I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #Beautiful Art(114)

First love story between two schoolboys on a beautiful island.

I suppose with the acceptance of homosexuality becoming more widespread, yaoi writers have to turn to different themes to ramp up the illicit "forbidden love" that gives these stories their psychological and sexual tension. Hence the wild-assed reinterpretation of Medieaval Christian Theology. Huzzah! It's downright weird seeing the Lord of the Flies drawn as a smoking hot rebel with a sharp uniform that will satisfy any costume fetish, as opposed to ... well, a pig's corpse in advanced putrefaction, but I'm glad I was spared the traditional depiction circa Heironymous Bosche et al. Still, I have to laugh whenever yaoi mangaka get their hands on something to do with this subject because it's always turned tits-over-teakettles. As usual per Kisaragi Hirotaki, gorgeous art and lots of UST.

Violence seems to fit into Narusaka Rin's "red strawberries and white cream" aesthetic. Her gorgeous drawing feature sharp, spiky features and smoldering facial expressions, with ample visual allusions to Yamane Ayano's yakuza thrillers. So far the plot features wildcat yakuza punk, Miharu, beholden to nobody and who will drop an opponent at the merest whiff of provocation, subjugated by Yashiki, in a no-rules, no holds barred BDSM relationship complete with humiliation kink, toys, erotic asphyxiation, drugs and spectators. Yashiki runs a private club for it and Miharu's protests are more of a turn-on for that set. There are hints that Miharu is longing for some tenderness under that BAMF strut, and there are moments when weariness seems to drip off Yashiki before he resorts to something outrageous just because he's bored, and then, WHAM! The whole plot is resolved and over. It kind of shot its wad too quickly.

Rivalry between a stepbrother, Mitsuya, and a childhood best friend, Satoru, for the affections of a rather clueless young fluff-head, Shin, rendered in Kanda Neko's appealing drawings and downy soft writing style.

When Kaoru breaks up with them, his girlfriends complain that he doesn't desire them, and college friend, Masoto, always seems to end up with them. Masoto offers to comfort Kaoru after one such break-up "until the one he really likes" comes along. Kaoru's only issue is that Masoto leaves right after they have sex, but he can't seem to say anything about it. Slow-paced and set up for a classic romance with spare drawings beautifully rendered by Takamiya Azuma, this story is scanlated up to the point of heartbreak. We never learn the final outcome.

Astrophysicist fellow, Kawamoto Kuroki, has cast his wandering gay eyes on Koroki, another doctorate student in the Astronomy department, who he met during a particularly magical meteor shower viewing one night. Sadly for him Koroki is solely fixated on the professor, and there is no attachment to his desire. So what is a jaded maneater like Kawamoto to do? A richly developed and realistic story about mature love, the lack of expectations and personal sacrifice. A very satisfying read!

Pleasant and slow-paced story about Makoto, a Japanese chef, who finds himself admired by his childhood friend and neighbour, Kota, even though he has taken care of him all his life. Makoto is scared to place too much faith in those feelings. Ayaku's watercolours are stunning.

I'm not just reading this story; so far I'm loving it. Fire and Water seem like polar opposites of what they should be: the ifrit/efreet is cold and standoffish; the water sprite is warm and passionate. Very cute story about how opposites attract. The "Sploosh" treatment for demon battles also seems like a very effective tool, kind of like how I take care of Tomcats battling outside my window late at night. Plus Kanda Neko's art is so pretty.