Single Dad Meets Ex-Host
About:
Warning:
This review will contain spoilers for the manga and anime series The Little Bird Sleeps by the Sea. 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 death, adoption, being orphaned, gossiping, self-deprecation, mentions of child abandonment, sexism, overwork, excessive drinking, sex work, cheating (not between the main couple), bullying, violence, strained familial relationships, typhoons, trauma, mentions of chronic illness, child neglect, pseudo-incest (not between the main couple), attempted suicide, and abuse, as they appear in the manga.
Synopsis:
Yuichi and his nephew Ayumu have just moved to a new house by the sea. Unfortunately, it’s not a move predicated on happy things. Ayumu’s mother, his only parent, and Yuichi’s sister unfortunately passed away alongside their respective grandparents and parents, leaving Ayumu orphaned and Yuichi left to pick up the pieces. Unwilling to let Ayumu get passed off to an orphanage, Yuichi adopts him as his own, and hopes moving somewhere new will give them the chance they need to start over. Despite Yuichi’s best efforts, just moving isn’t enough to perk up the aloof Ayumu.
As they grow accustomed to new schools, new jobs, and the new neighborhood, they come upon a local deli. The deli is quite popular, thanks in part to the very attractive and overly attentive owner, Ryo. Ryo is more than happy to shuttle the new little family around town and help them when he can. He even makes it a point to get to know Ayumu. However, Yuichi doesn’t realize that Ryo has dark ulterior motives with Yuichi at the center, and Ryo and Ayumu might have more in common than Yuichi might think.
Review:
As per usual, Yuu Minaduki is back again with their classic but clean style. I’ve mentioned this across all of their work, but if you’re looking for that nostalgic yaoi style with more modern consistency and cleanliness, there’s none better than Yuu Minaduki. It’s not perfect by any means, and this one is actually one of their messier titles, with the characters’ eyes, especially Ayumu’s, looking a bit buggy and off-kilter in some panels. But if you love any of their previous work, I don’t imagine you will dislike this. I’ve grown to really like it, even if I’m not typically a fan of the older styles.
Where this shines is in the relationship between Yuichi and Ayumu. It’s a delicate balancing act between Yuichi and Ayumu, where each has needs and concerns, but fears hurting the other because they are both acutely aware of how painful and difficult their situations are. Yuichi feels inadequate as a father to Ayumu. Similarly, Ayumu worries that if he’s too needy or bad, Yuichi will abandon him. These two emotions culminate in an outburst where Yuichi, fearing for Ayumu’s safety, ends up yelling at him, and Ayumu worries that this is the moment he might be abandoned. I have to admit, the moment they apologized and expressed their worries made me tear up. It’s a wonderfully emotional moment that I think makes this worth reading for that moment alone.
I’d actually argue the weakest part of this story is the romance itself. The chemistry between Yuichi and Ryo is nonexistent, mainly due to the different faces and personalities Ryo puts on. Ryo puts up an apparent wall between himself and Yuichi, even as he oversteps every other boundary. In that way, it’s ironic that the most guarded is the most willing to invade and overstep. I think part of the problem is that much of what we get and explore about Ryo is through his discussions with Ayumu, rather than his interactions with Yuichi. This makes the bond Ryo has with Ayumu infinitely more substantial than what he has with Yuichi. By the end, Ryo and Ayumu feel like brothers, which even Yuichi recognizes, while Ryo and Yuichi still feel like strangers.
That’s not to say we don’t get background on why Ryo is the way he is. On the contrary, I’d say we actually get far more than necessary. His background with his adopted family was solid and heartrending. His desperation to want someone and for them to want him back guides him down a road of cruelty and depravity, which is very understandable for someone so neglected and abused by those who were meant to love and care for him in his time of need. But then we get a sequence of him returning to his old escort haunts, which leads to an unnecessary brawl, and it just felt so needless overall. We have plenty of instances that show how horrible he’s been due to his past trauma, and this added nothing to that while also taking time that could’ve been spent developing his chemistry and relationship with Yuichi. I usually complain that we don’t delve deep enough for some characters, but in this case, I think we dove so deep we ended up in over-the-top territory. It did nothing to make me like Ryo and did nothing to move the relationship forward. In the end, it made for a weaker romance overall.
Results:
This ended up being pretty disappointing. As a family drama, I think this couldn’t be much better. However, as a romance, I think this misses on almost every front. Our main characters develop their relationship with each other through their respective relationships with Ayumu. Ayumu then functions as a wall that prevents any chemistry from manifesting between Yuichi and Ryo. If you want heartrending family development, this is a huge win, but if you actually want a believable and well-built romance, I think this one is a miss.
Have you read The Little Bird Sleeps by the Sea? If so, what do you think? Do you agree with my assessment? Do you not? Let me know, and comment below!