We Can’t Do Plain Love Vol. 1 – 2
Writer/Artist: Mafuyu Fukita
Translator: Renta! & Christine Dashiell
Lettering: Vibrraant Publishing Studio
Publisher: Love x Love / TokyoPop (print/digital)
Age Rating: Mature (ages 18+)
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 stars (Recommended)
It’s an attention-grabbing tackle workplace romance if you happen to can deal with the spiciness stage.
We Can’t Do Just Plain Love Vol. 1 and 2 by Mafuyu Fukita gives a grown-up romance crammed with sexual rigidity that’s tied to each characters’ relationship-related traumas. If you may deal with the spiciness, We Can’t Do Plain Love gives up difficult and typically kinky workplace romance in quantity 1 that ramps up significantly in quantity 2.
The feminine lead, Sakura, is a shy, ordinary-looking workplace employee who has a scent fetish. This mainly implies that she’s sexually attracted sure smells – and on this case, this specific fetish is triggered by her tall, trendy, and barely standoffish supervisor, Tatsuki Kiritani.
Meanwhile, Kiritani has his personal points that aren’t apparent from his outward appearances. He’s been traumatised by a previous relationship, so he’s very insecure and anxious when he’s alone with ladies. Through a sequence of circumstances, the pair discover out about one another’s points, and Sakura gives to “help” Kiritani overcome his “prejudice against women and improve his social skills.” At first, Kiritani stubbornly refuses Sakura’s supply – particularly since she’s his subordinate at work, however ultimately, he offers in, and they start an uncommon relationship outdoors of the workplace.
The finest technique to describe Kiritani is that he’s a “Christian Grey,” a kind that must be acquainted to followers and anti-fans of the grownup romance novel/film sequence 50 Shades of Gray. Similar to Grey, Kiritani is a chilly, handsome govt who has belief points with ladies. He’s additionally very manipulative and has a substantial sexual urge for food.
In case you’re not accustomed to 50 Shades of Gray, the film was an adaptation of the erotic romance novel written by E.L. James. It was widely-criticised for its unrealistic and borderline abusive depiction of the BDSM intercourse play between the male and feminine leads, Anatasia and Christian. As Anatasia’s boss, Christian outranked her of their shared skilled world. He takes benefit of this energy dynamic to attract her into his sexual fantasies, the place he seizes management over her thoughts and physique.
Similar to Anatasia and Christian’s romantic/skilled relationship in 50 Shades of Grey, in We Can’t Do Plain Love, Kiritani is ready to exploit his managerial place at work to claim energy over Sakura each in and out of the bed room. But there’s extra to this workplace romance than simply Sakura and Kiritani’s between-the-sheets encounters.
But Kiritani isn’t the one one on the workplace who’s romantically considering Sakura. Hasumi is an outdated pal of Sakura’s who works on the similar firm. Unlike Kiritani, he’s a chatty and assured ikemen (good-looking man), however he hasn’t revealed to Sakura his romantic emotions for her. Hasumi needs to rework Sakura right into a extra assured and brighter model of herself, which he thinks will occur as soon as they flip their friendship into one thing extra intimate. But Hasumi notices that Sakura’s persona is altering, partly because of her liaisons with Kiritani, and he resents that he was not the individual to have achieved that.
Hasumi’s emotions for Sakura are obvious to Kiritani, which leads Sakura and Kiritani to argue when he tries to warn her about Hasumi’s hidden agenda (romantic emotions) for her. Sakura pushes again by implying that “his way of approaching her is way more dangerous.” Their shouting match then abruptly cuts to the 2 being in mattress collectively. These transitions are deliberately abrupt in order that sexual rigidity could be created. Once once more, Kiritani is ready to assert dominance over Sakura, a transfer from the Christian Grey playbook.
Meanwhile, Kiritani’s previous relationship trauma comes again to hang-out him within the current when Miu, his highschool classmate/ex-girlfriend who was the supply of his insecurities enters the scene. Through flashbacks, we see Kiritani as a highschool scholar and see the roots of his anxieties about his interactions with ladies. This is a basic technique in romance tales, to make use of the male lead character’s previous to legitimise their present smug, chilly, possessive, obsessive-compulsive, sexually intense behaviours.
However, I discovered this rationalization for Kiritani’s persona to be missing. The flashbacks didn’t persuade me that being rejected by his highschool crush might traumatise Kiritani deeply, such that years later, he’s unable to handle his emotions and sexual wishes in the direction of ladies to a debilitating diploma. This is underlined by Kiritani’s more moderen interactions with Miu, the supply of his previous relationship trauma. Instead of being anxious round her, Kiritani manages to remain cool and skilled, even when she tries to control him. This doesn’t fairly add up. It left me feeling like I wanted to see extra to really feel extra. This looks like a missed alternative, as facet characters like Miu and Hasumi have the potential to ramp up the drama within the story, however are launched as potential conflicts/obstacles to the primary characters relationship, however are resolved comparatively shortly.
As rivals / threats to their relationship fade to the background, the pair’s intimate encounters enhance in depth. Kiritani makes use of the encounter with Miu to open up emotionally to Sakura, however appears to do it so he can manipulate and possess her like a residing doll that he can have intercourse with, wherever and every time he needs.
Although Sakura and Kiritani’s relationship appears intimate, their true emotions for one another don’t all the time come by in how they discuss to one another. There’s an unstated rigidity that makes it exhausting for each of them to outline their relationship – Are they in love? Are they only “friends with benefits” or are they two damaged adults who’re solely collectively till they “fix” no matter’s conserving them from having extra “normal” romantic relationships?
This kind of ambiguous romantic relationships are fairly acquainted territory in shoujo manga tales. Paradise Kiss, Kimi ni Todoke or Nana have comparable storylines that revolve round the primary characters’ unsure relationship standing. But how does this play out in We Can’t Do Plain Love past what occurs in quantity 1 and 2? You’ll have to select up quantity 3 to see what’s subsequent for this problematic pair.
Even with quite a few red flags raised on this relationship, We Can’t Do Plain Love options male and feminine lead characters with uncommon sexual hangups. This permits for a distinct tackle the same old “I’m having an affair with my boss” story that’s frequent in mature romance manga tales. The artwork and character designs in We Can’t Do Plain Love embrace slim physique varieties, sharp facial options and occasional cute/chibi expressions that can be acquainted and interesting to followers of Nineties shojo manga, whereas spotlighting attractive, grown-up relationships that goes past the same old “we kissed, the end” highschool romances. If you’ve been on the lookout for one thing that’s “not just plain love,” then this sequence is likely to be simply what you might want to learn subsequent.
We Can’t Do Plain Love Vol. 1 and 2 is out there for buy on Tokyopop’s web site. We Can’t Do Plain Love can be featured for digital / by-chapter buy on Renta!
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