I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #Hamada Kamome(3)

Chapter 3: Conflict FINALLY arrives. There's no story without conflict. I was skeptical at first about a real life hook-up story between Akira, the mangaka's gay son, and Nanjou, a straight guy, since biography adds a weight that is usually missing from the romance genre (and by weight, I don't mean darkness.) Up to Chapter 3, the fluffy elements made the story too lightweight: Akira's personality borders on Gary Stu-ishness, for example, with no visible signs of emotional depth. Then there is the whole unexpected roommate business, the confession from a man who identifies as straight, the rejection of the playboy, all scenes which would normally be emotionally fraught and filled with pitfalls. But they played off as inconsequential and easy-peasey. It was pleasant enough, and Hamada Kamome did a good job of retro-fitting real life into the limitations of a manga, but I kept waiting for the sound of all those shoes to drop. Now they're starting to, and it's getting interesting.

An impulsive hire turns into love for a chef-in-training and a computer design student away from home for the first time. The story focuses on the sweet aspects of their relationship, and yet, some very serious story conflicts are skirted as though they mean nothing, like intellectual property theft. I was left wondering if that would ever be resolved, but instead, the story jumped to a love triangle conflict, which is far less interesting to me.

Accidental boner.