Tai's manga / #mature(43)

this is an older BL thats also pretty controversial tho unlike with Renai Fuyuki Todoki i actually agree with the main criticism here. which is why its 3 stars and not 4 despite me finding it pretty interesting over all. and ofc the art is stunning. just the detail work, the shading and expressive faces? also i gotta shout out the audio CD. like it cuts out some scenes (heresy!!) but the guy who plays Yoru has the most sultry sweet voice. its like somehow masculine and feminine at the same time? and also the way he whine moans "asaiiichii" during the sex scenes is going to haunt my dreams for weeks to come... ANYway the graphic assault that involves Asa and some random guys who have it out for him cause he slapped the wrong guy's sister. is a bit...unnecessary? like its so intense and doesnt really do much for the plot..it DOES change Asa's character to be less of an asshole but idk about this writer using a brutal rape to help Asa reflect on his actions like...unfortunate implications much? im not looking to my porn for ethics but this was just idk it felt very left field and this story coulda been so much more interesting if his internal growth came from something more organic and thoughtul than just a weird scene clearly meant to be kinky and sexy but just...didnt work at all imo. anyway this manga woulda been better without it but i didnt drop it since its interesting enough, the art is great and the ending is pretty decent. luckily it has a sequel series that seems free of scenes like this (im told...). so hopefully i'll like that one more.

i think i just love Scarlet Beriko like she gets how to make things EROTIC not just sexual. this actually has very little sex in it. like so little it hurts. because it is overflowing with sensuality and eroticism. and the Top and Bottom dont fall into boring usual archtypes and tropes. they feel like real dudes who just happen to have certain preferences of position. altho one of them is a virgin going in. anyway the catalyst for this Friends to Lovers romance (i will never get sick of friends to lovers u can fight me) is based around a very intense pantyhose fetish but as somoene who loves pretty legs and legwear (i have a ton of thigh high stockings, over the knee socks, tights and back seamed pantyhose myself...) i totally sympahtized with that black haired pervert. and some dudes rly do have gorgeous legs and its a CRIME more dont wear tights. but i digress! this was just a rly good story. about friends navigating their friendship, their desires, their eventual romance. and yes it is all very consensual, tho there is some of the usual Partner A is very enthusiastic about sex and Partner B is less enthusiastic but will go along with it anyway cause they love each other but people dont always have the same level of sex drive or feel the need to express their love sexually as frequently. the bits set after they graduate and start living together as an adult couple is very interesting and Realistic. which means its not all that romantic but it worked for me and i liked it. ymmv ofc.

zariya ranmaru strikes again with the sexy couples and the beautiful art. now with beautifully tanned bottom boy. but there isnt much to this story tbh. its very much all Atmosphere. pretty setting, pretty drawings, sweet but straightforward love story. the usual im in love with my straight bff what do i doooo? dilemma. basically an inverse of the situation in Sleeping Man where the long haired lanky babe is the straight one, this time its the short haired muscle bottom thats the straight one. (zariya has a Type and she will stick to it so help her god lol.)

this was....so stupid lol. but SO serious? like it was so Intense and Dramatic and had those artful panels meant to evoke like this grand thoughtful imagery and deep symbolism and im like....m'am, u just wrote a scene where two dudes had raw sex on a bus seat. like...the amount of DISEASES they both would've caught...so like basically this story hinges on rape, rape and more rape. like again its the kind of Sexy Intense Dubcon rape we see in these kinds of BL stories. but the reasoning for it so...and that ALL their sex scenes happen in the same dirty ass bus...i mean yes i read all of it but because i was like...baffled and curious as to hwo it would work. and ofc this guy managed to magically shove his dick into an asshole that very much did not want to be penetrated without ANY lube or stretching and like...idk how to tell u this author but it legit wouldnt go in, its not that it would it would be Impossible and mans woulda got his dick broken mid way like cmon now lol. like this is offensive yes but i mostly found it...laughable? like i just couldnt take it seriously at all and it was taking itself SO SO seriously. like this bitch didnt just try to write porn but wanted to make it deep but instead of actually making it deep...just makes this. i dont recommend it but i also...dont not recommend it? like its kinda worth it just to read how like absurd it is. the final sex scene is kinda hot too but after WHAT i ask u. (but seriously! a bus! gross!) also the guys reason for blackmailing him and the other ones reason for going along with it and also how this leads to the acceptance of a decade long deferred love (and also how the other dude managed to rape his classmate back in HS in the middle of like a hallway, again without...any prep...and then was like "ugh whatever" and left him there and...MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!)

i actually have alot to say about this (and also its prequel slash sequel series Jealousy) but it will have to wait until i can better gather my thoughts.

the "bottom" aka submissive in the relationship is a gorgeous tan blonde haired gyaru type but a man. (is their a name for a male version of gyaru style? idk). colored nails, lots of jewelry, promiscuous and sexy. he falls in love with a buttoned up straight laced tradtional handsome salaryman and its a sweet short thoughtful (and emotional) story about two dudes who are very different trying to work thru their feelings for each other. this one actually acknowledges homophobia as the gyaru boy was horribly bullied in his past for being VERY obviously queer even as a child and its pretty traumatic stuff (no rape in this story tho thankfully), what he goes thru is awful tho so TW for that. and the black haired top does fail to do the right thing at one point but it makes his reformation into a staunch defender (and lover) of Sena (gyaru cutie) all the more satisfying imo. i want to rate it higher but i feel like the story needed a bit more space to breathe and while i liked it and recommend it i cant call it a fave and only faves get 4 and up stars. sry those r the Rules.

i dont rly have alot to say about this. this isnt an esp deep story but it does get pretty dark in spots. trigger warnings abound here. its not a thriller or psychological drama or anything horror esque. just melodrama dealing with some real intense topics sometimes. the reason i stuck with this story tho, if im honest, is the sex scenes. let me explain! the relationship has an intense-ness that actually justifies the sex scenes (like desire just kind of rolls off them in almost every scene even if they arent doing anything sexy?) but more over i like how they are drawn here. we get alot of full shots and faces are actually like..expressive. alot of webtoons just lack fluidity in their sex scenes or just chop up the scene into various body parts and close ups rather than full shots. full shots imo are more intimate and pleasing to the eye. its why manga with sex scenes tend to do more for me than a smutty webtoon tbh. this one has no real plot rather the plot IS the characters adn their relationship. so if they interest u and u like the art, this will be a good read and if u dont then there's nothing much else to see here. but ya at least none of the assaults are perpretrated by the love interest, amazing that i have to specify that but lol here we are.