#harada

[carnival-phantasm]

[t-e-n-s-e-i-g-a]

[razerathane]

From the Korean Tekken 8 Preorder Command Book.

[the-bloody-sadist]

in case no one else has asked, please list your top 10 BL manga/manwha? 👀

i am. very interested in what other media you enjoy, especially BL

Combining these two bc I didn't wanna leave the second out!

(I wasn't a big fan of Blood Bank personally but I'm so glad it helped you with your world building Lil Whale!!)

I'm hoping some of these are unheard of for you guys because THERE ARE SO MANY BL/YAOI AND I READ THEM CONSTANTLY BUT NOT SO MANY ARE FANTASTIC AND MIND-BLOWING AND SPECTACULAR AND DEEPLY PSYCHOLOGICAL! I'm pretty sure I'll end up listing WAY more than 10, mainly because I want to highlight ones I feel like a lot of people haven't read. ALSO because I read so fucking many of them that I've collected a stash and NOW IS MY CHANCE TO YELL ABOUT THEM.

Just a disclaimer, these are not in any sort of order, as they're all about the same level in my head, just grouped. I'll list the "big name" BLs that I adore after these! First up are the ones that either have a quiet fandom or aren't well known! Since there'll be so many, I'm not going to say much about them, just know that usually no BL/Yaoi is perfect to me, since there are many bad psychology tropes here and there or unnecessary cruelties that aren't exactly realistic etc., but overall, I like the way that the story and characters are handled and/or love the art.

Here's the top five of my top ten that's not a top ten bc there are so many (I just said I wouldn't group them but I lied my ass off apparently):

Jealousy [Scarlet Beriko]: This is one of those that emotionally hits so hard that it will stick with me forever and I will usually tear up just a tiny bit when I think back to the moments that made this one so beautiful. A lot of times a story with major hurt, angst, and tragedy won't wrap up with enough to make me scream and cheer at the end. But THIS ONE DID. And I stopped reading for a while when a big event happened because I thought it would end horribly and I'd have to suffer three weeks of fiction-induced depression for a man who wasn't even real. BUT NAY. The themes you get in this one revolve around loneliness (huge draw for me, it always hits), mafia-connected characters and the rivalries from that, self-destructive prostitution, and characters who have difficulty receiving love without freaking out. Are those even themes idk. OH WELL. YOU GET THE POINT. I want this one on my shelf. You might've heard of it, but the fandom is silent so I never did. T_T OH ALSO THE ART ON THIS ONE IS GORGEOUS I FUCKING LOVE IT.

Hitori to Hitori no 3650nichi [Hitomi]: First of all, favorite manga artist. FAVORITE MANGA ARTIST. I'm never exactly sure if the artist is also the writer or if the writer is never the artist or...BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER. Anyway! I listed this particular title because it was the first that I found by this person - but then I discovered it was a part of a bigger series, and there are like I DON'T KNOW FIVE DIFFERENT MANGA?? OR SOMETHING??? Related to this one. I don't know which order, I just know that I read them all in a frenzy. THE CHARACTERS. OH! OH THE CHARACTERS! Oh my gods, it's so good. LMFAO. The arcs these characters have are fantastic, and I loved the fact that the abuser in one is shown to be the victim of abuse in a prequel story, and that his anger issues and other elements of his personality came about to affect him and destroy him. Just...I don't recall the details, READ IT. That's all. Spectacular depictions of nuanced trauma within abusive relationships.

The Beast Must Die [Lee Hyeon Sook]: This remains one of my favorite depictions IN ANY MEDIA of a psychopath, because it's SO accurate and I'm SO fucking proud of the author for doing their research and OH MY GODS YOU GUYS IT'S ABOUT TO GET A DRAMA CD LET'S FUCKING GO! This story is so good. It's so evil. It's so psycho-thriller. It's so WELL DONE. It features a dark academia-ish secret society within a college setting who hunt people for sport, sometimes. LIKE. Come on. And the psychopath (dark hair) IS THE MAIN LOVE INTEREST! You could literally hear the summary and go "oh this is for Sadist". And I don't get a lot of those that deliver this well. SOMETIMES the art makes me twist my head a little but YOU KNOW WHAT I DO NOT CARE OKAY? It's just SO good. There's murder, there's kidnapping, and - most importantly - a main character who doesn't just DEAL with whatever the psychopath does. He's smart, he fights back, he learns to understand psychopathy to determine if he should remain with the love interest...it's fantastic. That's all. I will stop. *BANGS THE WALL*

