He Who Gives Me the Creeps
I will not lie to you. I did spend money on some of the stories of this series, and I do not regret it. Some of the characters are not just okay, they’re actually good underneath it all. Ota was not one of the ones I wanted to read, not ever. His archetype gives me the creeps. He treats the MC like a pet. Not like a kept woman or anything, but like a literal pet. This, combined with an angelic smile on the outside and contempt for humanity in general on the inside. Do you know what we call this in the real world? A psychopath.
Ota demands absolute obedience, which makes him no different than Eisuke or Soryu, I guess, but again, he expects the blind obedience he gets from a dog. He calls the MC by his former dog’s name. He takes her for walks and refers to her pager as her leash.
Why am I reading this, even? Because it’s free this week and curiosity got the better of me. But I can already feel the bile in my throat and I really wonder if there will be something that turns it all around. He must have some redeeming qualities, right?
Side note: this is, obviously, also one of the worst actual titles. The Japanese original is called “A Mischievous Kiss in a Suite Room” (スイートルームで悪戯なキス). Which is also not great, but at least it doesn’t insist on the questionable alliteration. Also, behold the original icon: yes, that is the cage the MC is auctioned off in.
Pretty Boys All in a Row 