Line #12 Manga/VirginLove


1	[[quoteright:225:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/virgin_love_page_2697.jpg]]
2
3	Part of a larger series of interrelated stories of [[{{Salaryman}} salarymen]], Creator/FujisakiKou's ''Virgin Love'' and its two direct sequels follow the rather smutty relationship of two business partners: Kaoru a mid-level manager at Todou and Daigo the executive director of Mercury.
4
5	After moving back to Japan to work at the Todou group, Kaoru takes to [[TheAlcoholic drinking alone every night]] out of boredom. He ends up getting picked up by fellow EthicalSlut Daigo, but only agrees to a one-night stand. [[FateDrivesUsTogether A couple weeks later they meet at work]]. They begin a FriendsWithBenefits relationship, with Daigo secretly hoping for more. Kaoru, having commitment issues thanks to his AbusiveMom, eventually calls it off when he finds himself going CrazyJealousGuy over little things. After Daigo shows up to stop him from sleeping with [[DirtyOldMan Yonehara]], a CEO who had been harassing him, they reconcile and decide to be lovers.
6
7	''...Junai No Seinen'' picks up after this, with Daigo still worried about what Kaoru's feelings for him are. This only gets worse when Kaoru's ex-[[FriendsWithBenefits sex friend]] Ian shows up hoping to strike something up again and Kaoru takes advantage of this to make Daigo jealous in order to feed his own insecurity. It backfires when Daigo leaves him in anger. After a Kaoru has a public [[HeroicBSOD meltdown]] Daigo figures out what was going on and forgives him.
8
9	In ''Men's Love'' Daigo gets called to America by his father under the cover of work but really for an ArrangedMarriage that he is trying to force on his son. Daigo tries to hide the matter from Kaoru knowing how badly he'd take it, but Kaoru finds out when [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Daigo's father]] tries to bribe and threaten him to break up with Daigo. Kaoru goes to America to force Daigo to make a decision and Daigo finally succeeds in CallingTheOldManOut.
10
11	These three works are scattered amidst a loose series which focuses around the Todou Group. The series' chronology is: 1) ''Manga/HappyYarouWedding'', 2) ''Manga/UtsukushikiKemonotachi'', 3) ''...Virgin Love'', 4) ''Manga/TorikoNiNattaKemono'', 5) ''...Junai no Seinen'', 6) ''Manga/KemonoWaAiDeIyasareru'', 7) ''Manga/PlayboyAmour'', 8) ''Manga/OboreruKemonoNoKoibito'', 9) ''Men's Love'', 10) ''Manga/{{Aikata}}'', and 11) ''Manga/UetaAikata''. 11 volumes and counting.
12
13	Not to be confused with the second ending theme in ''Manga/WeddingPeach''.
14	----
15	!!This series provides examples of:
16
17	* AbusiveDad: Chiharu's father wasn't much better. His preferred method of education was beating his son repeatedly with a ''cane'' because he didn't like the "look in his eyes".
18	* AbusiveMom: Kaoru's mom neglected him for her relationships and then blamed him when they went sour. His emotional isolation and fear of relationships stem directly from not wanting to be her.
19	* AmbiguouslyBrown: Daigo and his father, whose ethnicity is never specified.
20	* ArbitrarilyLargeBankAccount: Daigo's father has his {{mook}}s give Kaoru a blank cheque, to be filled with any sum he likes so long as he ends his relationship with Daigo. He is apparently unaware that [[Music/TheBeatles money can't buy you love]].
21	* ArrangedMarriage: Daigo's father tries to force him into a marriage that will be favourable for the company.
22	* BaitAndSwitchTyrant: Kaoru and Chiharu both overwork their subordinates when they want to get things done, but are liked for the fact that they are effective and work equally hard. Kaoru specifically often takes responsibility for mistakes that his subordinates make, for which they are grateful.
23	* BeautifulDreamer: Occurs frequently with Kaoru because he can only sleep well when Daigo's around, leaving Daigo to just watch him.
24	* BeYourself: Both Kaoru and Daigo exchange this sentiment. Daigo has no problem with Kaoru being a CrazyJealousGuy by nature, while Kaoru tells Daigo he doesn't have to worry about living up to his expectations because Kaoru wouldn't date him if he didn't already.
25	* BeingPersonalIsntProfessional: Daigo purposefully keeps the two sides separate. He's a generous and easy-going by nature, but as a young CEO has to be professional and commanding at all times in the workplace to ensure the company's survival.