Aporia [Seontae]: ALL HAIL THE HEALTHY BDSM RELATIONSHIPS THAT STILL HOLD TENSION AND EMOTIONAL WEIGHT AND SPEAK TO ME!!!!!!! HELLO!!!!! This is my favorite BDSM-themed story. Everything is consensual, but is everything safe??? Not when it comes to the main character's emotions and tendency to sacrifice his wellbeing for a partner. BUT NOT TO WORRY, HIS SADISTIC LOVE INTEREST IS CONSIDERATE AND ATTENTIVE AND CARES ABOUT HIS FEELINGS!! This is, perhaps, one of my favorite depictions of a REAL sadist. A real one as in a realistic, irl BDSM-relationship sadist. Someone who is just as worried about taking care of his partner as he is about hurting him JUUUUST right. ANYWAY! THAT'S ALL! READ IT! HE'S LITERALLY ME!

Royal Servant [MasterGin, Chungnyun]: Okay, we were talking about healthy BDSM in the previous one, now let's talk about TOXIC BDSM-THEMES THAT I LOVE. Lmao. DO YOU LIKE MASTER/SLAVE DYNAMICS? DO YOU LIKE STORIES WHERE THE ARC LEADS TO THE ABUSIVE MASTER EVENTUALLY LEARNING TO NOT BE ABUSIVE AND LOVE THE SLAVE? YEAH ME TOO. I DON'T NEED TO DESCRIBE THIS ANY FURTHER. AUTHOR OF ANGEL BUDDY, THIS IS THE ONE THAT I KNEW HER FOR FIRST.

A bunch of other good ones you may or may not have heard of (I won't describe every one of these unless I have something particular to say, so enjoy the pictures from them that I snatched):

Love me in the Wilderness [Wang Tao]

Neon Sign Amber [Ogeretsu Tanaka]

Zetsubou ni Nake [Shinou Ryo]: Guys. This story is UNIQUE AS HELL. I had to say something about it. The premise is that a man who was raped turns around and goes back after his rapist and rapes him back, and then they fall in love. IT'S....the amount of times my jaw dropped was insane on this one. SOMEHOW IT'S WRITTEN SO WELL. SOMEHOW THEY NAILED THE STRANGE REALISM OF IT AND HAD ME TEARING UP OVER THE INTENSITY OF THE RAPE SCENES. VERY WELL-PACED, VERY TRAUMATIC IN A GOOD WAY. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. The way they come to love each other after this crazy foundation of mutual rape is IMPRESSIVE. Kudos to the writer.

Love or Hate [Yeongha]: This is a very well-known one but there's like zero fandom so I think it fits here. Also a lot of hate going around for it? Which I never understood, fuck those guys. This remains one of the most beautifully-written that I've ever read, and I mean that purely in like...the ACTUAL writing on the page. I'm talking poetry, purple prose. I just recall being blown away by that, and no manga before or since has ever reached its level. For once I felt like the writer was also a novelist because of the way that they put things, and had a clear voice in the style. Did the main boy end up with someone I didn't want him to end up with at the end? Yes. But I felt like it fit pretty well, and it was sort of a tragedy, and it was supposed to hit you painfully in the gut. A lot of people were mad at the main character for that and I don't really think it's fair. In any case! A beautiful story with complex characters and intriguing dilemmas. Highly recommend it.

Shangri La no Tori (Birds of Shangri La) [Ranmaru Zariya]

Two in Six Billion [Denzou]

The Pizza Delivery Man and The Gold Palace [Upi]: Great story and character-building so far! I will say that once it became porn, it dove a little too heavily into it for me. Like I only needed one scene of the porn, I was enjoying the panic attack scenes much more. BUT YEAH, IT'S ONGOING, SO WE'LL SEE WHERE IT GOES! But the panic attack scenes were the reason I read it and yes, I did tear up.

Sleeping Dead and Living Dead [Asada Nemui]: I RECENTLY FOUND THIS ONE AND ADOOOOOOREEE IT SO MUCH. I DO NOT CARE THAT IT'S AN OLD SCIENTIST AND HIS ZOMBIE PATIENT. NORMALLY THAT WOULD HOLD NO SWAY OVER ME, BUT OH GODS, THE ART IS SO PRETTY AND THE STORY IS SO GOOD. I LOVE THE LITTLE ZOMBIE MAN! I LOVE THE LITTLE ROMANCE THEY'VE GOT!

