MANGA: S to N

S to N – Furuya Nagisa

“I’m Seto Takakuni, a first year. I like you, please go out with me.” Natori, a third year who has lived a peaceful and uneventful high school life, one day receives a sudden love confession from Seto Takakuni, a kouhai he has never seen before. Naturally, he politely refused, but since that day, his slowly increasing ferocious attack started! Now everyday Seto Takakuni would unexpectedly appear at every chance he got, but with Natori’s patience reaching its limit, he ends up mercilessly exploding in front of Seto. With this, his peaceful days would come back, or so he thought… somehow this guy… has got hearts in his eyes!?!??!!?

S And N is a more light-hearted offering from the mangaka. It’s just as adorable as the rest of their works. It also has an openly pansexual MC.

This is a gay for you, high school romance between persistent kohai Seto and straight sempai Natori. The former confessed to the older boy but was turned down. However, to Natori’s surprise, the freshman kept finding ways to talk to him. Yelling at the younger boy to stop only made him fall harder for the exasperated Natori.

I’m glad that most manga I’ve come across nowadays have characters who won’t take no for an answer take a more respectful stance. We all know how notoriously rape-y yaoi manga could be so it is a relief when the pursuer, while still very determined, respects their love interest’s boundaries.

Natori and Seto are two average high schoolers. Seto is more carefree and cheerful. Natori is a doting big brother to twins. Being a senior, he spends most of his time studying for college exams.

What I love about Seto is that he knows how to give his guy some space. He’s super considerate. He knows it’s a critical time for seniors and that Natori has to study for entrance exams. Even if he’s stubborn in his pursuit, the boy politely kept his hands off his sempai.

Majority of the story is Natori trying to dodge Seto. He complains to his friends about the annoying freshman. In turn, his friends give him advice on how to repel said freshman. Usually, these backfire. While it’s pretty easy to see Seto’s feelings for Natori, Natori’s progression was very slow, changing almost imperceptively but surely. When he falls, he FALLS.

There is a big mystery why Seto fell in love at first sight with Natori. The joy on his face whenever he helped Natori in some way is a pure and precious thing. So was that scene of him trembling when he hugged the love of his life.

I loved how the story came full circle, revealing the past connection between the two boys. I really like shared past reveal moments, especially where casual acts of kindness the do-gooder barely remembers actually mean so much to another person. It always makes for an impactful plot twist.

This one’s a ray of sunshine!

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