About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series Please Don't Bite Me So Much!. 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 dubious consent/dubcon, sexual assault, rape, bite fetish, obsessive/toxic partner, drugging, and drugs, as it appears in the manga.
Synopsis:
Yanagi wants to be cool. So he’s bleached his hair and changed his image to achieve just that. But even with that change, Yanagi still isn’t putting out the image he desperately craves as a self-proclaimed “plain face.” Of course, it doesn’t help that he is put face-to-face every day at work with a guy who embodies all of the attitude and aesthetic he craves for himself: Igarashi. Igarashi is the talk of the town. He’s good-looking, a bit of a playboy, and he’s got an aesthetic that Yanagi would die for.
Needless to say, Yanagi isn’t Igarashi’s biggest fan. Even so, much like everyone else, Yanagi can’t help but be drawn to the tall, dark, and handsome coworker. But what draws Yanagi to Igarashi isn’t the same thing that draws anyone else in. Igarashi has a unique characteristic: a set of pronounced fanged canines. For whatever reason, Yanagi desperately wants to touch them. Instead, he wouldn’t mind if Igarashi bit him with those sharp teeth. But when would that chance ever come about?
Review:
As someone who also has a biting fetish (I want to be bitten; I don’t want to be the biter), this makes me feel things. Igarashi, our fanged top, is hot as all get out. He’s your classic bad boy/player type, which checks all of my boxes. Now, with that said, the art is not what I would call your typical pretty manga art style. I like it, but the eyes, in particular, look thin, vacant, and just odd on the faces of the characters. I don’t think it is ugly, but it is a bit unusual, and I can foresee a lot of readers being potentially turned off by it. The cover doesn’t really show what I mean, so be warned.
One really odd and, in my opinion, unnecessary addition is the main character, Yanagi’s sister complex. I don’t know why that was added, but I found it odd and distracting. The sister character does play a role, albeit a minor one, as our temperature gauge for how Yanagi has changed or how he is feeling, but I still don’t see why the sister complex had to be added in. Not to mention, the sister is unnecessarily rude and bitchy. The sister, in general, is just sort of an enigma for me. I would have preferred the sister not to be present at all, but here we are.
As someone with a biting fetish, I have to note just how hot the sex scenes are. They really are a good time, but with most of these short-form yaoi manga, the ratio of sex to the story is rough. The story is almost always there simply to facilitate sex, which is fine if you are there for a good time, but the story, in this case, is pretty superficial. It’s fluffy and sensual, but there’s not very much substance. I think this is partly why the sister character exists as a third party to help facilitate the discussion of Yanagi’s emotions. I would have preferred there to be more story and self-reflection, though that would have lengthened the work, but it would have helped build up the love confession and given it a bit more depth. Ultimately, though, the sex is good, and the story is fine.
Now, while this does have dubious consent, as I’ve already added in the trigger warnings, I’ve also added rape in there because sex is used as a punishment in this case. Igarashi plays the straight player who is confused by his feelings toward another man. Of course, Igarashi isn’t willing to explore his feelings beyond sex… until Yanagi begins to stray. Then, all of a sudden, he can’t stand it. So, of course, instead of exploring those feelings a bit or talking them out, he punishes Yanagi with sex. I love the possessive top trope as much as the next person. Still, when those characters turn sex into a weapon to control their partners (outside of consensual BDSM play, to be precise), it becomes a whole other issue that I definitely want to note for anyone who isn’t interested in something like that.
Results:
I like this one, primarily due to it scratching my own kink itches, admittedly, but I do think this is a fun one. The art style is unique, so I can imagine many people not being interested based on that, but if you want a sexy time for a short time, you can’t go wrong here. I recommend this, but I am extremely biased here if it isn’t clear yet. If you have a problem with that, then bite me (yes, that wordplay was intended, sorry).
Have you read Please Don't Bite Me So Much!? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!