come to a realization that there isn't enough poly media. "love triangle" yeah fucking right. they're all kissing each other for fun. ty to the creator of ao3 for making a romantasy novel based on slavic mythology where the main girl gets to kiss her girlfriend and her boyfriend that was great of you can i have 10 more
Love how ML shows polyamory in this episode! Yes, he loves everyone, yes Rose loves him too (as a friend), yes Juleka is uncomfortable with it all (until she reveals she was just scared she was less compatible)!!! The lesson is "polyamory is fine but it's not for everyone"! It's so fun for poly people and it's not too noticeable for children, great subtle representation ❤️
The episode is even titled "vampigami" which can stand for vampire origami and vampire polygamy!
We Started a Threesome!!, or 3 Partner Hajimemashita!!, is a romantic drama manga by author Katsu Aki.
Lia, Suisei and Emito have known each other since they were children, taking care of a stray cat in the forest. They were inseparable, and the day after they graduated high school, the three of them got unofficially married.
Now adults, the three of them live together in an apartment in the city, far away from their hometown and all the bad memories that live there. Lia is adamant their path in life is the right one, and Emito tends to go along with whatever Lia says, but Suisei still has doubts.
WSAT is...a bizarre read. Three volumes total, it's not overly long, but all three volumes retread the same path over and over, with a couple pit stops that are a VERY jarring shift in tone along the way.
Spoilers from here on out:
Nearly every side character in this series is an enemy to the protagonists in some way, and to say "some way" is a bit generous, because it's almost all in the same way. A character appears, finds out the protagonists are polyamorous, and either try to seduce one of them themselves, or begin to harass them and convince them of how unhealthy and doomed polyam relationships are...or maybe both at the same time!
Lia's boss tries to seduce her as a fellow believer in "free love" ("Wouldn't you be even happier with four?"), Suisei's coworker tells him they're just putting off the inevitable ("Don't you think you're fooling yourself?"), Emito's coworker and her boyfriend want Emito for themselves ("You don't just have to stick to your little threesome..."), Lia's coworkers harrass her for her lifestyle ("You're just a sex-hungry whore that can't be satisfied with just one man!"), Lia's friend from their school days quotes the bible to tell her she's being used (""No one can serve two masters"...loving two people equally at the same time is impossible." and also the incredible line "you're basically just taking turns raping your girlfriend!")...et cetera, et cetera, for all three volumes. A certain degree of conflict is perfectly reasonable in a romantic drama about polyamory, but it becomes stale very quickly when every character is more or less preaching the same thing, and the protagonists react the same way each time.
When faced with opposition, Lia insists this is their path to happiness, and that she won't let go of either Suisei or Emito.
Suisei, in that situation, says this is what they chose as a triad and it will always be that way, but internally he wonders if it's really the best choice.
Emito, says the two of them need him, but ultimately isn't sure where he belongs in the relationship...for a reason that begins to be explored halfway through the series.
These feelings are reiterated ad nauseum without much noteworthy change.
And then, in the middle of volume two, (trigger warning),
Emito's mother drags him back to their hometown, where he is, off-screen, presumably sexually assaulted by Emito's father's boss. It is revealed in this same chapter, that this happened when he was a child as well. He would be dressed up as a girl in this grown man's apartment...and what happens afterward is up to the reader to interpret, but seems fairly obvious.
This is a very sudden and very starling development that felt very out of left field. I don't recall any mention of Emito's past trauma in volume one, despite how much focus they give to Lia's trauma regarding her parent's suicide. It's a jarring moment that almost feels like it's there for shock value, and also comes across as somewhat offensive when it's ripple-effect comes into play later on.
Near the end of volume two, Emito's coworker suggests to Lia that Emito is in love with Suisei, and has been hiding it for the sake of keeping the dynamic of their triad in tact. However, it's revealed in the middle of volume three that it isn't that simple. Emito isn't just in love with Suisei, he's jealous of Lia...as in, he wants to be Lia. Emito has been dressing as a woman and stalking Suisei and Lia, and has been sleeping around with his coworker's boyfriend.
After this, Emito is revealed, right at the end of volume three, to have transitioned, and looks exactly like Lia. (She still goes by Emito, however.)
Emito being revealed to be a transwoman isn't a problem on it's face--it's an interesting reveal, when separated from it's questionable optics regarding her sexual assault and, seemingly, only wanting to be a woman so she can be with Suisei. This aspect isn't explored enough, in my opinion, leaving us with just the shock-reveal of Emito having been cross-dressing and sleeping around. It seems like the intention may have been that Emito was sleeping with another man to explore how she feels about her identity, but again, it isn't explored outside of it's relation to her feelings for Suisei.
