I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #drama(235)

Wow, the first story is so rough, it's almost impossible to get past. The first time I tried, I got stuck on the strangulation scene and shut it all down. Fortunately, the story changed tack after that. The second story is relatively sweet in comparison, involving a very kindhearted transvestite and a "stray cat" boy he picks up.

Tables turned!

Otou, who isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, has always faithfully followed his beautiful, but cruel senpai, Okawa, and continues to follow him right into a job as a host, promising he will always be loyal. Okawa takes hosting a step further into prostitution and even brings women home. When Otou finally gives up on his repressed infatuation, Okawa reacts. Like most of Abe Akane's work, the relationships are harsh and attraction is pushed to the edge.

A realistic and natural story of a boy who isn't sure he's gay and the curiosity which awakens in him when he sees a homosexual couple kissing. This is one of the best yaoi stories I've ever read. The relationships proceed very gently, even through heartbreak and separation.

Kei's step-brother, Haruto, has a peculiar genetic mutation that allows him to live practically forever, but there is a special connection between the two of them, a connection which only Haruto seems to understand. Kei, fed up with Haruto's pestering, and unable to comprehend the mystery tries to sort things out by himself. His realizations come at the same time as a visit from Haruto's real father, changing the course of their lives. The ending is unnecessarily melodramatic and the mystery is a bit of a Maguffin. Really, things would've been much better if everyone had sat down for a little chat much sooner, but that would've scotched the whole plot.

Nishina, newly divorced, accidentally bumps into the high school lover he cruelly threw away, Miyama, at the café Miyama now runs, and all his longing is rekindled. The question is whether Miyama can ever forgive him. Full of flashbacks, this story is a realistic look at the difference a decade can make. Hatsukoi is a side-story to Arashi no Ato.

Realistic and moving story of Shima, who is deliberately outed by his former gay-lover-gone-straight as a means of professional sabotage, at his former workplace, and Togawa, the straight and divorced boss who doesn't care ... about Shima's past or much of anything elsef, but cares very much for Shima. Shima has become hyper-cautious and sensitive as a result of this treachery in his past, and he doesn't know what to make of this man who is so, seemingly, heedless and rough-spoken. Can Togawa pierce through his armour?

Every few years, a half-human/half-demon baby is selected to be the vessel for a spirit called The Crow, which is sealed in its body. Evil spirits attack the body of the chosen infant as they chase the Crow, and it causes the person much pain and eventually takes over. We follow the story of Taki, an orphaned boy who is chosen to become the replacement vessel. Sadly, this story has been dropped by the mangaka after Chapter 7, but it is a very interesting and well-told tale until that point.

Kuraishi, a twice-divorced events manager, is a depressed and self-destructive alcoholic, until he is nurtured back by Izumi, the florist who has a supernatural ability to communicate with plants. The plants tell him Kuraishi is withered and rotten, and he needs some tough love to recover. Volume Two deals with the return from Europe of Chouno, a colleague with whom Kuraishi shared a strong connection in the past.