beta
Really great read! The awkwardness, the honesty, the communication, totally adorable and realistic. I cried a little at tajima's gift- it was better than I expected. great art and storytelling through innovative, immersive page layouts.
it's kind of a convenient plot, but the story aims to be reassuring and encourage growth, so i'm mostly okay with that. i love Hirono's inner monologue and both characters' strength, honesty, self-awareness, and willingness to grow. they felt real enough to identify with and idealized enough that they were interesting. the denouement is a little heavy handed (and maybe a bit rushed?) but good overall and nice art.
cute and sweet. two awkward-in-different-ways guys meet and get along. each has their own loneliness and insecurities and, overall, the story and characters are pretty good- has kind of real feeling to it. nice art, and the fully nude towa was hott.
Two men meet for sex and feelings and awkwardness ensue. It's about the mysteriousness of developing feelings and entering a relationship and the order of things. Well-written and nicely drawn.
It's a wild, dark ride. And the last extra is a gut punch. Great art.
from mushi-shi mangaka- excellent supernatural story about roots and 'home' and family ties. well-told, slightly eerie, nostalgic atmosphere, nice art.
Reeeally dark, but unexpectedly good story about a Hitman and a prostitute. Maybe a little bit sci-fi, definitely psychological bent to the story. Nice art, too.
High schoolers, different years and levels of seriousness about school. Gentle and realistic, and very sexy. Nice art.
Former student (now sensei) and sensei work together and discover feelings. Nice communication, the emotions are conveyed well. Okay art, warm atmosphere.
High school love- bashful, respectful seme, and proactive uke. Very sweet, good sexy bits, great 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"!