Married Couple Tell Their Love Story to Their Daughter
About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series How My Daddies Became Mates. 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 male pregnancy, sexual assault, prejudice, sexism (specifically toward secondary sex), violence, blood, gossiping, self harm, mentions of animal abuse, vandalism, perceived cheating, mentions of underage drinking, gang activity, mentions of death, child neglect, self-deprecation, slut-shaming, kidnapping, and lost children, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Aoi, an omega, and Akane, an alpha, have been happily married for many years, and together for even longer. This loving partnership has resulted in their spunky daughter, Shima. Shima loves her daddies and desperately wants to know how they became mates. So, Akane and Aoi tell their love story. However, despite the more romantic and more G-rated version they tell Shima, the real story starts back when they were in high school.
More importantly, back when Aoi and Akane were enemies, long before they were ever lovers.
This is the story of two delinquents, an omega and an alpha, and how, despite their differences, they end up falling head-over-heels for one another.
Review:
This is certainly not the cleanest art style out there, but when it is clean, it is stunning. This story also spans two volumes, and I have to admit that the second volume has some gorgeous panels. If you don’t mind sketchiness and inconsistencies with overall beautiful art, this is well worth a look. I also love the design of Aoi. Typically, with male omegas, they are given much smaller and softer features. Aoi is very beautiful, but he’s depicted as an average man, which I appreciate. I’m a sucker for dainty and beautiful omegas, but I love more average, masculine, and rough-and-tumble omegas, too (my own omegaverse novel series features both types, so I’m all about every type of omega).
Now, just because male omegas don’t appear all that different from male betas or alphas doesn’t mean there isn’t prejudice. I actually think the depiction of sexism and prejudice against the different secondary sexes in this series is some of the strongest out there because it’s much more subtle. Well, most of it is. There is, as usual, the sexual assault and slut-shaming elements we are all familiar with, but there are the much more micro levels of sexism that occur that I don’t think are as prevalent or pronounced in other omegaverse series. There is a poignant scene where Aoi is out drinking, and his being a male omega is called out for everyone to hear. Suddenly, he’s surrounded by people who are questioning him about being an omega and even talking about him like he’s a zoo animal or something similar – there is a dehumanization of male omegas here presented in a very casual and seemingly socially acceptable way, which is powerfully disturbing in its subtlety. I would love to see more of this in other omegaverse stories.
But enough about that. Let’s talk about the core of this: the romance. With this only being two volumes long, it is a bit of a whirlwind, but I love how it’s presented. There is a suggestion that the immediate attraction between Aoi and Akane is because of fate, which I am a sucker for, but it’s not heavily explored. It’s just a suggestion, and, in a way, I think I like that more. There isn’t this immense pressure to be together, and, in reality, there are multiple times for various reasons that they choose to separate, albeit for minute amounts of time, but they always end up back together. It’s romantic and beautiful, what more can you ask for?
I also have to mention how much I adore established couple stories, especially in the omegaverse. If this hadn’t been set up as a flashback story, we would’ve ended up with my common complaint of too little child-rearing, or little to no mpreg. Thankfully, we get lots of yummy instances where Aoi and Akane raise and care for Shima. While I could always use more, I love that we get as much as we do since this is framed in the present and looks back at their love story. I also adore that we see their love transition through significant life moments. We have the initial high school romance, which moves into a relationship during college, which, of course, culminates in them dealing with being parents as well as partners in the present. Seeing how each stage changes their relationship is immensely satisfying. Really, my only complaint is that we don’t get more (also, I really wanted to see the side couple relationships, but I’m just greedy like that).
Results:
If you’ve been around my reviews for a while, then I think it’s no surprise that I love omegaverse, and this is no exception. While this is a bit of a whirlwind romance, it doesn’t throw the love and smut in your face and is artfully subtle in how our characters grow together, fall in love, and then change as they transition through different parts of life. I’ve been hungry for more child-rearing content, and alongside the romance and smut, this has some very sweet child-rearing, which I adore. I have to admit, while it may not be the best omegaverse of all time, this is one of my favorites. I highly recommend it.
Have you read How My Daddies Became Mates? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!