A Thousand Cranes
Worth more than the 9.6 rating. I’m giving this bitch a 9.75. Even if perhaps not my fav BL (I’d have to think about it...?) def what I’d call the objectively best quality masterfully crafted one I’ve ever read hands down hoe. This was it. This was the shit. The author understood the assignment perfectly. Funny cute adorable heart-wrenching mushily romantic yet still with wonderful sex scenes the whole 90000 yards. This couple win OTP of OTP’s. I loved MC from the literal moment I saw his face on page one he is forever baby. Top love interest is also forever baby tho. Agh, all around I just CANNOT.
Glasses Cloth and Playlist
Ayoooo this shit was seriously funny lol. Effortlessly. Love the author’s sense of humor. Love this couple to pieces. Love this lovely short work of art. Art style wasn’t what I a, usually into but that added to my pleasantly surprised reaction. So freshhhhh. Sex scenes seemed to have been hot to many in the comments, but I didn’t really find then particularly hot- again probs an at style this. Sex scenes that appealed to me more are just about all I could ask more of from this. Handing this a solid 9.5. PS. Seom is such a fudging bad bitch!!!
Joou to Shitateya
okay so it’s usually can I plz has this top, but BITCH today it’s can I plz has this BOTTOM
An Innocent Sin
(not in proper timeline order) so ummmmm..... no one could ever know I was into this....... this was.... very messed up and hard to stomach at times.... it was also immensely hot..... Okay so basically most of the time I’m reading smut it’s BL. Most of the time I’m reading smutty BL, I am self-inserting as the bottom. But lately, I’ve been reading smut BL and self-inserting as the top. Not because I want to top really bad or dominate, but because the bottom is wildly enticing and I want him beneath me. This BL was basically created for any women who self-inserts as the top in the BL they read. It’s the only time I have ever encountered this: a story written like a BL (with all the usual BL tropes) but it’s not a BL because the couple is heterosexual.... how? And no, I do t mean a woman who is a top and a man who is a bottom. I truly mean a man who is a top and a woman who is a bottom and the woman is not even dominant/a power bottom or anything like that, she’s just a regular woman bottom but the man? Well he’s not exactly what I would call a submissive top in bed but....... ahhhh his personality and demeanor all in all in general is screeeeeeeaming “submissive and breedable”. Except he is also at times screaming “shoujo romcom love interest you got wet for”. I have never said the phrase “this awakened something in me” and meant it as much as I did after reading this. I want a Noah waaaaaaaaay more than I wish I did; I hurts how much I want him. He is a perfect mix of everything I love in my fav BL tops and everything I would love in a bottom if I were a BL top. And by that I don’t in any way mean he’s a mix like he’s in the middle or like, a switch. No. Not in the middle. He is both all and none but nothing in between. Nothing lukewarm ever, at all times he is either the perfect top, the perfect bottom, or both at once. It’s incredible to me. Now, let’s talk about where and why this submissive part of him is problematic. Not much to explain: it's clearly due to him being abused ever since he hit puberty (and then some before when he was a child and live with his first foster family). Ugh, I barely want to go into detail about this part because it makes me so uncomfy how hot I find the part of him that seemingly could only exist because he is a victim of extreme sexual abuse. The only way to make things better is for me to accept the idea that a man can exist with the same aspects of Noah that I love about him, without having to have the same trauma he has and well...... I struggle to convince myself of that fully. Anyway, seeing him be sexually abused makes me sad and turns me on. I am not turned on by the idea of him being abused or in pain. I am turned on by the idea of him being forced to experience pleasure and show vulnerable parts of himself in ways that men never ever do irl. That's partially the appeal of BL in the first place for me. Anyway..... one day I will revisit this and flesh out that last paragraph and the thoughts I have pertaining to that subject (hence the "let's unpack" label"). But for now let's move onto other things I like about this and/or was impressed by. 1) I liked the main character being able to be a woman who harbor extreme sexual urges and desires, but she most of the main characters find that a good like-able trait in her and not a bad slutty one. I especially like the way Noah and his sister describe her sexual tastes as being "down to earth" and like, natural? It was incredibly nice to hear. Refreshing as fuck and I don't see that often. While that was impressive, what was even moooooore impressive was 2) how poly-accepting/promoting this way! The main two couples swapped partners and had sex with each other at one point and 3 out of the 4 people involved were cool with it. Realistically enough, one of them still thought it was weird and got super jealous, but not in a destructive or problematic manner. Just in a, he is not 100% of the same sexually liberated mind as the rest of them yet. I think without being all "I'm making a point", and just being really natural with it, the author did a phenominal job of showing that different people meet different needs for you at times and as long as the two of you are cool with it, there's nothing wrong with being open about your relationship. Nayeon tells the dude who is not super on board with everything something like "I love Noah and no matter who else I have sex with , he is always the one I will come back to. The same goes for him." Well- I mean it sounded better than that and a bit more nuanced, but you get the vibe. It was so spectacular and made me happy. 