beta
perfect. real, moving, honest. beautifully drawn and gently told. loved it. extra one-shot afterwards was nice as well.
really liked it- had good character development, realistic pace and plot. wish the pivotal chapters weren't so poorly translated, though- had trouble following that bit. liked that it wasn't the old "i'm gay for you only" but "i'm open to exploring my sexuality/sex practices."
rin is a rent boy and matsuno is a very nice lawyer. really liked the development of the relationship, watching rin grow up, and each of them sorting out their feelings. and didn't know adoption = gay marriage in japan. nice art. also has two kinda strange side chapters about men who grow cat ears.
nice development, like the pace of the relationship, nice art. gets a little off-track/long-winded with the whole koga and his father/piece for the exhibition thing, but otherwise i liked it.
gentle, sweet, real, slower paced. very nice art, really liked the stories and the characters. no dumb misunderstandings or nonsense. and the extras extending the story made the ending more satisfying.
high-performing, kinda rival former classmates, each facing a rough spot in their lives, run into each other and take stock. felt plausible, liked the dialogue, sexy.
like this so much that i have the actual books. gentle and sometimes mysterious atmosphere. about the supernatural, but examines the difficulties of being different, relating to others, and growing up. beautiful, warm, sketchy art. anime is excellent, as well.
four stars for first volume- the detective x criminal story. it's kind of a screwball comedy, but also touching. beautiful art.
two stars for the second volume- same characters, but set in heian japan and they sort of solve supernatural mysteries and embody several different BL fetishes- mpreg, cat ears, etc. the stories and sex got a little repetitive, fetish focus kind of changed the feel of the characters- just not my bag.
really nice. well-written and well-drawn. really liked the characters and the way they came together.
adorable, touching, and really sweet. feels pretty real/honest. Beautiful art.
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"!