Ecchi done right? Wataki-run ****** is about to collapse
I watched the anime not long ago. It wasn't my type of anime since the female cast is way sexualized and it's kinda of a harem where everyone wants to be with the male protagonist. I remember watching it and about halfway getting anxious with "will this ever get any good?".
Fellas, it does! I finished watching it and after some pondering I was still unsure of many things, specially Satsuki's story and why she acted like that. I did some googling chatgpt'ing and was told the manga can expand quite a bit. I re-read the most important parts, mainly breaks 41-42 >!(the part where they go visit her foster family)!<, and then from break 67 or so to the end >!(starting when she finally accepts trying again to have a relationship with Naoto after all he does to find her again, shout-out Tokui for pulling the right strings)!<.
And I want to put my case on why this is a case of ecchi done right. To do that tho, I will need to rely on heavy spoilers, so proceed with caution.
LAST WARNING, HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD!
>!My perspective changed when I realized she was an emotionally abandoned child. Her mother was pretty and would leave her behind to go out and have fun. Shortly after starting to work for her daughter's future foster family, she ran away. So picture this: she was probably already neglected by her mother, then mother runs away. She shuts helself up through middle school, unsure of how to handle this. Her only good relationship was with Naoto, so she seeks him and goes after him with the only thing she knows: her looks. It seems to be the only way she knows how to make herself desirable.!<
>!That's why the story start with her throwing herself on him. For her, that's the only thing of worth. And her behavior is the same of an abandoned child who is now scared of being left behind again. She asks him to do whatever he wants to her, like saying "I don't care the cost, I just don't want to be abandoned again". In the end, his response is “You don't have to give me anything to make me stay.”!<
>!That's why the rival, Yukari, being a bombshell beauty makes sense. She is also using basically the same tactics, but it doesn't work in the end. She wonders "why? I'm gorgeous, I'm sweet to him, why he doesn't he choose me?". And he had every reason to, she gave him comfort and safety.!<
>!Instead, he goes for Satsuki as a way to finally heal that child from his past, not only reconnecting with his first love, but facing his own monsters head-on.!<
In the end, that's why I think the ecchi parts actually fit the story. Sure, the tension that is built from all the intimate moments can keep you glued, the fanservice might even be why you start watching. But it goes deep into the characters, even a few of the side ones get some love.
Totally worth a watch. The anime has the whole story, but since it's quite fast might be easy to lose these details about Satsuki, and it makes all the difference.