More "Dolls"!!! I really thought chapter three was going to be the last one. I see they kept seeing each other. I wonder if her husband knows about this.
An after story in full colour? Interesting.
"You've certainly changed"? Yeah...Because of you.
And hey, nothing wrong with being wrung dry by that end...It's something you brought upon yourself, after all, so just accept it?
That being said, from chapter 1 to this finale, it showed her going from not wanting to have cheating sex with him, to gradually becoming more comfortable with it, until she actually starts actively asking for it.
I've read Japanese reviews of the series and one quote stood out:
"Rather than a fall, this is an awakening."
This perfectly sums up Ayana throughout the series. She isn't utterly corrupted at the end like how most other characters would be. However, she is a changed woman now. She's gotten the taste of the forbidden fruit and she's gonna take as many bites as she wants, on her terms, everybody else be dammed.
Although I 99% of the time I don't even read anything cheating (or ntr for that matter). I did give this series a shot because it was Esuke. Ngl, I'm still not on-board but I don't dislike this series either. Our main guy wasn't a big asshole like they normally all are,so that's a big plus in my book. But the whole low dick energy vs high dick energy is still a big turn of to me. I hope to someday read a story of this genre that doesn't take this overdone "plot device".
Not trying to hate or anything, just trying to give my opiniona little bit about something I don't usually read.
For me, this series becomes amazing if you pay attention to/analyze Ayana's character arc. It's a really fun thought exercise! The choices that Esuke made (most of them via subtext) give Ayana a certain amount of depth that I believe most artist can't provide. I walked away from the series viewing her arc as tragic but somehow feeling happy for her at the end.
Not to justify cheating but I got this vibe, even beyond taking into account that the first extramarital encounter was his idea, that the husband was a royal douche. In some aspects, I kinda felt sorry for her.
This cheating sage is (was) easy to take for me bc her husband initiated the relationship between her and his employee. He whored her out and it blew up in his face (or maybe the result is what he wanted?).
Esuke had a change of heart and gave us this short, gorgeously colored work. My god this was insanely hot, just like the rest of this series. But "After Story" huh? That sure as hell sounds like an epilogue, which means this really might be the end. I know Esuke will probably never read this, but I need to say this: If this is truly the end, then
Thank you Esuke.
Thanks for making the most well thought out, intensely erotic hentai series I have ever read in my life. I've spent hours indulging in it's eroticism and analyzing it's story. It was one hell of a ride and I loved every second of it.
- This was released in Japan a week before Esuke's latest book came out. So this may have served as a promotion for the book, which explains it's short length. Here's the product page of the book on Wanimagazine's website:
https://www.wani.com/product/4862697011/
- The version of this release in Esuke's book is in monochrome. Only the Weekly Kairakuten version is in color.
- DLsite (a Japanese media distributor) made a brief music video about the series. It's beautifully done and very erotic!
https://mobile.twitter.com/DLsiteManiax/status/1260416778108370945
The Dolls series is the reason why I bought "Darling, You Drive Me Mad..." even though that saga wasn't in that book. I felt that Dolls wasn't one of those mind-numbing cheating stories but had a well-thought out character development.