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What a fantastic story! So warm and real. Okay, it's got a touch of crack, but in a good way. I suspect the reason older bro is so down on them is because he has an unrequited thing for the other older bro, too. That would make for a promising yaoi-land fairytale ending. That, and sex.
Miyamoto Kamo's classic yaoi story about Ryuu, the boy with the tattoo and dark past who transfers from Osaka to Tokyo, Hitomi, the fellow schoolboy who falls for him, and Taiga, the boy who falls for Hitomi. Spanning about a decade, this beautifully illustrated and slow-moving story follows their unrequited passions, reveals Ryuu's tragic past and uncovers treachery in the present. An absolutely superb tale in every sense! Realistic and deeply satisfying to read.
Traditional Japanese ghost stories and folklore are used as the backdrop and livelihood for a pair of late Edo-period ghostbusters as they gradually fall for each other. Lively, engaging and interesting with more sentimentality and melancholy rather than active horror.
A mysterious laboratory where stars are made. A scientist whose dead lover haunts him. Aoi Aki's stories are intense and, as always, so beautifully drawn and depicted.
Iris, who consumes minerals for sustenance, hides a tragic past and a painful secret about his own existence. Bent, a rock dealer, comes across him, seemingly by accident, but in spite of their growing attraction, leads him into greater danger. Aoi Aki's worlds are as mysterious and wonderful as her artwork, and this one is tinged with the bitter as well as the sweet.
A series of varied yaoi oneshots about men who grapple with their true natures in the face of social approbation. Touko Kawaii portrays human emotions with such a keen sense of observation and awareness, her stories are powerful and sensitive. A lot of people take issue with the simple, childlike quality of the artwork, but Touko's stories more than make up for issues with the drawings. Each story, although relatively short as the oneshots they are, is as rich and developed as most manga.
Two stories about being on the opposite sides of unrequited love: (1) Monji realizes that his two-timing lover, Chiba, will never reciprocate his feelings, but while his heart has been preoccupied, he never noticed the steady and nurturing quality of his long-time friendship with Hagiwara, nor understood what that meant.
(2) Takaaki doesn't know what love is until he is loved by someone with so much intensity that, in an O Henry twist, his lover cannot bear the passion and needs to break
Isolated at college by rumours of his invincible homosexual magnetism, Nanao Shirahane is irresistibly drawn to Kuon Aikawa, another student whose nature is to fiercely attach to a partner and who, thus, despises Nanao, even when he starts to notice that Nanao's behaviour doesn't correspond with the person he is said to be. Mix in a professor who uses Nanao's loneliness, the result of those rumours, to advance his own agenda and you have a lively, and surprisingly emotionally wrenching story.
Now that their college students days are finishing, Haru thinks that his friendship with Kazushi, a friendship which began in early childhood, will continue to coast along at a platonic level indefinitely, so it's a crushing shock when Kazushi kisses him and confesses. At first, Haru reacts poorly, but when he sees Kazushi leaving him behind, he is overwhelmed by unrealized feelings. Realistic and smart, this is quite a good story about boys grappling with adulthood and self-realization.
A series of interesting short stories, all of them as powerful, emotionally true and vivid as Machiya Hatoko's stories usually are. The afterword is also hilarious.
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.