3) The way that the story seems to be leaning toward 3 of the main side characters being in a poly relationship with each other (they are lowkey already there for real it's just not official) makes me happy too. I love it. 3.5) on that note, I like the S/M relationship and how it's portrayed between two of those characters as well. It was a nice addition to the story. 4) The last impressive thing in this were the sex scenes. When I say the sex scenes are impressive, I don't mean as impressive as the first three things I said were impressive and not in the same "I've never seen this before"/"this is so rare" way. Nah, they were just soooooooooooo frickin hot to me and really turned me on. (This has a lot to do with all the stuff I said about the different sides of Noah). I don't think I have this many bookmarks on anything I've read thus far. "6") What could have been impressive but fell short of being impressive? The trans representation. I love that character, but the way they handled/described them was just not on point in a way that I forgive because it makes it clear that the author themselves just doesn't seem to be all clear and caught up on terminology for said things. However, their heart was in the right place I think. :) I'll still give the effort points because most of the time trans people are not present at all. Okay, so now let's talk about the rest of the bad things, and wrap this review up. I already mentioned how problematic and messed up the whole "Noah being hot steaming from Noah's past of being abused" thing is as well as the "scenes with Noah's continued abuse are also super hot". Yes, that is not good. However, what I also need to say is just how far the author is taking this shit. Like, that's why people don't like it and said it became unreadable. She just makes things so incredibly bad for Noah from the start and then continues to make things worse and worse as we continue with no reprieve. Noah is obvi a sympathetic character and we love and care about him as readers so its so horrible to have to continue to watch the suffering ramp up in a way that makes it seem like the author doesn't care how sick it is. Yeah, it's fucked and if I could bring myself to stop reading it, I would for this reason alone. :( I'll probably revisit and revise this whole review when the series is finally over. So for now, I am going to give this a 9.2 and keep it pushing. Even with a 9.2 rating though, this here manga is as honorable as honorable mentions go on my list. Just, going to keep the fact that I read this and even more so the fact that I enjoyed it, hidden in the depths of my soul. SIDE NOTE: People in the comments keep villanizing the main character and I just will always think it is very sick and twisted the ways that women (and people in general) are socialized to tear women down the moment said woman steps out of the box of conventionality. Like, truly sick. You dumb fujoshis keep trying to argue about why Noah should be with Doye and it's annoying. You only want them together so it could be like a BL. I'm not going to say y'all are fetishizing gay men cuz I don't know y'all like that but you probs are. Doye is obvi in love or at least romantically obsessed with Noah. That's a given/But Noah was never really in love with that man the way y'all are trying to make it seem like he was. Noah said himself he was just looking for someone to help him cope with his abuse and give him hope of having a family that loves him one day. He was using him, and Doye was alright with that. Nothing was wrong with their relationship, but it wasn't mutual romantic love like that. Noah being able to experience sexual attraction to Doye just means Noah is attracted to men as well as other genders. Noah caring about Doye comes from the fact that Doye was his literal first friend which was made even more special by the fact that Noah was from an abusive household. "Nayeon and Noah feel nothing other than psychical attraction to one another!", they cry. First of all, this is false. Noah is not just attracted to Nayoen psychically/to her body. He is also attracted to her vibes and honest lifestyle and liberal thoughts about sex. That's why he's repeatedly bringing up how "down to earth" he thinks she is and has thought she was since first seeing her. Second of all, even if it was just psychical attraction....okay? is that a fucking crime? Nayeon met a dude she thought was attractive and wanted to bang. She then found out he had some trauma and wounds and was in a bad place and proceeded to feel sorry for him. She doesn't want to take advantage of him though and if he did not clearly pursue her and express his attraction towards he from that point further, nothing would exist between the two of them. Their relationship is respectful and relaxing, and gratifying for them both. Who cares if they aren't in love. They are simply doing what they want to do bro. Should one of them meet someone else who they truly fall in love with I guess they'll cross that bridge when they get there, but not everybody you have meaningful relationships with or care about will be someone you are "in true love with". Niggas need to grow tf up. *rme* As long as Nayeon does not cross into a place where she is fetishizing his trauma, or his sexual fluidity and desires (which in part stem from his trauma), or the state of emotional helplessness/dependency he is in as a result of his trauma, I think everything is fine with this ADULT, CONSENSUAL relationship. Now, if someone wanted to argue that Nayeon has already crossed said line I speak of or at least is beginning to cross it, I wouldn't hold them back because that can def be argued and could have been for some time now. Especially with the latest shit with her going through pretending to be his mother....
