I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #tattoo(5)

A comedy fluff bit of PWP with bara. A pilot gets the hots for a tattooed islander, whose language and culture he doesn't understand, and who observes unusual customs. Smut ensues.

Three short stories whose primary linking theme is desire, on the part of the seme, to the point of possessiveness, whether the uke is sought by other men or monopolized by his work. The response is occasionally violent, and usually demanding — not really my cup of tea, but consistent throughout. The artwork is incredibly beautiful, whether contemporary or historical, just enough to transcend the rough handling of the stories themselves.

Jin, a stock trader and used bookstore owner, takes his friend, Touma's, recommendation to use Seina, a tattoo artist, to cover some messed up ink on his back. Seina intrigues him, and they develop a friendship before Touma drops the bombshell that Seina is his estranged brother. Jin refuses to get involved in Touma's family problems, but when Seina discovers that Jin is friends with Touma, their friendship takes an unorthodox turn. A gentle and slow-paced friendship-into-love story with some striking tattoo designs.

Haruna, a art student, picks up the injured stranger, Shiki, on the street and tends to his wounds because he reminds him of a stray cat he once rescued. Shiki has been driven out of the nearest town, and his arm is covered with intricate, traditional yakuza-style tattoos. When Shiki moves to leave, Haruna holds him in an embrace to stop him from going, but they really know nothing about each other and it ends tragically.

Two short stories and a spin-off. (1) A hedge-fund manager, who always tries to buy off his sexual partners with money, hires a detective to find his former sex-friend in order to reclaim an exorbitant sum he stole. Neither anticipate what happens when they find him. (2) Drinking buddies turn into lovers, but can't seem to abandon the competitive streak in bed. (3) The lover who absconded with the hedge-fund manager's petty cash comes crashing into his past when a yakuza enforcer shows up and asks him to resume his duties as the heir. To put him off, the lover gives him a task he thinks is well beyond him: to make love until he comes. Interesting and with an authentic vibe, but not particularly realistic. Monden Akika has a thing for Ojii-samas and scruffy men.