Hot Gimmick by Miki Aihara

This manga sickened me. Don't get me wrong, I read the whole thing and thought it had the potential to be kind of romantic, but it ended up being a story about unhealthy obsession and relationship abuse. I understand that love is a passionate affair of swirling emotions and non-nonsensical actions and what not, but there is a fine line between a healthy relationship and an unhealthy relationship, and HG is an example of the latter. Hatsumi was treated with no respect by Ryoki and was referred to, and considered a slave (which has the potential to be interesting, but was just exploitation in this instance), a dog, and a piece of luggage. She was also admittedly afraid of Ryoki throughout the entire story and because of his insistence, began believing that she was stupid and worthless. This is not love. And I understand that Ryoki's childhood was in some way deficient and may be the cause of his actions and thoughts, but its not OK just to accept that as an excuse for his behaviour. One of the cool things about stories is watching the characters develop into new people by learning some life lesson. Hatsumi did not grow, and neither did Ryoki. This was an example of an emotionally abusive (and sometimes physically abusive) relationship that was applauded by friends and family. They show movies in high school warning kids about this kind of thing because it is wrong and all people, no matter their gender, should be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve as a human being. I shudder to think that this is socially acceptable and hope that no young girl gets a hold of it.