The Beast Must Die
I love this. I love this way more than I thought I would. I love this way more than I should. By the time I got to the main story's conclusion, I was ready to give this a 9.5, but now after reading the epilogue/side stories, this is getting a solid as fuck 9.6. This... had a profound effect on me, lol. I have never neared the end of a BL and thought "I want it to end this way but I know it never ever would end that way" and then got to the ending and had it end EXACTLY the way I only wished it would in my wildest dreams. That is why this gets the unconventional oven tag. At every twist and turn in the main story my expectations were subverted time and time again. It gave me such a fucking rush/thrill!!! Author-nim was very much not afraid to against the grain within this certain sub-genre of BL. Our top was a psychopath murderer who killed multiple people in cold blood throughout the story and yet 1) stayed alive until the very end, 2) never got caught, 3) did not end up professing his love for the bottom MC, and 4) lived out the rest of his days and year with the bottom (and we got to see their happy future!!!!). Like, this was wildly unexpected to me bro. BL's of this nature usually always end on some sort of fuck shit or the other. But nah, not this one. I was so pleasantly and overwhelmingly surprised by the way this ended. I love Kirin so much because I think he is one of the only BL MC's who I thought "yeah, I'd do the exact same thing if I were in your shoes" every single time he performed an action. It's crazy how much I kin him considering the situation and all. I also don't think I have ever been so dedicated to simping for a BL love interest top who has done their bottom MC as dirty as Moo did Kirin bro. Like, never. You're boy not only raped him multiple times with no lube or condom, but also took his virginity in that same manner because they even shared a first kiss and in front of a lecherous audience full of the same guys who raped and were responsible for the death of the person he was most close to in the world. He also set up a situation for the MC to get gang raped and induced with a lethal level of drugs by injection. Like bro, I have never seen my MC be manipulated so much and so effortlessly as I did here. All of those things I said aren't even the worst part though because there are obvi some horrible tops out there in BL's. Worst part is he then felt no remorse for his actions up until the very end of the story and told the MC he did all that shit purely because it was ............ fun? like LMFAO what?!?!?!?!??!??!?!?!?!?!? At that point in time, I thought surely the chance of me supporting their relationship- let alone simping for this man myself, by the end of this story is 0.00000000% But dude..... here I am at the story's conclusion happily in full support of their relationship and simping for this man like crazy. I think that def also qualifies this to win the unconventional oven tag lol. Ugh, I am just incredibly down bad for this psycho killer bro. Like, he is MY cup of tea. His acitons, his quips, his smirk, his deadpan face, his sadisticness, his relentlessly domineering attitude, his lack of remorse, all of it I was there for it. Also, you know how I really knew I had it bad for this man? I caught myself about halfway through the story thinking, "ooooooh, I just KNOW this man has a deep ass sexy ass VOICE ".... hahaha yes, I do know I need therapy ASAP. Anyway, this BL getting my dream ending and the simp-worthiness of the top doing a complete 180 (and then some!!!), are two of my most fav things about this. The other main thing is the nature of the couple's relationship and how complex it is. Like, I haven't quite seen anything like it. What's going on between them can't be called love but it's .... _________. Yeah, lol, it's a bit too complex for me to even explain here. That's why I gave this the "let's unpack" tag lol. To one day return to this and analyze this relationship. It impresses me greatly and I find it fascinating and original. Okay anything else? The cover art is the bomb.com, author-nim is the greatest ever for leaving all of those comments, notes, jokes, and answers to fan's questions so I love them and want to return one day to throw money at them, and lastly these many of these sex scenes were on LITERAL fireeeeee bruh, like ughhghisabnosn. That's pretty much all there was left to say lol. I loved this. It was thrilling and gave me a rush that I can only hope to one day feel again. *Gordon Ramsey chef's kiss* (<- the HIGHEST of praise).
Incidentally Living Together
So, this is something I reread because the first time I read it I didn’t write a review or rate it. I wasn’t doing rating back then, and I wasn’t even doing reviews either. This is actually one of the very first BLs I’ve ever read and it really stuck with me as a result. I stand by giving it the honorable mention tag I decided to give it back then. There are some cool things being done visually with the way the panels are cut in the idle and shifted to show the disconnection between characters and the way the MCs parents’ faces are “glitched out” when he has flashbacks about them. All those cool things added to the ambitious nature of this story when it comes to writing about things others don’t really want to write about because it won’t make for a very easily good story. The author did that. That being said, this wasn’t a very good story lol. I appreciate the thought, the execution was lacking however. I don’t mean this in a bad way. The author herself admits to all of her shortcomings when when it comes to both art and storytelling in her author’s notes, so I don’t need to do too much on her in terms of any of that. It was all just a really good try at a hard set of topics and some difficult characters. If I had one complaint worth writing about here, it would be that the ending was pretty rushed. (Granted, it I was writing a story like this and got to the point where the author had gotten too, I too would have probably been itching to wrap things up already lol). This gets a 9.2.
