About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Aggressive Sex with an Angelic Smile. While the manga may vary slightly from all other forms of media, it may have similar story elements and could be considered spoilers.
Trigger Warning: There may be references to rape, misgendering, manipulation, non-consenting porn, violence, blood, prejudice against sex work, child neglect, statutory rape/pedophilia, possible gynophobia, PTSD, sex work, porn work, and prostitution, as it appears in the manga.
Synopsis:
Tatsumi is a fisherman, and he enjoys it for the most part. Unfortunately, it isn't the most stable or consistent way of making money, and when he's finally reached the end of his finances, Tatsumi takes the leap and applies for a higher-paying job in the city. After getting invited for an interview, Tatsumi packs a few essentials and makes his way out there. His friends berate him over the phone, telling him that he will get scammed… again, apparently having a history of being lured by beautiful women.
As if the world has it out for him, after hanging up, a pretty girl runs up to Tatsumi, begging for help. He remembers his friends' warnings and intends to walk away, but then he sees a pair of men in black heading in their direction. Without knowing where he's going, he takes the girl's hand and runs into the city. The girl directs him to a warehouse where they lock themselves up to hide from the men pursuing them. There, Tatsumi does his best to comfort the girl… only for her to reveal she is a pretty man, and he has been drugged with an aphrodisiac and has no intention of letting Tatsumi go without having his way with him.
After all is said and done, it turns out that this was the interview for the job, the job being a gay pornstar as Yuki's debut partner. To say Tatsumi is stunned is an understatement, but without a dime in his pocket and nothing left of his pride, Tatsumi takes the position. Can Tatsumi make it as Yuki's beefy bottom, or will it all be too much for him to handle?
Review:
The art in this is nice. I particularly love how beefy and masculine Tatsumi is. When he's dressed in his fisherman gear, he is everything, and it is so satisfying when he is underneath Yuki. His ahegao is awesome and worth a look, in my opinion. Yuki is also very pretty. I'm not too fond of his haircut, as it has a lot of volume, often making him look a bit like a walking, talking cotton swab, but he is cute all the same. The artwork is relatively clean, though the sex scenes can be a bit hard to follow, with close-ups of censored genitals being impossible to discern. Otherwise, this is a nice one to look at.
If you've read any of my reviews before, you know I hate dirty talk (if you haven't read them before, well, now you know I hate dirty talk). I particularly hate this one because it uses one of my least favorite lines: “turn you into a woman.” I get it, they're doing porn, and this is very much a porn line, but it just burns my biscuits. Granted, since I already dislike dirty talk, a line like this already doesn't have much hope, but I hate the idea of a bottom, being pleasured anally, would “turn into a woman.” It is unfortunately very common in BL, especially when dubcon and noncon are concerned. I just hate the idea of a man being called a woman just because he's bottoming or feeling pleasure from another man. I like BL because they're men, so the whole “turning you into a woman” dirty talk is such a turn-off for me. It doesn't help that our top is often misgendered as a woman just because he's pretty as if a man can't be beautiful. I understand this isn't that deep, but it's just something that really bothers me.
While we are on the topic of things that bother me in this, while this isn't technically shotacon since everyone is an adult, Yuki looks hella young. It doesn't help that Tatsumi also refers to him as a kid, which is disconcerting. He's undoubtedly saying it because he's older than Yuki and, thus, a kid in his eyes, but paired with Yuki's design and its emphasis on his youth, it just comes off creepy. I understand there are young-looking adults, but when it's this pronounced, the character is called a “kid” and even acts childish; it just doesn't sit right with me. Narratively, I also despise how they had to give such a weird purpose for the director recruiting Yuki into porn. The director had a possible romance in the past with Yuki's shitty dad when they were in high school that ended when the director just couldn't understand what was so great about sex. Wanting to understand why the dad enjoyed sex by watching his son have sex is creepy beyond words. This whole series just screams creepy on so many levels.
What I do like is a bigger bottom, a rarer dynamic in BL, and Tatsumi is a big boy. This is probably partially why Yuki might appear younger than he is because Tatsumi is just so big and masculine in comparison, but that's what I love about him. He gives off major himbo energy, and having him be obsessed over and protected by the smaller Yuki is just so cute. Having a switch in dynamic like this is just everything. This would be perfect for me if Yuki was more mature-looking and the narrative was pared down with the director just being a porn director. It has so many sweet and heart-rending scenes. One of my favorite moments is Tatsumi and Yuki going out on a date around town, holding hands and enjoying each other's company, or when they reunite, and Tatsumi runs up and hugs Yuki out of nowhere. It has so many parts that I love, bookended with so many weird elements that make it hard to enjoy this series.
Results:
I really wanted to like this. The art is nice, and the way this particular artist does beefy men is *chef's kiss*, but it has too many elements that are just not to my taste to enjoy. I enjoyed the more romantic and fluffy moments, and there is plenty of smut for any degenerate. Still, some narrative moments provided are odd and unnecessary, and the character design of our small top just isn't my preference. This is a win as long as you don't mind dirty talk, super young-looking small tops, masculine beefy bottoms, and tons of smut with noncon mixed in. Otherwise, steer clear. It certainly wasn't for me.
Have you read Aggressive Sex with an Angelic Smile? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!