Utsukushii Karada
#Slice of life #Emotionally and mentally abused uke #Uke learned to be codependent from and on guardian #Beautiful uke #Tattoo artist seme #Seme tattoos uke #Seme kisses uke w/o consent #Uke readies himself to be raped by seme #Seme shows uke that he is not that kind of guy and that uke deserves better #Seme teaches uke autonomy and how to choose for self "Oh. For him, this was the only thing he could do. The only way he could figure out how to express his feelings was by doing something like this." <-- This is THE reason why I wanted to keep this manga on my list. That line right there reflects so many truths for people who do horrible things, both to themselves and to others. Sometimes, the only way we can explain the pain is by inflicting it in ways that others can see with the naked eye. Especially if we never learned how to release or describe our pain growing up. Also, the Seme treating Uke w/the love Uke never received in his life made me melt. After being thrown away by that old man for hurting 'his art', it's so...comforting, for the Seme to take him in and treat him extra gently because Uke hurt /himself/. There are also other heartwarming moments that continue past that point. ^^
ROUGE (KATSURA Komachi)
#Uke can feel again #Seme made uke feel things #Uke has god-worship for his hero #But genuine love and desire to spend his life with Seme #Uke felt safe and saved in his hero's arms #Uke felt loved and wanted in seme's arms #Seme gay for uke #Tho seme strikes me as gynesexual rather than hetero or demi Okay but the gahdang representation of a scarred uke and respectful seme. I was literally hooked the moment seme, without hesitating, scolded his friends for gossiping about tragedies such as uke being raped and passed around like an object. There wasn't anything like "oh yeah that was rape" but then stopping there and passing around more stories regarding the rape. It was just "Yeah that's rape, that's disgusting, why the hell are you passing that story". And the Seme does this TWICE. Two other things: 1) The way Uke CRIED when he told his hero for the last time he could follow him into the yakuza world. Every time before that, Uke was stoic and said it because he had nothing else in his life. But that last time, he was crying and IN PAIN because he finally had a reason to stop following his hero into the grave. 2) The utter respect and adoration Seme shows Uke. Despite Uke being clearly inexperienced, Seme couldn't care less if Uke gave blow jobs or was better at sex than his exes. What he cared about most was the Uke himself. sjg;oerjgoi;ejgio;rejg But one last thing I want to talk about: the Hero that Uke worshiped as a god, Yamato. Hero-dude wanted Uke to find his way. "Graduate high school. Eat a good meal everyday. Sleep at night and wake up in the morning. Don't become a yakuza." Honestly, that sounds like something a god would say. A god who would never be able to understand the life Uke would live, but knows that that is the life Uke should live--so when the chance arises for Uke to choose that life, he gently pushes Uke towards that life. It was heart-jerking.
Tadoru Yubi
Excludes chp 6, but that was a nice secondary one-shot of a cute couple too. #Cliches Galore #All-In-One Cliche Gathering #Playboy seme #Codependent uke #Bachelor-Turned-Devoted seme #Uke easily falls in love #Seme falls hard and fast for uke #Seductive manly seme #Cute slutty uke #Seme sees uke for who he is #That smut man *thumbs up* #CEO seme/Employee uke #Seme steals uke away from old company #Seme seduces uke via sex #Uke captures seme via love Okay but. This hit my kinks man. As embarrassing it is to say, I love certain cliches, like the one in this manga. Seme is a playboy that doesn't sleep with others more than once. Uke ends up breaking Seme's rules and ends even LIVING with Uke after one shared night together. Uke doesn't let this go to his head and only makes negative assumptions about Seme's out-of-character actions, which forces Seme to be honest about his feelings because being vulnerable is better than losing Uke. But not only that, because it's Uke, he can be vulnerable--not only did the Uke make Seme fall in love, the Uke made Seme trust him. Also, Uke's innocence wasn't annoying to me, amazingly enough. He is concerningly dependent on people he falls in love with, but he also doesn't let himself get swept away. He is smart and capable in his career. Since his mild personality means he lacks ambition, he willingly lets others take advantage of his skills or what not. But he does have a sense of self-preservation, so only lets others do so on his terms and can speak up for himself. Alongside that, he has this unabashed slutty side to him that reflects his refusal to choose pride over vulnerability.