26	* BerserkButton: Don't ever imply Kaoru's sex life is affecting his work. Or flirt with Daigo.
27	** If you touch Kazuki in front of Chiharu, you ''will'' find your entire life in ruins in a matter of days... because he's a ManipulativeBastard [[TheChessmaster Chessmaster]] who will end you. Either that or actually kill you.
28	* BirdsOfAFeather: Their EthicalSlut WorkHardPlayHard personalities and their ablility to relate over work is what draws them together. Daigo describes it as finally having some who can meet him on the same level.
29	* BrokenBird: Kaoru is one of the few male versions of this.
30	* BrutalHonesty: Kaoru is the master wielder of this particular technique. He can destroy someone's self-esteem with this in less than a minute (shown to rather cruel effect in the associated series). The only person this doesn't work on is Chiharu[[note]]Apparently they already swapped their {{The Reason You Suck Speech}}es a long time ago[[/note]].
31	* ButNotTooForeign: Daigo is mixed race, with his mother being Japanese, his father American ([[AmbiguouslyBrown ethnicity unspecified]]). In a kind of subversion the reason Kaoru takes an interest in him is precisely because he looks foreign. Kaoru just doesn't like Japanese men.
32	* CallingTheOldManOut: After years of working for his father doing everything he's been told to, Daigo finally stands up to him with regards to the ArrangedMarriage and trying to keep him in America. With a conveniently timed threat from Todou it works pretty well.
33	* CallingYourOrgasms: Done from time to time.
34	* CigaretteOfAnxiety: Kaoru spends an entire night chain smoking in attempt to fend off an anxiety attack after Daigo's father's henchmen try to bribe him to break up and tell him Daigo is getting married.
35	* ConservationOfCompetence: Averted. Everybody working in the top levels of Mercury, Todou and Evans Corp. are extremely competent. This in itself is a type of counterbalance, as no party can really take advantage of the other when they're equally skilled.
36	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Most of the characters are portrayed as morally flexible in the interests of business, but Daigo's father dances closest to this trope when he bribes Kaoru to break up with Daigo and failing that threatens to expose his sexual orientation so that Daigo can make an marriage that's advantageous to the company.
37	* CrazyJealousGuy: Invoked. The reason Kaoru shuns romantic relationships is fear of becoming like his man-crazy mother. His prediction does come true somewhat, but Daigo is willing to accept the madly jealous side of him and convinces him to give their relationship a chance. Daigo himself can't stand it when other men touch Kaoru though he's much more restrained in his reactions.
38	** In the associated series, Chiharu shows himself up as having similar issues as Kaoru, although he takes it to greater extremes. Apparently ItRunsInTheFamily, or they were ''incredibly'' screwed up by their collective parents[[note]]Probably a mixture of both[[/note]].
39	* DarkAndTroubledPast: The AbusiveMom thing didn't really work out so well for Kaoru as an adult. Chiharu's AbusiveDad problem screwed him up pretty damn badly as well. Their parents - who are apparently siblings - seemed to like using their children as outlets for their anger, resulting in horribly unhealthy complexes in both.
40	* DeathGlare: Kaoru has one. As does Chiharu. It seems to run in the family.
41	* [[DefrostingIceQueen Defrosting Ice King]]: Kaoru doesn't really like people until Daigo's warmer personality starts dethawing him. Even his subordinates notice he's become nicer, increasing his popularity at work.
42	* DidntSeeThatComing: Daigo's father genuinely didn't think Daigo would ever stand up to him. He also wasn't counting on Todou to find out about him threatening Kaoru.
43	** He didn't count on [[MagnificentBastard Chiharu]] deciding that Kaoru would be more useful to him if he ''wasn't'' [[BreakTheCutie completely broken]]. Bad things tend to happen when Chiharu decides [[TheChessmaster to knock over the dominoes]].
44	* DirtyOldMan: Yonehara, who sexually harasses Kaoru.
45	* EthicalSlut: This is pretty much a [[LadykillerInLove love story]] between two manwhores.
46	%%* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Kaoru.
47	* EverybodySmokes: Everybody. It seems to be how they get through the workday as no one smokes when they're feeling good.
48	* FirstLove: Despite both Kaoru and Chiharu's [[ReallyGetsAround long line of one-night hook-ups]] and FriendsWithBenefits, both Daigo and Kazuki respectively are the first and only people they've ever fallen in love with[[note]]The fact that the reason for this is that both are borderline insane with enough childhood baggage to sink an oil liner makes this slightly less romantic than it sounds[[/note]].
