When I first read this manga many years ago I enjoyed it so much that I reread it again immediately afterwards. But there was something about it that made it hard for me to consider it a favourite even though I liked it so much. Now that I read it again after many years I still see the appeal. The manga has some amazing pacing for a romance manga: All the chapters feel relevant to the story yet it is not rushed. Sadly the manga does have many flaws. The story starts with Daisuke saying that he is not interested in our heroine Aikawa because of how she shirks away from men. Maybe this is where the title comes into play? She acts bitter towards men even though she is a virgin. Or that is what Daisuke assumes. Soon he finds out that she was a victim of sexual abuse for years and has given birth to a child which has been given up for adoption. He cannot believe it at first but gradually accepts the facts and falls in love with her. She on her part lets him get close because she believes what he said when he proclaimed he was not interested in her. And of course she gradually develops feelings as well. This heavy setting helps the manga avoid some of the typical romance manga cliches. For example there is no need for the usual forced indecision and misunderstandings since there is a perfectly good and natural reason why the main characters dont instantly get together. There are two very typical cliche characters in the form of the bitchy jealous girl and the childhood friend. However the way these two characters act properly embraces these traits. The childhood friend really acts like she knows that Daisuke is not interested in her and the bitchy girl is really forcing herself onto Daisuke. Which is partially his fault since he is an idiot and he leads her on at first. All of the characters besides Aikawa are a bit mean in some way while still being nice overall. This is great because it makes them feel more real. However they still lack any kind of depth. And the manga does not handle this meanness in a meaningful way. Whenever a character does or says something mean it is ignored or forgiven instantly. A jarring example of this is the moment where Aikawa tells one of the other characters that she has given birth to the child of her stepfather. This character then says that this makes them jealous of Aikawa... I mean... Really??? There is a reason for the character feeling this way but this reason is not enough by any means. I could accept this if it was just this character not thinking things through and saying it out of frustration. But Aikawa does not protest at all. And even worse the manga itself doesnt do anything to show that it is not ok to say this. At least when there was a false rape accusation one of the characters thought this was not ok even though all the others were apparently fine with it... The ending of the manga is also really bad because it completely focuses on their feelings of not feeling good enough for each other. This overemphasis kills most of the feeling of reward the reader would normally feel for them finally getting together. The lack of exploration of the topic and the shallow characters prevent the story from becoming anything special. However it could still have been an entertaining read due to the great pacing and because of how the characters are realistic in some aspects. But sadly the aforementioned lack of consequences really ruins it.
50 /100
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