beta
bookmarked bc of the supposedly hott sex scenes- and this did not disappoint. holy shit. chapters 1-3 and 6.2 are about the main couple, robo-kun and azuma-san, a student and sex service addict who indulge in all kinds of play. daaayyyumm. **chapter 6 about the salarymen damn near killed me. good lord, that is the hottest chapter.** chapters 4 and 5 are hilarious- about a student pursuing another student and all the fangirling around them. the author has clearly met a few fujoshi :)
healing and beautiful. ren looking at jean's face on the movie screen was perfect. beautiful art.
a mostly deaf student meets a carefree kinda guy. really sweet story about mutual understanding and respect that grows into love. shounen-ai, but ongoing.
the first manga/anime i really got into. love ouran! so ridiculous and funny. shoujo.
really interesting, mysterious stories- well-told. want to know more about gingko as a person, and have his personal story a bit better wrapped up. anime is excellent, as well. seinen, I guess?
continuation of Bi no Isu (Kabu-san and Nirasawa). yakuza story with an actual plot, crazy hott sex, and intense relationship. wonderful artwork. the extras are unbelievably hott.
angsty, mysterious, and graphic first section (scherezade) and then wonderful slice of life in the following chapters. really intense and heartfelt, overcoming serious trauma. bara.
interconnected one-shots, all good, some a little tough (esp kumi and sakuma's past). beautiful art. pretty erotic. should reread, the more i think about the story, the more i notice smaller ties between them- good storytelling and character development.
bara. amazing art. what it really means to 'come out.'
fabulous one shots. first is art students- confronting first love.
second is she's missing- kind of tough- about how people misdirect their vitriol when they don't get what they want in relationships/life
third is musicians- about not wanting to admit yr in love/lust
fourth- yes it's me- the best and funniest story in the collection. a narcissist and his friend.
fifth- the makeup artist and the line between genders and sexuality.
all stories have a unique vibe, highly recommended.
Messages
What’s top drawer means? Top arts? Or mangas that always draw you to re-read them again and again? XD I love your list btw...
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy the list! I always wondered if people understood the reference in the title, so I am so glad you asked about it! And your take on its meaning would have never occurred to me, even though I really do appreciate great art in manga. So, thank you for sharing that.
Anyway, the drawer in 'top drawer' is like a chest of drawers, one you pull out of the wall or a cabinet and put stuff in. The phrase 'really top drawer' is old slang meaning 'of good quality.' It's in the movie 'Auntie Mame' (the Rosalind Russell version)- this snobby woman refers to some of her equally snobby friends as being 'really top drawer' and I always thought it was a funny phrase, so I used it for the title of my list of (in my opinion) 'top quality' manga. You can look up the phrase on YouTube, it's only a couple seconds long and it's worth hearing in all it's affected glory.
Thanks again for asking, you made my day!
Hey I love this list, I'm so glad you put your opinion in the notes too because it helps me get an idea of what to expect more than just the description. Love this, tysm for putting it together. It certainly is "top drawer"!