I liked the aesthetic value of the series. The cinematography was beautiful, the visuals were on point, the intimate scenes were done beautifully, the plot was interesting… at least until we look at it closely. Then it starts to raise a lot of red flags and shows Segasaki to be abusive and controlling.

My main question is have Segasaki and Yoh ever actually dated? It is not once said that the two are together. Yoh is introduced as Segasaki’s slave. Maybe a bit extreme choice of word, but that’s what he is. He cooks, he cleans and takes care of everything home related for Segasaki. Yoh did everything Segasaki told him to, never said no to things, and showed immense guilt whenever he did something he felt like was not good enough. He was not allowed to go places, meet friends… unless he was given permission.

Which brings me to their intimacy. I know Yoh is shown as a willing participant, as someone who might want that to be a more regular occurrence, but is sex really what he wants? He might be craving attention and love from the person he is dependent on. Was that something he actually wanted from the start? Or did he just fear saying no? Did he think he is not allowed to say no? Their situation raises a lot of questions when it comes to consent. But it seems like that is something that is not ever properly addressed. I don’t mind when series have dubious consent or non-consent, but it needs to be properly addressed and not just accepted as something that is okay to do.

I did enjoy certain aspects of the series and I think the actors had great chemistry. I do wish some things had been done a bit differently (or more clearly expressed). How the whole question of consent was kind of brushed over didn’t sit well with me, and it did bring the rating down a bit. Also, Segasaki’s new work partner… why, just why?