テンカウント

TEN COUNT

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
6
RELEASE
November 14, 2017
CHAPTERS
48

DESCRIPTION

Corporate secretary Shirotani suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. One day he meets Kurose, a therapist who offers to take him through a ten-step program to cure him of his compulsion. As the two go through each of the ten steps, Shirotani 's attraction to his counselor grows.

(Source: SuBLime)

CAST

Riku Kurose
Tadaomi Shirotani

CHAPTERS

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REVIEWS

starshape
20/100
A dangerously fetishistic BL that romanticizes abuse

This review was originally posted on MyAnimeList in 2021.

I didn't ever plan on writing any reviews, but this manga disgusted me so thoroughly that I felt I needed to write one. I cannot recommend this to anyone, and I especially don't recommend it if you're LGBT and/or have any mental illnesses.

As a person who also has mental compulsions, I was interested in this because of the main character, Shirotani, despite the fact that I feel he's depicted somewhat stereotypically. It would have been nice to read a manga about a character with realistic OCD and their journey as they heal, but this turned out to be… not that. At best, it's fetishistic, and at worst, it's actively harmful. I couldn't read more than the first two volumes before I had to stop.

Going in, I was a little concerned about the dynamic between Kurose and Shirotani, and I was glad they decide to just meet each other casually outside the clinic. I really had hopes at first to see him help Shirotani get better! And yet, Kurose starts to overstep boundaries. The complete lack of respect he seems to actually have for Shirotani and his condition is appalling, and seeing it culminate in him sexually assaulting Shirotani because he “loves him” was absolutely reprehensible.

What makes it all worse is the way it's fetishized. Shirotani says so many times that he hates Kurose touching him, that he's disgusted and feels contaminated, and yet the story goes on to insist “oh, but he actually did like it and can't stop thinking about it! ;)”. It's gross. If someone, especially someone who was helping me with one of my illnesses, ever took advantage of me and treated me in such a way, I would feel violated. I would ensure I never saw them again. No actual mentally ill person would react this way to being mistreated and having their trust betrayed like that.

If it were framed as Shirotani having an unhealthy dependence on Kurose, it would be different. If this were a story about Shirotani being dependent on Kurose and making bad decisions, and then having to learn from them and be better, it would be different. However, it's not. It's just a terribly unhealthy relationship that's fetishized and romanticized. And as someone who also has mental disorders, someone who saw myself in Shirotani, I felt really hurt by this manga and the way his character is ultimately handled.

I do not recommend it, not even if you don't care about the plot and just want to read it for the sexual content. I think it dangerously fetishizes mental illness, and romanticizes abuse from mental healthcare providers.

Thank you for reading, and please treat this manga with caution.
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