I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #salary man(26)

A man is dumped by his gay lover on Christmas Eve and, suffering from loneliness and heartbreak, spontaneously rescues a vagrant and kitten who have fallen asleep in the front garden of his apartment complex. The vagrant is suffering from his own tragic loss, and the two of them slowly come to understand and love each other, but not before denying their true feelings.

A father is stressed beyond his capacity to cope while trying to raise his preschool-aged daughter while working in a Japanese restaurant. He is saved by a hopeless flirt and serially unfaithful gay customer who is attracted to him, but he is straight and very suspicious of such a flighty man. The relationship takes time to develop and is full of realistic emotional responses. The daughter is adorable and the ending is full of cheer!

Salaryman Takamura is given a job under the EnMa Daiou, the ruler of hell, who relentlessly coaxes him for sex. Takamura discovers that his position includes frequent temptations to break the laws of hell in order to interfere in the destinies of people he longs to save. One of these individuals is a professor he once loved. Who will win over his heart? The professor? Or the King of Hell? There is so much dramatic and sexual tension in this beautifully illustrated story by Kuju Siam. I hungrily devoured each chapter!

Abandoned and betrayed by his lover, Shinshu must also fulfil his contractual obligations whilst healing from a broken arm. Fushimi is assigned to assist and help him cope, but because of the recent betrayal, Shinshu feels too pitiful and vulnerable. His pride won't allow him to accept Fushimi's kindness, especially when it seems that Fushimi has other motives. It is more than Shinshu's broken arm which gets stitched together in this lovely romance about healing, forgiveness and moving on.

After 9 Hours tracks Deguchi as he develops a crush on the straight Onoda, but doesn't dare reveal his feelings for fear of rejection. The World is Full of Colour is about how Onoda and Deguchi negotiate their feelings for each other as they deal with the realization of mutual attraction, fear of betrayal, jealousy and moving past games. Realistic, truthful, yet light and breezy, this is one of the best yaoi mangas I've read, and definitely on my favourites list.

Hotaro, a self-absorbed graphic designer, is roped into cleaning up his scruffy nerd of a boss, Honjou, so he will be more presentable for matchmaking. He certainly doesn't expect to fall for him, but once he does, Honjou's personal integrity about love and commitment doesn't suit Hotaro, who prefers to keep things casual. Fate and a fresh rival push the issue. Will Hotaro change, or lose Honjou forever? Followed up with a sexy extra. Three other lighter-than-air short stories deal with men who are reluctant to enter relationships even though they are attracted to their lovers, all rendered with Takatsuki Noboru's gorgeous line drawings.

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.

Series of short stories. The first deals with a young man, Kou, who develops a crush on his gay neighbour, Hiroya, a salary man, and actively engages in helping him sort things out, just as he suspects Hiroya has fallen for his even more capable brother. The second two stories are interconnected school-life yaois, both involving idiot couples. But they are very endearing because Tenzen Momoko knows how to craft a good tale!