Holy shit
Ren really is surrounded by pain-in-the-ass women LOL

It really is like Taylor Tomlinson (comedian) said: you're either in the "I have a good-personality" group or the "I'm a model" group.

. . . this is like a cry for help via penciled high school girls /o\

That being said, I remember being a kid and thinking stuff like this. It would be in the middle of the night, and I would suddenly imagine what would happen to me if my parents died, and would burst into tears.

Woof. Thank God that stopped. Sometimes, being a kid is no fun at all.

holy crap a kid is missing and she's STILL making it all about her
Mitsuki is failing the girlfriend test harder than a teenager at the DMV

@ the title: SAME

I don't really see the point of this manga.
It's not advocating for lesbians.
It's not advocating for trans women.
It REALLY doesn't seem written by someone who is queer, or even has close queer friends.
So the way I'm reading this is it's written for straight people, by a straight person, who just picked up a random-ass premise for shock value, and the mangaka has neither the artistic nor writing chops to pull it off.

Personally, not offended by it. It just seems. . . Dunno. Very hollow and very schlocky.

I must say, when they said "Would you do ANYTHING? Just sign here!" I was expecting SIGNIFICANTLY more selling of souls to infernal powers.

Same!

I do think the reveal was hastened due to the obvious axe, and that's a fair criticism, but there's a few points I'd like to clarify.

Like, just because something is made up of small things (and they're not THAT small, since they can be seen with the naked eye) doesn't mean it can turn into different colors/textures, move super fast, swap bodies instantly, or impersonate multiple humans perfectly. Is Mr. N even transforming? Or is it swapping skinsuits?

1. The idea is probably that the bugs can re-form themselves into whatever shape they wish, hence why Niehara can instantly transform.

2. Probably what happens is that the bugs all disperse so you can't see them, then re-gather at a different location, thus giving the illusion of teleportation.

3. Niehara does not swap bodies or impersonate multiple humans. It appears that Niehara basically created a brand-new monster to puppet Hiraizumi's corpse, but they are not the same being. Hence why Niehara calls the Hiraizumi monster "my subordinate," and why Itou was able to poison the latter to death (it's safe to say that the poison wouldn't have worked on a mass of bugs).

Mr. N can stop Takahashi from transforming into a worm.

Again, it's not fully explained, but it seems that by preventing Takahashi from moving by blanketing her with bugs, she can no longer transform.

Mr. N can gain/lose mass with zero visual indicators.

Again, presumably some percentage of the bugs just go away when this happens

The more I think about it, it feels like the author is deliberately setting up falsse flags, and that makes the "hive-mind bug swarm" reveal feel unfair. Like signaling left, but driving right, and going "voila".

Again, I agree the axe made the reveal overly hasty. But for what it's worth, someone here did guess it in advance. So it wasn't totally out of left field.

Responding to this in order:
1.) I can definitely see the bugs transforming but then it's like what the heck. Why does Mr. N even need to be a bug swarm in the first place? Seems a bit redundant, and too many powers.
2.) I just kind of don't like how there's NO indicator of this. While this can be conjectured, all we see in the actual manga is Panel 1 Mr. N here --> Panel 2 Mr. N there. No smoke trail or anything, until finally Ch. 27, when Mr. N dissipates to escape Itou's hold.
3.) Mr. N swaps between male teacher, gyaru, and classmate Ooki.

I'm not saying that Mr. N's true form wasn't sign-posted at all. Like you said, someone did predict it.
But I think it was signposted badly, and "bug swarm" is doing too much to explain too many different abilities, and Mr. N, imo, is a Swiss army knife with just too many functions. Which doesn't feel as cool. . .
If a villain can do everything, it no longer feels like anything.

I think it would be more satisfying if the facade had gradually failed over time and we saw more inconsistencies in their act, instead of Itou's brain growing proportionally bigger to the speed with which the story needs to end and figuring everything out suddenly.

