Kabukicho Cat Honey · review
Spoiler warning
This review may discuss plot details.
The art is good. Characters are pretty, and the mangaka manages to make the nightlife flashy and exotic. While it may not be realistic, it sure help selling the story they are trying to sell. However, the romance itself.... I dunno, man, I don't get the chemistry between the main characters. It's clear they're sexually attracted to each other, and I get that they're trying to make that bickering-to-lovers kind of dynamic, but all the efforts to show them falling in love with each other kinda falls short for me. For one, they abused dubcon way too often. The seme crosses the uke's boundaries so muchthat it sours the entire plot. I appreciate the fact that they're trying to include the night life and sex work in the conflict, but it's clumsy.
The pacing also feels a bit weird. The panel-by-panel flow feels a bit stiff, but the sequence of events go way too fast. And then the third act breakup and makeup feels rushed and forced.
Basically I feel like they're choosing the wrong dynamic for these pair.
Side characters are pretty decent, but there's this one guy that I feel they don't know how to fit in the plot and he's just hovering there...annoyingly. This adds to the feeling of rushedness.
Overall, the experience could be way improved. But again, the art IS pretty.