Sumire's manga / #Hardcore(17)

Too short, alas. Very funny. I would have liked to have seen the beginning of their relationship -

Quite a smorgasbord of stories, some funny, some WTF were they thinking, and some nice. Translations were a bit awkward in spots, I wasn't sure quite how the dialog was flowing - but the gist was understandable. I think being obsessed with a statue was inspired by the Pygmalion myth, and it was weirdly funny to me.

Actually a rather complex plot with crosses and double crosses aplenty. Unfortunately there is also a lot of rape, but given the context, it's kind of expected for a prison drama.

The old sex slave trope is gorgeously illustrated. Pity the censors blanded out the dicks, since Zaria draws beautiful penises, but aside from that, the poor Uke being bamboozled by the two semes into becoming their sex pet is kind of funny.

I wouldn't ordinarily feel sorry for an abuser, but Kan-chan knew he was hurting Yumi, and loathed himself for it. In the end, he told Yumi to go because he knew that if he stayed, he'd hurt him further, and hate himself more. I was happy that Shuuna fell for Kan and that he seemed happy, but I still want him to beg forgiveness from Yumi. You can see the fear of loss and the self-loathing that Kan-chan still carries with him. And the fact that he's losing (or being distanced) from Shuuna, the only bright spot in his life really makes the heart hurt. Preparing myself for the roller-coaster of feels on this one.

What I like about these stories is the reality of the characters, the closeted businessman, his resentful lover, the know-it-all physician, the self-loathing athlete, the effeminate 'wife' - they love, they're jealous of each other, they have secrets and insecurities. I would have like to have been able to read more of their backstories. A most mature group of tales. Only the 'lightsaber dick' censorship is annoying.