I've updated this review now that I've finished the series. The ending will be touched in its own section at the end.
Story: 6
I think it was at its best when it was basically a slice of life story, with just a stronger focus on romance than most. The interactions between characters were well handled, the plot wasn't overly complicated(minus the incest), and while following obvious cliches, it wasn't all that bad. I actually quite enjoyed how the story chose to continue further after high school, which is where most romance stories tend to end. The story was good while the characters were still undergoing development arcs, which unfortunately stopped later on. But the main problems began when the drama began overdramaticized, far more than the standard level of exaggeration all dramas will inevitably have. When dramatic portions are pushed beyond what they should be, the reader feels a weight that is completely different from an emotional weight felt a story, its just this uncomfortable feeling. It really feels similar to reading NTR. And in hindsight, a lot of things that happen within the story are just solved by Natsuo just 'being a cool guy'. When these very heavy issues are solved by a solution much too simple, there's just no balance. And no matter how different the arcs were, if the solution is the same, the story arc will feel very repetitive. Later the manga does take a step back from that sense, but by then many people may have put down the book. I do still thank the manga for a good first half though. For my thoughts on the ending, they're at the very end of this review.
Art: 10
The art is beautiful. No further comment.
Character: 7
I feel like this is where this manga did more decently, albeit not throughout the whole series. It spent a lot of time earlier on fully fledging out its characters; giving them a lot of depth. The story was at its best when that was still ongoing. A few of them are also quite realistic and relatable, which allows for a fair bit of investment from the reader. And over the many arcs that take place in the story, they get even more character development, forming very dynamic characters. The characters also have great chemistry together, and are especially great when together with the rest of the cast. But due to the problems the plot keeps bringing back, all characters introduced later on feel wasted, even though they started off with lots of potential. Characters also suffer from inconsistency, where Rui and Hina tend to kinda switch personalities with each other (not literally), with was probably intentional to express certain aspects of their character, but really didn't translate well, and came off as inconsistent writing.
Enjoyment: 7
As I mentioned earlier, the story too often reminds me of NTR, but other than that, I don't think this story is AS bad as many people say. There are bad scenes, but there's also good scenes sprinkled throughout; some tearjerkers included. I often say that a story does not have to be well written to be enjoyable, but that wasn't the case here. Due to the problems I personally had with the story later on, it unfortunately does have to weigh down a bit of enjoyment. But the fact does not change that this was one of the manga that had me the most invested. EVER. And that keeps enjoyment at a 7.
Overall: 8
In the end, I think this started off a quite well written drama. The story was pretty intriguing, and contains many arcs that pull the reader in. The art is amazing. The characters are very well developed and relatable. But it tried to do too much. It became a bit overbearing. I would maybe recommend this to most drama/romance readers, as long as you're not too picky. Would give it a 4, but the art, along with the first half of the story brings it up to a 5.
*ending spoilers*
Ending: 3
The ending needs its own section. Chapter 276, in of itself, is a decent 'finale chapter', so we'll toss that aside for now. What I want to really touch up on is the pregnancy. I feel that was added by Sasuga as like a last minute plot twist element. It was used as a plot device to bring Natsuo and Rui back together, but then she chose to go the Hina route, subverting expectations. That was... dumb. Really dumb. It just complicated things so much more than necessary. The whole concept on domekano's relatonship is already so complex, with the incest and love triangles, and even the freaking coma. Adding a child to the mix was not necessary. That really ruined the otherwise somewhat acceptable ending. I will say though, the reveal that Domekano is written by Natsuo was a nice touch (that most of us probably saw coming).
Ok that's the end of the review, but just wanna remind people to not send hatemail/death threats to the mangaka. No need to do that.
