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MANGA: Boy Meets Maria
Boy Meets Maria – Peyo
Taiga’s always worshiped the heroes he’s seen on TV. And now that he’s started high school, his fateful encounter with a certain girl compels him to make her his heroine. And she was known as the Madonna of the drama club, Maria. After seeing her perform on stage, Taiga falls head over heels and confesses his feelings to her and is tragically shot down. And to his surprise, the beautiful lady is actually a beautiful boy…
A mix of humor and drama, this is a manga that tackled heavy topics like broken families, child abuse and gender identity.
Aspiring actor Taiga dreamed of playing the hero part on stage. He fell in love at first sight with Maria when he saw what he thought was a beautiful girl dancing on stage. He confessed to her but was turned down. Even after he discovered the true identity of his idol, he refused to give up his pursuit.
The humor is not the laugh out loud kind. It’s more of the amusing kind courtesy of the energetic Taiga and his dorky friends.
There is a dark, psychological aspect in relation to Maria a.k.a. Arima. He was forced by his mother to dress up as a girl at a very early age, causing him to question whether he is a girl or a boy. He was later on molested by his teacher (TW here for graphic depiction). He was rescued by a stranger who for some reason reminded him of Taiga.
The gender identity issue was handled and resolved well. I liked how Arima’s confusion turned into empowerment when he realized what he is capable of. There were no slurs directed towards Arima. The little bit of name calling present was directed towards Taiga and used humorously.
Taiga’s determination to win over Arima was earnest but Arima was not convinced Taiga was sincere. Taiga never once gave up even after being rejected several times. He learned to speak from the heart and showed everyone, most especially Arima, that he was a true hero.
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MANGA: Restart wa Onaka wo Sukasete
Restart wa Onaka wo Sukesete – Cocomi
Coming back home to restart his life after a disastrous time in Tokyo, 25-year-old Kozuka Mitsuomi is unemployed. He was born and raised in the countryside but returned. He meets Kumai Yamato and his life begins to subtly change.
“Restart Can Be Hungry” is the sequel to Restart wa Tadaima no Ato de. It’s sweet story about building a family with the person you are happiest with. It picks up on Mitsuomi and Yamato as an established couple tentatively trying to move their relationship to the next level.
Mitsuomi is a lovable dork. I think he had winter personality.
Yamato’s cheerful personality made my day. I loved his character design and how the mangaka drew his various expression. He had a great smile. It’s a smile made of sunshine and summer.
Their opposite personalities played off each other well.
The manga is paced even slower than before that it was borderline boring at first. It gradually won me over with its gentle vibe. It had the same heartwarming moments that made the prequel a joy to read.
Restart no Tadaima no Ato de has a live-action movie. Check out trailer below. Sorry, I couldn’t find any English subtitles.
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MANGA: You Are My Darling!!!
You Are My Darling!!! – Sakurai Taiki
When a new person moves in next door, the appearance of a cockroach forces him to ask his neighbour for help. This strange situation is how two people with opposite personalities, one calm and composed the other prone to exaggeration, form an unlikely friendship.
A neighbors to friends to lovers story with a good premise but fell short of the mark.
The manga started off well with a cockroach scare that had Yorito running pantless smack into his neighbor Akitori. From then on, the two started a friendship. They discovered new things about each other and learned about their youthful dreams.
I think the main downside here was the execution. It was aiming for cute and fluffy, which it is. Kind of. But mostly, it’s boring. The supposed humor was flat. There is chemistry between the characters but their scenes were tepid at best. Even the first kiss scene lack spark. The delivery was just not making me feel the emotions it’s supposed to convey.
Sad.
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MANGA: Haru no E
Haru no E – Nakamura Asumiko
Andou gets an envelope passed to him in class that contains an erotic picture belonging to Kagaya Jin, the mysterious half French transfer student. A short, bittersweet tale from the Meiji era.
“Spring Painting” is a one shot about an innocent student being initiated to sexual pleasure by his mysterious classmate by helping him get off on an erotic picture.
Jin’s half-French origin gave him an air of the mysterious and exotic, further heightening the sense of the illicit and forbidden between the two boys. Not really keen on the dub-con aspect, tho. Sadly, this is quite prevalent in BL manga, especially between naive virgin uke + wicked experienced seme combination.
This is an sensual, poetic story that pulls your emotions in different directions, something Nakamura Asumiko always excels at. The artwork has highly stylized character designs that’s stunning to look at. I liked that this is set in the Meiji era. I loved that East-West mix, especially when it comes to the fashion and art.
