otakulys's manga / #shounen ai(68)

Aww, very sweet. Two things I really liked about this: you never see blackmail with sweet or innocent intentions in yaoi, so it was so nice to see it not result in an excuse for rape; and the seme sorts never seem to really apologize like this, a genuine realization that they pushed too much. There are some typical yaoi things about it, the pushy stuff in general, but it's a sweet little story. Things are gonna be tough sometimes, but at least he doesn't have to hide himself so aggressively. I would like to see more of these guys. Very cute little story.

A little too short for what it deserved, I think, so the pacing was a bit quick, but I enjoyed it. This is a sweet story about trauma and healing, and I appreciated that it was treated that way. So often yaoi glosses over things like assault as if it's nothing more than a bad day. The seme in this story was very gentle and patient. This is everything I want in this type of story. Why aren't there more rape scenarios in yaoi that end in hurt/comfort? Rape is such a horrible thing, yet it's so rarely portrayed as that in yaoi. Anyway, very sweet little story. I'm glad I stumbled upon it. Also, I loved his friends. I wish I could have seen way more of them. They're adorable. The fact that they jumped to protect the poor, mistreated uke without even really knowing him warmed my heart. It was such a nice juxtaposition between the coldness of the other group of peers.

Haha, very cute! I wish it were longer. This author is OBSESSED with gender benders. Not a single one of her works on here is without it. But it's definitely adorable.

Lol, this manga is kind of odd, and the little hints of sexism in the culture suck, but I love the art. Yet again, this mangaka is all about gender bending. Just cause, since she won't even let the character explain why he's doing it (since it isn't a personal choice). At any rate, the short chapters are a shame. I wonder where it's gonna go. I assume it'll be the typical "I fell in love with him even though I'm straight" BS, but it's cute, so whatever.

This was so pretty! And I really enjoyed the story, even though I'm bummed that there wasn't even a kiss. They had these little intimate moments, but it was always shrouded in the strange relationship between them, like you couldn't call it romantic or anything. I know that they care about one another, and there's the implication that they're dating after the girl at the coffee shop asks, but it would have been nice to see a little affection. It's sort of an odd story, but it's interesting. I would have liked to have seen more, and I feel like a lot is left unexplained, but not in a plot hole kind of way. I'm gonna read all of this author's work, though, because it's so beautiful. Hopefully the stories are this quality or better.

I have mixed feelings about this one. The art is GORGEOUS, and I love Umi, the uke. I grew to tolerate the seme, and I understood that his behavior was reflective of his own demons and inability to separate his father's behavior from what was happening with Umi. But I don't feel like there was ever a satisfying moment of accountability and remorse for how he behaved. He slapped Umi right after he was assaulted. That really needed to be addressed, and it never was. I did like the catharsis at the end, and the truth about Umi's first love. So sad and heartbreaking, so I'm glad he finds happiness in the end. However, it's so brief, you don't get much time to enjoy it. It's great that the seme realizes now that he's found his other half. And up to that point, I feel like he was primarily asexual, with even his pleased response to seeing gay sex videos coming across as scientific, more than anything. But I think they work together, and though it touched on the depressing realities of being gay in a homophobic world, it was sweet over all. I just want to squeeze Umi forever, though. I love him so much. Four stars instead of five because I find the way a lot of things with the seme were handled to be annoying. At least the end is sweet. (And bonus points for Umi's awesome mom and her perfect response to his confession!)

Yep, waaaaay too short. It's a shame, because I like the art, and I like the set up. The one who kisses him is so cute, and I like that he did it in front of their friend. I want to see more of them, so I'm bummed the story was just a few pages.

Said this in the comments, but basically: I can actually relate to the uke, but in a less extreme sense. I don't do it anymore, but as a little girl, I used to set up situations in order to make myself feel unloved and unwanted. I'm not sure when it started, but I guess it was a form of masochism born from my need to cope with being ripped away from my loving mother and raised with mean children and crappy babysitters because my dad would rather my mom suffer than his daughter be happy and healthy. Basically, it's the sense that if someone supposedly loves or cares about you, some part of you has to prove it isn't true. It isn't that you actually like it. It's more of a compulsion. I don't know why I did it. Maybe to prove to myself that I was incapable of being loved. If someone claimed to care about me, I was much more likely to lash out at them or hurt them. Granted, I moved past that by high school, and I was never cruel to anyone but myself. I just understand where that comes from. I don't know, it's dumb, but this manga really got to me because of that. The uke doesn't want to be vulnerable, so he acts like a dick. He's testing this guy, but pretending it's because he doesn't care. That way he won't get hurt. But secretly, he wants the guy to keep passing the tests. Not-so-secretly by the end, hence the tears. It made me cry, too. I know a lot of people are hating on the character, but I think it's clear he's just a damaged person. Doesn't mean the seme should just tolerate the abuse, but I'd like to imagine a future with them working through all of this together. Maybe they can even be friends with the other kid? I like that it's open but it's still so sad. I wish there'd been more here. You don't see this kind of personality explored often. I wish it were easier to explain, that sheer contradiction of wanting to prove that no one can truly love you and desperately, DESPERATELY wishing that you're wrong.

Aw, how pretty and perfect! Can't wait for more. I wish more stories would just get the flustered uncertainty out of the way early on. I'm in it for the established relationships, damn it. Assuming this isn't just one story in an anthology, which would suck. Fingers crossed, either way. I love how he sits there, agonizing and certain that he's just gonna tell the guy that he's cutting off contact, then the second he sees him he's frantically confessing. XD EDIT: Ah, okay, so chapter two is a continuation, just with a different couple. This salon is teeming with gay! Also, why does he refer to the guy's brother as "she?" I thought maybe it was a language thing, and the dude was using a neutral pronoun, but it was never addressed, so I have no idea. Also, all of her couples look the same with slight variations, which threw me off. I remember the main guy in this one had a cameo in the first one, and I was confused because he looked so much like the other guy. EDIT CHAP 3: And that explains why there's so much gay. I appreciate that someone continued the translation, but it's a shame that it's so off. Still, nice of them to try. Here's hoping we get some continuations with the first couple soon.

Ugh, I'm still crying. Why is it that every time I find a new mangaka lately, there's hardly anything out. I love her art and the warmth of her storytelling, and I want more. Mooooore. D: Rio doesn't deserve hate at all for everything. She wasn't certain in high school, just had a hunch. It isn't like he told her he loved him and she ran off and took him for herself. She realized later that they both liked one another, which is why she broke up with Gaku. Obviously she loved both of them very much. If she hadn't died, they would all be together and happy. It's not like she would have tried to ruin things. Anyway, such a sweet and sad story. Poor Rio. But I liked it a lot, and I really want more from this artist.