I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #reunion(22)

Akusawa Fumi, a host and heir to various nightclubs, is in love with his lover, community security detective Futagami Takaharu, who is reluctant to take the relationship any deeper, in spite of his own infatuation. Takaharu mistrusts Fumi, who shows the same easygoing smile and attention to everyone, and because he deals with corruption, he harbours suspicions toward Fumi's motives. Is this a romance? Or a cat and mouse story about deception? A very good start to an intriguing story, but since it hasn't been updated in years, I assume it will never be finished.

A sombre reunion between Yuzuru and Daisuke, two former lovers who parted when Daisuke decided he wanted to become a professional athlete. It was Yuzuru who left, mysteriously, and now that Daisuke has had to abandon his dreams of playing professional baseball, and is divorcing his wife whose loyalty depended on his status in sports, he is forced to confront the past. The first chapter ends poorly, but the rest of the story improves.

After a forced separation from his beloved friend, Motoharu, Kyouya returns to Karatsu to dispose of his grandfather's estate and put his unrequited love behind him. He does not expect his feelings to be returned. Against a backdrop of small-town life and traditional Shinto festivals, two friends reconnect after years of separation. As usual, Honjoh Rie's characters and plot feel authentic, but lack facial micro-expressions. The manga includes a few oneshots which are more comedic.

Nonokawa, a salary man in the midst of burn out, hears that drought has dried up a reservoir that had been constructed to flood his old village, and returns to look at the elementary school which is now exposed. That was where he had a brief but traumatic encounter with his childhood friend, Kouya, who clearly shares his feelings, after which he ran to the city, sealing all those feelings away. A cute story about regret and repression.

A serious manga about partner abuse. Yumi's boyfriend beats him, demeans him and tries to isolate him from others by controlling when he leaves and returns to their apartment. Yumi tells himself that there isn't anything this man could do to him that would actually hurt, but when Mayama, a friend from school who never called or texted him in spite of his obvious attraction, suddenly shows up at Yumi's workplace and appears to have kept a flame burning for him, will this change?

A reunion at college after a year of separation for Naoto and Taichi, 2 ex-boyfriends who split in high school because Taichi made the mistake of calling their relationship a sex friend arrangement. The problem lies more with Taichi's crappy communication skills than the actual chemistry and connection between them. Naoto was understandably offended, but when his inhibitions are loosened by liquor, his real feelings shine. So now the boys have to conquer this gap between what they feel and how they express it. Another meaty, satisfying read from Ogeretsu Tanaka with realistic relationship problems, terrific sex scenes and a fine conflict primed for unorthodox resolutions. This continues into Volume 2 when an existential dilemma paralyses Taichi just as a newcomer starts moving in on Nao.

Junya is now the older stepbrother of Kyouichi, a rich young man who gave him his handkerchief and a warm drink one night, ten years prior, when Junya was crying on a park bench. Now, they are rooming together as their newlywed parents honeymoon in Europe, and the tension between them is growing with each accidental touch. A fresh and natural story with no rough edges.

A sweet little love story about a sensitive young man who has harboured a crush on his sempai from school since they were on the same baseball team together. Sempai, who has been frozen in his growth since seriously taking on the duty of raising his sister, is slowly waking up to the shift from romantic love to actual investment in the future of another person and how much it costs, which makes for a very interesting and well-structured story. No villains, here. There are small conflicts about social propriety, but the main argument which needs resolution is rooted in the differences between automatic emotional reactivity and self-realization, which makes for a splendid story about maturation and adulthood.

Wolf in sheep's clothing story about a reunion between neighbours from childhood. Not sure what the theme is meant to be: needless cruelty? Disappointments? "How DARE you pity me?!?" Seems a bit excessive.

Natsuno and Ui used to be inseparable friends through school, though this ended at graduation when Ui made a heartfelt confession. Now, years later, after a breakup in which he lost everything, Natsuno is looking for a place to live and Ui has a huge apartment. Trouble is, Ui has lost all memory of him. At this stage, I don't know if I like Natsuno and admire him for his guts, or despise him for toying with Ui so heartlessly.