I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #salaryman(7)

Nagamine is a smart boss who knows exactly how to keep a suitor interested. Akae, demoted from the head office for an affair, seems impervious to his tricks. Both men keep misreading each other.

The best was definitely kept until the end in this compilation: (Story 1: pages 1 - 75) Hot secretary and jealous president. (Story 2: pages 76 - 129) More interesting than the first. An art director and photographer finally acknowledge feelings they've held for years. (Story 3: pages 130 - 211) Machiya Hatoko has so much insight into the heart, and this story about two very lonely and alienated men — one the victim of abuse, the other, a man who isolated himself from love because of tragedy — who open up to each other in kindness and, so, find true love, is one of the best romances I've ever read. A story like this is so beautiful, it might even heal some readers.

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.

Recently divorced salaryman, Tooru, is courted by his ex's nephew, Masachika, as he moves into his new apartment. Flashback to a scene in a gay bar where Tooru hesitates over his decision to marry Masachika's aunt as he is confused over his sexual preferences. Back in the present, Masachika presses him on his reasons for divorce and makes the first moves.

Double feature of stories involving gay virgins. Not bad, but not particularly memorable.

It's been a year since this was updated, so we probably won't be seeing anything further, but so far this is the story of an ordinary salaryman who gets swept off his feet by the stranger sitting by the door to his apartment in the pouring rain, over whom he happened to trip/by whom he was tripped.