I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #romance(460)

At a geological survey for rare metals in an isolated mountain cabin, Misaki meets a Kousaka, the lover who went missing in an accident five years prior. Kousaka, who now calls himself Yanagida, does not remember him, and Misaki is being pressured by another man to forget him completely. Meanwhile, a spy is intent on stealing their surveys and rock samples, leading to a fine espionage thriller and action adventure story with yaoi benefits.

Hot butler and sweet kid fend their way through the vultures of culture in Maruya Kae's gorgeous art style.

Law student, Arikawa Youichi, has portentous dreams about someone named Misaki, an enigmatic and formless "presence" activated by a pretty floral crystal pendant that Arikawa suddenly found in his possession (the result of a mishap), never realizing that Misaki Shouta is a man whom he met by accident and happenstance, on two prior occasions, and heard about by rumour, once, thus setting the scene for a story about predestined love. Upon actually identifying Misaki, at university, Arikawa instantly declares his love and fascination. His straightforwardness comes across too forcefully to Misaki, who veers off, but since Arikawa has been hired by Misaki's professor as an assistant, they are forced to share time and space in the botany lab where Misaki researches microorganisms in soil cultures. As they grow accustomed to each other, Satoshi Kawahata, a parental authority/conflicted would-be lover from Misaki's past, tries to re-assert himself as the central person in Misaki's heart, revealing the back-story behind Misaki's reticence. Can Misaki overcome his insecurities and defeat his loneliness? This story has many nice touches, including the symbolic language of flowers, the differences between free expression and withholding, a secret garden, the magnificent prequel Hana No Miyako De "The Flower Capital" [http://www.mangago.me/read-manga/hana_no_miyako_de/] and a twinkly "magical fairy-godfather" type. After the initial declaration by Arikawa, it moves along at a fairly slow and realistic pace, but I like the introduction of subconscious elements, like the dreams and the connection with the grandfather. The artwork is beautiful, too, with Takarai Rihito's delicate line drawings enhanced by the floral subject matter, but some of these drawings are undermined by poor quality scans and cleaning, especially in the first volume. Other than that, this is a must-read!

So much fun! Kashiwaya has a wild imagination and no filters. This makes him a perfect playwright, but sometimes, it makes things get a little sticky for his friend, Hibino, who is the god of patience and acceptance (not to mention being completely intrigued.) This story includes one of the weirdest bondage scenes I've ever come across in a manga, and a very hilarious story about "The Curse of the Kappa." Too funny and, in its own way, very sexy.

Cute and fluffy story about a clumsy and overly persistent men's underpants salesman and the stern, megane department store procurement officer with a taste for sweet pastries who figures out a much better way of retaliating for the young man getting under his skin. Oh-ho-ho!

One of Kawaii Touko's light, sweet stories: sales license procurement officer, Haruna, tries to secure a contract with the dreaded and renowned Nakagawa Sake company, whose owner is so rude and ornery, he throws things at people he doesn't like. But his son is just Haruna's type. Haruna throws himself at the computer technician unreservedly, but Nakagawa has his own reasons for playing things cool, and he will not put up with betrayal. Will Haruna persuade him?

Akusawa Fumi, a host and heir to various nightclubs, is in love with his lover, community security detective Futagami Takaharu, who is reluctant to take the relationship any deeper, in spite of his own infatuation. Takaharu mistrusts Fumi, who shows the same easygoing smile and attention to everyone, and because he deals with corruption, he harbours suspicions toward Fumi's motives. Is this a romance? Or a cat and mouse story about deception? A very good start to an intriguing story, but since it hasn't been updated in years, I assume it will never be finished.

Two different gay couples living in small apartments, next to each other in the same building, become friends.