Love or Hate(Yeongha)
Will say more later but... this is a 9.7 for me
The Dreaming Trainer’s Ideal Master
So, for the first time in a little while I have used the “let’s unpack” tag for a manwha and maaaan, there are indeed a couple of things to unpack about this lollll. I didn’t go into this thinking it would be a comedy. Why? Because it’s… not a comedy. But why did I laugh so much then?! And yet also, the things I am laughing at.. Aren’t funny. It’s like mild laughter from something mildly unexpected not, from a joke you know? Anyway, okay frist thins to unpack: the story takes place in a world where there is underground black market auction where people can buy sex slaves. The main character of this story works at this black market and “trains” the sex slaves to be able to endure being a sex slave… Okay. But like, both the MC trainer himself and the relationship he has with the boys being sold as sex slaves is way too cute for the situation at hand! Lol. Automatically upon reading this first chapter I had questions man. Why is the atmosphere in this black market so light and fluffy? Are these slaves being sold as actual slaves? Because if so, why are they smiling? So then I thought, oh, no, this might be some kind of S/M club situation where the people being sold have compete free will as individuals and are not actual slaves but we have extended this master/slave play thing to this grand of a scale. You know, people who S/M isn’t a hobby, but a lifestyle. I actually though to myself that this whole thing is really interesting and kind of cool if that is the case, but by the end of the story I find out many things that make me forget such thoughts, lol. Firstly, this is not an S/M play thing…. 1) This is an actual human trafficking black market where human beings are being sold as sex slaves. 2) The man running this operation admits that most of these humans are being sold against their will “at first”. 3) The people being sold are all CHILDREN!!!! (literally). And 3) they are also all ORPHANS Now, this last part really sent me because literally it’s in one of the last chapters that the MC has a flashback to him talking to the head of black market and being like “hmm, I know it’s a bit late to ask this, but… maybe it’s kind of morally wrong for us to be selling these literal children against their will as sex slaves to grown wealthy men?” and the head of the black market’s answer? He had the nerve to say the following in response: “Hmmm…. Have I not explained it to you? All the kids we sell are orphans. If they’ve been abandoned by their parents, and not loved by anyone, wouldn’t it be happier for them to be loved by the wonderful masters they meet here?” Bruh. (Mind you, it isn’t until I learn that they are orphans that I am also learning they are children (real underaged children– .) So yes that was a lot to process considering this first couple’s story that takes place in this black market underground setting is less than THREE chapters long. But oh, there is more! So, the main love interest purchases the main character for an absurd amount of money and takes him home. And when MC asks “why did you buy me?”, this man gonna start talking about some sob story of how when he was younger he always wanted a big dog…. Sorry? You just fucked this man though?? So, you saying you came to the sex slave auction because you have wanted a big dog since you were a child is just…. But before I can even take a second to think about why that is weird, we are launched into a flashback of the dude as a child and him wanting a golden retriever but having his dad say no and THIS is where I had to pause because……. In his flashback, his dad looks EXACTLY like the main character . I am not joking. The main character looks like he is the dad’s son. Same face, same eyes, same hair… all of it. So I am looking at the love interest man like “alright buddy, let’s set aside this ‘you going to a sex slave auction to fill the void of you having wanted a dog’, and instead, let’s start looking at the fact that you chose someone at that auction who quite literally looks exactly like the father of yours who denied you the ability to get the dog in the first place…………” Man, I just don’t know anymore Anyways, right, like I said, that all took place in the story of the first couple which only lasted 3 chapters. Throw in some unnecessary as rape trope, and we’ve got a full bag of beans with those two…. Now, the second couple, which took up the remaining 2 chapters of this manga, have absolutely nothing to do with the first couple’s story. Seemingly not set in the same world or nothing. It’s one million times less weird and problematic and I liked it so much more. Genuinely wish all 5 chapters of the manga could have just been about the second couple tbh. Didn’t hate the first couple or anything, but the author just had to be sure to pump their story full of so many unnecessarily problematic bits for no reason that I just can’t, lol. Second couple was quite cute and short and simple. Okay, so overall this was… odd. The art was nice and the sex was good too as a result. Particularly for how short this was, the sex scenes packed impact into short frame limits. The story’s vibe– when it wasn't too busy being weird af– was generally quite cute. If it wasn’t for show problematic that first story was, I’d give this a 9.15. But due to the sex slaves being orphans and CHILDREN, and this info being kept from the reader until the story is already at its end…. Nah bro I’m taking off big points. It feels almost purposefully deceptive in that way. Whatever little kicks the author got from doing that… kinda wish she would have left me out of it lol. This gets a 9.0.
The Man in the Mirror