YMMV / Sakura Gari

• Awesome Art: Watase's art has always been pretty good, but compared to her other works, Sakura Gari is on a whole new level. The characters are actually distinguishable from one another and look more realistic than her typical shoujo art style, the linework is cleaner, and the backgrounds are impeccably detailed. Special attention should be paid to everyone's facial expressions, all of which are marvelously well drawn. Furthermore, for future print/tankobon releases, she actually redrew many panels and scenes and made them look much better and more refined.
• Complete Monster: Dr. Tomohiko Katsuragi is the Saiki clan's doctor and one of Souma's lovers. He initially appears to be a polite, helpful doctor, but is soon revealed to be a disgusting pedophilic rapist and Serial Killer. When Souma informs him that his stepmother Sakurako was sexually abusing him, Katsuragi drugs Sakurako and forces the traumatized young Souma to slit her wrists and kill her, not to stop the boy's suffering but so he could have Souma for himself, with the side-effect of shattering the mind of the younger Sakurako and making her go from a Cheerful Child to a Creepy Child. He regularly rapes and tortures Souma for years, before doing the same to Souma's lover Masataka, out of jealousy. He gives his wife Asayo the same treatment, turning her into a battered Broken Bird. He later tries to poison Souma's ill father Lord Saiki as well, one of the few people still remaining to him. Out of the many horrible people in this story, he's definitely the worst.
• Draco in Leather Pants: Yes, Souma has a heartbreaking and terrible past. Yes, he's no Complete Monster. But he did mentally and sexually abuse the first person that gave him real affection in a long time, and no Dark and Troubled Past justifies or handwaves that. Even Souma himself deeply regrets what he did to Masataka when he realizes how much he broke him!
• Ho Yay: In addition to the obvious Yaoi relationships, there's a lot of hints that some side characters are attracted to Souma.
  • Considering that it's Souma, odds are they've slept with him already.
• Jerkass Woobie: Souma and Sakurako. Both have heartbreaking pasts and big reasons to be the way they are, but it's NOT a justification for the shit they pull on others.
• Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: The many dark plot twists and morally dubious characters can sometimes make it hard to get invested in the story at all. Out of the main characters only one (Masataka) is unambiguously good, and he gets horribly raped and broken through the story. And while Masataka manages to walk out and away to start rebuilding his life, the other protagonist (Souma) is all but stated to have died.
• The Woobie: Poor Masataka. And Asayo, Katsuragi's wife. And the young maid that was Souma's mistress and got pregnant with his baby, then was tortured by Sakurako, lost her baby and ended up horribly broken.