I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #dramedy(31)

Emotions are wrung out all over the place in this story, after two gay men announce their intention to marry and family get involved. The story isn't about homophobia, however, but some slight familiarity with Japanese laws will make it less confusing: in Japan, gay marriage happens through adoption, and having one's name placed in an official family registry. This story is about the family that will be left behind. There are lots and lots and lots of tears and emoting, but it isn't really a tear-jerker.

Two separate stories: (1) A small and passive high school boy is attracted to a tough and intimidating older student's muscular body, or so he thinks. The older student doesn't mind at first, but then, wants to be liked for himself, not his appearance. (2) A transient good-for-nothing in trouble comes back to the bedroom of a young man's sister, never realizing that the sister has moved on while the young man has moved in. The boy tells him he can stay as long as he does everything the boy tells him to. Realistic slice-of-life stories which are part comedy, part drama, but where nothing particularly sweeping and grand happens, unless you count life changes as sweeping and grand ... which I do, sometimes.

I was hooked by the name "Melty Night" which sounds like some kind of newfangled chocolate. The story itself is a bit all over the place so far. In a drunken moment of despair, Amano meets Gill, who supposedly runs a vampire image club, but who may be a real vampire. He rejects the marriage proposal from his boss's daughter and loses his executive position in the company. He meets up with a childhood friend at a bar. All sorts of things happen which are leading somewhere, but exactly where isn't clear yet.

Chapter One: "I'm not really gay or gay-curious; I'm just sacrificing my butthole for you cuz you were BF all through high school." "Ooh, wah-wah-wah! Now, instead of challenging you for hanging around a gay guy all through high school and acting all pissy and hostile about it, I'm going to hang onto my emotional mess forever and ever because it's like a nice big steaming hot cup of drama, and I luvs me that more than actual buttcake!" This mangaka is brilliant. These highschoolers are so high school, I can't tell if the comedy is real, or inadvertent. Yay fer drama! Also, the art work is pretty cool. Chapter Two: Hilarious, and brilliant. This is the ultimate anti-romance: a blunt, unsympathetic uke and a seme who can't stop the weepy tear-faucets from pouring out every time he feels slightly challenged or overwhelmed. Together, they make a more realistic, sympathetic and hopeful couple than most of the dudes that show up in yaoi.

A male cinderella drudges away in the boarding house his father runs for the sports club at his school, until he decides he's had enough. Maybe.

High school player and heterosexual, Jin, notices classmate, Itachi, being molested everywhere he goes by almost every male alive (welcome to Kamon Saeko's world), and offers him protection in exchange for exclusive molestation rights. Trouble is, both of them would prefer something a little more connected than mere sex.

Serious art nostalgia for the 1980s, like something straight out of Banana-Fish or Kusatta Kyoushi no Houteishiki: boy acts like a dork in front of The Big Kahuna (another ordinary bloke in his class for whom he's got the hots) working himself into awkward crack!spasms while trying to reach out and make friends. Could be fun.

Kitazawa Kyou says, "A sorry bunch of guys." I can't argue with that. Her artwork is surely pretty though.

Series of short school-centred stories. The last one, involving a tragic past, is the most interesting.