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MANGA: Uso Ka Makoto Ka
Uso Ka Makoto Ka – Tobi Washio
One day, Taiyou, a popular guy because of his good looks, was asked by a senior student at his part-time job to take care of his cousin, Tsukihiko, who is attending the same university as Taiyou.
However, Tsukihiko is rude to him from the beginning to the end, Taiyou still tries to be lenient towards him, but on the inside, he’s on the verge of exploding because of him!
Suddenly, Tsukihiko confessed his feelings to Taiyou and took him to an empty classroom where he made his move…!
Lie or Truth is a senpai/kohai, childhood connection romance between two university students.
This is an older uke, younger seme romance where the seme, Tsukihiko, is cold, blunt, and dub cons his way into the uke, Taiyou’s pants. I was initially meh about Tsukihiko, but as the story progressed, he somehow won me over.
The two MCs initially got off the wrong foot. Taiyou, known to be popular and cheerful, approached Tsukihiko as a favor to his work colleague, requesting he looks after his cousin. But the younger man bluntly told him his smile was fake and gave him the cold shoulder. Then out of the blue, Tsukihiko confessed, and Taiyou rejected him as revenge. It began a little game of notice me kohai/senpai.
The key aspect here is the childhood connection that began a lifelong devotion to one’s crush. I love this trope, and the execution was perfectly balanced between hot/cold, humorous, fluffy, light angst, and steam.
And dub-conning Tsukihiko, I forgave because he acknowledged going too far and apologized for putting Taiyou in that spot. The forehead kiss was everything!
The guy on the cover is Taiyou. Tsukihiko’s character is drawn with overlong bangs covering his face. And you can bet it hides an uber-cool seme face! Check out bonus chapters.
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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: 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: 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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MANGA: Itoshi no My Doctor!
Itoshi no My Doctor! – Glycerine Takeru
The bright young actor Sunao Makita is starring in a hit medical TV drama. His director makes him interview a surgeon called Naoki Himematsu, but when Sunao shows up, he receives the opposite of a warm welcome and is outright rejected. Over time, Dr. Himematsu’s cold yet kind personality slowly warms up to Sunao’s tenacity and persistence. Will Sunao figure out how to get through to the surgeon’s heart!? He wants to see more of the doctor’s cute side! This is a medical romance featuring an attractive actor with the personality of an excited puppy, and the calm, collected doctor he loves!
My Sweet Doctor is an opposites attract romance between a brusque doctor and a genki actor.
Sunao is an actor portraying a doctor in a TV drama. To make his acting more convincing, his director tasked him to interview Dr. Himematsu. The two spectacularly got off on the wrong foot, but Sunao is nothing but persistent. The more time he spent with the doctor, the more he learned about the doctor’s cute side.
This is the perfect example of food as the way to a man’s heart because Sunao kept feeding his beloved doctor super cute bento. And the good doctor let him because the man is sucker for delicious food. It’s a joy seeing the grumpy doctor letting his walls down and letting Sunao in.
The story moved fast, yet the plot development was well-executed. My favorite part is that the couple had no silly grand gestures. Instead, the milestones come in small, deceptively trivial gestures, like the lone wolf doctor telling the concussed Sunao to go with him to his house so he could watch over him or casually handing his apartment’s keys to Sunao. It’s things like these that speak volumes.
It’s always the secretly sweet ones that are most lovable!
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