I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #slice of life(123)

Realistic and moving story of Shima, who is deliberately outed by his former gay-lover-gone-straight as a means of professional sabotage, at his former workplace, and Togawa, the straight and divorced boss who doesn't care ... about Shima's past or much of anything elsef, but cares very much for Shima. Shima has become hyper-cautious and sensitive as a result of this treachery in his past, and he doesn't know what to make of this man who is so, seemingly, heedless and rough-spoken. Can Togawa pierce through his armour?

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.

Two boys with wildly different personalities meet at school over a musical project, connect and go through their last year of high school, with all its incumbent transitions, together. Sweet, slow and clear.

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.

The relationships which have been established in Nakamura's Doukyuusei yaoi romance series continue through college.

Satoru, a hatter with his own boutique and employee relations problems, needs a new clerk fast and picks up a starving stranger to fill the role. Ryou reminds him of his old dog, whom he dearly loved, but Ryou has a past filled with mobsters, government corruption, violence, betrayal and abandonment, and the question is no longer whether it will return on him, but when and how violently it will return on him. An agreeable and engaging story with beautiful art, and a touch of Disney (Hello Flynn Ryder) in the style and mannerisms. The characters are interesting features and the plot comes intricately wrapped in a seriously absorbing suspense thriller! Just watch out for the non-linear transitions and flashbacks.