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MANGA: Kachou, Kekkon Shimashou!!
Kachou, Kekkon Shimashou!! – Seika
Aoki, who lives with his only daughter after his wife died, has a special hobby of making sweets! One day while handing out his baked goods at work, Mizuno, an unfriendly subordinate, unexpectedly enjoyed the desserts. As a result, Aoki invited Mizuno to his house to deepen his friendship, but as soon as Aoki gave Mizuno a colorful handmade sweet, he proposed saying, “Chief, please marry me!”
Chief, Please Marry Me is an age gap, workplace romance, and a perfect example of the adage, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
Single dad and mid-level manager Aoki loves baking sweets and bakes so many treats, he takes them to his office to share with his co-workers. Mizuno is his bitch-faced subordinate, known to be as unfriendly as his face. Secretly, he LOVES sweets. So much so that upon tasting the best dessert he had ever eaten, baked by Aoki, he was so overwhelmed he proposed right then and there!
The best parts of this wonderful story are the character and romantic developments of Aoki and Mizuno. Aoki is a mild-mannered man whose temperament is as sweet as his baked goods. He found someone who could appreciate his baking, promised to take care of him and his daughter, and held true to that promise through the years. Through Mizuno, he learns how to better handle the moment when his young daughter, Chie, finally leaves the nest.
Mizuno found someone who loves his love for sweets. As a scary-looking man, he was outright rejected by a chocolate company because no one believed someone like him could like such delicate girly things. He was even mocked for it. This is why Mizuno is fiercely protective of the little family who brought him happiness.
This is a dual bi-awakening romance which lead to hilarious couple moments. As salarymen, they researched gay sex and presented them to each other as if about to conduct a meeting. Mizuno’s formal marriage proposal was in PowerPoint and presented in the most convincing sales pitch ever. I had a good laugh!
The ending was an endearing scene of Chie’s wedding, which Mizuno, probably a CEO now, took time to attend. I loved that he and Aoki were together throughout the decades.
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MANGA: Cure Blood
Cure Blood – Togaya Arata
“You’re the only one in this life where I can’t die.” A storyteller that will touch your soul is born. This is the story of a doctor who gives blood and a vampire who doesn’t age.
The new doctor, Tadayuki, suddenly underwent a transformation. He desperately wanted blood like a vampire, and his aging process had slowed dramatically. Tadayuki attacked his senpai Juji, disappearing after telling Juji that he had died. But Juji sought out Tadayuki and offered him a helping hand, telling him, “I’ll examine you and give you blood, too.” They never could have imagined that it was the beginning of a secret they would keep for decades.
I’m going to say outright, this is a tragedy. I was very resolved not to cry, but this manga wrecked me. I was a sobbing mess.
Cure Blood is a very medically oriented look at vampirism. Young doctor Tadayuki exhibited strange symptoms and his beloved mentor, Juji took it upon himself to examine and find a cure. Namely, offer his blood every two weeks so that Tadayuki could keep his secret and live a normal life.
It’s crazy how this manga could feel so calming and peaceful yet pack a whomping emotional punch. It tackles the issue that always niggles me whenever I read romance novels about immortals falling in love with humans. The sad fact that they have to watch them grow old and die.
The plot follows the two doctors in a slice-of-life style, documenting the years they spent and how they managed to live as normally as possible while accommodating the quirks of Tadayuki’s condition. And hands-down, Juji is the most selfless seme ever created. A consummate doctor who will do anything to save a patient, even devotes his entire existence to taking care of Tadayuki without asking for anything in return.
Heck, these two weren’t even lovers! They were just together. It warms my asexual heart to see two people building a non-sexual, soul-deep connection purely based on mutual trust, unconditional love, a selfless desire to care for a person’s wellbeing, and the sheer pleasure of each other’s company.
This is a beautiful story I’ll never forget!
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MANGA: Gozen 3:00 no Ice Cream
Gozen 3:00 no Ice Cream – Aioiuo
A story about a boy with a sweet tooth and a boy with a savory tooth who sneak out of bed in the middle of the night to eat ice cream. “I want my own ice cream.” These two seem to melt into the night.
The cover is so pretty!
Ice Cream to Eat at 3AM is a cozy vignette on midnight munchies and post-coital interactions. My impression here is the couple are friends regularly enjoying benefits about to evolve into something more intimate. They know each other well enough to predict what the other likes. They’re mostly casual yet still feel anxious when waking up in the middle of the night to find their lover gone.
The majority of the pages are devoted to the coital parts so if you like ’em bite-sized and steamy, this one-shot is for you.
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MANGA: Bros.
