Renai Shijou Shugi

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Minami Kanan delivers what she does best! Smut which takes your breath away with the mere beauty of the characters and settings involved! While the artwork isn't as magnificent as that of Kyousou Heaven, in fact Seri looks a bit unbecoming a lot of the time, the storyline is longer, though not complex or linear, more repetetive and predictable (and honestly, annoyingly maudlin) at points.

So Seri is excited about entering high school and wishes to do so with a boytoy at her side. Enter childhood karate partner and pain in the ass Tamaki with his raging hormones and undeniable sex appeal! How is Seri to ... blame if she ends up his "toy" because she lost a match she shouldn't have taken up in the first place?! Regardless, so starts their torrid little affair which steams up the entire 8 volume saga. And yes, it is a saga, and no, the drama is not going to keep you on the edge of your seat, but the smutty moments in between make up for it!

As the mangaka herself mentions in the author talk often, she wanted to push shoujo boundary with this story. In that, she wanted to introduce realism in some aspect into the love between Seri and Tamaki. So while tons of absurd things have to be accepted for the sake of the plot, like a drug which simply on coming in contact with your body immobilises you and how another drug turns you on so much, you will attack the helpless girl next to you, even though you're noble enough to tell her to make a run for it; she does introduce one element which I think hasn't been dealt with too much. The heroine's wily hormones! Of course this is just one subplot which deals with how Seri is a victim of her own body as well as a tawdry villain, but it was a little disturbing to read. Another even more disturbing villain is introduced later with a Norman Bates like fetish which is even more unsettling considering this IS a romance after all!

But yes, villains seem limited in their malicious intent almost upto the end, "must separate lovebirds". But each villain is dealt with sympathetically once they've done their dirty deeds, how there is a reason to why they are vicious now, but were gentle once upon a time. It gets annoying after a point. It's OK! Not everyone NEEDS to be a good human being! Another odd aspect that attracts attention to itself is how rushed the ending feels. After volume 7, when the author feels she's put two 17 year olds in as much jeopardy as is humanly possible, she rushes through the last volume trying to incorporate a whole year's worth of drama into 5 chapters with a conflict which doesn't sit well with the feel of the manga.

Feminism... Hmm, well, Seri should technically be able to protect herself against the repeated assaults she's exposed to panel after panel, but we'll surmise she's just delicate and in shock when the situation arises. Once or twice, she does try to put all that Karate training to use, but she fails miserably. Maybe THAT's why she doesn't bother defending herself other times, why embarrass herself?! She doesn't appear too pathetic as she's not in love with an abusive fellow, so she doesn't need to be on her toes all the time. As for the love scenes between her and Tamaki... STEEEE-AMY! They are one naughty constantly-hot-for-each-other couple! Well, he more than her! He gets it going on in so many unexpectedly public places, that you'll think twice about occupying the ice cream parlour booth next time! But he is so loving and fixated, that you forgive his rabbit like ways.

Character development is weak. The hero is apparently flawless, his only weakness being his possessive love, while the heroine is perhaps the most mediocre girl ever. She's not a good cook, is clumsy, easily lead, and a victim of her own desires more often than not. But he loves that part of her! Villainous characters on the other hand have, as mentioned, tons of grey shades in themselves. Overall, it's not a great thinker's manga. The smut is delicious as is its delivery. The couple is forever ready to entertain the voyeuristic reader and Kanan never denied that this is her forte in the first place.

I struggled to read it all the way to the end. The plot is basically cyclical- someone wants to break them up, assaults the girl, they overcome it, and then it all repeats.
If you like smut, there's plenty of it, and if you like the typical shojo couple then that's there too. But beyond that... the suspension of disbelief for the sake of smut is a little too much. Can you buy that a girl who it supposedly great at karate would only wait to be saved by her boyfriend each time she's sexually assaulted? Can you believe that a girl would be assaulted ... multiple times by five different people in less than a year? That two teachers would independently be trying to break up the couple?
Beyond that, the characters border on irritating. As I said, the girl seems to magically forget her karate training and act like she's completely helpless without her boyfriend. And again, the story seems to be constantly repeating itself which can only hold your attention for so long.

i usually love all shoujo manga but this one was just wow, like love strip at least shes not getting raped or watever the heck this girls doing even though she supposedly knows karate. and the guy omg he" loves" her yet won't let her decide wether or not she wants to be with him. i mean i haven't read that far into the series only 3 chapters and can't stand it at all
the art is good though
the characters are annoying
the enjoyment is like ugh idk who would like it
so yea go on and read it if you want but it'll scar you ... for life