I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #katou setsuko(6)

Yorokobi wa Ude no Naka is the sequel to Yorokobi wa Hiza no Ue [http://www.mangago.com/read-manga/yorokobi_wa_hiza_no_ue/] and develops the story of Orito Aoi, whose inappropriate love for his younger brother, Kouki, led him to leave his home and move in with Sagara, an older man who loves him. Their relationship is constricted by Aoi's past, however, and by the imbalance of power as Aoi uses Sagara. Sagara sets up some boundaries which force Aoi to change, just as Aoi receives a few hard knocks from Kouki and his mother and comes to new self-realizations. Better than its predecessor, this story is a very satisfying and rich exploration of character.

Yorokobi wa Hiza no Ue follows the love story of Orito Kouki, a waiter who works in his mother's bar, and Mitsuru, the older brother of Kouki's friend, Yuzuru. The boundaries of brotherly love and duty are explored as Mitsuru tries to be dutiful to Yuzuru in a way that Kouki's own brother, Aoi, cannot be, as Aoi's love for Kouki is transgressive. Aoi's story is continued in the sequel, Yorokobi wa Ude no Naka [http://www.mangago.com/read-manga/yorokobi_wa_ude_no_naka/]. Katou Setsuko's storytelling is realistic and subtle, and this story is a very satisfying read.

A near-decade-long age gap between childhood friends means that Kengo is never on a physical, emotional or mental level equal to Fumiya, upon whom he has a crush. Kengo sets up a quasi-competitive set of stick-and-carrot rewards and punishments for himself as motivation to keep trying, centered around kisses — even though Fumiya has already dismissed the need for such barriers and pitfalls by falling in love with Kengo. This leads to misunderstandings and needless conflict. The gap is also in understanding, not just age. The second story is also about the age-gap between an older man and his younger suitor, and the misunderstandings that come up because of disparate needs and ways of viewing the world which such a difference in life experience brings. The disparities and differences are not seen as insurmountable, however, although it requires the older person in each story to adjust. Sadly, Katou Setsuko's beautifully simple line drawings are marred, in the second story, by the scanner's oversized watermarks.

A young master strives for personal independence and works at a restaurant, throwing a curveball into the schedule of the coworker asked to oversee his progress. The restaurant manager has a thing for the butler who looks after him. Gentle stories without much conflict.