Bros. – Tobi Washio
A cute little brother suddenly became a beast. “Little brother, don’t you have something to tell me?” “You’re one to talk!” Yusuke and Tokio are brothers living together in their parents’ house during their absence. One night they have an unexpected encounter in the city, and their secret is revealed: Yusuke is gay, and Tokio is bi. Even though it was a choking discovery, Yusuke keeps trying to play the good older brother role, while the younger brother Tokio can’t see him with the same eyes anymore. The love battle between a poker face brother and another that has a soft spot for bad men begins!
Bros. is brother complex turned brotherly love with the usual caveat to make the taboo more palatable. Rarely does this trope employ actual brothers.
Big brother Yusuke wears his heart on his sleeve, is a bit of a doofus, unlucky with men, and determines to be the bestest big brother to poker-faced Tokio, a surly guy with an aggressive streak. Things took a turn when the brothers bumped into each other one night with their male dates. It surprised the heck out of them to know they are both queers, and Tokio started seeing his brother in a different light.
Tokio is one of those semes who dub-cons his way into things. The transition from brothers to lovers was done in a brilliant cliffhanger which would have been effective if I hadn’t seen it so many times already.
The brother side of their relationship was actually more endearing because Yusuke is such a doting big brother. He’s very conflicted but it doesn’t stop him from taking care of Tokio like he always has.
The overall execution was good but lacked the oomph to make the story more memorable for me. If brotherly love is your jam, this one’s tasty enough.
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MANGA: Boku-tachi wa Mada Aoku
Boku-tachi wa Mada Aoku – Kuroi Tsumuji
“Our grade’s top scorer, an unapproachable guy, only opens up to me. That’s so friggin’ adorable!”
Saegusa is utterly bored of his high school life. Along comes Arochi Tooru, a guy with the brightest hair he’s ever seen, who transfers into his class. It’s an oddity already, for some guy with outrageous looks and a cold attitude, to transfer into a prep school. So he immediately draws the attention of everyone in his class. What’s more, he’s apparently a genius who cinches the top spot in their grade on their class exam.
One day, Saegusa uses a common point of interest to approach Arochi, and the two start to become closer. But once they become friends, Arochi is actually really oblivious and cute! Saegusa just can’t take his eyes off this cutie!We’re Still in the Spring of Life is your quintessential spring time manga that is as adorable as the cover.
The plot is something we have read about often. Sunshine-y student befriends stoic transfer student (or vice versa) and young love blooms. It follows the two boys as they navigate their evolving relationship while juggling schoolwork and preparing for their university entrance exams. The two boys inspire each other to reach for their dreams.
The vibe is pure and gentle. It has that wonderful kind of wholesomeness that cleanses the soul. I love how the artwork matches that softness.
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MANGA: Boyfriend 17
Boyfriend 17 – Yoshida Yuuko
The man who piqued his interest is his junior.
Two men with different ages and different views on love get drawn to each other. A clumsy, roundabout, and earnest love. A young trendy model and a closeted fashion magazine editor.
Mihara Yōu got recently transferred from the literature to the fashion department. He attends the trendy model Usui Sakumi’s photoshoot.
“I’ve seen you before.”
After the photoshoot, Usui tells him how their first meeting took place, leaving Yōu embarrassed. During another meeting, Usui asks him about the reason for why he was crying at that time. After telling Usui he had been dumped, Usui gets swept up by his honesty and ends up kissing Yōu
Boyfriend 17 is an age-gap romance between a promiscuous young model and a naive magazine editor.
I only read two chapters, and it was enough to see that the model is one of the worst semes out there. This is a younger seme x older uke pairing. I don’t have issues with this trope, and I have also seen it done effectively. This here didn’t work for me.
For one, the seme did nothing but manipulate the naive older guy. He sweet talked him into losing his virginity. And while I applaud that the uke valiantly resisted further enticements, mostly due to the age difference and the boy being callous with people’s feelings, the seme continued to play around with the older man, knowing full well how easily he could get a reaction.
The only reason I kept reading is that this manga flows smoothly, and the characters are pretty. But definitely not boyfriend material.
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MANGA: Tonari no Lunch
Tonari no Lunch – Akahachi
Delicious food and a hint of love…??A heartwarming gourmet food×mystery×BL!?A remote worker learns that the guy he had a crush on at work is getting married! Heartbroken, but hungry, he ponders what to eat and smells the delicious cooking from the neighbor next door. While trying to place the familiar scent, he vows to recreate the dish himself. He then passes by a good looking guy at his apartment. What is this mysterious dish, and who could the handsome stranger be?
