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MANGA: Shinobeyo! Stalker
Shinobeyo! Stalker – Fujiwara Asahi
As a runaway ninja, Benimaru has little to no prospects in life. As he was lying in the woods, contemplating his death, a stranger approaches him and gives him back his will to live. Benimaru finds out that the man was none other than the province’s feudal lord’s son, Lord Shinosuke Kiyohisa Yamato. Putting his skills to use, Benimaru sneaks around and secretly looks after Lord Shinosuke, who may be much more clueless than he lets on…
Benimaru’s pretty face on the cover grabbed my attention. I was expecting gritty ninja action, but it turned out this manga has scenes so completely ridiculous one character consigned them all to perdition and high-tailed it out of the scene. If he could break the fourth wall and run out the panel, he would.
Benimaru, at one point, was at the lowest he has been, with no desire to live. The kind-hearted Lord Shinosuke found him and encouraged him to find a reason to live. Benimaru did just that, falling in love with Shinosuke and secretly taking care of him from the shadows.
The opening panels showed Benimaru stalking the young lord. Things were pretty benign here. Then, it got a turn for the best? Worst? Or just plain silly where medicines were oh so conveniently given in error. Medicines that “make certain parts more energetic” making that a cue for our naive ninja to help his beloved lord release tension.
Add a voice of reason in the chaos in the form of Shouta, a young ninja who admires Benimaru and wants him to come to his senses, a.k.a. return to their village. I expected a love triangle, but no. Shouta was the only sensible character who nudges our heroes in the right direction, popping up just in time when needed.
This is one of the most hilarious stories I’ve read this year, with Gintama humor and clueless characters finding themselves in one silly situation after another. It’s also one of the cutest romances too!
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MANGA: Docchi to Kiss suru?
Docchi to Kiss suru? – Furomae Ari
Ángel, owner of Nuestra Casa and a stylish man who turns everyone around him on, loves and considers Aron and Stefan family despite them being adopted. Now they help him with the restaurant, Stephan as the chef and Aron as floor manager. But both want to be something more than just family with Ángel, so they take the initiative and start dating! Spin off on the first book in the Furomae Ari’s Kiss series: Kiss Shicha Dame nano?/ Don’t Kiss Me?
Caught a rare treat today. We got ourselves a BL throuple!
Who Will You Kiss? is about Angel, a mild-manner restauranteur, gorgeous Latino, bit of a himbo, and aptly named for being a pure-hearted marshmallow. He has a rather unconventional relationship with his chef, the blond Stefan, and floor manager, Aron. He took the two former hot-headed minors under his wings, and ten years later, the two boys are extra affectionate. But who will he choose?
The plot follows the lives of the three men as Angel come to terms with his feelings for both Steffi and Aron. IMHO, it’s an internal conflict that’s not really a conflict. The three have been sleeping together for a couple of years already.
The plot is also on the thin side, but who cares? I always enjoy a well-executed poly and loved the dynamics between the three. While Angel is the center of their world, which is only natural since he’s adorbs, there’s also a push/pull between Stefan and Aron that add extra spice to the proceedings.
Steffi’s eyes are the prettiest, and his dead stare is something else. Aron’s got cool tattoos and toppy af.
I’m seeing harem or reverse harem books being tagged “why choose.” Indeed, why choose when you can have both cakes and eat them too!
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MANGA: My Dear Agent
My Dear Agent – Ebino Bisque
Riichi, who is known as the frigid cold man, is an expert bodyguard who leads the security team in charge of a conglomerate’s son. One day, he got appointed to mentor Tachibana, a skilled guy whose background information is unknown, and that very same day Tachibana said he used up all his paycheck and doesn’t have a place to stay. Ended up mentoring Tachibana both at work and private time, started the days of Riichi being at a loss over how to deal with him. Moreover, Tachibana seems to like him from their first meeting and tries to flirt with him day and night…?!
Unpredictable Newbie x Cool Beautiful Senpai, an epic love story between an odd pair!
