Teen Alpha Turns Out to be Teen Omega and is Traded Off to a Much Older Alpha as His Fated Mate
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Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series The Alpha's Bride -Love's Resonance-. 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 age gap, inappropriate relationship between an adult and teen, pedophilia, arranged marriage, sexism (specifically based on secondary sex), sexual assault, attempted gang rape, statutory rape, rape, baby-swapping/switched at birth, gossiping, classism, depictions of cheating (imagined), mentions of eugenics, mentions of sex work, prejudice against sex work, self-deprecation, violence, blood, overwork, PTSD, disordered eating, mentions of death, and mentions of being orphaned, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Riku Emori is an alpha in a fairly prestigious alpha family. He’s making his societal debut at a party hosted by the Shutoh family, a much more illustrious alpha family and the envy of every other. The heir and acting head, Keiki, is rumored to be on the hunt for his fated pair omega, which would explain why so many omegas are attending the same event. It is after a short encounter between Riku and Keiki at this event, not even one where they share a single word, that Riku suddenly goes into heat and is nearly brutally assaulted in the Shutoh gardens. Thankfully, Keiki comes to his rescue. But this means one thing: Riku was never an alpha.
But how? Both of his parents are alphas, which means it should be impossible that he himself is anything but an alpha. As it turns out, he isn’t their son at all. Riku was switched at birth with another baby by a vengeful beta nurse. His family, his life, and his identity are all unrecognizable to him. And just when everything he knows is ripped away from him, Keiki arrives on his parents’ doorstep, claiming that Riku is his fated pair and that he will fund his parents’ failing business in exchange for their son. Thankfully, his parents are hesitant, but Riku sees the writing on the wall. He isn’t their son, and this is the only way he can be useful to them now. So, he willingly goes to live with his new partner.
With a new gender, a new home, and possibly a new husband, will Riku be able to find himself again?
Review:
The art in this is stunning. The omegas, especially, are absolutely gorgeous. I do think Riku looks extremely young, even for a seventeen-year-old, which is always going to be icky to me, but I wouldn’t say it’s shota levels of uncomfy. Reiki is very well-drawn, too, but he looks very antiquated to me. Really, this entire series has a weird dissonance to it. Everyone acts like this is a historical drama with old-timey-style social events, but they are very much in the modern day. Similarly, Riku and Keiki look like they are from two different series to me, and Keiki comes off very creepy and snake-like. This isn’t ugly by any means, and is honestly one of the prettiest manga I’ve read in a while, but it has some interesting design choices in the setting, the clothes, and the character designs that make everything feel a bit off.
Admittedly, I started this series a while back, but I dropped it because I am just not a fan of adult x teen/high schooler relationships. Don’t get me wrong, I am perfectly aware these are just lines on a piece of paper (or screen, in my case), but this just isn’t my preference content-wise, and I really have to be in the best headspace to give it a fair shot. With this being omegaverse, it was already on better footing than most, but that can only do so much. Our main character, Riku, is only seventeen, and Keiki is very much an adult, though his age isn’t specified. This already is a very strange dynamic, and adding in the many scenes of rape or force between the two just makes everything that much weirder. I am a fan of noncon myself, but intermixed with a struggling teen in a forced relationship with an adult and it just feels icky to me.
I will say, though, there are some very good parts in this. After a particularly brutal rape scene between Keiki and Riku, Riku is clearly despondent. It is a very powerful and painful moment that is really heartwrenching, especially in this beautiful art style. Then it goes one step further. Riku ends up leaving because he is now afraid of Keiki, and rather than Keiki chasing after him as many tops do even after inflicting intense trauma on their partners, he leaves Riku to heal on his own. It gives Riku room to grow, find himself, and even build a family separate from Keiki with the omega adult he moves in with (and I really hope that omega’s story gets licensed someday because I would love to see more about him). It doesn’t make anything else in this more palatable for my preferences, but I did enjoy seeing some different choices from a top than what I usually see in BL.
But then there are moments that I feel were entirely missed opportunities. After the horrible rape and what we are to believe is a forced marking, Riku is mournful that it didn’t happen during a ceremony (like a wedding). When they get back together, I fully anticipated this would be rectified with a wedding. Is there a wedding? No. Riku gets officially marked during their makeup sex, which was so sad to me. Riku had very little control in his life, and while, sure, he was able to assert control by asking Keiki to mark him, I think it would’ve been so much sweeter if he had asked him to mark him at their wedding. But here we are.
I have to say, though, having finally read this all the way through and experienced it from beginning to end, I truly don’t understand why Riku had to be so young. I understand it is a very formative moment in his life, and the growth and change that take place during the period between high school and college is the perfect time to show his self-acceptance and confidence, but then I ask why Keiki had to be an adult? Sure, we’d be missing out on the whole CEO prying the power away from his parents to get revenge for his lover thing, but he very easily could’ve been a teen, too, being forced into an arranged marriage situation, finding his fated partner along the way, and then dealing with the fallout of that with his parents almost the exact same way. And to be honest, that whole revenge thing could’ve still happened as a flash-forward extra or scene at the end of the story. His impulsive tendencies would make much more sense as a teen, their ages would be much more palatable, and we could’ve seen some amazing growth in his character alongside Riku. It was another missed opportunity in favor of a more unsavory dynamic (at least for me). Sure, showing Keiki falling apart over Riku shows that this stoic, self-sacrificing person he has been forced to be is finally falling apart, exposing the real him beneath, but it could’ve been just as powerful in a teen.
Results:
This definitely wasn’t for me. I am not here to police fiction. I am an avid believer in freedom of expression within fiction, even if it is something that I don’t like or makes me uncomfortable. This is part of the reason I write these, so those who don’t like these things can avoid them. I gave it a shot, and I just couldn’t find anything redeeming in the relationship. There were strong elements like the beautiful art and the refreshing separation they have, but there’s just too much I dislike to enjoy even that. If this is what you’re looking for, I’m glad you found it. If, like me, this isn’t your thing, you can move on to something else.
Have you read The Alpha's Bride -Love's Resonance-? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!
