Seiji Tajima is a single, forty-something shop owner who's close friends with police officer Sh...
- Author: Niyama
- Genres: Romance / Yaoi
Simple story, great characters. This manga kept the traditional way we usually see in the Japanese BL of slice of life, where we can see short stories about two guys falling in love in very unique contexts. At same time these kind of mangas are great tools to understand, in very smooth and almost undetectable ways, how prejudice and other queer related problems shape the development of a romantic and domestic relationship. I really adored this one, the art were incredible, the story and the plot were very convincing (there was a pinch of drama, but on the same amount you'd expect every living adult in the earth would have lived) and development were at the very pace I like — not too quick, no too slow.
The potential in this story is Mount Everest-level high
[Translated by Mosh Scans]"On one awful night, I met the strangest man."Higuchi Seitaka wa...
- Author: Wagase wagimoko
- Genres: Yaoi / Adult / Mature / Smut / Romance
I can't say it's a great story, nor do I think it has any greater messages or anything like. I pretty much started reading it just to see ML's scenes where people were salivating over on Twitter, and I had not expected much from it. But I was kinda surprised that I read something quite good.
The story surrounds just the main couple. And, besides the MC having a (mildly) good development, at least regarding his trauma and daring position to deal with his borderline PTSD while trying hard to keep his career. The ML, aside from his sad background, it's nothing more than a plain clichèd character of Yakuza stories; I'm not against cliches specially because we're reading mainstream stories mostly here, and these medias rely heavily on troupes and archetypes for the writing; nevertheless, I can't really just ignore how little underdeveloped the ML felt to me, maybe the manga was a way too short to give enough fodder to be worked on. Tenju could have been a richer and rounder character, considering his criminal activities.
But story surprised me a little, I fully expected to be a RomCom with shady Yakuza characters, but end up being a good short travel into a traumatized doctor's mind who used a mafia member as psychologist. The art is outrageously good, the textures and details were astounding, specially the few panels depiction of macroscopic scenarios, but also the anatomy, the placement of every page and the features the author chose for characters faces. Definitely a good story, it deserves a 4, because it gave what it promised.
A good catch.
I think I'll have to read the novel. This manhwa was extremely catchy, beautiful and tragic. If it end up being a revenge, It will be a masterpiece! Otherwise... well, I'm curious to see either way.
I'm so sad the things are going to end (I hope there will be some extras). But it's ok, at least our Dan finally can rest with some love
I glanced too quickly at the second page, and for a moment I almost thought Mingwa had given kids to those two. I just thought "Oh, no, Kim Dan's genes were completely defeated"
Usually I don't waste my time writing bad comments about any stories here (tbh I don't write much anyhow), however, this time was a must for me.
I can't really say I wasn't "warned" since some good fellows wrote a little about the story in the comments and even care enough to place the red flag labels. But I — like Saint Thomas — had to see it to believe it; I think I really paid for that stubbornness of mine this time.
Look, unlike some people here I don't think the story was entirely disposable and trashy, because 'till chapter 60 (I think), when the whole In-Seob's scheme was revealed (or should I say destroyed?), I really got some goosebumps and became very tense about the plot threads and dilemmas set up by the author. To cite some:
I) I like characters that give you a hard time figuring out whether they're good or evil, and choosing someone with a mental disorder so ill judged by people's common sense is kind of interesting and bold;
II) I didn't expect much from the MC, I saw him like one of those feminine bottoms authors create without deep thoughts and usually just play the role of a stereotyped woman in these cliche toxic tropes. Nevertheless, I kinda liked him as the manhwa showed us his way-too-much kind behavior and, specially, his mixed feelings about loving someone who entangled with his past trauma.
III) The mystery surrounding the past of the main characters was something that thrilled me through the story also, especially the piecemeal way the peaces had been revealed until the great moment.
IV) the comic relief was incredible also, I loved Mr. Kim and Mr. Cha, the only sane ones in the story.
But, just when I had been trapped by the flow and started to think "Oh, those mfs in the comments were overreacting, the ML is problematic, but kinda bearable", boom: grape slop.
It's almost funny how the first warning of non-consensual sex acts in this garbage came in chapter 94, after a long journey of the most violent and terrible sexual acts someone can suffer. I'm not a fan of lack of consent in any story, but I can stand some gray areas when there's a reason; but it is just sad to see rape being included in a story out of fetishism and ending up tarnishing all the good work of the character development.
I don't know how someone with antisocial personality disorder would react in Woo Yeon's shoes, but let's be fr, all of his mental state became a lame excuse for that fetishization. I didn't hope for the author making him a saint at the peak of his discovery of that treason by the MC, but really? Being a rapist? There isn't any other reasonable way of depicting the character you work so hard to create? In the end, the author just confirmed everyone's prejudice: a mentally disordered person like him can only be a bloody psychopath.
Btw, the first half was not incredible, but was catchy, and the second half was just porn with story, sadly.
Sorry for writing all of this. It's hard to see potential being burned in front of your eyes :(