My Dear Agent is a refreshing take on the bodyguard romance trope, where instead of the bodyguard falling in love with his ward, he falls in love with his superior.
Tachibana, a tall, muscular guy with a mysterious background, was paired with the chief bodyguard, Riichi. Because of the former’s lack of financial sense, Riichi was forced to house his subordinate while Tachibana tried to get back on his feet. Tachibana proceeds to get close and constantly asks Riichi for a date, which is always turned down until one day when it isn’t.
The cool, beautiful senpai is a hardcore workaholic and a blushy virginal uke in private. Riichi has been guarding Nobu, the CEO’s son, since childhood. The bodyguard has a formal, almost stiff manner and appears quite naive about everyday things non-billionaire people usually do, like dating. He secretly had to google these things while he was inevitably pulled into Tachibana’s orbit.
Meanwhile, Tachibana is one of those people who can makes friends with just about anyone. It’s a mystery why he can be irreverent to Nobu, the company president, and other higher ups and not get fired. To me, he smacks of unreliability. Tachibana appeared out of nowhere, so I knew he would disappear at some point in the story.
I had mix feelings about the manga. On one hand, I love Riichi. He’s a pure-hearted guy who dedicates his life to a purpose. I also love the childhood connection angle, where Riichi was called an angel. I thought that was very apt and sweet.
But I don’t like Tachibana. He’s irresponsible and assumed too much. The part he ghosted Riichi didn’t make sense, just a poor “for your own good” excuse. However, Tachibana has some of the biggest twists in the story, so he’s not that bad.
Also, the storytelling didn’t flow smoothly, and the dialogue felt clunky. I didn’t feel a genuine spark until I got to the childhood connection, where I could concede that Tachibana did have a purpose. He just has a chaotic way of going about it.
The most interesting part for me is Riichi’s relationship with Nobu. Riichi’s family devotes themselves to serving Nobu’s family since the Edo period. It’s a throwback to feudal Japan, and it fascinates me that it still exists in modern times.
Overall, YMMV because this manga has a lot of good points, and other readers might see Tachibana differently.
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MANGA: Majo to Neko
Majo to Neko – Kuroi Yodaka
Outwardly, Sudo is a delivery man, but at night he is a “courier” for the underworld. By chance, he gets together with his neighbor Uno, whom he has been interested in, over a potluck. The next day, he sleeps with Uno, who is drunk, and the next day, Uno becomes very distant from him. While he is worried that he might be onto his ulterior motives, he sees Uno being tangled up with some unscrupulous men on the street, and he reflexively takes Uno by the hand and runs away. The dying Sudo, under attack from the enemy, is saved by a contract with Uno, a descendant of witches. Sudo learns that Uno has been living in hiding from the world because he is a witch. To escape his pursuers, Sudo returns to his home to retrieve money for his escape, only to find his pursuers waiting for him…?
Witch and Cat is a gritty paranormal romance that is as violent as it is steamy as it is heart-wrenching as it is so freakin’ good!
This is a world where witches are the most sought-after commodity, able to heal and give extra lives to people they contracted with, known as familiars. These witches are so valuable that even their body parts are sold for exorbitant prices.
A witch can contract multiple familiars, but it would drain their life energy in the long run. The contract had to be done with mutual consent with both parties present and with exchange of mana through physical contact. A kiss can give a short burst of mana, but we all know there are more fun ways to exchange body fluids.
The witch is Uno, a scowl-y guy who rarely smiles and keeps to himself. He frequently bumps into his neighbor Sudo, a smiley, friendly guy who always seem to sport an injury. Right off the bat, it’s obvious that he is that kind of character who smiles even as everything falls apart.
Sudo is strongly attracted to Uno and was determined to see the guy smile. Their lives is such that they cross paths with a yakuza who turned out to be a witch hunter, hellbent on capturing Uno.
