I picked up Volume 1 of Taika's Reason today and read it all in one sitting. I like the premise so far, and Taika and Ao are very intriguing characters. I was grossed out by that one moment when Taika says that he sees Ao as a female rather than his master, and that he'd rather mate with her than view her as his owner. HOWEVER, the following scene shows him interacting with her boyfriend Yoichi (who I just want to say is a walking green flag) and curiously asking if they will be mating like they sometimes do and if he can watch. This is followed by Yoichi calmly explaining human boundaries and the concept of taboo subjects and embarrassment. The fact that Taika didn't view Yoichi as a threat or get territorial over Ao was a huge relief. Later chapters show that Taika, as a newly-humanized animal, still has many animalistic tendencies, bad short-term memory, and less of a brain to mouth filter. He shows that he cares about Ao, but I don't think it's in a romantic way. He was just speaking casually about his lingering instincts.
I HOPE that's the case, because I really like Ao and Taika as a sibling duo, and I want to see more of Yoichi. Also, the idea of a master and humanized pet falling in love just gives me the ick. Too much power imbalance. Like, I'm a furry, but I have limits.
