personal favourites

THIS IS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO TELL A STORY. TO MAKE YOU FEEL.

rest in peace miura. the art and detail alone are a marvel, but more than that, the ways griffith/guts transform and warp one another are so compelling. i'm stuck forever reliving the beautiful tragedy of the golden age arc, just like guts.

exciting world building. the slow erosion of naivety but never losing hope. gorgeousssss panelling and artwork

incredibly endearing characters, worldbuilding, comedy and story. this manga has so much life and love in it. delicious!!!!!!

the way this will gut you. one of my first bl and has stayed with me a long time. gorgeous historical setting and painful tragedy

historical tragedy.mp3 they're playing my song! love the premise: a world where women dominate and men are used as concubines, and how that role reversal is explored...

"i don't care if it's absurd! if it's fleeting!" a real portrait of adult love, breaking through the stifling conventions of society, possessiveness, ugliness, bisexuality, sexual discovery, pain and love demanding to be felt through all of it... ough so good. i don't know how to quit you!

imagase's desperation and yearning somehow feel even more urgent in the sequel. and as my fave fandom hag cathy puts it, kyouichi "turns considerate and selfish, openly vulnerable and closed off, emotionally intelligent and a dumbass" and it's so human and so good.

comfort read... especially the initial half. queer themes handled a little clumsily towards the end, but it has so much heart and is so good at its best. haven't seen a love triangle quite like this in manga.
“im a coward so i pretended i didn't see”
"and you're nice so you pretended you didn't hate it"
childhood friends are like open wounds...

delicate emotional realism and slice of life perfection. takes its time. i know, yet another high school coming of age manga so original, but this one is different, I swear!