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MANGA: Romance ni wa Hodo Tooi
Romance ni wa Hodo Tooi – Amamiya
In high school, Arata fell for a British girl. A salaryman now, he’s reunited with that person, but they’re actually a man?!
There was a time when I was dying to pack my bags, hightail it to Japan, find work, make pilgrimages to anime sites, and have cosplay photoshoots. Alas, lack of resources and poor mental health wouldn’t let it be so.
Far From Romance is a tale of a British guy doing just that. Luis, an elite systems engineer, surprised everyone when he transferred to a small fishing village to work for a small IT company. Secretly, his mission is to win the man who helped him years before when he first visited the town that was the setting of a popular anime.
Luis is an otaku and now fluent in Japanese. It was amusing how the story poked good-naturedly at Japanese quirks through the eyes of a gaijin. He doesn’t cosplay but loves photographing places he’s seen from the anime. He even volunteers to photograph their cosplayer co-worker, thrilled to see cosplay from a Japanese.
In contrast, Arata doesn’t watch anime but soon did after their work involved promoting the town to anime otaku. He’s portrayed as the typical workaholic salaryman and a well-liked boss. The story is mostly from his POV, where he remembers his anonymous blonde, blue-eyed first love from years ago and how they tried to communicate with the language barrier.
And now, seeing Luis, he couldn’t help but be drawn despite being straight.
OMG, THE ROMANCE IS THE CUTEST, SWOONIEST THING EVER!!!!
The gorgeously drawn characters of Luis and Arata and their endearing connection, the gentle but determined way Luis wooed Arata, so pure yet so passionate, just thinking about it, I got happy goosebumps! SQUEE~
Kommatsu is their female co-worker and a cosplayer. She keeps an eye on the romantic development of the two and dies swooning when she realized Luis and Arata are now officially a couple. Kommatsu is all of us.
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MY TOP BL MANGA OF 2020
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MANGA: Bokura no Tsuzuki
Bokura no Tsuzuki – Amamiya
Highschoolers Yousuke and Shuu have become somewhat estranged due to an accident early in their childhood. However, their relationship is restored when Shuu moves to the shopping district Yousuke resides in, to stay at his grandmother’s place. Yousuke, although akward at first, starts feeling stirred by the expressions and mannerisms that the usually aloof Shuu only shows to him!
“Our Continuation” is a story of reunited childhood friends.
Cheerful Yousuke meets tsundere Shuu again at his grandma’s side dish shop when Yousuke was delivering veggies from their green grocer. Shuu snubs him, and then again at school. Yousuke continues trying to talk him until one day, they were having a somewhat normal conversation.
Majority of the story is from Yousuke’s POV and we see how the grumpy Shuu was slowly opening up to him. The pace was nice and slow. The manga gives off warm, soft vibes, that only makes the FEELS that much stronger.
The artwork is gorgeous! It perfectly captures the personality of both characters. I especially liked how Amamiya drew the eyes. Best part for me, apart from the eyes and the blushes, are the scenes where they subtly touch each other’s hands.
The whole thing was just so wholesome and adorable, I turned to mush.
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MY TOP BL MANGA OF 2019
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MANGA: Blue! Blue! Blue!
Blue! Blue! Blue! – Amamiya
When Takiya Kippei, the brother of two older sisters, realises that he desperately needs money to buy a birthday present for his lover, he decides to live and work onsite at a ryokan (a traditional japanese inn). There, he meets the well-educated Honjou Masumi, a man who is neither too strict nor too lenient, and who has a charm which embodies the word “mature”. “This is the first time I’ve met someone like Honjou-san” – as Takiya continues working at the ryokan, he starts to become interested in Honjou!
OMG! Beautiful art, beautiful story. So soft and subtle.
(source: http://www.mangago.me)