Private Lessons [ANCO, Mongya]: It's cuuuuute what can I saayyyyy it has BDSM and threesomes and I liked it. Very entertaining. Scratches the BDSM itch and the little SUB WAS SO CUTE. Anyway.

Kingyo no Ubugoe [Gontaku Nido]

From Points of Three [White Eared]: Threesome dynamics!!

Silent Lover [Qiang Tang, Bai Li Jun Xi]: I STOPPED THIS ONE AT A CERTAIN POINT BECAUSE IT DIPPED INTO WEIRD M-PREG AND STUFF I CANNOT READ. But BEFORE all that, I was deeply ingrained in this one. It has a main character who can't speak (a particular weakness of mine) and he's OH SO CUTE and he's given as a sex slave basically to the emperor (emperor? idk he's a kingly man, something like that), and the emperor is evil but learns to be soft and yet it takes a LONG TIME SO I WAS BAWLING HYSTERICALLY OVER SOME OF THE HEARTWRENCHINGLY PAINFUL SCENES IN THIS FOR THE POOR YUU-ER. A good read until it decided to go the omegaverse-by-magic-potions route. I didn't stay to figure out where it actually ended up.

Yoru wa Tomodachi [Ido Gihou]

Toumei na Ai no Utsuwa [Hitomi]

Re:Birth [Misuaki Asou]: The singular omegaverse story in existence that I actually liked. Hopefully that says a lot. Mostly because it's about the omegaverse elements NOT being present for the main character and him trying to fake it because he's lonely and afraid that his partner (an alpha *shakes off the disgusting label because who the fuck thought alpha was a cool word*) will leave him if he finds out he's just a regular guy (aka beta I guess? ABO is weird idc).

Sahara no Kuro Washi [Soutome Emu]: MASTER SLAVE MASTER SLAVE---

Haru ni Kaeru [Kunieda Saika]

Incorrigible [Bbong]

Well Done! [ANCO, Mongya]

Nemuri Otoko to Koi Otoko [Zariya Ranmaru]

Even If You Don't Love Me [Pando]: It dropped off SUPER hard (it's ongoing still) but damn was it good in the beginning. I am sick and tired of where it's at currently but the psychological manipulation and the horror of a certain twist in the storyline was CRUSHING to me. I only wish that it would have gone a better way after it happened, because it slowly destroyed itself and became like a lot of tropey rape stories. The asshole just keeps being an asshole and it's not really where the story seemed to want to go with that. But otherwise, it started off strong and I'll give it kudos for that.

Bigger titles I'm pretty sure everyone has heard of that I enjoy:

Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai [Yoneda Kou]: Is it a little unrealistic that literally everyone in this story is gay apparently and wants to fuck one man apparently and/or rape him? Yes, absolutely. Does that matter once you're in the story and it's so good and all these unrealistic cruelties make a really strong bond between the main love interest and this self-destructive masochist who's probably not really a masochist but only interested in hurting himself because he doesn't know how else to handle his trauma from childhood? Ummmm yeah. Anyway! This one had a lot of inspiration and a lot of tears and a lot of obsession from me. I re-read it all the time, I watch the movie over and over, I listen to the audio drama and cry at my favorite scenes. Do I care in the end that it's a little unrealistic at times? No but I do laugh sometimes when I'm about to share it with a new person. Because BL is just like that generally and you've got to put up with a little of those tropes to find your favorite stories. THIS IS ONE OF THE TOP FAVORITES OF ALL TIME FOR ME BTW, IT'S ONLY SO LOW DOWN HERE BECAUSE PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE IN YAOI KNOWS ABOUT THIS ONE ALREADY, AND WE'RE ALL AWARE OF HOW GOOD IT IS.

ENNEAD [Mojito]: I will say that this is basically the best manga/comic/manhua...what's the Chinese word idk ANYTHING OF THIS MEDIA TYPE that I have ever read. It's not done, and people have been complaining that it's starting to fall into the common BL tropes but you know what I do NOT care. Mojito is a genius, Mojito is a master storyteller, Mojito is beautiful, Mojito is strong - I just love Mojito and this work. So much. The action, the horror of rape, the deep-set character conflicts and dilemmas and internal turmoils. Everything, nailed it. Nailed it. And not to mention it's set in FUCKING EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY AND THEY'RE ALL GODS AND THEY HAVE SUCH COOL BATTLES AND COSTUMES AND DUDE???? I'm so hooked. That's all.