As you might guess, Sudo becomes Uno’s familiar and protector. While on the run, they realized their feelings towards each other were more than just witch and familiar. As Uno’ familiar, Sudo has cat qualities since Uno is affliated with cats. Ironic that he has a doting dog personality as a seme.
Sudo frequently suffers horrendous injuries while protecting Uno, even lost several lives (he has 9), that Uno helped heal later. One thing that was puzzling to me was why Sudo was already healing so fast even before he became Uno’s familiar.
The main antagonists are Natsume, a dog familiar and his witch, Keigo, son of the yakuza boss. These two are as compelling as Sudo and Uno, and I want their story so bad!
There are plenty of uber violent fight scenes and a lot of blood shed. I’d love to see this as an anime. Not just because of the fight scenes but because the story is poignant and angsty. Also, their world is ripe for more stories about the complicated relationships between witches and their familiars, and the rest of the humanity.
One of my top manga of the year!
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MANGA: Yamikin Shinshi no Kiken na Akuheki
Yamikin Shinshi no Kiken na Akuheki – Satou Hachiko
“Damn, you’re a whiny pup, aren’t you…? I haven’t cum yet.”
June, the number one rentboy at his brothel, is requested by a client and goes to the hotel as usual. There, he meets a sexy yet suspicious man named Onda. Onda introduces himself as a “money lender”– a loan shark – and suddenly he pressures June to repay the debt his ex-boyfriend left behind!? And after all that, he asks June, “Now, then… Why don’t you comfort me for a little bit?” June is made to suck his hot, erect cock, and then he’s fucked hard and deep…!!
Rent boy romance is a hard sell to me because I like my couples exclusive, unless the story specifically set out to be poly. I read this because I was curious if this is a romance I would buy.
Dangerous Vices of a Gentleman Loan Shark reminded me a lot like Okane ga Nai, but with better drawn characters and better proportioned size difference between the MCs. Also, the uke has more spine than the weepy MC of Okane ga Nai.
Rent boy June, a.k.a. Junya Kiryu, was forced to do dirty jobs for yakuza-looking-but-not-actual-yakuza loan shark Onda, after learning his ex forged his signature as the co-signer for a huge loan. Onda wasn’t above using Junya for pleasure while the younger man continue gathering intel about his clients.
Seeing that Junya has more practical skills than just using his body, Onda hired him for a month to do whatever tasks he needed done. They promptly got into the routine of sex plus work plus sex plus feels. Until one day, Junya was abducted.
This is super steamy, but with a solid plot and a passably developed romance. Onda’s and Junya’s personalities were typical of their character’s kind. Cool, cocky asshole in Onda the seme while boyish, passionate and blushy in Junya the uke, but neither were particularly memorable.
The execution lacked intensity in delivering the external and internal conflicts, the romantic feelings, the sense of danger, and the stakes. Overall, okay but forgettable, which is sad because I had high expectations. You could read it for the smut, though.
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MANGA: Umi no Soko
Umi no Soko – Jnnkleeche
Living in a seaside village, Wakashio is secretly in love with Yakaze, a member of the forest tribe. As the youngest son of the chieftain, Wakashio is living a difficult life, and spending time with Yakaze is the only solace he can find. However, when his brother discovers their relationship, Yakaze is killed. Just when Wakashio sinks into despair, Yakaze returns in a different form. With pale skin and red eyes, he may look like a monster, but his heart remains unchanged. The two still love each other as they once did, and begin to search for a way to live together. Ghosts, xenomorphs, tentacles, switching… A tale of lovers whom death does not part that takes us from the chaotic depths of the sea where histories and cultures intertwine, to a brighter place.
Bottom of the Sea is a monster-fucking fantasy romance set in a seaside village full of scantily dressed men.
The opening panels set the tone with the MCs Wakashio and his sea creature lover, Yakaze, in the middle of strenuous activities. The storytelling was initially confusing because not only it was moving backward, it also interrupted by the two horny MCs going hard at it.
