Arranged Marriage to Make the Omega Naughty
About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Give and Take: Naughty Omega in the Making. 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 arranged marriage, slut-shaming, fraud, sexism, mentions of male pregnancy, and overuse of medication, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Kazuki is one of the top alphas in college. As a playboy, he has omegas hanging off of him everywhere he goes and at any time. But he’s only one of the top alphas. His rival for all the omegas on campus is the aloof gentleman, Kaoru. Kaoru isn’t as cool or hot as Kazuki, yet he draws just as many omegas as he does. Whether Kaoru realizes it or not, Kazuki sees him as a rival. The two are civil, but that’s as far as their paths cross.
Unfortunately, Kazuki’s bachelor lifestyle is threatened by his brother, who forces him into an arranged marriage. As Kazuki protests his forced engagement, he meets the omega he’s engaged to. It’s none other than Kaoru. Shocked and stunned, Kazuki is at a loss for words, not to mention disgusted. As it turns out, Kaoru is, in fact, an omega, but a broken one. He’s never gone into heat, doesn’t emit pheromones, and is so different from any other omega that most people assume he’s an alpha. While he also has no intention of actually marrying Kazuki, he does want to be engaged to him. He hopes that by being with a superior alpha like Kazuki, he will finally become the ideal omega for his future marriage partner.
Kazuki is relieved he doesn’t have to give up his playboy ways, but as time passes, he finds himself seeking out other omegas less and less.
Review:
The art in this is very inconsistent. It has a very antiquated, old-school Yaoi feel, which I’m not a fan of. It’s not the worst I’ve seen, but it’s certainly not the best. However, it’s not all bad. The panels where Kaoru suddenly sparkles and looks cute in Kazuki’s eyes are very pretty and also very funny when compared to reality. If you can get through the awkward and inconsistent art, some really fun visual humor can be found. But you will be disappointed if you want a more modern and consistent style.
Speaking of the visual humor, this is a pretty funny title. I wouldn’t say it is laugh-out-loud, stitch-in-my-side humor, but it is pretty funny. I’m a sucker for the aloof-airheaded humor mixed with the extrovert reactions. It makes for an overall lighthearted story. One of my favorite parts of this is actually in the little extra at the very end, where we get to see Kaoru’s nesting behavior. Nesting is an unfortunately rare aspect of omegaverse manga. So, when Kazuki mentioned it, I was as pumped as he was. Then we see Kaoru’s version of a nest… a well-built wooden structure with Kazuki’s underwear hanging in the doorway. I know I said it isn’t laugh-out-loud humor, but this moment did make me cackle. It’s perfect for Kaoru’s straightforward and practical personality.
On that same humor train, I like that Kaoru, though he finally manifests the key parts of being an omega, doesn’t suddenly become an ideal omega. His food still looks like garbage, and people still presume that he is an alpha, a misconception they never correct. It’s so funny seeing how everyone reacts to Kazuki and Kaoru, the two top alphas in college, announcing their marriage. It’s super realistic, as I can totally see Kaoru never feeling that he needs to correct people, and Kazuki is too happy to care. This emphasizes the humor and plays into both of their personalities, which I love.
Now, this does mention male pregnancy, and we get a glimpse at their future with a baby, but that’s all. Mentioned and implied pregnancy, and then a glimpse of their baby. As someone obsessed with male pregnancy, I couldn’t have been more disappointed. I loved the nesting scene, and with them mentioning pregnancy, I was so looking forward to seeing their pregnancy and baby, but all we get is a social media post with the back of the baby visible. I have to admit, just like their marriage announcement, I love the mass of comments from people being confused about how two perceived alphas could have a child, but the disappointment was overpowering. I need more omegaverse to have visible pregnancy and children.
Results:
This was fun. I have to admit, as usual, omegaverse titles always have a leg up over other subgenres of BL because I love it so much. The humor is fun, and though they are complete opposites, Kaoru and Kazuki make a sweet couple. I hate being teased on mpreg and child-rearing, but I’ll take what I can get. Is it a favorite? Not even close. But it’s a nice morsel of omegaverse BL. I’d recommend it.
Have you read Give and Take: Naughty Omega in the Making? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!