Tai's manga / #BL(107)

Mockingbird: 2 stars Midnight Job: 3 stars Like a Tidal Wave: 5 stars so on average a 4 star work i'd say. i gave my full thoughts on tidal wave in its own entry. for the other two tho. mockingbird is...not very good tbh, the ending is just bizarre and not rly how omegaverse is supposed to work? its not esp sexy and the art is easily the least appealing of the 3 stories in this anthology. midnight job doesnt have the depth of tidal wave but its still alot more interesting and romantic (and sexy!) than mockingbird. and the art is pretty good too. and more traditional style we see in webtoons than say tidal wave (tho i like tidal wave's distinctive look i think its more of an acquired taste). anyway there isnt anything super deep or memorable about these 2 stories that i can say beyond this but extra points to midnight job for the super hot tanned guy in the bottom role. what a babe. anyway you can pretty much do fine by only reading tidal wave (which has its own entry on mangago so u can skip right to it. its also the longest and most in depth of the 3 stories here). but if u do decide to read the other stories...just skip mockingbird and read midnight job instead. its short and quick and just hot enough to hit the spot.

i read this on renta a while back before it was posted here. they had a free chpt event. and i read the first chpt and was like (i gotta see where this wild shit goes next) and indeed it was worth it. esp since it was only 100p a chpt for renting (sadly not all comcis on the site have a rental option). ANYway, i liked it alot but there's...alot of caveats. the second to last chpt has an unnecessary scene of sexual assault (that is not from the older lover in this story thankfully, the actual couple is very sweet...if u ignore the age gap lol) and altho the loving sex that ensues after the younger guy is rescued by his childhood hero is a great sight to behold, i was still left wondering if that had been necessary. im complaining when i actually had alot of fun reading this. and it is imo pretty damn sexy. specifically the older guy. its weird to call someone whose only 38 an "older" person like...that's not even middle age yet BUT I digress, the only real critique i have is actually the age gap. which is to say im fine with there being one but desperately wish the lead guy aka the bottom aka the blonde wannabe badboy rich kid (he's SUCH a poseur but he's also totally harmless so its genuinely cute) was just a bit older. like if he was 24, everything woulda held up alot better for me and 14 years is still a noteworthy age gap. anyway, to the credit of the writer tho the dynamic and the relationship doesnt feel icky or predatory the way it plays out. first of all the kid is VERY aggressive about what he wants, who he wants and why he wants it. and moreover he's amazingly proud of being his childhood hero's bottom bitch? like he's so willing and happy to identify himself with that role that its imo refreshing and kinda transgressive? like he wants to be a macho badboy yankee like his love interest aka personal superman but he's also dead set on getting fucked by him and being his "girl". i wonder if the term he used in japanese was a bit less gendered but who knows. i know some people wont like that phrasing but i was fine with it! u can be a badass bottom! (he's not a badass ofc despite his best efforts lol but the point is he doesnt think his being a bottom disqualifies him from reaching his goals). anyway the ex delinquent himself is genuinely a really cool and fairly mature guy. he's bisexual and a hardworker and he dgaf. he isnt really anyone special in his adult life beyond being very sexy (if u ask me lol) but this kid thinks he hangs the moon and its honestly hard not to find it adorable and altho the guy (rightfully) ignores his advances at first he eventually caves to the cuties affections cause it'd be kinda hard not to. Also he genuinely admires the boy's own abilities as much as his pure hearted devotion (altho he acts ridiculous the boy is no idiot and is also pretty good with technology, a fact that both highlights their age gap and also their gap in class, it would be interesting to explore the class gap tbh what with the older guy clearly coming from a working class background while the young one is a bonafide rich boy). But still...he's as old as the younger guy's MOM and he almost dated her when they were in highschool...yikes! lol. ALSO he did know and meet his lover when he was just a tiny bb. altho they didnt meet for a long time after...the point is he DID know him originally as a tiny child and not as a horny 20 yr old so...IF any of the above i just mentioned didnt horrify you then perhaps u too will enjoy this comic and those steamy sex scenes!

this wont be a real review, rather i just want to say that This is the kind of juicy interpersonal type drama i live for in my erotic fiction. (or rly any fiction tbh) EDIT: currently on hiatus. raws for chpts 12 and onward can be read on pixiv for free. right now there's 13 chpts in total and the comic has been on hiatus since April 26th. the author seems like she updates once a month tho. so who knows when the next chpt comes. at any rate idk when the translation team will get back to it either. so for now...its going on Already Read cuz i have no idea when ill get to resume reading it.

the story is thoughtful but a bit slow paced. the art tho? STUNNINGGG. read it just for that. the author's previous manga was alot more stimulating story but this one which focuses on tattooing and art is more visually sumptuous. (both are beautiful tho. such excellent art why doesnt this mangaka have more work available...). i think this story woulda been rated higher by me if both men were as well developed as the blonde aka the top aka the tattoo artist was. we get alot of insight into him and he's got layers but the other guy aka the living art piece aka the bottom aka ??? like i cant even think of another way to describe him? he was rly beautiful and rly delicate and rly afraid of being alone and he was never given a chance by the writing to be more than that and thats a Shame. its a 3 star story but the art is 5 stars and i wish i could rate them both separately but i cant so 4 stars it is i giss...(the sex scenes are sexy n erotic tho so thats also a plus), if u find u like it maybe just buy it off renta since the translator gets pretty aggressive about how much they dont like the story after a while...bit distracting.

