Never Hollowed By The Stare

Otogibanashi wa Awa to Kie – Jyanome

Oka, the manager of a ramen restaurant in Sapporo, has been in a friends-with-benefits relationship with his high school classmate, Akemi, ever since graduation. As much as they seem to have mutual feelings for one another, Oka is still hung up on the memory of his unrealized first love back in high school, while Akemi, shunned as the son of a yakuza family, has resolved to live his life in solitude.

But just as Oka is trying to convince himself to finally let Akemi go and end their relationship, someone connected to his fleeting first love appears…

Fairy Tales like Bubbles Burst starts with a moment forever frozen in memory.

Ramen shop manager Oka will forever remember that time in the library when he saw a boy crying. Now an adult, he looked back on it as his first love. Meanwhile, he’s enjoying the benefits of his best friend Akemi, which started on their high school graduation day.

It has always been casual with them until Oka meets the boy he thought he saw in the library who’s now a salaryman, openly gay and has just asked him for a date. It is what he has wanted all along, but why does he feel so conflicted?

Oka and Akemi’s relationship is both simple and complicated. Simple in that they’re fuck buddies, have been friends since childhood, and both have been single since high school. It’s complicated when Oka suddenly realizes his true feelings, and Akemi’s family background comes into the picture, putting a wrench between him and Oka.

Suguru, the salaryman, would have been easy to hate in his third-wheeling ways. But the man surprised me, not only by being a buttoned up salaryman by day and a vision of fabulousity at night, but he turned out to be the best wingman the lovelorn Oka could ever ask for! I love Surugu so much I want his manga. I wouldn’t mind a poly because last I heard, he has three boyfriends!

Childhood connections and little acts of kindness the doer has forgotten yet are very memorable to the receiver are frequently used in manga. The mangaka delivered particularly poignant moments that made my chest ache. The mutual pining and longing are so palpable that they hit me right in the kokoro. There’s also a heartwrenching separation and a happy reunion that made me smile!

The romance was developed so beautifully, the relationship between Akemi and Oka evolving while remaining constant. Also, they go at it like rabbits so this manga is hella smutty.

The artwork is stunning! The characters are lovingly drawn, and their expressions convey so much emotions. Which is just perfect because this is a manga you truly FEEL!!!

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