Hot Gimmick (or Healthy Relationships: You're Doing it Wrong)
So, I read Hot Gimmick and have absolutely no one to blame but myself.
I'm going to spare anyone out there who hasn't already read this series the trouble: DON'T DO IT. JUST. DON'T.
Here is the Wikipedia summary of this garbage (highlight for light spoilers regarding the way in which this manga is a blight upon the world)
The story revolves around Hatsumi Narita, a passive sixteen-year-old girl who lives in a company housing complex that is ruled by the tyrannical Mrs. Tachibana, the wife of the company's vice president. How a family behaves in the housing complex can affect an employee's status in the company. When her promiscuous younger sister Akane thinks she might be pregnant, Hatsumi gets talked into buying her a pregnancy test. Unfortunately, things don't go exactly as planned and Hatsumi is blackmailed by Ryoki Tachibana, the arrogant teenage son of the powerful Tachibana family who bullied her as a kid, into being his slave.
The first volume of this series is mostly an introduction for all the characters and plotlines, and any possible readers of this series are warned that things do not stay as they seem for long. The main male characters (Ryoki, Azusa, and Shinogu) all quickly swap places as the story continues on through the series. For this reason, Hot Gimmick is targeted much more at a mature audience, as it addresses several adult themes that are not entirely appropriate for younger readers; most pointedly, the normalization of an abusive relationship. Hot Gimmick delves into a deeper side found in every society, while still maintaining its shōjo roots.
Please note, I read this summary before starting the damn thing. I KNEW WHAT WAS COMING and I read it anyway. My thought process was basically "Oh, it can't be all that bad. SURELY things will get straightened out in the end." WRONG.
It's shoujo I told myself, mistakenly linking shoujo and romance in my mind. See, in romance novels you are guaranteed a happy ending. That's what makes it a romance novel. It can be romantic, but if any of that hero/heroine dies at the end nonsense goes down - BAM! NOT ROMANCE.
Also, I'd just read Sarah MacLean's Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake which was just fantastic. I don't know that I've ever been so emotionally invested in a romance novel before, but I loved the main pair something fierce. The entire story was so fresh and fun, and I totally almost teared up at one point. Even if you're not a fan of romance novels, if you like good love stories, pick it up. It's a delightful read.
How quickly I forgot the garbage a read before that (Potent Pleasures, by Eloisa James) where I wanted to strangle the hero on multiple occasions for being such. a. massive. dick.
Normally, I don't read manga. Or, I'll read a few chapters or volumes and give up. The only series I'm actively following is Kimi ni Todoke. I think the only series I've read in it's entirety is Peach Girl. I never even finished Fruits Basket, which I loved, opting instead to just read summaries because I'm hella lazy.
So, what possessed me to pick this series up in the first place and then proceed to FINISH THE ENTIRE DAMN THING, is something I will never be able to explain (or defend).
As mentioned in the wiki summary, Hatsumi is our protagonist (and I use this term in the very loosest sense as she rarely is moved of her own volition) becomes the "slave" of the boss's son, Ryouki. Mainly this entails him molesting her while she sleeps, guilt tripping her about not sleeping with him, yelling at her for caring about her family, slapping her around for disobeying him, and generally being the biggest asshole IN THE WORLD.
Stuff that dreams are made of, right?
HE'S THE LOVE INTEREST.
Wait, I forgot about Azusa who, like Touji in Peach Girl is our heroine's first love and therefore just a pit stop on her journey. Unlike Touji, however, Azusa is a complete psychopath.
When they were younger, Azusa's family moved away because his mom was having an affair with someone. She later died, crying the whole time about how she was abandoned. Azusa believes that Hatsumi's father is the man she was sleeping with, and therefore responsible for her death. To exact his revenge, Azusa got rich and famous by becoming a model (to help fund said revenge), moved back into the company housing complex, started dating Hatsumi, and then arranged for a group of his modeling buddies to gang rape her. This obviously will show Hatsumi's dad what it's like to lose something important to him.
Yeah, that makes sense if you don't think about it.
Anyway, Ryouki actually tries to save her and even genuinely looks worried, which is like one of the five decent things he does through the entire span of the series. But it's Azusa's manager that walks in on it and shuts it down.