It's also worth noting that this reveal leads to Emito running out into the street and getting hit by a truck. She doesn't get isekai'd thankfully, she makes a full recovery, but there is a time-skip of 6 months of her staying in a coma, and Lia finding out she's been pregnant for a while (she doesn't know which of them, uh, sired the child). There's also a bait-and-switch in the last chapter, where the series makes you believe Lia has died during childbirth. But, it's revealed that both Lia and the child are fine and they're all living happily ever after.
Overall, it's messy. It's messy and uncomfortable basically the whole way through, even the moments that are meant to be lighthearted still feel bizarrely sinister with the way the dialogue is worded. It's technically meant to be positive about polyamory, but it doesn't really come across that way.
Even putting all of that aside, it's just not a very well written series. The pacing is so fast that none of the big moments have time to breathe, including the sudden inclusion of sexual assault. It's breezed by at lightning speed.
It's not a very good romance, and it's not a very good drama either. And if it can't manage to be good at either of those things, it's gonna be pretty hard to be a good polyam series.
Girlfriend, Girlfriend is a romantic-comedy manga by author Hiroyuki.
Naoya has been in love with Saki for years, but despite constantly declaring his love, she's always rejected him--until recently. Not too long after they start dating, though, Naoya is asked out by Nagisa, a girl who has had a crush on him for a while.
Nagisa shows such dedication that Naoya can't bring himself to turn her down...so he takes her to Saki, and asks her permission to date them both. Initially, Saki is vehemently against it, but Nagisa gives her puppy dog eyes and says "pleeeaaaseeee??" Saki can't say no to a cute girl, so she agrees.
GFGF is a comedy series first, and a romance series second. The polyamorous relationship between the main three is used as a vessel for the series' comedy. This usually consists of characters being angry about it for laughs. The relationship is consistently referred to as "two-timing", etc, and the readers are reminded very often that Naoya is scum for dating two women. It gives the impression that the author is only writing about polyamory because he thinks it's funny, and he thinks it's funny because it's wrong...which is very frustrating as a polyamorous reader.
The series can never seem to decide whether or not Saki and Nagisa are happy in this relationship. They will waffle between being perfectly content, and wanting Naoya to themselves and lamenting the situation they're in. Then, later on, Mirika and Shino join the fray, and they are both constantly deriding the relationship and expressing how wrong it is. (At least Shino makes solid points, interrogating Naoya about bigamy being illegal, and asking how he intends to financially support two people in this economy. She comes at it the wrong way, but her concerns are valid lol.)
During certain stretches of the series, it feels like every chapter is telling the reader, "this relationship is morally and socially wrong, but isn't it funny how scummy this guy is?"
Spoilers from here on out:
There are some very lovely moments, in particular chapter 129, after Saki has broken off the relationship because sharing Naoya makes her too sad. While the plot development itself feels like its retreading the same ground other arcs did, the conclusion is heartfelt. Shino and Nagisa agree that if Saki isn't happy, the relationship can't work, and they'll back off so she can date Naoya monogamously. They tell her that they love her, and want to see her happy, and they hope one day she might love them just as much. Saki bursts into tears and exclaims that she loves them both so much, and she always had fun while they were together. She comes to the conclusion that she's ultimately okay with the relationship after all, because, despite the sadness she feels from sharing Naoya, the happiness she feels at seeing the girls she cares about happy as well outweighs it.
THIS is fantastic. It's beautifully written and illustrated, the drama is great and heart-wrenching. I cry every time I read it.
But it's followed by Saki kind of, sighing, rolling her eyes, and letting Shino into the polycule. It still feels begrudging, even after all of that. Again, it's frustrating to read.
I could rant forever about Mirika and how deeply irritating I found her as a character, but I'll summarize it as this: she spends the entire series telling the main cast that not only is their relationship wrong and never going to work, but she's going to break them up and keep Naoya for herself. Then she joins the polycule at the end with no significant development to change that perspective. It's unsatisfying, not only because all of her wrong-doing throughout the series is basically ignored/forgiven, but it also doesn't do her character any sort of justice. SHE didn't want to be in a polyamorous relationship. She actively hated the idea, and down to the very last second, she continues to refuse it. Then...Naoya begs her to join the polycule, and she says yes. That's it.
I would say, in my opinion, as far as polyamorous representation goes, GFGF mostly fails. Some moments shine through, but the majority of the series is almost hostile to the very concept of polyamory, even if it is done in a comedic fashion.
If you're able to take this kind of writing on the chin and not be bothered by it, you very well might enjoy GFGF. I wouldn't go so far as to never recommend it to anyone looking for poly rep in anime/manga. But I definitely know of other series I'd recommend first.
