I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #switch(4)

Shinoda, broken from divorce and loneliness, stumbles into the antique shop of Askura, who treasures broken things, and Shinoda slowly comes to life under the gentle sweetness of Askura's interest and attention, even though he has never identified as being a gay man. This manga has a beautiful use of realism with hesitant and circling conversations, lots of details about how they live and the slow way in which these two people come to love each other. It's an incredibly satisfying read.

Two seme-types battle for the top, which starts to get irritating, as these things do, until an unexpected silly plot twist causes one of them to wake up. Then the story returns to being funny and enjoyable. It helps that the men are both drawn so well and there's lots of sex.

Sequel to Takaramono wa Hako no Naka, this doujinshi explores the complications of a painful past on Tokura and Gin's sex life, and how they overcome it. There is a bit too much preoccupation with who gets to top for me (although the couples switch), all attributed to the tragic backstory. Gin's ongoing consideration for his partner is lovely indeed, but I can't say that I found it hot and I'm not exactly sure what brought the temperature down from boiling to light simmer. I think that there was so much carefulness and tiptoeing around, it interfered a bit with the sheer animalistic, irrational self-surrender of romance. It's crucial for loving relationships in real life, but not so great for escapist fiction as it feels a bit sex-averse.

The sound effects of sex through a thin-walled apartment lead to an encounter between two male neighbours that changes from hostility to love, as one of them comes to grip with an unrequited crush on his friend at college.