Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #Spin off(8)

As a spin off from Shuu and Nanami’s story, this manga about Chiaki and Ayumi is a COMPLETELY different kind of tale. The two MCs have been friends for 2 years. An unlikely friendship with the rather slutty yet vulnerable Chiaki and his more stoic friend, Ayumi. Chiaki falls for surfer Shuu but his feelings are never reciprocated. He is unaware that Ayumi has noticed his feelings until he finds himself chained to Ayumi’s bed following a night between the 2 MCs. And so begins a change for these 2 as they battle wits and Ayumi shares his possessive love with his shocked and furious friend. Without a doubt, Ayumi comes across as a bit of a sociopath/stalker/scary guy. But Chiaki is no pushover and they soon start to really understand each other on a deeper level. Contrary to many of those who didn’t like the seme or the story, I enjoyed the touch of crazy here. Chiaki did not let Ayumi have the upper hand for long, and the 2 MCs settled into understanding each other on new levels. That was what helped this story be special. The established friendship and the way Chiaki finally began to see Ayumi in a new way was what won me over the most.

Shishidou, the seme in this story was a lion beast man. He was a player and pretty selfish but I suppose that is to be expected of a teenage boy whose beast is an apex predator. It made him harder to like for me because he hurt his friend Shiba (thoroughbred horse beastman) with his slutty ways and snide remarks. The uke Shiba was likeable. It would have been nice to see him transform and/or stand up for himself a bit more, but overall this was an enjoyable spin off, of ‘Ookami kun wa kowakunai.’

A very sweet story spanning years for these delinquents to become lovers. Toranosuke irked me a little with his hesitancy, I didn’t really understand why he was not super happy to have his very obvious love returned. Despite that, these guys were really a beautiful couple.

Utsumi and Sasabi’s story was a bit of a grind. Whilst I can enjoy reading stories with angst and obstacles to overcome, too much of this one resulted from the stupid decisions of Sasabi. He lowered himself to be sexually used for work despite having many other options. He rushed to bond with someone he barely knew knowing he loved someone else. Irritating and weak. Another thing that made the story a grind was the constant inclusion of Karasuba and Takaga and their continued romance. Firstly, because all the long haired guys looked so damn similar that I would be comparing suits and ties to try differentiate between them in a conversation. The mangaka needs to practice different looks for her MCs... Secondly, because their lovemaking and romance totally overshadowed the MCs story. I usually love seeing familiar faces from previous stories, but so much was interwoven here that the story lost its pace and the characters were diminished. Save extra chapters that are that intrusive and long for their own manga’s extras. 3 volumes of grind. I am happy with the ending, but a few pages of “I love you” don’t go far for making up the mind numbing, endless grind of dullness that preceded it.

Bristly and quick tempered Akiharu is a werewolf who gets the surprise of a lifetime when he finds out that his cousin is gay. His best friend Yukino is determined to help him understand that having the one you love return your feelings is what matters, regardless of their gender. The story was cute and fast paced and Yukino was a steady and calm balance for his delinquent uke.

A perfect spin off from Asatte ni Kiss with Kunihiko and his kouhai Haru as MCs in college.

Complete story with 5.5 chapters. Grad student Shiroki has been living in his new apartment for 2 months, busy with his studies and cat, Kedama. Things would be nearly perfect if it weren’t for his noisy neighbour, Oogami Hayato. Following a confrontation over the noise, Shiroki never expected to find himself having to sneak into Oogami’s apartment to rescue his cat. Nor did he expect to find his neighbor lying in a daze with fluffy ears and a tail! The rest of this sweet story is of their growing friendship and love.

A spin off to the manhua, ‘Ruthless’. This story follows Starshine Company’s top model Yuan Cheng Zong (Clan) and his bodyguard, the coldly composed, Lu Zheng. Set to a backdrop of family expectations and corporate rivalries, this was a good story for the first 2/3 or so, but became heavily bogged down with secondary and tertiary characters and the family business towards the end. I found it to be a bit of a slog to remember characters from early who reappeared for the end run and the story didn’t sustain my interest towards the end. Still, the main couples story was consistently cute.