The plot became clearer when it caught up with the present time. It is a forbidden romance between Wakashio, son of the chief of the seaside warriors, and Yakaze, a trader from one of the the mountain villages the seaside warriors, known as shark men, pillaged. Yakaze was killed, and he later returned as a sea monster.
The story is surprisingly deep, dark, and twisted. It involves murders, old magic, curses, and the consequences of the shark men’s atrocities. There’s implied rape by someone who might be Wakashio’s brother, although I’m not sure because he never mentioned any relations. But the bastard also calls the chief “father” so he could be. He also throws homophobic slurs at Wakashio while grabbing the man’s ass.
This is one of the most explicit manga I’ve read. No glow dicks here. They show all the parts, including Yakaze’s various appendages. Yet in the middle of heat, there a sweet story of childhood friends from different cultures who grew to love the man they each become. And it is a love that endured beyond death.
Recommended if you love tattoos, muscles and extra appendages.
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MANGA: Tonari no Sugar Boy
Tonari no Sugar Boy – Shinomiya Suzu
Akiba is a programmer who works from home and Shima is a student who’s preparing for his university entrance exams that just moved in next door. After learning that Shima is applying for his alma mater, Akiba offered to help tutor him and in exchange he asked Shima to help look after his family dog part-time.
With the frequent visits, Akiba finds himself getting attracted by Shima’s shining and clear eyes. He’s also absolutely mesmerised by the mature behaviour that Shima occasionally shows. Before they realised it, love has started to bloom in the time they spent together however…?
Neighbor Sugar Boy is an age-gap romance between a computer programmer and his high schooler neighbor.
The plot is the reverse of the sugar daddy trope, where the younger character takes care of the older one. Akiba is a work-from-home programmer stuck with his parent’s corgi that he’s unprepared to care for. One day, he meets his young neighbor, Shima, who promises to take care of the dog as a part-time job. Akiba volunteers to tutor Shima, who wants to enter Akiba’s alma mater.
A born carer, Shima not only took care of the dog, but ended up cooking and cleaning for Akiba. Soon, feelings developed between the two, but both kept it secret from each other. Things came to a head when Shima’s kindergartner brother became close to Akiba, and the high schooler started feeling jealous.
Some might be bothered with the age gap romance involving a minor. The manga handled that by having the couple wait until Shima graduated before becoming intimate. The age gap was the least of my concerns because the execution was so bland the entire thing was forgettable. The only reason I finished it was because it was easy to read. Don’t bother with this.
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MANGA: Ginmokusei no Shitateya
Ginmokusei no Shitateya – Mamita
Ubuki inherits Ginmokusei, his grandfather’s old tailor shop on the outskirts of Ginza, when his grandfather passes on. But unlike the days with his grandfather at the helm, Ginmokusei is now in a slump despite all of Ubuki’s (unrefined) efforts. As the days pass with no sign of customers coming in, Ubuki grows impatient. Then one day, a man named Theo suddenly walks in declaring, “I’ll turn this store of yours into a first rate one, so bet on me!”
Will Ubuki, with Theo’s help, be able to turn things around? This time from Mamita: a mature, adult love story between two men in suits!
Woe that there’s not enough BL manga about tailors and men in suits, but happily, I found this gem!
Ginmokusei: The Tailor Shop is about Ubuki, who inherited his grandfather’s tailor shop. He regrets not working with his grandfather sooner, and now with the old man gone, he’s struggling to keep the shop alive. In waltzes Theo, with a bold offer only the desperate, a.k.a. Ubuki, will accept. This audacious stranger declares he will transform the shop into a first rate, thriving business!
Theo smelled all kinds of fishy the moment he walked in. Ubuki was too shellshocked by his blitzkrieg attack, and so, was swayed into making these grandiose plans. But that is only the impression the manga wants you to think because as the story progress, Theo was indeed making changes that worked!