49	* FreudianExcuse: Kaoru's mother ''seriously'' messed him up. Just the implication that he's anything like her [[BerserkButton is enough to send him flying off the walls.]]
50	* FriendsWithBenefits: Kaoru doesn't want a relationship but thinks the sex is too good to give up so he and Daigo become this. Eventually Daigo falls for Kaoru.
51	* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: When Kaoru has an anxiety attack at Ian's farewell party Daigo tries to get him to snap out of it, but eventually has to settle for knocking him right out, knowing Kaoru would hate everyone seeing him have a breakdown.
52	* GreenEyedMonster: unsurprisingly, Kaoru and Chiharu. Insanity really ''is'' [[ItRunsInTheFamily inheritable in their case]]. Other characters have been caught in the jealousy-trap, but absolutely none take it to the kind of extremes that Kaoru and Chiharu do. Safe to say they've never tried to ''murder'' someone over it.
53	* HeroicBastard: Daigo's mother was a mistress of his father, and Daigo's never been officially recognized as his son. His dad stayed completely out of his life until he hit university age, when he sent Daigo to school and put him on the fast-track in his company.
54	* HeroicBSOD: Kaoru has a panic attack the first time Daigo leaves him, and again when Daigo shows up at Ian's farewell party with a date.
55	* HeroStoleMyBike: Lampshaded when Daigo steals a bike from a random stranger to try to chase down Kaoru and Yonehara.
56	* HopelessSuitor[=/=]RomanticFalseLead: Ian when he shows up to try and get back together with Kaoru. Ian thinks he's RomanticFalseLead and Daigo's worried he is too, while Kaoru and Chiharu know Ian is the HopelessSuitor.
57	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Kazuki has absolutely no idea that Chiharu is a cold, manipulative MagnificentBastard.
58	--> '''Kaoru''': The only person in the world who doesn't see you as a cold-blooded monster is probably that kid.
59	--> ''[Room temperature drops rapidly]''
60	--> '''Chiharu''': ''[[DontMakeMeDestroyYou What are you implying!?]]''
61	* IfItsYouItsOkay: Daigo's pickup line is basically: "I like women, but you're [[EvenTheGuysWantHim gorgeous]]. My place or yours?"
62	* ImaginaryLoveTriangle: Chiharu's knowledge of Kaoru's sex life starts to make Daigo think there might have been something between them and Chiharu decides to fan the flames. Kaoru later reveals to Daigo that Chiharu is his cousin and he's just being had. Turns out that he did this deliberately to mess with Kaoru, after how Kaoru messed around with him and Kazuki when he was first introduced in the prequel.
63	* IntroductionByHookup: The protagonists meet each other at work a few weeks after their one night stand, leading to an ongoing relationship.
64	* InSeriesNickname: Daigo is referred to as the "[[RedBaron Young Lion of Mercury]]" in the business world, and in the Todou group Kaoru is dubbed the "[[{{Bishonen}} Beautiful Noble]]."
65	* TheInsomniac: Kaoru, thanks to being haunted by nightmares of his childhood. He discovers being in a stable relationship combats this.
66	* ItRunsInTheFamily: Kaoru and Chiharu believe madness runs in their family. They're correct, although given their parents' actions it could easily be a nurture thing. That said, their mom and dad were[=/=]are completely off-the-wall insane in rather ugly ways. The only thing that keeps Kaoru and Chiharu sane are, quite literally, their relationships with Daigo and Kazuki respectively, who act as huge stabilising forces. It something happens to those relationships, they tend to fly off the handle and fall to pieces faster than a speeding train on amphetamines.
67	* LadykillerInLove:
68	** Daigo after meeting Kaoru. Kaoru is a mankiller (maneater?) in love when he finally comes around.
69	** Chiharu has an...er..."impressive" record. Certainly enough to make him this.
70	* LoveAtFirstPunch: Inverted. Daigo gets kissed by some random girl at a club and Kaoru slaps him, which Daigo reads as Kaoru having feelings for him. Kaoru freaks out when he realizes this might be true.
71	* LoveConfession: Daigo accidently blurted it out when Kaoru said he'd stop seeing him. He hadn't intend to confess so early into their relationship.
72	* LoveHurts: When things go wrong with Daigo, Kaoru gets physical pain, stops sleeping, loses weight, and usually goes into HeroicBSOD. Ouch.
