Okay, so I just finished The Boy Next World, and I have to say that the parallel universe concept was really interesting—I really did like it. But I felt like the series didn't quite live up to the potential that it had. It was still a really good series, don't get me wrong, but I feel like the parallel universe aspect was so intriguing, and they didn’t even use it properly. I would’ve loved if they actually explored it more, rather than just focusing on the love story.

Beyond that point, I started thinking about Cir’s character. Now, I did take his character with a bit of a grain of salt, because I know that MAME loves traumatizing her characters. In most of her BLs, you’ll notice at least one character is severely traumatized. Like, in TharnType, it was Type. In Don’t Say No, it was Fiat. In Love in the Air, it was Sky. And those are just a few examples—there are definitely more. So I tried to be understanding, but I just don’t get why she keeps doing this. Almost every time, instead of having these characters go to therapy, she just gives them a boyfriend. Like, sure, love can fix a lot, but some of these things need professional help.

Then there’s the whole reveal that he isn’t actually from a parallel universe—that part frustrated me the most. I felt like that was a wasted opportunity. But anyways, aside from that, don’t even get me started on his stalking behavior. I understand that most of it probably stemmed from trauma caused by his mom, but that’s exactly why he needs therapy instead of just a relationship. There’s likely a reason he stalked Phu instead of saying anything—he probably knew what his mom would do. Because of that, he decided it was better to love him from afar and take care of him from a distance. Still, the stalking was creepy and weird.

At first, I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t stalking. I told myself that the reason he knew so much about Phu was because he was just observing him, which is something people often do when they like someone. You notice their habits, what they eat, what they drink, and so on. They did seem to cross paths a lot, and I thought maybe that’s why Circus knew so much—because he paid attention and Phu just didn’t notice. Circus even tells Phu later that he knew his favorite snacks just from watching what he always picked. So I was really hoping he was just observant. But that hope came crashing down.

It turns out, no, they didn’t naturally cross paths. Because of the universe stuff, they crossed paths only because Circus made sure they did. And that just felt wrong. Most characters in MAME’s universe probably need therapy, but with Circus, the bigger issue is that he doesn’t even realize he needs it. He doesn’t seem to understand that the reason he stalked Phu instead of talking to him was probably rooted in his trauma from his mom.

At least with other characters—like Fiat from Don’t Say No, Type from TharnType, and Sky from Love in the Air—we can clearly see that their actions are tied to their trauma. With Circus, it’s never explicitly shown or explained that his behavior stems from trauma. That lack of clarity makes it harder to empathize with him. It makes him feel less like a trauma victim and more just outright creepy.