Killing Stalking [Koogi]: OBVIOUSLY. I don't really need to say anything about this one except that yeah, some of the psychology is a little off and some of it is just super shallow. But I loved the characters and that's what mattered in the end. I fell in love with Sangwoo too and it ripped my heart out when I read the ending. I was depressed for like two weeks and it was the first story that had ever affected me that way, but I was also younger and this was one of my first yaoi/BLs and yeah. GREAT story though, fantastic storytelling, very lovable characters. Sangwoo was handled so much better than most "asshole/kidnapper/rapist" characters and I will never stop appreciating that, because a lot of writers tend to forget that your villains have to have redeeming qualities if you want us to like them (????). Jinx, I'm fucking coming for you. Suck my dick. KOOGI FTW.

Missing Love/A Married Man [In Hyerin]: Some of the DESCRIPTIONS of how trauma works especially of the sexual nature in this story are SO. SO. GOOD. However, I am beginning to grow VERY ANNOYED at where it decided to go with the most current updates of the story. The author did enough trauma to the main boy, now it's getting so incredibly excessive that it's overdoing it and the author's kinks are showing through. LIKE I GET IT. Okay? I do. But this one became too much and I need him to return to the actual story arc of going through that trauma so he can HEAL with the right person taking care of him.

MadK [Ryo Sumiyoshi]: I am into NONE of the kinks that would lead to me picking up this manga. I hate demons, I'm not a monsterfucker, I can't do extreme guro, and yet I SAW CANNIBALISM. THAT WAS THE ONE THING THAT I THOUGHT I'D GIVE IT A TRY FOR. And then accidentally I got obsessed because the plot is AMAZING and the writing is SO GOOD and who cares if I hate demons and monsters ALL OF THEM ARE BADASS AND HOT (??) AND IT CEASES TO MATTER. Good on the writer for making them appeal by personality alone and expressions and whatever else you signed a deal with the devil to make me like because it worked. Also the guro is beautiful, so it doesn't even matter. Hannibal levels.

Warehouse [Killerwhale]

Painter of the Night [Byeonduck]

Viewfinder/Finder [Yamane Ayano]

Given [Kizu Natsuki, Gusari]

Nii-Chan [Harada] (and basically every other work by Harada)

Sadistic Beauty Side Story [Geumsan Lee, Woo Yeonhui]

Dine With a Vampire [Pangin, Pinko]

Angel Buddy [Mastergin, Chungnyun]

My Partner's Tastes and Fetishes [Deok Hwa]

Interview with a Murderer [KJK]

On or Off [A1]

Steel Under Silk [Snob]

The Pawn's Revenge [Evy]: It was going to be SO GOOD! And then it dropped off harder than a boulder from a balcony and I have absolutely no idea why the author took it the way that they took it, but go off I guess. It's boring as hell now but it started off with promise and I enjoyed the art and character designs. Too bad, I suppose.

Caste Heaven [Ogawa Chise]: An old classic with all the sticky sometimes icky mostly ridiculous BL tropes but hey, it's cute. It's sexy. It's fun. I don't care.

Wet Sand [Doyak]: We're still in the beginning stage of this one but I'm excited to see where it goes! Plus the art SLAPS ASS like nobody's business.

19 Days [Old Xian]: I hate comedy, I hate fluff, I hate buddies that never become lovers, but none of that mattered when I picked this one up. The duality of man. Bite-sized chapters and ACTUALLY AN EVENTUAL ROMANCE that none of us thought we'd ever get.

Legs That Won't Walk [Black Apricot]: Although this one dropped off hard for me and I'm really just following it to see if it picks up again and does something interesting (it probably won't) I did enjoy it in the beginning. I just get tired of the "asshole just keeps being an asshole and nothing else but woobified slut keeps coming back to him??" without the strong and realistic undercurrent of Reasons Why Someone Would Come Back such as manipulation or threats or unhealthy attachment. Perhaps it was sorta there in the beginning with them but now I'm just like why are we still continuing this story.

