I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #astronomy(5)

Serizawa, the technology section manager at a popular bookstore, is asked to deal with a customer whose appearance frightens fellow employees. He is surprised to discover what a gentle and goodhearted young man Keita is and, slowly, they develop from a good friendship into a more loving and trusting intimacy. This story is full of rewarding goodhearted gestures of kindness. The sweetness slays me! One of my favourites.

Hoshino was dazzled by his senpai, Akihino, when they formed the astronomy club together in high school, especially with his dreams of becoming a pilot. What he didn't know is that those dreams had only become an opportunity for Akihino because he was dazzled. After an eleven year separation, Hoshino is astonished to be reunited with Akihino, who has not been able to fulfill his dreams. Indeed, it seems that he is the single parent of Hoshino's biggest problem student and there is a sad mystery behind this, but Akihino does not want Hoshino to come any closer. A bittersweet story about adulthood and sacrifices, which becomes much sweeter when barriers are slowly worked through, although it's sometimes frustrating to watch.

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!

Ohara and Kawai, childhood friends and schoolmates joined by a mutual love for astronomy, discover too late that their friendship turned into love. Or is it too late? Ohara, chained to his father's debts, seems determined to protect Kawai from his passion, but Kawai won't cooperate.

Hikaru, a first-year at an all-boys' high school, joins the astronomy club on the basis of his aversion to sports and a growing, if inchoate, attraction to its president, Hatayama. Although great moist chunks of astronomical data are pooped all over the pages in a bid for authenticity and, presumeably, our edification, the club is incidental, existing mainly for the purpose of its overnight star-gazing sessions on the roof (in Toyko-grade photo-pollution, no less) and the opportunities those present for boy-on-boy sex and couples' misunderstandings—basically, a French farce. So, by the time the first volume wraps up, it appears that club troublemaker, Onodera, who keeps doing "mean things" to Hikaru, is banging Mochida, the only club member who seems to actually know anything about astronomy (or care.) And Onodera is doing these things in a messed up bid to make his cousin, the afore-mentioned club president, Hatayama, jealous ... or maybe even aware of him sexually ... and to ward off Hikaru, who is just clueless. If Hatayama even notices or cares, it doesn't appear that he's rising to the bait, and in the meantime, Mochida has developed quite a crush on Hikaru, thus setting up The Perfect Cliffhanger for the next volume and installment in this ALL-GAY UNIVERSE of the High School Astronomy and Sex Club. Yay! In other words, if you're looking for realism, try Neil DeGrasse Tyson's Cosmos.