Haha Itou's power is just becoming super duper smart when she needs to be.
Imagining Itou so brainy, her brain out wrinkles Mojo Jojo's.

I don't know why but I don't like the "collection of bugs" reveal for Mr. N.
Like, just because something is made up of small things (and they're not THAT small, since they can be seen with the naked eye) doesn't mean it can turn into different colors/textures, move super fast, swap bodies instantly, or impersonate multiple humans perfectly. Is Mr. N even transforming? Or is it swapping skinsuits?

That being said, I know this is kind of unfair when I'm giving "huge worm can fit inside a high school girl skinsuit and take over her life" a free pass.

I think what it really comes down to, is it doesn't feel cool to me. So this is all just personal bias lol.

I think it could be good if we got more information about how it works, but it can be dissatisfying to have that dropped on us suddenly. We can assume that the individual bugs are also super powered monster bugs, at least relative to other bugs.

If they're very fast and strong bugs, they could, for instance, break off, set up a tea set using smaller groups, and then rejoin the main body.

Edit: I tried to look up what the strongest insect is. It appears to be the dung beetle, able to lift about 2/3 of an ounce or .04 pounds:

https://insecthive.com/the-strongest-insect-in-the-world-it-can-lift-1000-times-its-body-weight-post-1-3152/

I think we can grant that a monster bug is at least this strong, even if it lacks the size and exoskeleton of the dung beetle. It is, after all, no ordinary bug. 100 monster bugs therefore can lift 4 pounds, enabling them to comfortably carry a filled teacup.

Meanwhile, the tiger beetle can run 5.6 mph:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_beetle

I will suggest a monster bug can move at least this fast, regardless of its appearance. The monster bug will also need no time needed to accelerate or decelerate, ie, it can immediately go from stationary to 5.6mph and then immediately go back to stationary.

Therefore 1000 monster bugs can instantly prepare a tea set while appearing to teleport and shape shift.

I respect the research!
I think honestly, what it comes down to is a gut feeling of: I don't really like this. So everything following this is a justification of that feeling lmao.
a.) If Mr. N is a (basically nanomachine) shapeshifter, why does it need to pour bugs into Hiraizumi? It can just copy the girl's shape, right? Shapeshifter ≠ corpse puppeteer.
b.) If Mr. N is NOT a shapeshifter, but instead, a corpse puppeteer, how can it instantly swap bodies? It really is instant: one panel to the next. Plus, Mr. N's body was cremated, so it should no longer be usable.
c.) Too many superpowers: Mr. N can TELEPORT. Moving fast, sure. But it goes from the ground to the streetlamp in a blink (Ch. 16). Mr. N can stop Takahashi from transforming into a worm. Mr. N can puppet corpses. Mr. N can perfectly copy people's personalities. Mr. N can gain/lose mass with zero visual indicators. Mr. N's hive-components are super small and fast, but they're not INVISIBLE small, and using them as psychokinesis-substitutes (making lots of tea instantly) feels kind of, well. cheap.

Hmm. The more I think about it, it feels like the author is deliberately setting up false flags, and that makes the "hive-mind bug swarm" reveal feel unfair. Like signaling left, but driving right, and going "voila".

On a more positive note, seems like there's a bug-theme for the monsters and I am super onboard for that because bugs are basically superpowered aliens.

HOLY GUACAMOLE that extended afterword 0_0

I don't know why but I don't like the "collection of bugs" reveal for Mr. N.
Like, just because something is made up of small things (and they're not THAT small, since they can be seen with the naked eye) doesn't mean it can turn into different colors/textures, move super fast, swap bodies instantly, or impersonate multiple humans perfectly. Is Mr. N even transforming? Or is it swapping skinsuits?

That being said, I know this is kind of unfair when I'm giving "huge worm can fit inside a high school girl skinsuit and take over her life" a free pass.

I think what it really comes down to, is it doesn't feel cool to me. So this is all just personal bias lol.

