Heuristic's Manga

A collection of shorts with wildly varying tones and themes, which might explain the low rating (there is no way all these stories would appeal to everyone). That being said, I actually think this collection is, on the whole, worth reading. Summarized and rated individually below so you can decide to pick it up or not:

1) A visibly shaken man covered in blood in someone else's apartment is startled when a man appears at the door to the apartment, demanding that the apartment's owner pay him back. I won't say much more since I actually think the gradual (though sometimes unsurprising reveals) are best experienced fresh. This one is by turns dark, funny, and crushingly sad. I don't think I've read anything else like it in a BL manga. 5/5

2) The story of a professor who is shacked up with one of his students in what appears to be a mutually abusive relationship. An exploration of a messy dynamic which may not appeal to those who want pure romance stories, but I thought it was quite good (clumsy inclusion of a random stalker notwithstanding). 4/5

3) An unassuming salaryman living in Tokyo hails from a small village where everyone has superpowers. His aim in moving to Tokyo is to become a secret crimefighter, something hampered by his less than stellar powers. When one of his friends from the village comes to visit him in Tokyo, demanding that he return to the village, sparks fly between the two. This was a pleasant but decidedly tepid story, much more along standard BL lines. Additionally the superpowers thing seemed completely unnecessary. Unfortunately, this is the longest of the bunch. 2/5

4) Not BL, but a sweet romance between a high school girl who believes she talks to aliens and a boy who humors her to remain close. It's a really nice story and makes good use of its eccentric character. 4/5

As suggested by the title, this is a collection of modern stories that riff off of a smattering of folk tales (and, in the case of Carmen, an opera - although the story is a repeat condensed from a slightly longer one shot). As always, Est Em gives a master class in visual storytelling, with striking visuals and a keen sense of pacing and scale in how she lays out the images and panels. As for the stories themselves, each has a different mood and approach, ranging from fanciful kink to tragic melodrama, every one a delight. Like folk and fairy tales, the stories don't go into a lot of detail or depth, but remain nevertheless evocative and satisfying. Recommended if you're in the mood to sample a series of quality short stories inspired by folk tales with a variety of tones and moods.
***CW****
Some violence, no non-con (for all of the stories except Carmen, which I didn't re-read).

Chijiwa is at a low point in his life. Injuries have taken him out of the sport that he loves, and now he is drifting aimlessly in college. By chance he meets Izumi, a gruff, irascible pub owner with problems of his own, and the two of them develop an improbable friendship - and maybe something more.

This was a breath of fresh air. It is a nuanced picture of two people growing closer together by fits and starts, and how they both learn to adjust their outlook on life as a result of meeting one another. The leads feel very much like real people and not the usual idealized types you see in most BL; it's not a story to pick up if you want something with an easily digestible lesson or pure romance. They are are believably marred by their experience (or inexperience), and are written consistently and insightfully. The manga deals seriously with how one's life plans can be derailed and how hard it can be to pick up the pieces and change direction, a theme that is worked beautifully into almost every prosaic detail of the story.

While this won't be for everyone, I highly recommend it if you enjoy a slower paced story that takes its time with its characters appreciated a more mature, nuanced, and measured understanding of love and sexuality.

Edit after reading comments (oops): While some folks didn't like the ending, I think that the resolution was perfect for the kind of story that it is. While not every single thing that happened to them is neatly resolved in the usual BL way, it doesn't need to be. The story is about working through the effects of things in the past and learning to think about the future in a way that is informed but not overdetermined by what one has experienced. It didn't feel in any way incomplete or unsatisfactory to me. In fact, a followup chapter with more genre-typical interactions between the two of them would, I think, have been jarring.
***CW***
Chijiwa definitely becomes pushy and obsessive, which didn't bother me in the context of the story but may be offputting if you want a romance where everyone always behaves well. Also ***spoilers*** there is an allusion to Izumi developing a relationship with a teacher when he was in high school. Nothing super over the line (nothing I would describe as outright rape), but, again, your mileage may vary.

The head of an evil corporation that siphons greed using technology is in a constant struggle against magical girls and his own overwhelming sexual desires. This is pure stupid ero comedy and I have to say I enjoyed it. This isn't something that can be taken seriously at all and has some good laughs - just rather stupid goofy fun. My one criticism is that as an ero comedy the sex is pretty tame. It's like watching a cheesy porno that has good comedy but really lackluster sex.
***CW***
Sex or die situations (thanks to the scanlation group for including warnings). That being said, the story is so absurd and over the top that nothing strikes me as particularly bad or offensive.

