for the faint of heart. If you have issues with adult males, around 20+ years in relationships with 14 year old girls....this may not be for you. If it is an "eewww" factor then this is definitely not for you. If you have such hang-ups but respect a countries laws of acceptability even if it goes against your own personal beliefs, this may still not be right for you. However, if you have no problems with romantic pairings no matter where ... they arise and with whom and do not believe in any boundaries of love (as long as consensual), if it can be called that , then I say go for it. As a reviewer I do think I should take some responsibility and forewarn people who may have more conservative leanings and/or those who may not be comfortable with certain themes.

As a note before I begin I would like to inform some people who may not know that in Japan the age of consent no matter gender is 13. Don't *gasp*, the age of consent in Mexico goes as low as 12. Yeah, 12. Think that's crazy in the US the state of Maine consent is 16, BUT teens ages 14/15 can have intercourse with those at least 5 years older. Minnesota has even crazier laws. As I said depending on culture there are various laws, respect is paramount.

The key fundamental issue surrounding this story is obsession and possession. It has an extremely dominating lead male who definitely doesn't take no for an answer and ramrods his way over the young and impressionable young girl. He has molded her into an object and this definitely moves into the objectification of women within a lot of these mangas. Women are demoralized, and in essence raped of their dignity. They forgo who they are in order to please, support, and adhere to the Alpha males lead. How then can I call it a romance? Because in some ways there is a free choice. The choice is actually poor for the lead female to be with a man who's always objectified her and what she's known or go with someone who wants to objectify her in order to hurt the lead male. (Although not a dominating theme it is still there). There is a lot going on in this read. You have the young girl portrayed as the quintessentially weak female that grates on one's nerves. They normally seem to use height to show the difference between the two, but the drawing of the girl actually made her appear older to me. More along the lines of 16-18.

Since I've gone over the characters a bit, I'll go over my feelings on the story. As I said it's obsession, possession, domination and objectification continuously in various story arcs. You get tired of the lead male, despite the fact he's attractive. You get annoyed by the lead female and her uncertainty but you deal. Her uncertainty is created most definitely by having herself being overshadowed by the needs of the male. This is definitely seen in their sexual relationship, which seems more non-consensual but then reluctantly accepting. In relation to Mayu Shingo's work, which fits this genre, it's termed "consensual rape" <----utter oxymoronic nonsense. An example is Akuma na Eros.

What I found interesting is that you can ignore the fact he's an adult and she's a young girl and just look at the relationship as a whole. In many cases in reality, women in a male dominated world, but also an abusive relationship, go through something very similar.This is where the story moves from being your average story of dominance to a bit more onto social life. The unfortunate issues of a woman's role in a male run world becomes pronounced because of the breakdown of the female character. It's bloody depressing as a female to see that displayed. The unfortunate part of this, however is the fact that they don't seem to grow from it.

So the story was fine, although there was no real growth. The art was definitely beautiful to look at. Nicely done. The characters were a disappointment because they were cliched submissive, weak, almost no-opinion female being overpowered by the needs and wants of an Alpha, misogynistic male. However, I did enjoy it considering the fact it grabs your attention hoping for some growth and for that I give it credit. Overall it was fine.