Netsuzou TRap
NTR: Netsuzou Trap

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I first read this a few months ago and had a positive experience with it. Now that it's over, I'm revisiting it. Netsuzou Trap, in my opinion, does not deserve the near-universal hate it seems to get, but I will say that it is most definitely not for everyone and has a lotttt of stuff that may break the reader's engagement, so in this review I hope to not only talk about why I love the series, but point out to the cautious reader exactly where the series may go wrong for them, instead of leaving them to rely on more polarized advice ... one way or the other.

First off, NTR reads exactly how it's intended: like a soap opera with lots of yuriyuri tied into it. It is a ride of emotions first and foremost. If this isn't your thing or if you don't like drama, you're not gonna like it. Also, if you don't like cheating, also obviously stay away from this. Myself, I don't have any issue with either of these things and the yuri element is exactly what I needed to get invested in a story like this (hetero is of no interest to me, ehe). Moreover, it very overtly warns you that this is NTR genre/cheating, so really, if you don't like it, you've got ample chance to just stay away from it. The series depicts thickheaded Yuma trying to navigate her feelings as she is seduced by her friend Hotaru, going against both of their relationships - however, even though it's saturated with drama, it avoids the all-too-common pitfall of becoming completely mindless. The substance is very much there if you know where to look. In Yuma's case, her storyline is nothing out of the ordinary, however even though Hotaru, the aggressive partner doesn't get much direct focus, it's shown implicitly why she acts the way she does, and she is actually a really deep character. I didn't fully understand her beahvior until my second read and the more I understood it, the worse I felt for her.

The drama, the main focus of the series, is amazing. Despite the fact that her story in and of itself is nothing special, NTR shows Yuma's actual struggle to navigate her feelings clearly, and I wound up finding myself really invested in it-- throughout the story, I felt all her lows and highs, her confusion, her disgust at herself when things weren't going so well, and I'd cheer when things went right. In terms of sucking me in and making me live and breathe all the ~drama~ as I continued on, NTR was a complete success. The drama does not hesitate to stray into darker territory: NTR makes absolutely no effort to hide that Hotaru is suffering domestic abuse at the hands of her bf, for instance, and that is only the first example out of many. And of course the whole premise of the series is about cheating. I like the fact that this series, which mostly functions as a yuri, is adventurous enough to go into all of this stuff.

The series, in my opinion at least, does an excellent job at showing the two's raw lust and desire for each other. It does not hold back with the lewd moments. And honestly, it's one of the most wonderful and unique things I've seen. These moments are not out of place or forced upon the story, as you might expect with this sort of stuff. The way it's done here, NTR instead shows that a girl can, in fact, enjoy seducing, or being seduced by, another person who happens to be a girl without attempting to place their love on a pedestal or jump through a billion hoops to justify the fact it's between two girls - the only reason the two need is that it feels good. A lot of people call it "pandering", and for a lot of readers, the high dose of lewd may be a turn-off (which I can't blame them for) but I personally don't feel that assessment is fair. The fact that there's a lot of people out there who will be into this entirely for all the girl-on-girl action, in my opinion, does not and should not take away from the premises of the story or the style in which it is told (which is actually fairly usual for Kodama).

There is one thing that the series didn't do quite so well, however, and that's the ending, which I think is rushed. I can't really get into this without spoiling anything, but after the sequence of events leading to the ending, there was so much potential for the story and the characters (particularly Hotaru) to develop further. While it does explain a lot of the stuff that wasn't made explicit throughout the series, which was a concern I had at the time of my original read, it all ended so abruptly, and I'm left feeling a little bit left out in the cold. Had Kodama actually continued on with this series and taken it along the path implied by the ending, it would have had so much potential, and it might have claimed even a 10 rating (an ultra-rare drop) from me. But it wasn't to be, I guess, so I'm instead left with a still-good-enough story that remains squarely focused on all of the drama that led up to that path.

Since I don't have any better place to put this, I will also say that the art style generally has a cute feel to it, particularly the way the characters are drawn. That is a + in my book.

Final verdict -- I think a lot of people who stumble into NTR largely end up falling into one of a few groups and hating it as a result: people who are used to cute/innocent romance who hate the premise of cheating or otherwise get pissed off at the drama, people who like a greater focus on substance and don't appreciate Kodama's drama-focused approach, and people who see all the lewd moments the series throws at them and can't help but feel like it's just nothing more than an ecchi/fanservice series.

If any one of these applies to you, then I'll say it straight-up: you will not enjoy this series. If not, though, you'll find what in my opinion is a fine experience, loaded with lots of Kodama's signature soap opera-esque style of ~drama~. Sure, it's not perfect, but that's not the point: the point is to let yourself get absorbed into and thrown around by all of the drama and emotions going on. And indeed, NTR accomplished this very successfully, at least for me. If you're up for it, then give it a shot.

I came here looking for yuri and I've had yuri.

Whenever I'm looking for some yuri content, it's either very poor or it's too explicit (ending in hentai without much sense), so the fact that there's a story, even if it's not very good, does invite you to fantasize about the situation and give a bit of context, and that's fun.

If we talk about Netorare it has little of it. The role of the boyfriends in this manga is very superficial, especially the character of Takeda, who is there to support and does not contribute anything to the drama. Hotaru's boyfriend is involved, at first, more ... in the plot, but ends up being in the background without further interest.

However, all this is offset by Hotaru's emotional complexity, although I would have liked to have seen more about her traumas.

Overall it has fulfilled my expectations, the drawing is pretty good and hot moments are great, I recommend it for a cool, lonely summer night.

Take note that NTR is a genre about cheating, so Netsuzou Trap might not be for everyone. But this manga is also a yuri, so if you like at least one of these genres, it could be worth a try.

