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

Salaryman, Sanoshita, is in a quandary about how to thank Manaka, the mover who saved him when he accidentally bumped into a pile of boxes at his new apartment, but was, in turn, injured himself. Attraction develops into a caring friendship and a wonderful love affair, with a few bumps and rocky patches along the way. Not only has this manga got one of the best lines ever, but there is an entire wordless picture story section. Other sweet and sexy short stories round out the collection.

Unresolved Sexual Tension is stretched to the utmost when Reiji, a sales and marketing product tester crosses paths with his first lover from when he was in school, Kagami, now a successful architect, who dumped him with no explanation or consideration. Reiji still loves Kagami and it seems as though his feelings are returned, so why does Kagami persist in pushing him away? The drawings are beautiful. The story is smoldering. This is a great romance for ramping up a steamy mood! Volume 2 is about the company president and his lead model.

Natsume hides his depression by burying himself in work and overtime, but neglects his home. Touji is a cleaner at the company he hires to shovel out his apartment. On the pretext of losing his phone in Natsume's apartment, Touji handcuffs him to his couch, tells him he has had a premonition that they are meant to be together, and procedes to fellate him. Natsume is outraged, but after an electrifying start, Fujiyama Hyouta tones the story down to something much more subtle. The appearance of Touji's cousin sets up the premise of a mystery, but it isn't revealed in this story. Readers have to tackle the sequel, Akutai wa Ude no Naka de Futatabi, for that.

Daisuke, fresh from a recent business success, is aware that something has been troubling his childhood friend and colleague, Igarashi, who won't confide in him, even though he defends Daisuke against some jealous associates. The answer that Daisuke thinks has been the problem — a transfer to a distant province — turns out to be something completely unrelated. This short and sweet oneshot by Kojima Katsura is part of a larger manga volume: Seito Kaichousama no Pet.

Interior design company president, Sakaki, has his lusty homosexual eyes set on the very heterosexual, but vivacious and personable, Okada — who moderates and liases on behalf of the development corporation which has awarded contracts to Sakaki's firm, but Sakaki has no faith that sexual identity boundaries can be overcome with mere infatuations. Fortunately, Okada is more willing to step into the unknown. Brilliant use of realism by Hidaka Shouko. The adults are mature with real adult problems. The businesses are believable and they actually require specialization and effort and intelligent decisions to succeed. The colleagues are not just cardboard cut-outs but people who have earned respect and trust. The things which happen to these characters are things which happen to concern real people. The issues which concern them concern real people. There's even an excellent related side story in Hatsukoi no Atosaki [http://www.mangago.me/read-manga/hatsukoi_no_atosaki/.]