She takes Hatsumi out for tea and cakes or something to talk about how she was just sexually assaulted, as you do, and apologizes for the actions of her models. That's all fine and dandy, though I feel the actual perpetrators of said assault should be doing to apologizing, but that's obviously not going to happen because the rules in this universe are different from ours. The issue is that she THEN PROCEEDS TO DEFEND AZUSA.
He was just so hurt. He didn't really want to do it. Please understand.
Hatsumi then feels guilty for her family causing him such pain.
WHAT IS THIS. I DON'T EVEN.
Rounding out our trio of love interests is Shinogu, Hatsumi's brother. Only he's not really her brother, her family just adopted him when they were younger and he's been in love with Hatsumi ever since. Yeah, that's kind of awkward.
So, it sucks that Shinogu is like one of the two decent guys in this story. He keeps his feelings hidden from Hatsumi for a long time, then realizing he'll never get over it he decides to separate from the family. Eventually she finds out and, of course, feels guilty about causing him pain (because Hatsumi feels guilty about everything, even being assaulted). But Shinogu suffers in pretty much silence, always there to support Hatsumi though never actually pointing out that her boyfriend is an abusive dick weasel.
And I had the slightest glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, Hatsumi would end up with him. But, understandably so, she just sees him as a brother. So, you know, since he'll never love again HE BECOMES A MONK. The problem, IT IS SOLVED.
The other relatively decent male character is Hatsumi's friend Subaru, who nurses a minor crush on her but actually ends up in a pretty adorable relationship with her younger sister, Akane. Akane is a bit loose when it comes to boys, especially for a middle school student because she thinks that's the only way to keep them interested. So, she's a bit misguided and totally caught unawares when she starts having ~*~feelings~*~ for Subaru, a giant otaku and not someone she'd normally associate with. At one point he trips up and guilts her about her past (granted he said it mostly because he was embarrassed, but it was still an awful thing to say), which made me want to slap him , but sincerely apologizes (It's a miracle!).
Then, unfortunately, their relationship just fades into the background so more time can be spent having Ryouki try to manipulate Hatsumi into sleeping with him or having her family be terrorized by his awful mother.
The whole thing is such a massive trainwreck. I was appalled at every turn, not believing what I was reading and waiting for someone, ANYONE to step up and do something. Like, Hatsumi's mom had an issue with her dating Ryouki, but not because he was a massive prick who abused her daughter, but because it might anger the boss' wife and get Hatsumi's dad fired.
Akane was continually trying to push Hatsumi into a relationship with a man she CONTINUALLY said she was scared of (ever since he PUSHED HER DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS when they were little for daring to bring a boy along to play in his little hideout). And I'm like, does no one else see this? What is happening? AM I LOSING MY MIND?!
I could even get over his dickish tendencies if he was redeemed in the end. There are plenty of stories out there with cold, brooding heroes, some of which are outright jerks. But the majority of the time, they make a change. They realize "hey, maybe I shouldn't be such a massive tool to the woman I love".
There were a few moments where Ryouki does look out for Hatsumi's well being, be it physical or emotional, but the majority of the time he's too concerned with his needs to even recognize that maybe Hatsumi has feelings of her own.
So, okay, Ryouki isn't going to change. They get engaged at the end, but the dynamic of their relationship where Hatsumi is constantly worried about angering or upsetting him, Ryouki demanding she cut all ties with her family and focus ALL her love on him, it all stays the same. Nothing. Changes.
Hatsumi feebly hopes, after Ryouki demands that they get married, that maybe if she's his fiancee he won't be so mean.
WHAT.
It's all just too much to take. I just waited for someone to realize "Hey, could this possibly be an abusive relationship given it displays ALL THE SIGNS OF ONE?".
But no one does. I can only assume we're supposed to view Ryouki's actions as admirable. He's just loves her so much he can't help but slam her against walls if she doesn't immediately pick up phone calls from him. And I guess all women are supposed to behave like Hatsumi and just accept that, because you know, if you don't, he might not like you anymore.
Excuse me while I go stab myself with a fork.