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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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MANGA: Yuujou Wo Oeru To Iu Koto
Yuujou Wo Oeru To Iu Koto – Rocky
Ryou befriends the nerdy Kousuke. Later on, Ryou confessed to him. Kousuke agrees under one condition…
The title roughly translates to “To end the friendship”
I was expecting fluff and cute. What I got was a somewhat psychological drama about boyfriends who promised not to let lies ruin their relationship. They were tested when another boy confessed to Ryou while mimicking Kousuke’s appearance. Ryou turned the boy down. After this, Kousuke roughly shoved Ryou to the wall reminding him of their agreement.
I was surprised by this turn of events especially coming from Kousuke. All the while he seemed mild-mannered. I wouldn’t mind if the manga headed down a darker route. It didn’t quite get there. This is okay too if it was going for just hints of dark. Thing is, it felt like it was going for something but missing the mark entirely.
The only aspect I liked here was the art, especially that beautifully drawn picture of Kousuke on the cover.
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MANGA: Ki ga Au Iu Koto wa
Ki ga Au to Iu Koto wa – Asou Kai
1. Ki ga Au to Iu Koto wa – Shiraishi has been seduced by his so called “Best Friend” for 6 years since they were both in high school. The train they take to work, their favorite music, their sandwich choice for lunch… always happen to be identical. That strange relationship would never ever change, supposedly. But now that Shiraishi is divorced, it could be just a matter of time before he gets himself scored.
2. 1 + 1 + 1 – Between a man who bears a past and a revived lover, the existence of a certain “man” becomes the trigger. Both prickly pain and sweetness are all in one long story…
The Meaning Of Being Like-Minded is a two-story volume featuring the guys from the oneshot, Ki ga Au to Iu Koto de and a paranormal love triangle between a convenient store clerk, a salaryman and his dead boyfriend.
Ki ga Au to Iu Koto wa: This is how Shiraishi and Iizuka started, flashing back to their high school days when Iizuka revealed he was gay and Shiraishi said some words of support. From then on, Iizuka was forever declaring his love for Shiraishi while the latter was not really reciprocating but not actually rejecting him either.
Iizuka has a genki puppy dog personality. Shiraishi has a poker face and comes off as cold.
The story shows Iizuka pursuing him persistently. The thing with this trope is that the character tends to come across as too pushy and annoying. What I like about Iizuka is that he doesn’t overdo it.
While the one-shot sequel was more fluffy, this was on the angstier side. Most of the POV was from Shiraishi who had to slowly come to terms with his feelings. He sleeps with Iizuka but I suspect he could be aromantic or on the greyish scale with the way he sometimes wonders what it’s like to fall in love. It’s like he’s not really feeling things but with Iizuka, he’s feels a deep connection to the guy so it’s the closest thing to him falling in love.
1 + 1 + 1: This is about a convenient store clerk crushing on the salaryman who come in regularly and only to buy yakiniku. Later, he learns that there was a ghost hanging around him that only the clerk can see. When he asks about it, he learns it was the salaryman’s boyfriend who died in a car accident.
I liked this less because there’s a love triangle and it’s with a bratty ghost. The ghost is forever stuck at the age of 18 so it’s understandable that he could be selfish but it doesn’t make for an enjoyable read. Luckily, the story makes up for it with a happier ending.
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MANGA: Ki ga Au to Iu Koto de
Ki ga Au to Iu Koto de – Asou Kai
Shiraishi is slowly easing into his new relationship with Iizuka, but he is still puzzled by the phenomenon called “love.” Even though their physical affection has increased, Shiraishi doesn’t know how to overcome the emotional boundaries of their long-term friendship. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, will he find a way to express his feelings properly?
The title roughly translates to “I feel like it”. This is an adorable story of an newly-established couple getting used to their relationship.
Shiraishi and Iizuka used to be bestfriends. Shiraishi is the serious, overthinking uke reflecting on his man and the consequences of coming out to his parents. Iizuka is the cheerful seme who’s happy with everything Shiraishi.
The one-shot has the fluffy pureness of high school love between two adult characters. It’s sweet how they got identical gifts for each other.
The two started out in the manga Ki ga Au to Iu Koto wa. I love these two precious dorks so I must investigate that.
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MANGA: Hige to Suzu to Shabondama
Hige to Suzu to Shabondama – YMZ
Daily life of Santa and Rintarou…
Beards, Bells and Bubbles is the super fluffy and adorably wholesome slice of life manga about an established gay couple going about their daily lives. It has a nice laid-back vibe that’s makes you think of easy summer afternoons.
Santa is the serious, hardworking one who takes care of all the household chores. He likes to spoil Rintarou. He was disowned by his family.
Rintarou is the carefree, lazy one who is completely hopeless at household chores. He likes being pampered. He has a big family who loves Santa. The running gag of the manga is that everybody thinks he is a good for nothing and that Santa is too good for him. Nobody expected they would last for 3 days.
