The Tyrant Falls In Love

Love

Very good

Good

That ending feels like a total cliffhanger and it is obvious they just want you to go buy the manga but the tension between the lab assistant and his senpai is so thick

I know this came out years ago, but the aphrodisiac plot point feels like such a dated trope and it makes the whole encounter feel wrong. Morinaga is usually so sweet, so seeing him flip like that was jarring. Souichi is usually terrible too with his constant shouting and homophobia so it is just two messy people being toxic together

Watching Morinaga ignore every boundary because of some mystery potion is a huge red flag and you can't even feel bad for Souichi because he says the most hateful stuff about gay people

The animation for this old OVA is actually decent and Souichi is definitely a tyrant but seeing him get flustered after being such a jerk all the time was interesting at least

I really wanted to like Morinaga but that drink scene was hard to watch and he basically threw away any moral high ground just to get with a guy who hates his guts

Morinaga finally snapping and taking what he wanted from his homophobic senpai was a huge moment but it definitely leaves a sour taste because of the drugs

The way this episode treats consent is basically non existent and it ruins the comedy when Tatsumi is literally begging him to stop during the encounter

Tatsumi being so aggressive and loud makes it a shock when he finally breaks down, even if the circumstances with the aphrodisiac are completely messed up, and wrong

I think Morinaga lost his mind the second he saw Tatsumi in that state and part of me was horrified while the other part couldn't stop watching the train wreck

Watching this in 2024 is a strange experience because the way Morinaga takes advantage of the drug situation is extremely hard to ignore and it makes the romance feel non existent and Tatsumi being a massive homophobe just adds another layer of mess to the whole dynamic so it feels more like a horror story than a love story right now

Everything about the consent in this episode is a disaster and it makes it hard to root for anyone even if the drama is high

Tatsumi is such a nightmare person with the way he talks about gay people and seeing Morinaga still pine for him is painful to watch after that hotel room scene

Tatsumi yelling and being a total tyrant is exactly what I expected from the title but the ending of the first episode left me feeling so conflicted about Morinaga

I watched this because people kept mentioning the aphrodisiac scene and my god it was so messy and dark Morinaga really crossed a line when Tatsumi was telling him to stop and it made the whole tone shift fast

The aphrodisiac plot is such an old school yaoi thing, but seeing Morinaga actually go through with it while Tatsumi was crying, and saying no, felt pretty gross

Morinaga waiting five years for this guy is wild and then he just goes and uses a potion like a villain which is so messed up but weirdly entertaining to watch

You can really feel the tension when the most homophobic guy on the planet suddenly finds himself in that position after five years of Morinaga just waiting for a chance