The Neighbor’s Lunch is a super adorable and wonderfully wholesome one-shot about mysterious neighbors, secrets crushes and delicious food.
Without giving too much away lest I spoil the fun, the story spins an intriguing little mystery, a lonely young man’s gastronomic adventure and the cutest meet-cute I’ve seen in while. That’s all I’m going to say here because you need to read this ASAP!!!
This little gem is comfort food for the soul! It deserves a full volume at the very least!
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MANGA: Uchi no Wanko Choukyou Sakusen
Uchi no Wanko Choukyou Sakusen – Miwa
Yuki is a salaryman who loves men to his core, and Shibasaki is his junior who adores his master like Hachiko. The two, having just started dating, tried to have sex, but it ended in failure…. The reason: Shibasaki’s lower half wouldn’t get hard. “You’re the one who confessed to me, aren’t you? If you like me, why can’t you get an erection!?” Shibasaki tries every trick in the book to get an erection, but….
Our Dog Training Operation! is a workplace senpai/kohai romance featuring an experienced older uke and an earnest younger seme.
Puppy dog seme is my jam, and while Shibasaki wasn’t exaggeratedly puppy-like, his eagerness to please and glowing adoration of his cranky senpai was endearing. Meanwhile, Yuki appeared to merely go along with the flow just because he reluctantly found his kohai cute. Tried as he might be turned off by the younger man, again and again, Shibasaki’s cuteness sneaks up on him and sweeps him away.
The titular training was really nothing but Yuki’s attempt to get his lover hard. It didn’t occur to the dorks that Shibasaki might be ace or demi. But they are entertaining as a couple, and I wanted to know more about their backstories and their HEA. It’s a one-shot that I wish was a full volume.
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MANGA: Karamawari Weekend
Karamawari Weekend – Izui Zui
A love you’ll root for spontaneously ? 38-page one-shot!! “Kawanami-san, please fall in love with me.” Under the influence of alcohol, Mifune blurts out the feelings he has kept secret from his sempai, Kawanami. And when Kawanami’s attitude doesn’t seem to have changed after the confession, what is Mifune to do? Heart-pounding, sparkly sempai x unsociable kouhai with a one-sided love. A fresh debut! From Izui Zui, a tantalizing workplace love that you can’t help wanting to cheer on
Karamawari Weekend has all the making of a cute workplace romance. It has the cool sempai in Kawanami and an aloof but pining kouhai in Mifune.
Alas, the execution fell short. The storytelling was confusing. After the drunken confession, it was like nothing happened. This nothingness was even more confusing when Mifune was approached by another co-worker who acted and looked like Kawanami. After a brief interaction that had no apparent purpose, it was back to work as usual.
Then out of the blue, Kawanami decided to lay claim to Mifune, and they started dating. The romantic development here was non-existent, apart from Mifune’s love-sick thoughts.
However, this is a one-shot that became a serial, so I guess the plot will be better developed given more chapters. I’m not sure I’ll be picking it up. The MCs don’t particularly stand out and are unconvincing as a couple. I say, skip this one.
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MANGA: Anata wa Korosu Tabi
Anata wa Korosu Tabi – Asai Sai
Yakuza members Odajima and Kataoka are sent away on a trip after Kataoka, the young wakagashira, screws up. However, this trip hides the true mission: Odajima has been ordered to kill Kataoka.
The Journey To Killing You‘s eye-catching cover and yakuza as main characters is an irresistible combination.
The mix of steam, angst, and grit hit hard right off the bat. I braced for devastation as the impending sense of doom loomed like dark clouds over the characters. This was tempered by a streak of humor, and the entertaining interplay of Odajimi’s serious, gloomy personality and Kataoka’s easy-going, people-pleasing charisma.
The plot is two people on the run, a.k.a road trip, where the underboss Kataoka and underling Odajimi alternate between having sex and chilling with various quirky folks. While Kataoka seems to be having the time of his life, Odajimi struggles with internal conflict, bittersweet memories, and his mission to kill the other man.
Yakuza politics demands the urgency of the kill, and Kataoka slays with a deceptively casual proposition. And just like that, the man brought the squee in what would have been a dismal affair. Totally reminded me of another yakuza BL manga I read a long time ago where they say the bond between members is deeper than marriage.
It’s best to go in knowing only what the blurb says. The author’s storytelling is superb! They really know how to deploy key panels to maximum heart-stopping effect. There are flashbacks to Odajimi’s memories ending in tragedy, heightening the suspense. Even with the flashbacks, jumps to other characters, and numerous sex scenes, the plot was smooth, well-executed and downright gripping!
This is a manga that is as intense as its cover!
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