tsukineko's manga / #long-haired seme(41)

Aww! I'm really glad they got their happy end, especially so because they got there by trusting each other and by communicating! So much unneccessary drama and conflict could be avoided or resolved if more yaoi and rl couples did the same! Anyway, this was a nice and sweet, light read, though it was sad to see Shouji suffering at first at the hands of that lying, cheating, uncaring, game playing bastard lol! Minami was pretty hot as well as caring.

This looks hilarious!

After this, read the sequel 'Sleeping Man Loving Man'

By the writer of Ai no kusabi!

N.B. This is not a manga, but a light novel. I've read chapters 0 + 1. They're actually just bonus stories. I've dowloaded the main story from yaoiotaku, but have yet to read it.

'Barairo no Kenkyuu to...' chapters 5 + 6 are extras of this manga. The art, writing and story, are beautiful, poetic and angsty. It ended up a lot less dark than I thought it would, though. Tbh, I like darker better, and thus found this almost too fluffy. I find it near miraculous that the couple ended up in a mutually beneficial relationship, rather than in an abusive, codependent one. I'm glad for them of course, but it makes for less fun, albeit perhaps also less predictable reading. It's strange, though, as I do love the whole 'healed by love' trope - so why was I disappointed by this outcome? Perhaps it happened too easily, thus impairing my ability to suspend disbelief? As soon as they found each other, they were saved. Their relationship was never once in [serious] difficulty, despite their colossal amount of baggage, and despite the various circumstances that should normally have strained things considerably. I was also disappointed that their sadomasochistic sides were not properly explored. Now I'd love to read a manga entirely about those brothers.

3.5 stars. Nice art, and sensual, good looking guys. Plot premise was interesting, but storytelling felt rushed and a bit flat. Characters were also a bit one dimensional.