I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #fave(38)

A beautifully drawn fairytale about creatures that must be controlled by a loved one or they become the ultimate destructive force. One of the last remaining manbeasts, Mao, meets Syon, a bounty hunter, while hunting for his brother, but will treachery keep them apart? This is a yaoi classic.

Stories about dealing with cheating lovers. (1) Shiraishi is forthright about being gay and this causes problems, but his faithless lover causes him even bigger ones. So when co-worker, Kanzaki, offers him sanctuary, he jumps at the chance, even though he feels obliged to hide his attraction for his new roommate. Kanzaki doesn't seem to share these inhibitions. (2) Prequel to Sorenari ni Shinken Nandesu. (3) The first 2 stories are much better.

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?

During a drunken spree, failed novelist, Yuu, meets up with the Chris and gets "married" to him, symbolized by tattooed rings. Chris has been broken down with tragedy and suffers from bipolar personality disorder, which he masks with prostitution and drug use, but Yuu is swept up in his mania and has a tragic secret of his own. Will these two be able to heal each other? Hina Garasu's artwork is beautiful, adding more power and poignancy to the ending.

Iris, who consumes minerals for sustenance, hides a tragic past and a painful secret. Bent, a rock dealer, comes across him, seemingly by accident, but in spite of their growing attraction, leads him into greater danger. Aoi Aki's worlds are as mysterious and wonderful as her artwork, and this one is tinged with the bitter as well as the sweet.

"I want all your firsts." Jun steps forward when Toshiyuki finally gives up his unrequited gay love for his heterosexual childhood friend, Yasoshira. The rest of the story explores how they overcome their reticence and have a real relationship. Sakuragi Yaya understands and depicts emotions clearly. This is one of her best, a yaoi classic.

A series of three interlocking stories about boys coming to the realization that they are gay. In prequel, Lovers and Souls, Tooru's lover dies just as Tooru realizes he's in love. In Rules, Tooru is messed up and works as a male prostitute, but makes a play for Hikaru, who looks like the man he loved. Hikaru, a bisexual man whose heart was broken in the prequel Hydra, will have nothing to do with prostitutes. He initiates a high school boy, Yuki, on the rebound from an unrequited love for a classmate, Atori. By the time Yuki finally summons the courage to confess to Atori, Hikaru has fascinated Yuki. Atori is, at first, outraged by the confession, then curious about gay love, which causes him to wander into Shinjuku, where he winds up meeting Tooru. Miyamoto Kano's stories are bittersweet, full of heartache as well as relief and compassion. This one is less bitter than its prequels, although these young men seem to live on a knife's edge.