Damn Aoyama
Guts, perspective, and maturity. The apology really cemented that for me.
Hardest road to walk but out of all the characters, the most badass. Still has a, cough, not the greatest personality, but well, that's life.

"The blood of the dragon and the witch of the woods
And all of its blood and the castle
Up high on the hill and there is a dragon with wings
And all of these songs are just Greensleeves
But put a dragon in there"
- by ProZD

Holy moly that car is huuuuuuuge

(TBH Mei doesn’t seem like a great partner XD )

Upvoting this lol. At first, it was all "super positive college student getting her first girlfriend!"
But now it's more like: "Hmmm, whoever is her girlfriend would have a lot to be nervous about."

wow people really hate this one LOL

I didn't think it was that bad. The narrator doesn't know what the drugs are, or why her girlfriend is deteriorating so fast, so the readers don't either. Heck, she didn't even mention her girlfriend's cutting scars. Not a very observant woman.
I was more impressed by how fast it escalated and had the main character murdering her girlfriend. Author was willing to go way darker than I thought they would, based on the art style, and maybe my logic-brain was turned off, but the trainwreck was believable for me while I was reading and riding along.

If I were Seira, I'd just break up my boyfriend and lie about it, because cheating with a girl with a boyfriend is what's obviously turning Mio on in the first place.
I'm single, morally in the clear, and get to have hot toxic gay sex. Win win!

I'm just gonna say it
They should stop being friends
That is unbelievably not ok

I don't know, they really seem incompatible.
Which is the point, I guess??
But I feel like for a couple to work, their values at least have to align, and they seem super not aligning.
Hmmm. I may just be biased. Mashiro fooling around during work, when Chiaki clearly has said she doesn't like "taking risks" makes me like Mashiro less as a character lol.

Not a fan of them being so obsessed with who the cis girl is, they perv on someone changing.
That's a straight up crime. -_-

Surprisingly wholesome? And healthy??? Crazy turn for this manga XD
Hey Reina gets to explore her sexuality (topping for the first time and enjoying it!) and new girl gets to date someone who actively tries to be considerate of her. Win-win!
The first-night hook up is still my favorite, but Reina just doesn't seem to be into her, so oh well.
. . . New girl is going to be Sui's crush, isn't she.

I like the carnival monster's design!
That being said, it might be the most messed-up monster of all. "Ah yes, I am fulfilling people's hopes and dreams by creating a theme park where serial killers/monsters can 'be themselves' because I can dissolve their victims' bodies. What fun!"
First monster not to pose a direct threat, but possibly enables even more horrific things to happen. ^ ^;
Very cool character concept, but also: horrific. Feel like there might be some inspiration from Neil Gaiman's Sandman series? The serial killer convention and the child killer, Fun Land.

Being bitten on the tongue sounds terrible actually, like can you even get much blood from there

Beef tongue is a delicacy, so I'd imagine human tongue is too?? Maybe it tastes really good for vampires, I could see that.

Wakana is KINKY. She commits, holy cow. Getting her tongue fang-pierced has gotta come with drawbacks, but to hell with it for the thrill.

So wanna say love the art, toxic yuri, and the hot scenes are smokin' hot.
But it does seem that the story has written itself in a corner. Io's career was based on being seen as a pure, innocent actress. That's gone now. Misa's career was based on her presenting herself as interested in and available to men. That's gone now.
This story has a lot of real-world elements, so it can't just snap its fingers and offer a deus ex machina solution, because that would just make the whole story shallower, less meaningful. And it feels like there really isn't a clean real-world solution to something as career-ending as this.

I respect that the author had the guts to take this drama all the way to 11, but . . . I don't know. The initial appeal was the bdsm, and how closely/badly it adhered to responsible bdsm. Also, hot. But now it's become a drama, and lost the focus on the steaminess for real-world sweatiness and "oh-my-god how am I going to pay by bills" and "I don't know if I have a job/career/future', which is uh. Different.