really top drawer!

read this a long time ago, but i remember it being very good. there is an actual plot, it does not just revolve around the characters' romance (but the relationship is pretty good and believable). although parts border on silly or melodramatic, overall the story is interesting and the characters are engaging. satisfying resolution as well. decent art, skewed a little 90s. josei-ish, although there is a lot of focus on the male character.

continuation of the yakuza brother-in-law's story from takaga koidama. i liked that manga, but i like this one more. shuuya and kawaragi have such tragic pasts and yet fall into such a gentle, kind love- it's pretty touching. the explanation of the title in the author's afterward explains the story pretty well, too. nice art.

seriously adorable. love the characters and the confession in chapter 4 is honestly one of the best i've ever read. also, pretty funny and nice art.

really well-written, character driven, just beautiful story. the characters act their ages and feel like individuals, the plot is not cliched, the art is really nice- just so good. i really like the interplay in the relationships, how sometimes one feels more like a father or brother, that each takes turns supporting the others in various ways.

chs 1-3 coworkers- starts sexy and then ch3 is moving, palpable sense of loss. chs 4-5 childhood friends reunite as adults- very sweet, regret for lost time. chs 6-7 boss and subordinate, each having a rough time. this is my favorite of the lot- i love two broken hearts coming together, and seriously, ch 7 is some of the sweetest, most realistic (ugh, i hate to say this, but it's true...) lovemaking that i've seen in yaoi (page 188-201, you're welcome). gentle, healing atmosphere, great art.

i'm not much into sci-fi, but this is very unique, and pretty touching. it really focuses more on the mystery of why anyone falls in love and what it does to people, with interesting technology/future predictions laced in. nice art, really well-written.

a guy who dreams of becoming a pilot enters school and forms a bond with his dormmate, yoshitake. various circumstances separate them for years, but they reunite at work and never forgot one another. i really liked the main character, kawamura, and learned a bit about the airline industry! i loved the development of their relationship- they feel like real people trying to figure themselves out, and that nothing happens overnight. really well-written and nicely drawn.

love triangle- guy checks out his lover's first love...and falls in love with him, setting off an intense affair. their relationship constantly dances on the edge of destruction for all involved, and really conveys the feeling of being powerless and overwhelmed by passion and desire. the sex is just unbelievably hott, and even though there is A LOT of it, i really did not get tired of it- it felt justified and balanced out by the story. nice art.

pretty funny, very cute. clumsy guy secretly moves into brother's company dorm and is kept as a housekeeper/cat and falls in love with one of the roommates. has enough gravity to make the characters believable, but enough comedy to keep the story breezy and fun. and damn, mizuki really does make all the wrong moves somehow, but he is so endearing, too. nice to see both of the characters fall in love and enjoy each other's company. decent art, MC looks a bit young, but makes a really cute cat.

wonderful. iga-san meets a young man at his new assignment in the countryside, and they quickly form a bond that neither wants to define or let go of. slow build, palpable longing, mutual respect, and just fabulous art- the facial expressions are so spot-on you could pretty much follow the story without reading a word.