The story is what you'd expect for an NTR about high school students.

The art, however, is great. The backgrounds aren't special, often minimal or blank, but the characters are always drawn well, and character close-ups in particular look amazing. The sensual scenes always look on point. The author also does well in emphasizing the artwork and storyboard for intense moments.

The characters fulfill everything needed in ... an NTR. You've got MC Yuma, who's never really sure if manipulative, childhood-best-friend, yuri-love-interest Hotaru is actually romantically interested in her. Yuma is taken by Takeda, a stupidly innocent boy. And Hotaru is taken by Fujiwara, who is just as manipulative as she is.

The drama in this story is captivating, especially the intense moments. It might be a yuri NTR, but it hasn't really explored the differences that a yuri relationship could bring compared to a hetero NTR. There's much more eye-candy than emotional building. But anyway, all the characters have enough space for interesting development, so let's just see where this manga goes.

Netsuzou TRap is another example that proves the well-known statement that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

I would say that the storytelling of this manga was much better than I expected. While the cover may suggest that fanservice will be over-represented and that the story won't be a priority, I can tell that this is not the case.

Overall, I think the way the main characters are developed and the subsequent messages that the story addresses are very pleasant to read. I really appreciated its coherency as well. The author was definitely aware of what she wanted to develop with her manga.

The story delves ... into the difficulties of homosexual relations mixed with insecurity issues in an age where words are always missing, and the confusion driven by the need to discover oneself is at its peak.

While, in the end, I think the story is not the most original yuri I have read, it has a very clear personality that I believe any reader who enjoys yuri love stories will appreciate. From my perspective, I started reading, and from the first chapter to the last one, I was hooked.

In conclusion, a manga that I initially thought would be average has now become one that I want to keep in my library.

You know i came into this not expecting much given that it has a low rating. But i was actually surprised by ti. I found myself very much enjoying this. With nothing wrong unless i decide to nitpick.

The art is nicely stylized with both of the Female MC's being nicely made and pretty attractive.

The comedy is also pretty good. Albeit nothing made me laughing out loud. But still able to make me chuckle at it.

The story itself isn't anything to write home about but is nice cause it isn't overly complicated.

Only thing i can really think of if i had to ... point out something wrong is one of the characters in this is just a massive douche. I also believe he hits one of the MC's and he even shows a NSFW picture to people around school.

The other male side character. ( Can't remember how to spell anyone's name really) Is an alright character. But for some reason tons of people seem to love him. It got the point the author herself ( I think the author is a she) mentioned that for some reason this character is a favorite even though this is a Yuri story.

Overall i think this is probably a better story than most give it credit for. I'm giving this a 7 for now and i will probably update this to an 8 depending on the ending to this.

Ï didnt even know what NTR was before searching for a bit, reading this manga as someone recommended it to me, im at the first book and its already got some action.

Ive only read Citrus before, so going over this ntr series as something new is a little akward, but i really love this series. Not sure why, just seems to fondle it alot / like it. >///<

Hoping more of this to come in english, or ill just have to learn to read/speak japanese some time.

The neat thing about this series is that it has alot more action to it, so you should be ... able to pick this series up pretty quick :)

-Multi aka John

It is very difficult for me to give an unbiased review of this Manga. Mostly because I love it with all my heart. However it isn't going to be for everyone so before you jump in, there are some expectations that need to be set.

This is yuri focused. The focus IS not the boy x girl pairings. While I will do my best to stay spoiler free, this is crucial to one's enjoyment. If you are here for the straight pairings, this is not a manga you will enjoy.

Secondly, it does start with one character pushing themselves onto another and this "pushiness" is a running ... thing. It's riding a line, one that not everyone will be comfortable with.

With those two things out of the way, lets begin.

Netsuzou Trap is very drama-esque. In my opinion this drama always stays within the realm of 'gripping' and never strays into 'annoying'. The characters are all have conflicting personalities that ends up creating lots of friction that is completely believable. Struggles of sexual identity and coming to terms with it, jealousy, feelings of abandonment, the list goes on. It always ensures it stays grounded, making the entire thing very gripping rather than obnoxious and off putting. There are also only really 4 characters in this manga. There's a handful of unnamed side characters but the focus remains on the main 4 and their ever complicating relationships to one another, and how they each get trapped in this mostly self contained bundle of nonsense. I say that in a good, affectionate manner.

The manga is also fairly short. I read the entire thing, all 6 volumes in about 4 hours. It doesn't overstay its welcome, it doesn't linger too long on anything nor does it drag its feet. The story moves forward at a brisk but healthy pace and never really feels like it stagnates.

The art style is one I'm also particularly fond of. While there aren't any shounen-esque breath stoppers, the art does a wonderful job of making sure emphasis is placed where it's most needed. The manga isn't incapable of detail, there's more than enough scenes that are rendered in absolute perfect detail. Most scenes can be a little lighter on detail, however to the manga's benefit. Moreover, the artist has a wonderful way of giving the weightier scenes more impact. Shifts in art style, where things are given detail and where there isn't. It is rather hard to *really* express in words. It isn't hyper extravagant but again, to the manga's benefit. Regardless I rather love the style and it holds a special place in my heart.

Netsezou Trap often receives lots of hate and negativity. However speaking as someone who not only read it ravenously while it was being serialized, but also spent close to 100$ to get physical copies of the entire thing much later, I hold zero qualms giving this wonderful little story a 9/10. In my heart it's a 10, but trying my best to give others a less biased view I would see this as an 8 to most people barring those expectations/exceptions I set earlier. Though I think I would cause myself immense physical pain if I were to say anything less than a 9.

I love this manga rather dearly. It held a special place in my hearty long ago, and to this day that still holds true. I earnestly recommend giving this a real, genuine shot.