That double page spread feels so unnecessary and over the top. Like, did the author really need to show us that for us to understand Todoroki’s character? Dunno, it seems to me that the author can’t help herself and lets her fetishes slip out every now and then.
And before someone accuses me of not having media literacy, I get the symbolic value—power dynamics, agency, thematic subversion, and control. But media literacy involves analyzing authorial choice, and my critique is that the chosen method (an explicit fetish scene) was a gratuitous way to achieve it. The symbolism didn’t require the pornographic detail, which is what makes it feel like an authorial slip rather than a narrative necessity. The same effect could have been achieved by drawing the boss kneeling to lick her boot while Todoroki’s holding a whip. The explicit choice feels less about narrative and more about indulgence.
Also, it’s worth remembering that this is not an erotica manga, so dropping in a scene like this kinda feels out of tone. Sure, there were sex scenes during the AV arc, but none of them were given a double page spread like in this chapter.
Thanks for the chapter!