Naoto's cute childhood friend is a handsome, popular giant now that they are in high school, and Naoto now has an equally giant crush on him. This is pure, unfiltered childhood friends BL. What makes it work well is its buildup, where we are very much tied to the POV of Naoto with his awkward feelings for Satsuki, and this helps elevate what is really an extremely tired plot to the level of a fun, readable manga. Very typical fare, but slightly above average for its writing. Recommended if you want a by the numbers story where the uke is (for once) the one with the obvious, huge crush.
****CW****
No rape, but a couple of characters (including the love interest) feel Naoto up out of lust or jealousy respectively, so definitely has that going on. Nothing too horrific.

Ryotaro works as an architect, but he is frustrated that his work doesn't allow him as much creative freedom as he would like. When he is invited to visit another firm that has hired his as a client, he's excited to meet a beautiful young woman - except that young woman is actually a man who designed his favorite building, a building that embodies the freedom of expression he craves for himself.

This manga is definitely trying to be a little more conscientious than your average BL about LGBTQ issues, while retaining a pretty typical BL style of story, with mixed results. Setting that aside, the biggest issue is that at bottom, this is a very typical story with the "crossdressing seme" as a selling point. While parts of that are handled ok, it is too quick and formulaic to be very interesting in spite of its best efforts. Nothing really bad, exactly, but it's just a brisk and forgettable read. Check this out if you like the novelty of the premise and want an ok story that is trying to update some BL tropes a little bit.
***CW***
It's tame, but definitely a pushy seme who is on the "if you don't like this hit me and run away" spectrum of BL. If you've read enough of the genre, you know what I mean. Still, pretty mild all things considered.

When Mitsuru, a reporter, begins sniffing around a strange murder where a woman's blood has been sucked, his childhood friend Annaka, begins warning him off the case. Annaka is a real estate mogul with a secret, and that secret centers around his curious friendship with Mitsuru. Mitsuru is determined to get to the bottom of this.
An indulgent manga that has a very omegaverse adjacent picture of vampires. Its story isn't that interesting, since it's mostly "main character is irresistible to vampires, love interest chases them off"-type stuff. The main character is refreshingly into what is happening from first to last, but other than that it's goofy and somewhat rote. Recommended if you want a fun if by the numbers story with an above average degree of consensual sex.
****CW****
Minimal. I guess hormone induced madness makes it vaguely dubcon, but for stories of this ilk, it's really minor.

This is a gag comedy manga that pokes fun at older BL tropes and art styles. The jokes are a little one-note and superficial (what I wouldn't give for a more comprehensive BL parody!), but if you've read a lot of classic BL you'll probably get a good chuckle out of this one. It doesn't overstay its welcome. Recommended as a light diversion.

While a sequel, can be read on its own.
The story of Herve, who works as a butler serving the spouse of the chieftain of a desert tribe, and his dalliance (or maybe more) with the man who serves the chieftain. Like other works of this author, this feels like old-school BL: it has a lot of drama and a certain something that I often feel is missing from more recent works. At bottom, it is exceedingly indulgent and silly - yet undeniably fun. With fabulous art and a main character who is delightfully eager for and casual about sex, I honestly loved every minute of this over the top, ridiculous tale. So highly recommended if you're in the mood for something that feels a bit like a throwback in a good way, with a lot of action and sex and unselfconscious camp that you don't see nearly enough of these days.
**CW**

Basically nothing. The main character goads his captors into having sex with him, and then a secondary character wants to have sex with him, so honestly the lightest of dubcons (not that any of that comes to fruition). Honestly I think anyone could read this without being bothered.

Shisio is a manga editor suddenly transferred to the BL department - except, he doesn't know anything about BL. When an author he adopts decides he needs to use Shisio for a reference, how can he refuse?

The setup is brainless cliche piled on cliche. Straight man working professionally in manga for years who doesn't know what BL is at all or even how gay sex works? Check. "Let me use you as a reference!"? Check. There is very little about why the mangaka, Satoru, decided to become a BL artist out of nowhere, much in the same way that there's no viable explanation for Shisio's being brought on to the BL department in spite of apparently not knowing anything about editing BL manga. That being said, in spite of its daft plot points and premise, it's a charmer.

This is largely thanks to the dynamic art and solid comedy, as well as the way the manga occasionally manages to slightly go against expectations for a story like this at times. But mostly it's the pacing: the longer story gives us more time with the characters and lets them breathe. While it doesn't make the drama more realistic or even plausible, there are some nice moments and a real sense of buildup. Not a challenging manga by any means, but if you're in the mood for something frothy, funny, and light (if a little dumb), this one is worth its runtime.

**CW***
Mostly nothing apart from the typical "I am going to stick it in" where one character is protesting (but wants it really). But honestly it's super mild by genre conventions, so not much in the way of warnings.