I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #Miyamoto Kano(10)

A realistic and natural story of a boy who isn't sure he's gay and the curiosity which awakens in him when he sees a homosexual couple kissing. This is one of the best yaoi stories I've ever read. The relationships proceed very gently, even through heartbreak and separation.

Traditional Japanese ghost stories and folklore are used as the backdrop and livelihood for a pair of late Edo-period ghostbusters as they gradually fall for each other. Lively, engaging and interesting with more of a sentimental and melancholic feeling, rather than creepy horror or gore, the imagery is enhanced with traditional woodblock print references and Miyamoto Kano's beautiful artwork.

Shinichi, a one-hit wonder of a former pop-idol, comes crashing against his disappointed and unfulfilled dreams, just at the point where he reunites with Chikara, an overbearing and caustic junior whose feelings he once played around with, and who he abandoned to have a go as a musician. Ai no, Uta is a sad and bitter story about artists and the free market, and about being both unsupportive and unsupportable as a person. Shinichi's ego is something to behold, but I don't necessarily agree with Chikara that he should abandon his music, either, since it's wrapped up with his soul. It doesn't seem like Shinichi's reunion with Chikara is a stroke of luck, either, although it correlates with the walloping message that the universe is sending to him about what everyone thinks about his musical skill. Chikara is extreme, and while it isn't his job to suckle Shinichi's ego, his determination to crush his dreams borders on abusive. The brother drops hints about mental-emotional illness. In any case, the story ends without resolution beyond Shinichi's epiphany of self-realization and, at the same time, self-loathing, and sometimes, that's all there is to a story. It's a good story, but there isn't an ounce of comfort or kindness in it — kind of like, both, Shinichi and Chikara. One can imagine they might learn something from that ... or not.

Yuki has been neglected by Hikaru, who is busy at work, and is nearly seduced by the strange bisexual president of the UFO club at his university.

A street-curb pick up leads to a drinking session and gay sex for a young man who is concerned about keeping his guest safe from physical abuse.

A private detective takes up a cold case for a young man for whom he has developed an infatuation.