About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Kind of a Wolf. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Content Warning: There may be references to power imbalance, age gap, sexual assault, possession, mentions of religion, claustrophobia, gossiping, homomisia, invasion of privacy, being outed, trauma, and prejudice, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
This is the spin-off of Fox-Colored Jealousy. While they are self-contained stories, this title references characters and situations from the first, so it’s recommended to read Fox-Colored Jealousy before reading this title.
Hayato is a bright, excited, and extroverted man. But when his friends ask him to go out and hang out, he surprisingly declines, opting to spend pretty much every day at home alone. But, unfortunately for his neighbor Shiroki, a TA at his college, Hayato spends his time at home playing video games online, where his exuberant personality comes out in full force. He yells, hoops, and hollers, resulting in a less-than-peaceful evening at Shiroki’s apartment next door. Frustrated, Shiroki goes over and lets his young neighbor know how disruptive he is.
Thankfully, Hayato seems to take Shiroki’s words to heart, and the evenings are peaceful once more. Shiroki is enjoying his quiet evening with his cat Furball on the night of a full moon when Furball decides to go on an impromptu adventure. Furball jumps over to Hayato’s balcony and slips into Hayato’s apartment. Panicked, Shiroki runs over to Hayato’s apartment and knocks on the door, but no one answers. Desperate, he tries the doorknob and finds that it’s unlocked. When he sneaks inside, he fully intends to just grab Furball and leave, but then he sees Hayato. Hayato is in bed, moaning and groaning.
But Shiroki is fixated on the pair of ears and a tail attached to Hayato.
Review:
One of my main issues with the first title in this shared universe was that the bottom was super cute while the top looked super out of place. I’d say this fixed that issue a little bit. Our top, Shiroki, does look a bit like a reskinning of the top from the previous title, but more refined. Shiroki doesn’t look as square, which helps a ton, but his eyes still have a heavy and droopy quality that doesn’t look like they fit with this style. It’s certainly better, but I still don’t find Shiroki all that attractive. Hayato, though, is super cute, but I already knew that from the previous title where he appeared. Overall, this feels a bit more consistent and refined than Fox-Colored Jealousy, which is a win.
And along with the better art, the storytelling is much better. One of my chief complaints was how the development of the romance in Fox-Colored Jealousy didn’t feel real to me. That is not a problem here. There is an element of memory loss or loss of control, which echoes what occurred in the prior title, but Shiroki and Hayato are still present and involved in the romance. The wolf does appear, but in much shorter and briefer spurts, and even when it’s the wolf, it’s Hayato – he’s just a more primal, animalistic version. This allows the two to learn about each other and grow closer. Their connection is still based on Shiroki knowing Hayato’s secret, but the couple is not separated due to the wolf. The wolf only serves to bring them closer together, which I think makes way more sense than how the fox functioned in Fox-Colored Jealousy.
That’s not to say the story is perfect. We do have a slightly annoying misunderstanding due to an assumption. For the most part, there is minimal conflict. Of course, there’s tension in the beginning as Shiroki struggles to deal with his noisy neighbor. But, otherwise, as they grow closer, there is hardly any. It isn’t until Hayoto discovers a text outing Shiroki as gay that things get a bit silly. Hayato, in an intimate moment with Shiroki, admits that he saw the text, and in the throes of passion, he asks if Shiroki feels that way about him. In an instant, rather than responding, Shiroki apologizes and leaves. It makes Hayato assume he’s been rejected. Granted, it is explained that Shiroki has a history of people rejecting him because they find out he’s gay, but his reaction to Hayato, who was perfectly fine in a sexual scenario with him, asking him about his sexuality doesn’t seem like a triggering thing to me. It just didn’t feel believable.
However, this does lead to them coming together and sharing their thoughts and feelings about the ordeal. It does take a chunk of time, which is unfortunate, but the scene of them discussing how they each thought they were getting rejected before and that they were hoping to be friends, at least, was very cute and romantic. It highlights how silly these two are due to their insecurities and makes me believe in their chemistry. They don’t have another sexual encounter until the bonus chapter at the very end, but because their chemistry and romance were so much more believable than the previous couple of the prior title, the sex was also much more satisfying even though there wasn’t much of it. It’s a very sweet story overall.
Results:
I feel like this took all of the issues I had with the first title and fixed them, which is awesome. It’s still not a favorite of mine, but it’s very sweet. The art is more refined, and the romance between the two is better established. I do think the first title is worth reading to get the full context for this title, but if you have to choose one or the other, this is the one. It’s a really nice fluffy read, and I recommend it.
Have you read Kind of a Wolf? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!