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Motoharu's affection for Akira is thwarted by family expectations and cultural standing — NOT, as one would expect, on his side, but levied upon the hapless Akira, whose responsibility toward his mother's benefactors outweighs his personal choices. This story is, both, tragic and sweet, and both the young men still manage to express what is in their hearts, even though duty supercedes individualism in the time and setting of this story. Takarai Rihito's art is magnificent.
The artwork for this manga is gorgeous and delicate, as are the stories, although their threads are so subtle and character-centric, they can be a bit tricky to follow, all interconnected by a common character or precipitating event in common. The main plot engines are driven by abandonment, loneliness, recklessness or subconscious signals which reveal too much, followed by withdrawals, inadequate communication and misunderstandings. One of my favourites!
Miyashiro Miyagi, whose job at the traditional Japanese restaurant, Tachibana, and entire fortunes exist solely because of Kazuki-Taichou's recognition of his ability and hard work, is threatened in his position by the heir to Tachibana, and must endure both scrutiny and suspicion due to his unknown family connections. Meanwhile, he is being sexually harassed by Haruhi, the assistant chef from Tachibana's affiliate restaurant. Who will win Miyagi's heart? Kazuki or Haruhi?
Shoutarou, an emotionally frail middle-aged writer who was abandoned by his wife, now lives with his editor, Masami, who was engaged to be married to Shoutarou's daughter. His daughter ran away on the night before the wedding, and now, Shoutarou feels he must help Masami cope with the feelings of abandonment, all of which have been re-activated in his own emotional experience. A surprising twist challenges his assumptions that he is unloveable. This is one of the best romance yaoi I've
Mitsuya was always chasing after his brother and his brother's friend, Noboru. In time, his feelings for Noboru turned to love and he forced a kiss on him, which was violently rejected. Shocked, Mitsuya shut his heart off from the world until 10 years later, a fateful reunion provokes shattering self-realizations. This story has a maturity and realism that elevates it beyond standard yaoi. The main character is a jerk, but surprisingly sympathetic. One of my all-time favourites!
Salaryman, Sanoshita, is in a quandary about how to thank Manaka, the mover who saved him when he accidentally bumped into a pile of boxes at his new apartment, but was, in turn, injured himself. Attraction develops into a caring friendship and a wonderful love affair, with a few bumps and rocky patches along the way. Not only has this manga got one of the best lines ever, but there is an entire wordless picture story section. It's very sweet and sexy.
On his way home from school one day, Horikita Mei rescues a cat in a tree and falls on top of the extremely near-sighted Akihiko, breaking his glasses. To compensate, Mei works at Akihiko's secondhand/recycle shop and starts to fall for the easy-going flirt, but Akihiko has a secret which Mei wants to learn, and Akihiko won't share it with him. Can Mei become the sort of person Akihiko can depend on?
Serial adulterer, Kyouichi, is blackmailed into being kissed by Imagase, a college friend, who now works as a private detective investigating unfaithful spouses. Kyouichi doesn't have the courage to turn down any woman who makes a pass at him, but he denies that he is gay. This is a mature and, sometimes, heartbreaking story about the deeply flawed straight man beloved by a gay man. It isn't easy going, even at the end.
Kyouichi and Imagase are together, but Imagase cannot let go of his suspicions toward Kyouichi, and a situation with a beautiful colleague at Kyouichi's workplace throws everything into chaos. Can Kyouichi find strength inside himself, or is he destined to flow with whichever currents move the strongest? If anything, this story surpasses it's first installment Kyuuso Ha Cheese no Yume Omiru. It full of romantic intrigue and suspense, and all the characters are flawed, but lovable.
Sweet Warmth: Dumped, Shinshu must fulfill his contractual obligations while healing a broken arm. Fushimi helps him cope with work, but, because of the recent betrayal, Shinshu feels too pitiful and vulnerable. His pride won't allow him to accept Fushimi's kindness, especially when it seems that Fushimi is attracted to him. More than Shinshu's broken arm is stitched together in this lovely romance about healing, forgiveness and moving on. The remaining stories are forgettable.
Messages
I followed you on my old account that I have since deleted years ago and just realized after many years that I didn’t follow you on this one.I always loved your comments and recommendations. I noticed it has been 6 years (approximately) since you’ve commented or updated. I hope wherever you are you’re happy and doing well! Time moves so fast. (づ￣ ³￣)づ
Almost all of your recommendations are my favorites. Some are really old ones I read before that I'm so excited to read it all over again. They all actually have good plots unlike most mangas these days with the rape/rapist theme. TY !!!!
(づ￣ ³￣)づ
I don't know why I didn't peruse this list of yours sooner; I'd seen it pop up on several pieces I've really liked. I have read quite a few on here, but I am adding several to my list for future reading. Some of the ones on here that I've already read I'm glad to see are here, because some of them are quite underrated.