They’re still together after 5 years.
The manga started in spring when these two dorks went to the park to view the flowers only to have it raining when they got there. Some parts of the story flash back to how it all started. Most of the chapters showed short and simple scenes illustrating the couple’s affection for each other.
Like in the opening chapter, Santa comments he’ll never see the flowers as long as they’re together. To which Rintarou replies, then you’ll never see them. Santa shrugs his shoulders and says it’s okay. They go home and eat soup.
The dialogues are funny, mostly due to Rintarou’s over reaction to things. He has a jealous streak that extends to members of his family. Santa going shopping for laptops with his father and twin brother had him in tantrums, the idiot.
My favorite part was Kiyoshi, Santa’s ex, who for some reason or another hangs around Rintarou hilariously comparing notes about Santa. He’s an overconfident businessman who unexpectedly had a boyfriend who was okay with his weird habit. There’s a twist here that I really liked and I hope the mangaka gives Kiyoshi and his man their own spinoff.
Anyway, the following year, it rained. They didn’t see the flowers. Again.
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MANGA: Ano Hi, Seifuku De
Ano Hi, Seifuku De – Nakamura Asumiko
1) Ano Hi, Seifuku de (That Day, in the Uniform)
I haven’t got myself used to this adult-like appearance with some nostalgic flavour of youth.2) A Senpai
Body and mind think different things. But which one is true? A junior and senior love triangle.3) Chuugaku 3-nensei (Middle School, Third Year)
There is a pervert in the male restroom in the book-store. Beware!4) Hadaka no Boku (Naked Me)
Being shaved, becoming naked, the hidden feelings5) Tenkousei (Transfer Student)
The secrets under the uniform, that none of the classmates knows.6) Nikoichi
God knows when my childhood friend become much tinier than me. We have been through the heights and lows together, and now is my start with that childhood friend.6.5) Extra to Ano Hi, Seifuku de – Konya, Ano Hi ni
2 years have already passed since that night.
Nakamura Asumiko-sensei once again breaking hearts in this collection of short stories featuring school boys past and present. Her stories ran deep, dark and quite often devastating.
This manga is the more explicit of her works. Majority of the stories had gratuitous scenes. Dialogue was kept minimal and the artwork is stunning as always.
Ano Hi, Seifuku de (That Day, in the Uniform): Two salarymen found themselves in an office drinking party. One of them just got married. The other recalls that fateful day where the other left him an unforgettable confession that was unanswered in their last day of high school. He brings up the topic and they sleep together. The next day, they both pretend it was nothing.
This is the best story of the collection. It’s full of nostalgia and regrets. We get the POV of the one confessed to and he wonders, what if he had ran after him and gave his answer? Too late…
A Senpai: A love triangle between two sempai and a kohai. Characters had no names, just letters from the alphabet designating the points of the triangle. C-kun likes B-sempai but couldn’t resist A-sempai. There’s not much substance or novelty in the story. The ending felt incomplete.
Chuugaku 3-nensei (Middle School, Third Year): Rumors of a man giving out 10,000 yen for a blowjob in a bathroom stall ran wild among schoolboys. One day, a schoolboy happened to come across a man offering money to his schoolmate near a bathroom. He confronts them and the man runs away. Then his schoolmate offers him the money in exchange for blowing the schoolboy. And so their salacious encounters begin.
The money exchange presents their relationship as mere business and taints the story with a whiff of prostitution. It also begs the question of where a middle schooler gets that kind of money. This is one of the more compelling chapters here. I really liked how a story about lost innocence ends with purer motives coming to light.
Hadaka no Boku (Naked Me): A story about a kohai who had an affair with his sempai who prefers the kohai shaved down there. This is more of a sketch of a relationship that came and went. No feelings were involved excerpt the kohai’s. Sad but not outstanding.
Tenkousei (Transfer Student): This is about a transfer student rumored to have slept with a teacher and his classmate who discovered his secret. Then the two proceeded to sleep together.
There were no real relationships here. This is mostly the two students sleeping together and the transfer student taking pictures of himself in his special clothes. The affair with the teacher was revealed when said teacher hysterically confronted the student.
I wish this ended better because this felt incomplete.
Nikoichi: A gay awakening between two childhood friends who discovered they were attracted to other males. Most especially each other. The fact that the smaller of the two had sex with the teacher in the gym was kind of glossed over as part of said awakening.
Shady teachers aside, this was pretty sweet. This was also practically conflict free. So not much happened here.
Extra to Ano Hi, Seifuku de – Konya, Ano Hi ni: This is Sensei throwing us a bone.
Salaryman receives news that the other salaryman got divorced. He immediately asks for his contact number and rushes to catch up to him. Would he get there in time?!!! RUN DAMMIT!!!
