(Kings of paradise) do you think the MC was emotionally abused by Tomohiro?
Hi nonny!
It's refreshing to get an ask about KoP! It's been so long since I dealt with anything KoP-related haha. Thank you!
Was the Kings of Paradise MC emotionally abused by Tomohiro?
I'll start by saying that I wasn't interested to continue reading the later seasons of the guys at some point, so I don't remember where I've stopped, but I've at least read all of the LIs' Season 1. I'll base the answer on my knowledge overall, since I can't rely on every story.
The short answer to this would probably be: "Yes, No. It depends." which is a terrible and frustrating answer 🤣
First of all, if we follow the google definition of emotional abuse, it'd describe the following situation: "when someone repeatedly tries to make you feel bad, unloved or worthless".
When speaking of abuse (or even bullying), there has to be repetition in the act. Like a person is actively making someone feel bad and constantly belittling or gaslighting them.
From what I remember of Tomohiro's characterization, he seemed to bear a different behavior depending on the route. There would, for example, be a route where he actually does feel bad for what he's done to his wife and tries to take her back, and another route where he is more hostile and tries to make her feel guilty.
Regardless of the reasons that led him to cheat on her, I don't think Tomohiro's cheating was ultimately made to wound MC, or make her feel unloved and worthless. The reason I think that is because he actively hid his mistress from her, and only got caught when MC unexpectedly showed up at the party he attended with his mistress.
He didn't want his wife to know he had an affair. He didn't want to risk his marriage. Unless I'm wrong, I believe there are times when he even seems to still be in love with her and begs her to come back to him afterwards.
However, all things considered, when his cheating is revealed, he sometimes became despicable not only for having cheated, but also because of the excuses he came up with to defend himself.
Although I don't remember what he said to her, there were plenty of comments that cut her heart open and hurt her pride. THAT was intentional, and seeing how often he sometimes popped up, that could be considered emotional abuse.
If I can be honest, I think Tomohiro is a loser and despicable man through and through. And I think he's more egotistic than he can be loving. But I wouldn't say he actively tried to make her feel bad by cheating, unless in a specific route. Like I said, it depends on the characterization the author chose.
I believe the main problem, after future seasons, is MC's insecurities. While I understand her pain and pride getting hurt, letting her past take so much space, even after so much time and distance, is concerning.
She took too many of his hurtful comments or lame behavior get to her, and ended up emotionally scarred over a pathetic man very often (I'm not saying she's at fault for feeling bad, but that she should have freed herself from that pain a lot sooner).
So in short, to me at the very least, Tomohiro's emotional abuse is debatable. There are times he could be considered an abuser, and other times where he's simply a man trying to make up for his mistakes. Maybe there are scenes I didn't get to see where he's more than just a visible loser, but like I said I'm basing it on what I know.
Thank you for the ask!
