tsukineko's manga / #gentle seme(3)

This was absolutely adorable! Kinda too sweet for me almost, but it makes a nice change to read this kind of BL occasionally. Unfortunately, whenever they kissed, all I could think was 'eww, doggy breath', lol. Hakuyou was such a sweet little thing. I just wanted to ruffle his hair/fur the whole time. There were some lovely, comedic touches, too, like when he was trying to catch the bird lol! N.B. Post the following comment on this page: Hi, I wonder whether any of you could help me with the following: I'm not looking for a particular manga, but I'd like to read any supernatural/fantasy yaoi, in which one of the mcs has a tattoo which holds a special significance, or is the source of supernatural abilities/magical powers. Kind of like with Hakuyou's tattoo, except that I'd like for it to play a more significant role in the story. Thanks in advance!

3.5 stars. This was really sweet. Taiki is among my favourite of the gentle, caring type of seme. Yukiya is among my favourite uke - strong-willed and independent, without falling into the tsundere uke cliché. (Probably because the independence is not just an act - he really can and does take care of himself and even of his baby cousin.) This is why Taiki & Yukiya are able to have such a strong, healthy relationship - because the uke is independent, and the seme respects that independence, but brings additional strength to the uke. It saddened me somewhat, that in 'Bittersweet Café', which was written first, but which takes place 20 or so years later, we see that Taiki and Yukiya are not living together, although they are a couple, or maybe exes who have remained good friends, (it's not clear which). I'm just going to chalk that up to the fact that B.C. was written first, and tell myself that the mangaka hadn't yet fully realised that they were indeed a couple and living together happily (ever after), lol. I'll just add that I feel that 'Love or Pride' was less well written than its sequel 'Blind Love'. The scene in which Kunie sequesters and rapes Yukiya, was clumsily resolved, and there was an insufficient build-up of tension prior to it. It somehow felt flat, and almost brought me out of the story. The rest was a nice enough read - very sweet - but with perhaps not enough spice for my taste. I'll probably reread it at some point though - just before I reread 'Blind Love'.

Aggghhh! Why did I give in to temptation and read this even though it's incomplete?!?! That 3rd chapter ends on such a horrible cliffhanger! Well thankfully it shouldn't be too long of a wait, according to the comments. It's a thoroughly enjoyable read: pretty art; good looking and endearing characters; an entertaining and engaging storyline; very well paced so as to keep up the tension and suspense; and brimming with an exquisite tenderness that will surely heal our poor, world-weary uke, (and maybe certain readers). Oh yeah, and gotta love those cute, cat-like dogs, (or are they foxes or something?) I like the fact that the plot and characters feel relatively realistic, (although obviously a highly romanticised version of reality, lol). It manages to be dramatic without becoming MELOdramatic, and it's heartwarming and sweet, but not fluffy nor diabetes inducing. It's not a particularly deep nor thought-provoking manga, so I can't rate it above 4 stars, but it's certainly high quality light entertainment. The h scenes are too short, but lovely, and certain parts, (especially that back kissing scene!), are so tender as to be not only erotic, but quite moving. Apparently, this is a spin-off of a couple of other manga - 'XXX Allergy', and 'Secret XXX', about the mcs' brothers! - so I'm going to read those whilst waiting for this one to update...