this story setup is....weird and problematic but in a way that is unusual? lol. But it manages to otherwise play out in a really wholesome way? as much as sex under deceptive circumstances is acceptable or not to you the reader. Anyway i finished this last night finally because the final 2 chpts (this has six parts) never got uploaded here i decided to just buy them (with points) on renta since i had enough left over from the prior two weeks ago when i bought some to just get this series done and im glad i did cause it rly ended so sweetly and beautifully. Im always happy with stories like this where a person who was hurt and traumatized emotionally by others or another love gets "healed" so to speak by the pure hearted guiless affections of another person. if u like "soft tops" and sweet romances then this one is for you! i suppose the fallout from the lie being discovered technically should've been a thing that happened but it made sense for the character to not be angry about it and instead realize that by being so ok with it (aand turned on) that he prob caught feelings without realizing. and thus the final two chpts are them becoming a couple and figuring out how to work thru mr scientist's past trauma (where his affections were essentially used against him in the worst way, but there's no rape or violence perpretrated against him in case anyone is worried about that. its rly not a dark manga but i could def understand how being used and cruelly rejected the way he was would scar him that badly, it didnt feel like an "overreaction" or anything like that.) anyway in conclusion this left me with a smile on my face. its not the sexiest of the smutty BLs out there but it is sexy enough and most of all it made me feel warm n fuzzy inside. my heart! you pervs i meant my heart! anyway read it. i do think its more of a rent than a buy worthy story but sadly there's no rent option available for it rn.

im surprised this has such a low rating cause its not that bad at all? i mean its nothing great. altho i had alot of fun reading the first (and longest) story in this anthology which is about two BL CD voice over actors. this one has a nice Daddy Dom type thing going on if thats ur bag. i can take or leave it usually but i actually enjoyed the one we got here. also this woman's art is super sexy and her little lessons about BL erotica at the end of the book are actually pretty interesting and fun to read. anyway its not deep or thought provoking but it IS sexy and thats all i ask out of my smut comics ok. also like all tankoubons that contain multiple short stories or couples this can be hit or miss. most of the stories are just OK but one of them was rly....i mean the only word i have for it is GROSS. but then impregnation isnt a fetish i have...(also its full on noncon so big warning for that.). the setting was very high fantasy so i wasnt offended or horrified so much as i was confused and very much NOT aroused so lol...take that as you will. but tbh u can skip all the stories but the VA one and its fine. tho i do rec still checking out the "lessons" at the end. u know..for science ;)

i love this SO SO MUCH. its a great mix of actually funny, actually sexy and actually! romantic. like damn triple threat. the premise is also pretty creative and fun. the art is great. as far as BL goes its not burdened with annoying Straight Gaze-y type tropes and if its possible i would rec getting ahold of the BLCD because it only adds to the greatness of this series. (im so sad its over)

this is another manga that sounded more problematic when reading comments...than it actually was. i think its main problem is it presents itself as very sweet and wholesome and then...suddenly isnt. altho i wouldnt say it goes Dark it def goes into territory that was darker than how it starts or ends and it absolutely can give a reader whiplash. basically it doesnt turn into Warehouse (a very dark korean bl webtoon that does traffic in confinement and rape by a childhood friend. tho in that case they start out the story estranged). so having read Warehouse this came off as very tame and people are buggin. but yeah spoiler alert, the "seme" is very possessive but he isnt especially violent or controlling to make the guy love him so much as he freaks out when the guy starts to look unhealthy and start saying he wants to die. which...thats a good reason to freak out! However in real life, when ur longtime crush bff does this maybe dont tie them up and kiss+lick them all over like a human lollipop? opt perhaps for therapy or idk...hugs? some hot tea? anyway this wouldnt be a smutty yaoi manga if that's what actually happened lol. anyway no consequences arise from this act despite the "uke" being confined for what sounds like a week? its weird. but he keeps his job, figures out his feelings, and becomes much healthier after this ordeal so to quote shakespeare "all's well that ends well". anyway its def Problematic but imo not so much that it makes the story unreadable but ymmv ya? i think its worth checking out but the story isnt necessarily strong enough for me to be like "you should DEF read this!" either. it really is just an okay read with a very strange premise and somewhat confused tone...(like the author had a fetish she wanted to work out but still wanted to do a sweet wholesome love story so she tried to marry the two ideas and uh...it didnt work super well lol), basically if you DO want something dark and kinky and messed up...this wont really do it for you either lol. (just read warehouse then). or one of Harada's many fucked up works if ur wanting a more japanese flavor of fucked up.

imo very sexy and well illustrated if not especially deep or anything. it IS problematic with the other two couples but their stories are shorter and unlike some other multi couple mutli story type volumes i did like all of the stories. but as always the first couple who has the most development is the best one. i was sad we didnt get more of them but the story leaves them off in a good place. anyway if u dont like dubcon then u def wanna skip the other two stories but i thought they were fun and sexy and too short (and ridiculous lol) to be mad about tbh. but ofc everyone has diff kinks and turnoffs. which is why im letting u know. if u only want it wholesome and 100 percent consensual def stick to the first couple only! anyway i loved the art too and thats rly all i have to say about this one. (there's also NO romance with the second couple and the third is...maybe a hint of romance? lol idk if u need romance in ur smut scenes but some ppl do)

a very simple very sexy love story between a punk looking gay guy and his long blonde haired bestie crush coworker because zariya seems to rly like that combination. (i agree with you sis! long hair is turn on for me too!) anyway the art is GORGEOUS. the story isnt esp complex but its not pointless or stupid, its a good catalyst for the two guys reflecting on their feelings and relationship. but mostly its a good device to introduce lots of super hot gorgeously illustrated (consensual!) sex. and so if u want smth meaty then u wont find it here but if u want some good ass easy to follow but still mature and thoughtful erotica then here it is! a BL for the discerning and critical perverts among us. lol.