The plot has several very intriguing aspects to it. There’s the shop business, but then you’d have ask why is Theo doing this. The man even went so far as to transfer a loan he was supposed to use on his own business to the tailor shop. Who is he exactly to Ubuki?
Then there’s Ubuki, whose not even a proper tailor, hellbent on keeping a dying business alive. Throw in Ubuki’s cheating ex, also a client of the shop, out to provoke the easily jealous Theo.
I loved how everything was interwoven, especially when the connection between Theo and Ubuki was revealed. I love the childhood connection angle but it was also refreshing that the two MCs had their initial encounter as adults.
And the artwork is as gorgeous as the cover! Definitely a manga you can bet on!
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MANGA: Kimi wo Someru Asayake ni
Kimi wo Someru Asayake ni – Umi Tomoshibi
Photographer Suguru comes to Enoshima to take photos when he suddenly spots a young man with hair the colour of the sunset falling into the water. Just as he’s worrying about whether he should jumped in, the young man, Kengo, carelessly says, ‘It seemed like it’d feel good’ and smiles like the sun. Although they part ways there, they meet again by chance at the shop Suguru stumbles across. Suguru, who hasn’t yet found a place to stay, even receives an invitation to stay at Kengo’s house…
For The Sunrise That Dyes You is a story of kindness, overcoming grief, and new beginnings set in a laidback, seaside town.
Noted landscape photographer Suguru strikes a friendship with a young restaurant owner, Kengo, after an encounter at the beach. Kengo proceeds to house and feed Suguru just because he enjoys doing it. Not wanting to be a moocher, Suguru works at the restaurant in exchange for his board and lodging while chasing after that elusive picture of the sky.
This is a manga of soft, very idyllic atmosphere and tender moments. The only conflict is Suguru’s guilt at falling in love with Kengo while still grieving his dead lover. And true to the manga’s vibe, it was resolved in the gentlest of manners.
I would use the word “fluffy” to describe this kind of manga, but I feel peaceful is more apt. While there plenty of heartwarming scenes, they didn’t make me squee. Instead, they gave off comfort and calm that settle anxious thoughts and a quiet that heals. I guess, it’s exactly how Suguru and Kengo feels eating breakfast at the beach at sunrise.
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MANGA: Tsuki wa Michikake Kemono no Koi
Tsuki wa Michikake Kemono no Koi – Nojiro Guri
Unable to fit in with the city, Idzuki, a lonely young man, moves into the countryside. However, the land is rumored to be haunted by youkai. As he struggles to get used to life in the mountains, with the abundance of insects and the lack of reception, he is suddenly attacked by a youkai. Cornered, out of the blue, a handsome young man with dog ears rescues him. The man claims to be a komainu youkai, a guardian lion-dog protecting shrines, pressing Idzuki to become his master — !?
A sensitive love story between a youkai and a human!
Phases of the Moon, Love of a Beast is a gentle, transcendental love story between a youkai aching for his other half and a lonely young man who just moved to the mountains.
The manga features a type of youkai called komainu, lion dogs who come in pairs to guard a shrine. Haku’s other half is long gone, and having been abandoned by their master, he is on the brink of turning into a demon.
Idzuki just moved to an old house in the countryside. While wandering lost in the woods, a youkai attacked him. He was saved by Haku who quickly latched on to the young man, begging him to please, please, please be his master.
The plot is a slice of life of the blossoming affection between the youkai and his master, plus a smartass cat who can talk (also a youkai). There are a lot of quiet, cozy scenes with subtle gestures, cuddling and hot cocoa. If this was an anime, I imagined dreamlike, soft focused cinematography and a sense of transiency. The artwork has that vibe to it, the characters drawn pretty and slender, especially the eyes and lashes to die for, but not too twee.
I loved the mix of angst, humor, and that lovely hurt-comfort magic. I felt a pang knowing the fate of immortals with fragile human lovers, and this has a bittersweet ending. However, the mangaka wrapped it up nicely with the promise of the afterlife.
This is one of my top manga of the year.
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