Pearl Boy [Inking, Zoy]: *Awkwardly scratches neck* It's not the best okay? It's not. It's really not. I don't like half of the things that occur in this one, but the ART, bro. THE ART, BRO? That's what got me into it and what kept me into it, PLUS I do like little Jooha. I stayed for Jooha, too. Dooshik drives me a little batty most of the time and looks ugly for half the story to me, but when he's badass, he's pretty badass, so I can forgive him. I really don't know why he has such drastically changing appearances because I thought he was someone completely different for a bit LMAO. In any case, I have to admit I like the uhhhhh danger that Jooha gets himself into and the crazy things that make no sense but you know what he gets hurt and then there's comfort and rescue and they cry and I cease to care that it makes no sense. (Sorta, I don't actually cease to care I just laugh awkwardly and go okay sure that's how it works because it's so hard to find stories that don't do this LOL I'm beating a dead horse) BUT WHY DOES HE CUM PEARLS? WILL WE EVER KNOW? WHO THE HELL THOUGHT OF THAT AND WITHOUT A SUPPORTING MAGIC SYSTEM IN THE WORLD TO MAKE THAT MAKE SENSE? IT WENT DOWNHILL SO FAST AND THE ENDING IS TERRIBLE BTW. THE VILLAIN SUCKS.

That's it. I can't talk to much or I'll run out of words but HOPE YOU GUYS FIND SOME NEW READS!!

[julianjuicebox]

KING from Tekken!

[krdc]

support illustration by harada (mangaka of 'happy crappy life') ✏️

[gatoraid]

Rakugo references in One Room Angel

(Alert: this post includes spoilers)

One Room Angel, the BL drama directed by Eda Yuka, based on the manga of the same name by Harada, features quite a lot of references to rakugo. Angel seems to enjoy performing rakugo both now and in his past life, and a famous rakugo reference ends up being the key for uncovering Angel’s past memories.

So, what is rakugo and what are the rakugo stories referenced in One Room Angel?

In short, rakugo is a form of traditional comedic storytelling, that was born during the Edo period. It’s been around for about 300 years now. In a way it could be compared to stand-up comedy, except in stand-up, every performer has their own stories/jokes, whereas in rakugo the performers (rakugoka) mostly perform existing rakugo stories, bringing their own flair to them. Rakugoka use only their voice and expressions, plus simple tools like a paper fan (or chopsticks in Angel's case) and a folded tenugui towel to evoke different characters, settings and items in the story. 

Since rakugo was born during the Edo period and was considered entertainment for ordinary people, many classical (kotenrakugo) stories make references to everyday Edo life. There are also new rakugo stories (shinsakurakugo) being written and performed by rakugoka nowadays. 

The two rakugo stories referenced in One Room Angel, Manjuu kowai ( まんじゅうこわい, ”I’m afraid of manju”) and Jugemu (寿限無/じゅげむ) are both classical rakugo. My Japanese teacher told me that these two stories are usually taught to kids at school, so even without ever seeing a live rakugo performance, most Japanese people would be familiar with them.

Manjuu kowai is the story that Angel is repeatedly seen performing. The story starts with an introduction talking about how different people have different tastes, likes and fears. The story itself is about a man who claims that he is afraid of manju (a bun filled with sweet bean paste), and when his friends try to play a prank on him by filling his house with manju, proceeds to eat them and then wonders if he should next tell them that he’s afraid of tea. I really don't think there's any deeper meaning for why they chose this particular story, other than that it's so well known.

Jugemu is a story about a boy with a ridiculously long name. When he was born, his parents asked a Buddhist monk suggestions for a good name that would ensure a long life. After getting a list of names, the parents couldn’t choose just one, so they ended up naming their son Jugemu Jugemu Goko no Surikire Kaijarisuigyo no Suigyomatsu Unraimatsu Furaimatsu Ku Neru Tokoro ni Sumu Tokoro Yabura Koji no Bura Koji Paipo-paipo Paipo no Shuringan Shuringan no Gurindai Gurindai no Ponpokopi no Ponpokona no Chokyumei no Chosuke.

The comedy of the story partly comes from the rakugoka’s ability to recite the long name with amazing speed, and from how inconvenient such a long name is when you just want to have a normal conversation.

Jugemu is referenced in the twitter username tks_jugem2, and Kouki is able to guess the password for the account based on Jugemu’s full name (ie what comes after two Jugemus). 

