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

A mysterious laboratory where stars are made; a scientist whose dead lover haunts him; a child whose encouragement pulls him through despair. Aoi Aki's stories are intense and, as always, so beautifully drawn and depicted. In this one, the birth of stars is linked to the rekindling of love.

These two stories gave me pause. They are interesting, but tough, and more realistic, than romantic, with bittersweet resolutions. (1) Chizumi's postpones dealing with his unresolved feelings for a dead friend by raising the friend's son, Ibuki, and having grief-relief sex with his other friend, Yatabe. When Ibuki confesses, Chizumi indulges his infatuation far too much for my personal comfort, but he does realize his mistake and takes action to correct it. Unfortunately, it throws his entire motive for rearing Ibuki into the realm of exploitation, rather than a sincere concern for his well-being, and he wounds Ibuki with, both, the inevitable rejection and the wildly disparate balance of power (Ibuki being completely dependent and vulnerable in their situation.) Realistically, people do betray ones who love them this way, without atoning or making amends, but it leaves a bitter aftertaste. Not quite as bitter as (2) the relationship between Kazuhi and Ichiyama, where atonement is expressed through violence. Yamakami Ryou's stories have an unsettling sense of personal contradiction, with pain and betrayal at the heart, but they are insightful and highly readable dramas, well worth the time and effort.

College classmates, Ozawa and Yasunao, befriend each other over a shared love of classical music, and soon that friendship turns sexual. But Ozawa has a tragedy in his past that consumes him with guilt, regrets and grief, and he won't allow his relationship with Yasunao to move forward. This is the story of how Yasunao slowly breaks through that wall, rendered in Asou Kai's lovely drawings.