tsukineko's manga / #homophobia(7)

These look like a lot of fun - especially the last one, about the piano lesson lol!

By the mangaka who created 'Nabari no Ô'. They themself are x-gender, (is that the same as agender?), and asexual, apparently, so know first-hand both the internal struggles and the societal pressures faced by such rl people in Japan. Note: This is NOT yaoi. It does have a little shounen ai, but the focus is on the struggles of LGBT+ people, rather than their romantic/sexual relationships. It was published in a seinen magazine, hence it's not meant to be fujoshi fapping material lol. I.e. Read this for a realistic and sensitive portrayal of LGBT+ people in Japan. After this, read something by Hagio Moto, whose works inspire this mangaka.

3.5 stars. Everything happened way too fast. It wasn't bad, but it needed to be longer to make those changes develop more naturally. The high point of the manga, was chapter 4, page 5, (starts last panel of previous page): #realtalk. If only the whole story had been more in this vein!

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?!'