73	* LoveMakesYouCrazy: Kaoru thinks this, based on his mother's behaviour.
74	** Lampshaded by the author herself:
75	--> '''Voice over''': The man who didn't know how to love [Kaoru]... The man who knew nothing but hate [Chiharu]... Their love is a record of sanity and madness.
76	* LysistrataGambit: Kaoru completely ignores Daigo for a week when he thinks Daigo's crossing the line between work and their personal lives. He intended to hold out longer, but it wasn't [[AllMenArePerverts going so well for him]].
77	* MenCantKeepHouse: The reason why they always meet at the hotel rather than their apartments.
78	* ModestyBedsheet: Subverted by Kaoru, who sometimes covers his torso with a bedsheet but is buck naked from the waist down.
79	* {{Nepotism}}: How Daigo became a CEO so young. The fact that he's extremely competent definitely contributed though.
80	* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Ian uses the fact he is known for this as an excuse to grope Kaoru in public. This includes the majority of his ''company'' as well. His secretary gets rather pissed off at him about this in ''Manga/PlayboyAmour''.
81	* OperationJealousy: Despite Daigo being loving and utterly devoted to him, Kaoru puts this into action - consequently putting Daigo through emotional hell - as a way of constantly reassuring himself that Daigo cares about him because he's just ''that'' insecure. This backfires, however, when Daigo, being normal and ''not'' raised in an [[DarkAndTroubledPast dark, abusive childhood atmosphere]] like Kaoru and Chiharu, [[DidntSeeThatComing decides not to put up with it anymore]].
82	* PastExperienceNightmare: Kaoru has a lot of trouble catching sleep because he always dreams of his abusive childhood.
83	* PoorCommunicationKills: Averted... most of the time. Usually never becomes a problem between Daigo and Kaoru because of Kaoru's [[BrutalHonesty Brutal Honesty Is The Only Way]] policy. Now in the associated series? See ''Playboy Amour'' for a prolific example courtesy of some ''ridiculously'' low self-esteem issues.
84	* {{Pride}}: Kaoru's biggest flaw, which is his defense mechanism to combat his insecurity and jealousy.
85	* RelationshipUpgrade: At the end of ''...Virgin Love'' Kaoru and Daigo upgrade from sex-friends to lovers.
86	* {{Salaryman}}: The series is set in the white collar world and chock full of WorkHardPlayHard salarymen.
87	* SexEqualsLove: A one-night stand ends up becoming a [[FriendsWithBenefits series of them]] which ends up becoming an actual relationship.
88	* SmokingHotSex: Surprisingly averted. EverybodySmokes, but they only seem to use it for stress relief from work, never casually after sex.
89	** Happens once, courtesy of Daigo. Although that was after just having resolved a fight with Kaoru, so again: stress relief.
90	* TheSnarkKnight: Kaoru's default mode is disdain, which includes disdain for himself whenever he fails to live up to his own standards.
91	* SpannerInTheWorks: [[TheChessmaster Chiharu]]'s long-term plan to crush his father ended up being completely derailed when he fell in love with Kazuki.
92	* ThoseTwoGuys: Daigo's high school friends, who show up from time to time just to be scared off by Kaoru.
93	* [[TurnOutLikeHisFather Turn Out Like His Mother]]: Kaoru's biggest fear.
94	** Coincidently, TurnOutLikeHisFather: ''Chiharu's'' biggest fear. Again, [[RunningGag it's a family thing]].
95	* WellDoneSonGuy: Subverted. Everyone who knows about Daigo's father assumes that's why Daigo works so hard. Actually, he just wants to take care of his mom.
96	* [[WithFriendsLikeThese With Family Like This]]: Kaoru and Chiharu seem to actually hate each other half the time when they aren't helping each other out.
97	* WorkHardPlayHard: To compensate for being a workaholic Kaoru's only two hobbies outside of work are sex and drinking. Daigo is much the same.
98	* {{Yandere}}: Chiharu. Once, [[spoiler: when Daigo and Kazuki become good friends, he almost kills Daigo. He was 2 seconds away from beating his skull in, and would have succeeded if it hadn't been for Kazuki]]. Another time, [[spoiler: he tries to kill ''Kazuki'' by choking him to death. Again, he would have succeeded if not stopped, this time by Kaoru who calls him on it with a WhatTheHellHero]]. Health tip: never ever make Chiharu jealous. You'll live longer.

Context Manga / VirginLove