Bokutachi wa Hanshoku wo Yameta

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This manga is about the incestuous relationship of two long lost fully related blood siblings. Hitomi starts going to the same college as Shin and joins him in the filmmaking club. They immediately hit off and start going out. At this point it has been made clear to the reader that they are siblings, but the two have no idea. There’s a bit of a social thriller element here because the manga keeps on throwing in situations where it feels like they’re about to find out, but they don’t, and the two just continue progressing in their relationship. I felt this phase of the manga ... was handled really well. It’s not really trying to do anything too deep yet, but the flow of the story really draws you in.

In the second phase, which begins with the second volume, Shin discovers that they’re siblings but Hitomi is still unaware. As such, Shin tries to push Hitomi away to get her to stop being in love with him, but also tries to support her as her big brother because he feels familial obligation. However, he also doesn’t want her to realize he’s her brother because he wants to spare her the trauma. But Hitomi on the other hand is just completely confused and hurt by what’s going on. This phase of the manga I also thought was well done. It manages to convey the complexity of the emotions that Shin is feeling really well. And how Hitomi reacts to what in her mind is being unreasonably pushed away also conveys just how much she loves Shin. This phase ends at the end of the second volume, after which they decide to continue going out despite being siblings.

At first this is actually pretty lighthearted. There’s a sense of danger to things in that they have to keep their relationship a secret, but for the most part things go well and they’re happy together. The focus of the story becomes less about the relationship itself, and more them living their lives in the context of their relationship. This involves various things like making a movie and entering a beauty pageant. Some of the side characters are also a lot of fun. It’s nothing too deep or complex, but there’s a good amount of good romantic fluff and everything is paced decently well so it’s pretty enjoyable.

The final phase of the series begins halfway through volume 5. Things get much more serious and much more angsty. The mangaka seemed to have decided to tackle the themes of the manga properly, but unfortunately the writing just isn’t up to snuff. Shin and Hitomi suffer quite a bit, but ultimately it didn’t really feel like there was much of any point to it. It doesn’t really feel like it led to either of them growing as people, or that their relationship gets stronger as a result. It also doesn’t really feel like this portion of the manga had anything to say that the earlier lighthearted portion didn’t manage to say just as well. Drama and pain are often necessary for a good romance story, but for me afterwards it has to feel like there was a point to all of it. Here it all ultimately felt pointless. And thus, that made the ending pretty unsatisfying.

The art in this manga is great. It’s pretty good when it comes to backgrounds and such. But where it really excels is in how it portrays the female cast, especially Hitomi. This is ultimately the point that leads me to consider this a great manga.

tl;dr: A manga about taboo romance with great art and mostly good writing, but a terrible final stretch.

I really enjoyed this series! It was a really enjoyable time.. up until a certain chapter. After that, my enjoyment went down significantly.

It was a really fresh experience with how passionate the love was, and the drama fed that passion well. I especially liked the overly determined Hitomi, the female lead. Any time there was any doubt or weakness, she was the one to stand strong against the storms crashing into the forbidden love. It was refreshing for someone to say, "I don't care, I love you and don't want to give up!" The rest of the cast is fine, but she is the star ... of the show... until chapter 40.

Chapter 40 is where I say the manga stumbles hard from what I felt was a great story to an okay one. I won't say what event occurs, but it changes Hitomi's character significantly and in a negative way. There are moments where her old self flashes in, but that isn't enough. The drama has nothing to resist it, and the love that is there twists into a form that is far more bitter than sweet. The moment "Shin-senpai" became "Onii-chan," something was changed, never to truly return. It hurt me as a reader, and it hurts even now as I type this.

7/10 Would I recommend this? Through chapter 39, wholeheartedly! I would say that section is a 9/10, easy! From 40 onwards..? It hurts, and it's dramatic... it's still worth reading. I'm not sure how strong of rereadability it has, though I may just read to chapter 40 if I do.

tl;dr: A serious incest story with an interesting enough execution but is let down by some horrendous lack of communication

*Review will contain spoilers







... Story:

The story follows a rather poetic tale about 2 characters who naturally fall in love only to later realize they were consanguineous siblings who were separated from birth. From there is focuses on the story of these 2 with their new found relationship and the challenges they face along the way.

Now incest is quite a relatively uncommon story in romance manga, much less serious incest (so no little sister harem member) and much much less with true incest (i.e., blood related) so to have one that tries to handle it in a somewhat more serious manner seems interesting at first


if only
people
could
fucking
communicate
half-decently

Seriously, the majority of the drama in this series comes less from the siblings' aspect and more because none of the characters (apart from the dad) can form coherent sentences. As a result, most of the drama happens because one character (mostly the ML) decides to play the silent treatment like some retarded tsundere and the other characters (mainly the FL) are left to misunderstand or try to handle his mental gymnastics

I'm not even kidding when I say most of the major drama in this could have easily been resolved with 1 or 2 sentences

Exhibit A: ML finds out that his GF (FL) is actually his sister? Proceeds to randomly act like a massive dickhead towards her in the hopes that she "forgets" about him
What he could've done: "Hey I just found out we're goddamn siblings idk what should we do with our relationship???"
done.

Exhibit B: Love rival (of course) comes into play and wants to steal ML from FL (doesn't know they're dating). FL can't really stop this because it would reveal they are dating (which is apparently no go because.........something?)
What HE could've done: "Sorry, I am not interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with you." Like bruh is it really that hard to mutter that kind of rejection given that you're fine with boning your sister and letting your gay friend know about it??????
done.

Exhibit C: Mother wants FL to have a kid after she's gone (reality she just wants someone who will stay by FL's side) so FL decides to break up with ML because she wants to hurry up and have a kid before the mother dies
What she could've done: Nothing, because she quite literally clarifies what she meant AFTER all the shit happens with them breaking up? Like how the flying fuck is it that hard to get across you're not wishing for your first year uni daughter to get pregnant right away?
done.


The actual romance aspect of this is not too bad actually. I think the moments they have together fwiw (when they aren't getting cockblocked by the universe itself that is) is pretty cute and passionate at times. If it wasn't for the brain-dead drama this could actually have been a nice series. Plus it's nice to sprinkle some of the parent's romance here and there


Art:

The art is pretty nice, it really does convey the "oh this is definitely a train wreck" type of series

Character:

As legends say, there is duality of man


ML - fucking retarded

FL - absolute chad
.
.
.
.
later becomes fucking retarded


Let's start with the ML. I completely understand his shock over things like he's banging his blood sister and stuff. That's completely fine with how puzzled he is about the situation. What isn't fine is how absolutely impossible it is for him to utter basic Japanese and instead chooses to inner monologue all his feelings in the hopes that the author misplaced the supernatural tag and the FL can secretly read minds or some shit

And like any other love triangle center, finds it really difficult to even contemplate the words "No" or "my own consent." But hey at least he knows how to steamingly make out with his sister when the time comes amirite

FL: Actually the better of the two for the most part. She fully knows about the sibling thing but chooses to stay committed to ML despite all this, even willing to toss aside her family for the sake of love. On top of all of ML's bullshit she still chooses to trust him and still puts her faith in him


That is until misunderstanding mother comes along and suddenly she turns into the type that easily misunderstands and can't talk, and the cycle of life continues


Enjoyment:

I think I kinda alluded to it already, but honestly the romance moments in this series are quite nice but my god, the drama in this is quite ridiculous. Honestly this is better read with popcorn in hand enjoying the shitshow that evolves rather than expecting a strong relationship or something