I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #treachery(78)

Serial adulterer, Kyouichi, is blackmailed into being kissed by Imagase, a college friend, who now works as a private detective investigating unfaithful spouses. Kyouichi doesn't have the courage to turn down any woman who makes a pass at him, but he denies that he is gay. This is a mature and, sometimes, heartbreaking story about the deeply flawed straight man beloved by a gay man. It isn't easy going, even at the end.

A side story to Yaoi Epic Yattaraneeze! Chisato, a high fashion hairdresser, still bickers with his production co. lover, Kanae, but finally manages to assert autonomy over his career decisions. Of course, this sets him up as a target for revenge from a villain from his past, but it turns out he doesn't need Kanae to do everything for him after all. There is some mild kink, but this is a plot-based action story involving yakuza and whimsical fashion models.

A beautifully drawn fairytale about creatures that must be controlled by a loved one or they become the ultimate destructive force. One of the last remaining manbeasts, Mao, meets Syon, a bounty hunter, while hunting for his brother, but will treachery keep them apart? This is a yaoi classic.

Stories about dealing with cheating lovers. (1) Shiraishi is forthright about being gay and this causes problems, but his faithless lover causes him even bigger ones. So when co-worker, Kanzaki, offers him sanctuary, he jumps at the chance, even though he feels obliged to hide his attraction for his new roommate. Kanzaki doesn't seem to share these inhibitions. (2) Prequel to Sorenari ni Shinken Nandesu. (3) The first 2 stories are much better.

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.

Ace marketer, Ishikawa, out-performs everyone in the marketing department of this highly competitive firm, but when he has a bad day, he takes out his frustrations by sexually assaulting his gay co-worker, Takayama, who has just landed a big contract. Will Takayama be able to turn this into victory? Tsunoda Ryoku always spins a good story, and her workplace dramas actually involve people working at their jobs. This one requires moving past the rape-trope (which Blue claims — April 24, 2014 10:27 pm, http://www.mangago.com/home/mangatopic/520995/ — was incorrectly translated according to her licensed copy), but unlike most of these sorts of stories, this one ends with a more equal power distribution than it starts off with. It's worth reading for that alone.

Feng Meng is transmuted back in time into the body of An He, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Xi Lie. The title is meaningless, however, as all the real power is held by the indomitable regent, Rong Tian, who notices the sudden change in An He. A story about imperial court intrigue within a country on the verge of war with many neighbours, and what Feng Meng must do to survive. Since it hasn't been updated in years, I assume it will never be finished.

When I first read this story (way back), it was one of my favourites, and, although other, better manga have come along, I still enjoy it. There's something very soothing about the relationship between the graceful Shirakawa and his warmhearted loveable "dog" of a kouhai, Yamato. The lovely way they are led to embrace each other through the tragic (and understated) backstory of Kisshoubou has any easy realism that smooths over what would be quite an awkward transition — a specialty of mangaka, Hiiro Reiichi. The subplot involving the stolen intellectual property from Shirakawa's company moves the story back into a vaudevillian zaniness and takes away from the pleasant pace, while not really serving the story except to maybe appease the mystery over what happened, but that is my only nit. Read this. It's a classic.

Udou's bitterness and breezy cruelty towards others is rooted in an unrequited love for Kiyotake, a basketball teammate from high school. His misery and jealousy has prompted him to commit despicable acts against the very person he loved, twice. Now, in college, karma has caught up to him and his feelings are revealed in all their rawness, but what does Kiyotake have to say about them? Here is how one man's kindness can redeem someone who has fallen so completely. Ogawa Chise's stories often go over the top into outright madness, but this story hits all the right emotional notes without going too far.