DESCRIPTION

CHAPTERS

REVIEWS

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  UntappedChaos

  52/100
  Ask Affection, but no one is asking.

  Story

  Sakuma Hiroto has a pretty face and a nice body, and according to him, there’s nothing good about it. After all, every man he’s ever been with has only liked his appearance, and never loved him for himself. After breaking up with his boyfriend, he despairs of ever finding true love and ends up drinking himself silly—only to collapse in a garbage disposal area on his way home. There, he encounters his former high school classmate, Oogami Issa.

  Issa is the son of a famous stage actress, but his rebellious streak led him to use his acting skills in the adult entertainment industry instead. He’s straight by all accounts, but Hiroto has strangely always been the exception to that rule. After bringing Hiroto home with him, Issa is quick to make a move, and promises to love Hiroto enough that he won’t even be able to think about his broken heart.

  Hiroto gives in to Issa’s coaxing. He completely dismisses Issa’s words and simply seeks only the physical warmth and pleasure of being with another person, too emotionally exhausted to consider anything more. Issa, on the other hand, is convinced he wants to give a relationship with Hiroto a proper go. Despite Hiroto’s initial dismissal, he persists—so Hiroto relents, and they enter something resembling a relationship.

  In pursuit of building their relationship quickly, Issa practically moves in with Hiroto, and showers him with affection and attention. However, despite close quarters and sweet nothings, Issa hasn’t made a move to hold Hiroto since the first time—a circumstance that baffles Hiroto, who has been in largely physical relationships.

  One evening, Hiroto returns home to Issa covered in hickeys from one of his shoots. He explains the reason—that men and women are the same when it comes to displays of possessiveness in relationships—but Hiroto’s mind is elsewhere. He ends up asking Issa if the reason they haven’t had sex again is that Issa’s job satisfies his needs. Issa is stunned at the gap between their understanding of the relationship they have when Hiroto confesses to thinking of them as something akin to sex friends. Issa makes it a point to tell Hiroto that sex isn’t the only way for people to express affection. The two end up getting physical, and Hiroto is swayed by Issa’s direct personality, possessive touches, and his heated confession, but still refuses to recognize Issa’s feelings.

  Issa recalls how he regarded Hiroto with indifference in high school, considering him someone strangely pretty but too perfect. In comparison, he’s come to hold true affection for the Hiroto he’s come to know—someone with their share of quirks and imperfections. Earning Hiroto’s affection has been like trying to get a stray cat to warm up to him, and Issa savors every success. However, knowing his initial motives also means doubting his current feelings. Since the relationship began out of curiosity, Issa struggles to understand if his shows of affection are still motivated by curiosity alone, or because he has genuinely come to love Hiroto as a person.

  Issa confides in a co-actor one day, seeking an outside opinion. The co-actor understands his dilemma—or occupational hazard, really—and asks if he plans to end the relationship, since he’s already uncovered Hiroto’s true nature and satisfied his thirst for understanding. When he considers whether or not he intends to let Hiroto go, Issa is faced with his own possessiveness and realizes he’s never been so invested in someone before. Just as he concludes that it might be alright to fall in love for real, he sees Hiroto being touched by another man on the street. The sight immediately faces Issa with the reality that love can actually be painful.

  On the other hand, Hiroto recognizes that he’s already become too used to Issa’s affection and consideration. He struggles to find balance in their relationship, since he feels Issa is giving him too much, and caring more than he should. Despite his protests, however, when Issa asks Hiroto where he would like to go on a date, Hiroto’s real frustrations slip out when he confesses his desire to hear more about Issa himself. Issa’s happiness in the relationship is infectious, and Hiroto’s resolve to keep things physical wavers again.

  On the day Issa confides in his co-actor, Hiroto sees the two sitting together, and his insecurities come back in force. He recalls how Issa was originally straight, and convinces himself that Issa only “loved” him out of kindness and pity. He’s knocked out of his thoughts by a handsy co-worker and his unwelcome flirtations, and returns to work without realizing Issa saw them.

  In an act of self-preservation, Hiroto determines to break up with Issa. He pours out his insecurities to Issa, and Issa is, in turn, provoked to honesty of his own. Hiroto is faced with an uncomfortable truth: he was disregarding Issa’s feelings the same way all Hiroto’s previous partners had disregarded his feelings. Hiroto confesses that his reaction was sparked by seeing Issa with his female co-worker, which made him feel insecure. Issa calls him out on his jealousy in a somewhat better humor, though Hiroto tries to deny it, and Issa admits that he, too, was jealous after seeing Hiroto being touched by his handsy coworker. Issa confesses to Hiroto anew, and asks him to be his boyfriend, and Hiroto promises to no longer leave Issa as the sole driving force in their relationship.

