I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #school life(125)

A series of short stories about all the ways boys have to avoid admitting they are in love with someone.

Grrr, grr, grrrrr. Bickering stepbrothers with the hots for each other, using their aggression to distract themselves from blue balls. Grrrrrr, grrr, grr.

An unlikely friendship develops between a schoolboy and the class misfit, after the schoolboy glimpses him giving a blowjob to a teacher in the phys-ed supply shed.

Senior high school teacher Kasei Shinichi has his hands full with Katou Reiji, a star basketball athlete sidelined by a knee injury who has developed a serious infatuation for this teacher. But where most yaoi stories take this as an opportunity to push toward sex, Yuki Ringo recognizes and respects the moral and legal boundaries that these situations present. There is no question, in her story, that a teacher would dismiss a confession as impossible on the basis of professional misconduct, and discourage a minor from harbouring any sentiments. Kasei is left with only fond memories and a smoking habit until Katou returns as an adult and fully credentialed teacher in Kasei's school. From there, the story really embarks on a near-Odyssean world of pain as Katou gently struggles to overcome each obstacle between him and his beloved, moving it forward from fond affection and collegial companionship. And the obstacles are doozies. For one thing, Kasei isn't gay. For another, Katou tried to numb his pain and confusion with some pretty reckless behaviour before he thought he might have an atom's chance of success. This is a rich and rewarding soap opera, well worth the effort of reading.

A shy and sensitive boy, who feels too afraid and socially awkward to express himself, engages in a powerful moment of nonverbal communication when he admires a handsome stranger, overcomes his fear for a brief moment when he is required to come to that stranger's defense after a wrongful accusation, and attracts love from the man in return. Since this is too much, the stranger tempers his passion to a mutual friendship, which has the shy boy all a-flutter, just as a few cautionary signs about the stranger's character are revealed. Good potential. Look forward to seeing where it leads.

A strange two-part short story by Yamane Ayano, whose two parts seem completely incongruous with each other. The first is almost comic, involving train chikkan and a heroic rescuer who is little better than the molester. The second is a touching and frightening ghost story which is almost too tragic to belong in such an otherwise light piece. In either case, it's engaging.

Akane Kazuma, abandoned son of a deadbeat and an alcoholic hostess, gets top grades in every class but cannot make enough to pay the rent, heating or electricity. Hamuro Kyoichirou, the popular son of a wealthy businessman, always comes in second. So far, they hate and love each other. Hamuro can't decide if he wants Akane to prostitute his body or fail every test until graduation. Akane can't decide if he wants to have sex with Hamuro or ignore him, which would drive the boy even crazier.

Fuwa Shinri is great at yaoi soap operas. In this series of short stories, we read about gay men who stay closeted for the sake of family, pesky fan girls who want to out them, divorce and child abuse, rape and the odd ways survivors punish themselves for having been raped ... They are generally quite authentic apart from some of the outward emotional reactions which seem a bit overt, but still within plausibility. One very realistic element is that not all the conflicts are resolved or the injuries healed. Fuwa Shinri is good at this sort of story.

Series of oneshots and two-parters all dealing with seduction.