tsukineko's manga / #expressionless seme(2)

I thourougly enjoyed this! The fact that it's 'only' shounen ai didn't even bother me! It's adorable and funny, nicely drawn, well paced, has likeable characters - In fact, I relate quite a lot to Aoi: cat like, used to be a little feisty, had to reject and fend off a load of advances from members of the same sex, and after dealing with my internalised homophobia, realised I'm bi lol. Also, Azuma is totally my type, (or one of my types)! Sadly, I'm still waiting for the person who will break down all of my defenses and definitively tame me lol.

4.25 stars. Beautifully drawn and written. Funnily enough, for a manga with a supposedly expressionless mc, the facial expressions are beautifully well rendered and very expressive. I especially love the eye contact the mcs have going on between them. The story itself is realistic yet fluffy. It deals with some difficult subject matter, (1st time being attracted to the same sex; trauma from bullying; homophobia; self-loathing), but only on a fairly superficial level. I appreciate the subtle manner in which such complexities were handled, gently tugging at the heartstrings without resorting to melodrama. However, I feel that the surface was barely scratched, and that we could have delved a lot deeper into psychological territory if the manga had perhaps been longer. Tbh I feel kind of like I was just given one bite out of some really tasty food, and I'm left simultaneously thinking 'that was great!' and 'is that all?!'