  After their date, Issa surprises Hiroto with a ring as a sign of his commitment, and declares he’ll leave the porn industry and return to stage acting. He doesn’t want to hold anyone but Hiroto anymore.

  The story is a simple one. Old classmates reunite under cruddy circumstances. They decide to give a relationship a shot with mismatched motives that have nothing to do with love. They both kinda get into it more than they thought they would, and after they get over their emotional hurdles, happily for a while after.

  The mangaka didn’t break any brain cells on this one. There isn’t really a plot to speak of. One could argue that this is more upmarket in style, since the uke’s failed relationships and emotional scars are the entire driving force of the story, but I think that’s giving it too much credit.

  There are no subplots. A handsy co-work gets established, but his character is so disposable he could be switched with a nameless mob without missing a beat. Hiroto’s most recent boyfriend had almost as much personality as Issa with no face, no name, and a grand total of three lines. He would’ve made for a spectacular subplot, but alas.

  Overall, there’s no continuity to the story. The creator rode everything on one character’s personality, such that the story requires a play-by-play since there aren’t any proper “plot points.”

  Final Rating: 3/10

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  Characters

  Sakuma Hiroto is pretty. He’s very pretty, with a nice body, and abysmal taste in men. He’s the quintessential gap moé character, since he likes sports and drinking, has zero life skills, and a rough manner of speaking—all despite that face of his.

  Hiroto is also the sole driving force of the story. He’s completely drained emotionally, and has nothing left to give anyone else. After numerous bad relationships (presumably), he’s in full defense mode after encountering something unfamiliar: honest affection and consideration. Because the relationship and dynamic is so odd, and he’s so very tired, he clings even more stubbornly to his sense of self-preservation.

  Oogami Issa is handsome and hot, and he was raised by a high profile actress before turning into a rebellious bad boy. He went into the porn industry because he had the skills and it was a thing a hot rebel could do. He’s highly curious, likes sports, earned all his requisite life skills, and possesses an affectionate nature.

  That is all.

  Issa doesn’t face a lot of character development, though he does have the “bad boy straightens out his shit” arc sort of. To some extent, one could say Issa is the “he’s perfect and provides everything the poor, broken MC needs for heartbreak recovery” insert. His backstory and reasons were solid though, so while he’s uninteresting, he’s not poorly made.

  Final Rating: 6/10
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  Art

  The sex scenes are hot.

  The creator certainly knows how to compose those.

  Aside from the sex scenes, there’s nothing much to say. The art is not notable. I would even go so far as to say the character designs are mediocre. Hiroto is supposed to be extremely pretty, but he just looks very tired and kind of middle-aged. Issa is a freaking porn actor, he’s supposed to be off the charts, but he’s just every generic handsome black-haired ML we see in all the other series. If I drew a fan art of this series, no one would be able to recognize the characters even if they read this series, simply because the designs have absolutely nothing of note to recommend them.

  Additionally, a muscle trans person with a buzz cut? That’s the best you can do for that fun bar-mama? Please, for the love of all that’s good, try again.

  Final Rating: 5/10
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  Complaints

  This series was not thought through. The last chapter is a date chapter with little comments about what their future looks like, and is otherwise entirely devoid of purpose. The series itself has no real plot, and just meanders from one “oh look a plot point” to another without any purpose. The climax is half-assed, and the payoff isn’t any better. The character designs are sub-par. Nothing of interest actually happens.

  Redactions: None
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  Bonuses

  Solid characterization. The creator didn’t do much with it, mind you, but the characters made sense.

  Issa hit his rebellious phase and held onto it well into adulthood, which informed his career decision as well as his decision to treat Hiroto like a stray kitten he found on the side of the road. He makes sense.

  Hiroto has poor taste in men, and has ended up in multiple relationships where he was more used for sex than treated like a proper lover. Some of his behaviors coincide with those found in people who have been in abusive relationships, especially his confusion with how to handle Issa’s goodwill. It’s like putting your freezing cold feet in a steaming, hot bath—it hurts like a bitch. I like that Hiroto’s mental profile stayed consistent through the story. It wasn’t magically cured by the power of a perfect boyfriend, and became a point of contention when he couldn’t handle his healthy relationship in a healthy way.

  Bonus: +5
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  Final Thoughts

  Ask Affection isn’t the poorest attempt at a story. Despite all my grouching, it earned bonus points! If you like character-driven narratives, you may give this short series a read.

  However, if you do not like character-driven narratives, probably give it a pass. Ask Affection might very well bore you to tears, and this is not worth crying over.

  Continue on AniList

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