The irony that a boy who ended up dying so young had a username based on a boy whose million names were meant to ensure a long life is not lost on me. I’m not sure if that was actually what Harada intended in the og story at all, maybe it’s just me overthinking, but it makes this whole thing even sadder.

Fun fact: in the manga, the password was not spelled out for the reader like it was in the drama, you had to figure it out yourself if you wanted to access a website that is linked at the end of the manga that features a special bonus drawing. I think you can still find the link at the end of the english edition of One Room Angel manga on MangaPlanet’s website.

If you want to know more about rakugo, I definitely recommend checking out Descending Stories/ Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu. It's a story about two rival rakugoka, and it showcases the culture and stories of rakugo with love and detail. The original manga was drawn by the famous BL mangaka Kumota Haruko, so even if it’s not strictly BL, I think BL lovers will enjoy it (I sure did). The manga has been licensed in english by Kodansha and there is also a beautiful anime adaptation and a live action drama!

Online sources: JP and ENG wikipedia, NHK for School

[lovelycureaestetic]

Reorganising my manga library

Before

After

The Yaoi Section has expanded its nefarious reach, now occupying three shelves

Some close-ups

Tiny-Arbitro has been moved to the Vintage Yaoi books and the base of Cushion-Miku removed for practicality. Ai no Kusabi intelligently hides Nii-chan cough cough.

And even after all this there's so much hidden and as soon as I buy even just one more yaoi it's over for me, bitches 😭

Anyway NOW GACHIAKUTA HAS IT'S VERY DESERVED SHRINE

[rousetga]

pierce me

[gomi-draws]

Nii-chan

[yaoi-reading]

Happy Shitty Life

[spirit-of-anime]

Color Recipe

[arcadebroke]

[enstaro]

one room angel

[ishaslife]

Harada Sanosuke: Analysis | Hakuoki

Please keep in mind that everything in the following post is my opinion and will contain spoilers for the Hakuoki games: Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms as well as the anime. Also disputing talk of assault.

I don't get the hate towards Harada. I have seen so many posts or comments talking about how Harada is this borderline sexist, possessive dude who doesn't allow Chizuru to come out of her shell and makes her this damsel in distress. Also, how he doesn't have any character besides "I want to meet a beautiful woman and have a family and a nice house by the ocean". So, first of all, there is nothing wrong with being a damsel in distress, I wholeheartedly believe that Chizuru would've died the night she came to Kyoto or been eaten by the furies had the Shinsengumi not saved her, she isn't helpless I know that but she isn't a warrior either and she is no match for furies or trained soldiers, Harada knows this. As for his stereotypical view on genders, he never uses them in a way to harm anyone and always has Chizuru's best interest in mind.

At the last leg of Kyoto Winds, if you're romancing him, he tells Chizuru that "the battlefield is no place for a woman" believe me, I was put off to hear that but he follows it by saying "and you're not a warrior" and he isn't wrong again. Chizuru is not a fighter and she would very likely die or not be able to fight in a battle for various reasons. He doesn't necessarily mean "you're woman and you don't belong in battle" he basically means that she isn't a woman who's a warrior.

Chizuru isn't weak. She's strong but not in a masculine sense, her strengths lie elsewhere, in, I suppose what most would consider "feminine" aspects of life. She is a woman of the 1800s and is good at things that women are expected to be good at in those times and has done very brave things like risking her life coming to Kyoto. The reality is that she is a good cook, she knows a good bit of healing, she can clean and she works very hard to keep everyone's spirits up, she has some skill with a sword but not enough to fight trained samurai or rabid furies. She does owe the Shinsengumi and she knows this, that is commendable. All this doesn't make her weak or small or a damsel in distress, she does all she can and what she's good at; just like Harada does what he's good at and that's fighting to protect people, he often talks about how being a Samurai isn't about fighting, it's about protecting women and children (please remember that this is during a time when MOST women were still homemakers). Despite wanting to embody the epitome of masculinity, people tend to forget that Harada is very kind and gentle towards Chizuru, asks her about her thoughts and feelings and does the same in return, tells her to let herself feel what she feels and not hide it which are also qualities that aren't toxic or toxically masculine, in fact, in those days they would've been considered feminine and weak. People don't tend to like the fact that Harada's route more human and doesn't allow Chizuru to find out more about her demon blood and I agree. I do wish that the devs would've added more story to Chizuru and her bloodline in Harada's route aside from the romance. Harada doesn't seem to mind that she is a demon, as he has said plenty of times and it would only make sense if she wants to know more about her family and where she comes from, which would make her choice to live as a human feel more earned and satisfactory. Edo Blossoms in general was a very rushed game and feels more so like an epilogue than a proper story like Kyoto Winds which is a shame but oh well.

