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

Slice-of-life story about advertising production manager, Daisuke, and his favourite photographer, Nishioka, a man who hides his attraction for "Dai-chan" under the disguise of acting like a spoilt infant terrible. Together, they weather office intrigue and unprofessional conduct in job settings that actually resemble real life jobs. Touko Kawaii's usual flair for great characterization turns ordinary things into extraordinary fun. The only complaint is that any text which runs along the page gutter by the spine in the second volume is almost indecipherable.

After a tragic life, rewarded by a singular serendipitous experience of the Sublime in External Nature involving an unspoiled South Sea paradise and a gorgeous native islander, Zomu achieves professional statues as a photographer, but his heart was so captivated by that one moment of Satori, everything else pales by comparison. The years and work grind at his soul, until at last, he finds himself divorced, half-blinded by lupus and longing to reconnect to that experience of Eden, and in particular, to the islander whose coming-of-age ceremony he witnessed. As fortune has it, the islander is Mani, a now-embittered specialist in auto-immune disorders, who has rejected his past, deserted his clan and tribe, and feels embarrassed by the ritual symbols of his connection to the islands. Zomu pushes forward with an attempt to bring Mani back to the sacred grounds from his youth, meeting opposition and resistance at every step. The result is a powerful and deeply felt story of two wounded men in their middle age coming to terms with the ferocious toll of existence and struggle on the spirit and their attempt to recapture Paradise Lost. Okadaya Tetuzoh's story is mature, enriching and beautifully drawn. READ THIS!!!

Interesting story with beautiful art, told from the third-person perspective of Kunishige Yuu, a middle-schooler in a sort of not-quite-absolutely-platonic love with his beautiful would-be model school-chum, Umeko, and carefully raised by a very responsible older brother, Gaku. After stealing and using Gaku's invitation to a high-art photography exhibition by the famous Hodaka Kurushima in order to impress Umeko, Yuu discovers that his brother has a secret from his past. So far a very satisfying read!