Hatsukoi no Tonari
#Slice of life ##Highschool teacher/Ex-student (now adult in college) #Uke is younger ex-student #Seme is teacher #Seme is uke's first love #Reunited #Neighbors #Uke is wonderful waifu #Seme learns to be a good husbando to Uke #Uke captures Seme through the stomach lol #Natural progression in relationship Oh wow, a story about a teacher and ex-student without bullcrap getting in the way? Where age difference is just a fact rather than fetish? And it's all healthy, sane, and consensual to boot? Have I entered an alternate dimension of BL? xD No seriously, this story wasn't frustrating at all. Seme was assertive without being prideful or pushy. Uke was assertive in his own way, but his younger age is reflected in his hesitance. But when Seme gives him the chance, with this easygoing flow that encourages Uke rather than pressures him, Uke goes for it. As with slice of life, I don't have much to say, but that doesn't mean this story is uninteresting or unimpressive in any way. It's a gahdang rare-ass gem in the BL world.
Kimi wa Hiniku na KiraKira Boshi
#Actors #Celebrities #Seme experiences falling out w/ex #Ex is his cousin #So cousin incest #Seme moves on and falls for uke #Uke is gay for seme #Cousin was still in love w/seme #But let success-envy get in the way of their relationship #So it was over long before it ended #Uke envied seme too but encouraged seme to keep goin in his career #Seme kisses uke first #But uke is the one to fall for seme first I thought this was a very sweet story. The reason why first loves are so compelling is that there's this romanticism behind "first love = only love". This manga captures another type of love that is just as compelling: somewhere along the way, you fall for someone who ends up being your last love. That's the vibe we get from Uke and Seme and it's heart-jerking seeing how they go from 'Uke dealing with insecurities and Seme dealing with a broken heart' --> to --> 'Uke and Seme walking through an aquarium to allay each other's fears, healing hurts together'.
Kowagaranai de, Soba ni Ite
#Amnesia #Memory loss #Homophobia #What it means to be gay in society #Why coming out to family is a huge deal #Seme is pâtissier #Uke is a writer #Uke is gay #Seme is presumably bi #But my demi vibes are strong with the seme lol #Adoption is never once thought of or mentioned #Then I looked it up and legit only gay ppl from osaka can adopt #Fucking hell #GAY PEOPLE CAN'T ADOPT IN JAPAN #AND DO YOU KNOW HOW STIGMATIZING IT IS FOR JAPANESE KIDS TO NOT HAVE PARENTS?? #I'M NOT SAYING IT'S ANY BETTER THAN USA #BUT STILL THEM TRYING TO GET A JOB IS MADE TEN TIMES MORE DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF THE SYSTEM IS IN JAPAN #I'M SO BITTER ...Anyways. So. The whole memory loss cliche lol. It's either a hit or miss with me, nothing in between, and it's 99% a miss. But THIS ONE. THIS ONE WAS A GODDAMN HIT. Obviously, this case of memory loss isn't realistic. But the part where emotion living on even when the memories don't? That's true and it's beautifully portrayed here in a heartbreaking way. The fact that Seme picked out the three pastries Uke liked best without even having to remember...it obviously shook Uke to the core and it shook me in the feels. Even then, I couldn't help but cackle. It killed me how Seme was super jealous over Uke having the mugs and wearing the ring from his 'past lover' and he couldn't remember that it was him. xD But the fact that Seme instantly just KNEW they were given to Uke from a lover--looking at those objects, he probably felt the same emotions he had when he originally bought those for Uke. So those feelings just transferred over to the present, but without the context of his memories. So. Boom. A misunderstanding that's technically not a misunderstanding. *wheeze* It was fuuuun~ The only complaint I have is...we don't get to see their relationship from before. I really wish this manga was a longer one and we could see what obstacles they had to overcome when bi/demi-Seme fell in love with gay Uke, who obviously had to deal with trauma for being gay. Just the "I thought it would go well for me and you from here on out" thoughts from Seme suggests that they had to go through a LOT of drama just to get to the whole 'couple rings' and 'couple mugs' and 'lovey dovey' phase. And I want it. Give me the pain, then the healing balm. I'd love to see Utsumi-san's take on it cuz they did well with the bittersweet pain here lol.
Karisuma AV Danyuu no Ore ga Omocha nanka de iku Wakenai!!!