Seishun Location
This is so cookie cutter shoujo but I still like it. It's formulaic. You can tell the mc will end up with the newly introduced character while her childhood friend will get over the rejection and end up with the mc's female best friend, who's been shoved to the background most of the time. Individually, the characters are all really great and I love them. I look forward to the time that will be spent developing Yamada's character before any annoying love triangle shit gets in the way. Since you grow to like all 3 of the mcs in this story, the ending when the girl has to choose one of the guys will leave a bitter aftertaste. They should really just make it end in a polyship since the boys have some underlying romantic tension in scenes they spend alone together too. The art is also 10/10. Generic shoujo look but still really pretty.
Mobu Oji-san Demo Koi ga Shitai!
really fucked up how self aware it is. like, it actually acknowledges how disgusting it is to perpetuate the perverted old man x minor and the abuser x victim tropes which is fantastic, but then it actively shows you both of those things, which is self contradictory and disgusting. "what a plot twist! the minor/victim falls for the perverted old man instead of his abuser!" this story isnt better than other yaoi like it just because it calls out those tropes. if anything it's worse because it knows those tropes are wrong and it still actively portrays them.
Kanojo Ni Naru Hi Another
*bangs fists on table* TRANS CHARACTER! TRANS CHARACTER! TRANS CHARACTER!
Komatta Toki Ni Wa Hoshi Ni Kike!
Abarenbou Kareshi
The first two stories were a little annoying, with the first being complicated by one pressuring the other into sex and the other getting violent on occasion (I mean, I know he's a tsundere but hitting his boyfriend for kissing him was a huge turn off). The second story just made me pissed because the younger brother is spoiled and constantly falling into debt but apparently that's okay since he got his older brother to just accept that they love each other (no thanks). The third story was really the best. A delinquent and a piano player having a consensual and a funny relationship. A very good read.
Sweet Heart Trigger
While the tone of the story overall is meant to be lighthearted, it is actually quite dark. Cole has obviously felt ostracized by his peers for being gay and the reoccurring gun, which continues to appear as a gag, gives this manga darker undertones (and might hint at how naturalized gun violence is in America, as the story also takes place there). Cole also appears to have really bad anxiety and he easily falls into a depressive state, which might hint at him having BPD. Alex is also beginning to question his sexuality, which is never easy. While mental illness is not always easy to write, I believe it could have been done a little better here. Alex still loves Cole and wants to be together so that's a plus, but Cole should really start to see someone or attend therapy because it's kind of obvious that having a mutual love doesn't cure mental illness. All in all, this had a pretty interesting and original story. You don't see a whole lot of mangas, let alone a yaoi manga, address mental illness or make subtle statements about gun violence in America so there's that.
Sugar Soldier