Always love your commentaries, I look for them usually in mangas to remind myself if I've read the manga already but from a different site :) If you don't mind, I recommend Dog Style and Haru wo Daite Ita(very long)! I don't know if you'll like the art style but the plot is good!
Thank you for your charming and encouraging message. This will date me, but the last time I read Haru wo Daite Ita, it was only half-finished and, as I kept losing track of the characters and plot-points between releases, I decided to wait until the manga was completed before coming back. Your little poke is a good reminder that it's time to revisit the story and finish reading it. I try not to post unfinished manga on my favourites list (sometimes, I forget), but this one has been finished for awhile.
This list is great! Thank you very much! btw, your comments are great too. You always point something out about the mangas you commented on, until I found myself following your recommendations.. hehe..
I just noticed your comment today. Sorry for taking so long to respond. Thanks for the lovely comment. I hope you're having a happy new year.
Dear I Thot You Was a Toad, I absolutely love this list and thank you for making it! Whenever I'm interested in reading a potential manga, I always look in the comments section. As soon as I see your username, I know that the manga will be fantastic. I think you're a good critic and I admire you and respect your passion. I always like to think of all the different kinds of people who frequent this website. In the end, I think we're all just people who care about the world. I think you're a wonderful lady (unless you are actually male, in which case I apologize.) Sorry if this was all a bit blunt and strange; thanks again! (▰˘◡˘▰)
That's a very sweet letter, and lovely to receive. If my name is in the comments, though, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good manga, because I'm just as inclined to say something's awful if I think it stinks. I am quite (*cough*) passionate about some issues, yes ... although less tactful people just say I'm an opinionated hothead, and I reckon that's pretty accurate, too. Thing is, people know what they think and feel if they really look inside, and they need to express that sort of stuff because that's the only way to be true to oneself. It isn't always going to go over well. People can't even agree whether cats or dogs are cute (both, as far as I'm concerned.) Might as well say it. Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you like my list. It's entirely due to the talents of the various mangaka featured on it that I even have one. They are the real people to thank! Cheers.
I always ALWAYS get jealous of your comments & reviews!! How do you squeeze in the summary & your comments with only a few but highly informative lines?? I can't help but love your comments from the bottom of my heart. They inspire me to keep improving my reviews which is nothing compared to yours. Thank you. Hope to see more from you :)
Thanks for your kind comment. I had to laugh because quite a few of my reviews are really long-winded, and I know some readers find that irritating. I try to say everything I need to say in order to remind myself of what I've already read, though, and why I did or didn't like it. The summaries that get posted don't always do that for me, and for quite a long time, the people who uploaded manga onto this reader site didn't even bother posting a summary. Now they've started including very good notes, which leaves me free to explore other themes. Basically, though, that's the main reason I write them.
Also, a good friend of mine, a teacher, told me that the best way to remember something is to re-frame it in your own words. So, I want to encourage you to continue writing your own summaries! You have your own way of saying things and your own outlook which I won't necessarily key into.
Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. Of course everyone has their own writing style. Mine are mostly simple details, points i liked about the manga & a bit jumbled. I do get happy when other people like it. So never once , have i thought about changing it, but there's always room for improvement :)
I was here so I thought I'd share...when I hit reccomend it said it was "optical" I assume it meant optional lol
Great list Toad :D
Thank you. I think so, too, thanks to all the mangakas who actually wrote these stories.
Weird, but the tally of people who have hit "recommend" hasn't changed at all.
hmmmm that is weird.
maybe I recommended it already and I have a mind like a sieve...cause I stalked this list when I was new to manga...
In either case, thanks!
Lol your welcome heh
Your descriptions are so well written 0_0
English was my worst subject EVAH so my descriptions are all unintellectual things like
"AAGGGGHHHH OMG ITS SO CUTE
LIKE
OMG
READ IT
JUST READ IT"
or something along those lines
Cheers, BloodLust!
(I kind of wish I was able to squee and flail more, without sounding like a complete wally, that is. Apart from keeping my lists, my comments tend to be a bit dry, "Oh, that was very good. Bravo!" --- Like the comments of someone who requires orthodontic equipment to smile.)
i need that irl but online i think im able to express my emotions pretty clearly through the use of not-very-intellectual words and emojis
Emojis are wonderful shorthand. (〜￣△￣)〜
I finally dropped by x) Some of old manga I used to read found in this list.. THANK YOU! you also make good review.. and, seems like we have similar taste (after I check on your fave list) this is the 2nd list I love after Kathy x) Thank you!
I like Kathy's list, too, and although I think the artwork has gotten better recently, some of the old yaoi stories can't be beaten. Plus, there are dozens and dozens of people collecting all the newest stories, so it's nice to have collections that aren't all the same.
I like your list. I thought if someone was going to write such a well thought out blurb, then they must have great taste about their yaoi. I wasn't wrong.
Thanks, Froggyis. This comment made my day. Welcome to my work-in-progress.