Harada has never struck out to me as someone who is possessive or even misogynistic. As a lover, he wants to look out for Chizuru and protect her, as every partner should. Even as a friend, he wants to look out for her because he swore to protect her, like the other Shinsengumi men and Harada likes to keep his promises. His flirty remarks here and there are just part of his personality and how he is, he likes to joke around, be carefree and make girls blush and he knows his limits, something that he calls Nagakura out on, saying "you don't understand when a girl starts to get uncomfortable", something along those lines I believe. Although Chizuru is a predefined character who has her own thoughts and feelings, most tend to forget that she is still being played by the player and many tend to self-insert themselves in the game like I did. A lot of her personality changes with who she romances. With Harada, her whole self-inflicted angst is that she is a monster and he's a human, hence he'll never like her the way she likes him (remember that Chizuru has had a crush on him for a while now and Harada knows this as he fancies her too but he doesn't push it because he doesn't want to cause complications) Harada only properly says he loves Chizuru when SHE confesses to him, saying that he has always had putting his feelings into words which is something I can relate to.

Most people have qualms with a scene that comes a while after this, where Chizuru decides to leave for Edo alone because she doesn't want the man she loves to have to choose between his best friend and her, the woman he loves. So, let me break it down: When she goes to say goodbye, Harada gets sad and says "you're not even gonna bother consulting me, are you?" to which Chizuru replies "that's right, I'm telling you. Right now." Harada gets a bit upset after this and that is valid, he brings up a fair point that this is war and if they separate now, there's a very likely chance they won't see each other again. And Chizuru knows this. They are a couple and couples make decisions together, her telling him that she is going to go to Edo by herself is hurtful if you put yourself in Harada's shoes. Being told such a thing would get anyone angry, he isn't mad at her because she wants to go alone, he's mad because she didn't even bother talking to him about it. She calls herself pathetic and says that she feels like she is a burden to him. This is self-deprecation on Chizuru's part, not Harada's, from the beginning, he has wanted to care for her and protect her. He has never seen it as a burden or something that bothers him, it truly makes him happy to do so. Harada contemplates and says that he has never wanted much from life, only to be with a beautiful woman, have a beautiful home and some peace and quiet and he has had plenty of opportunities to do so but he never did because he couldn't commit but now that he has found Chizuru, he finally feels like he can be happy with someone and commit to the good, idyllic life that he wants. He points out that she chose him and told him that she wanted to spend her life with him so; according to me, her choosing to go to Edo alone is a bit counter-intuitive, it's almost as if she came to say "goodbye" to Harada hoping he'd change her mind. It is also a bit selfish on Chizuru's part because they are in this together, even if he went on to fight with Nagakura, he'd keep worrying about how Chizuru is and what happened to her. Honestly, this whole scene would've gone a lot better if she just talked to him about it rather than tell him.

Another scene which seems to put people off is their kiss in the beginning of Edo Blossoms, Chizuru is sad and distressed because of how Sanan has been speaking to her and basically threatening her, telling her that she doesn't care about the the Shinsengumi and has concocted a lie about Heisuke, saying he's getting worse (we don't know this to be false at this point in the game) and has told her to not tell Harada about it because he may get angry and that might cause him to want to leave altogether. After days of not talking to one another, Harada has had enough and asks Chizuru why she is so sad and crying, she ends up getting very hysterical and doesn't give him a clear answer for obvious reasons, not knowing what to do, Harada kisses her out of the blue. Now, I have heard that this is assault or harassment by harada because "he kisses her against her will" but I disagree. The definition(s) of assault according to the Cambridge dictionary is:

to attack someone violently.

to make a sudden, violent attack on someone.

And harrasment:

behaviour that annoys or upsets someone

behaviour that annoys or troubles someone

illegal behaviour towards a person that causes mental or emotional suffering which includes repeated unwanted contacts without a reasonable purpose, insults, threats, touching or offensive language.

behaviour towards someone that is threatening or that annoys or upsets them.

If it was assault and/or harrasment, Chizuru wouldn't have liked it (and we know she did) and she had every opportunity to push him away but she doesn't. Chizuru is a decently strong woman and she would never tolerate any form of mistreatment. Even if her efforts were futile, she wouldn't stand being kissed by someone she doesn't like. Besides, if one has played Kyoto Winds, they know that Harada knows Chizuru and respects her, he wouldn't do something to her that he knew she wouldn't like. He is also not the kind to assault someone, a big part of his personality is protecting the helpless. Harada knows she likes him and she does, we as the player know this and Harada likes her, even if it is unspoken or she chooses to be oblivious of it (but it isn't since at the end of Kyoto Winds, Harada tells her "when you fall for someone, you want to protect them always"). Besides, this is a romance in a video game. Inserting myself in this scenario, as I'm sure many of us do when playing these games, I would not categorise this as assault, I'd want to be kissed by my crush. Eventually, it does help her calm down and she is able to talk to Harada about what she's been going through and he looks out for her. Those saying it's "unrealistic" to do such a thing, this is an anime game taking place in the mid 1800s where a woman is surrounded by a harem of men who look after her, oh and also, demons. Of course its unrealistic, it's a video game. In reality, she'd have died the night she came to Kyoto or worse.

Harada's Personality:

Harada is a bit of a complex, he's simple but he's not. He is hyper masculine but he's very gentle and kind. He likes the ideal of protecting the helpless, even in a relationship, he sees it as a man's job to protect the woman he loves. Some may call this sexist but I don't think so, as a partner, you want to protect your significant other, whether it is physically or emotionally. Either both can do it or just one, in some relationships that works, that is, if the other doesn't expect the same in return and that's absolutely fine. As a straight female, I adore the idea that the man I love would want to protect me, it is heartwarming to hear such a thing from your significant other and for them to put it into action. Harada is one of those people, he wants to protect Chizuru and doesn't expect her to do the same, mostly because she can't. She isn't too skilled physically so it only makes sense that Harada would be the physical protector. This doesn't make him sexist, it is just his preference. And there is nothing wrong with a man being physically dominant or being the protector in a relationship, some people like myself are into that. It doesn't make a woman weak to be physically protected by her partner, her strengths may lie elsewhere like Chizuru's do. She is very grounded and allows Harada to be more open, which in a sense is emotional protection. He opens up to her about his feelings and thoughts and things he's always wanted from life. Things, he's never even told his closest friends. She looks after him in a more traditionally feminine ways and is happy doing so. Harada is very level-headed and always tries to put himself in other people's shoes before making a decision, he's thoughtful and dutiful. He sees being a samurai not being about fighting or gaining glory but about protecting the weak which is a quality that's difficult to find. He cares deeply for his friends and comrades, has learnt from his foolish mistakes as a boy which has made him a sensitive, sensible and mature person. His flirtiness and tendency to joke around with people is just a character trait that makes him approachable and playful, it isn't immaturity. As for him calling Chizuru an "idiot" or "stupid", well, one can argue that she was being stupid and idiotic in those instances, she is a very passive character and tends to become very self-deprecating at times which can be frustrating, Harada has the patience of a monk, most people would just get annoyed. And besides, I don't know about you, but I'd prefer to be called out on my idiocy by my partner. Also, the way harada says it, sounds more playful than malicious.

I adore his level-headedness and ability to make decent decisions despite the initial impression of him as a character. I genuinely thought he was gonna be the comic relief of the game and not have a good romance path but I was wrong. He sneaks you out the first night or so you have been at the Shinsengumi headquarters to help you get some air and not be clouded with bad thoughts which is a super sweet gesture given the tight spot you're in. He talks with Sen in the hopes that she might be able to help you feel better. He even looks out for you with Sanan and basically tells him not to bother you further. In his special anime episode, he puts his life on the line for a stranger who just wants to meet his sick mother and, albeit a minor thing: while they're outside he fixes Chizuru's slipper for her, also allowing her to lean on him while he does so. I know this seems a silly thing to mention but it's a little sign of care and compassion which touches my heart more than anything. If these are not signs of love, duty or care towards a person/people then perhaps I have it wrong.

Harada has gotten very high up in my fictional crush list lol and he might stay there forever I think. Truly a wonderful man <3

"if you live each day in spite of yourself, refusing to accept what you truly want, then it's only natural for you to lose touch with who you really are." - Harada Sanosuke

[t-e-n-s-e-i-g-a]