I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #tragic backstory(98)

Miyamoto Kamo's classic yaoi story about Ryuu, the boy with the tattoo and dark past who transfers from Osaka to Tokyo, Hitomi, the fellow schoolboy who falls for him, and Taiga, the boy who falls for Hitomi. Spanning about a decade, this beautifully illustrated and slow-moving story follows their unrequited passions, reveals Ryuu's tragic past and uncovers treachery in the present. An absolutely superb tale in every sense! Realistic and deeply satisfying to read.

Sequel to Takaramono wa Hako no Naka, this doujinshi explores the complications of a painful past on Tokura and Gin's sex life, and how they overcome it. Gin's ongoing consideration for his partner is lovely indeed, but I can't say that I found it hot and I'm not exactly sure what brought the temperature down from boiling to light simmer. I think that there was so much carefulness and tiptoeing around, it interfered a bit with the sheer animalistic, irrational self-surrender of romance. It's crucial for loving relationships in real life, but not so great for escapist fiction as it feels a bit sex-averse.

Kyouya, an antisocial neurophysics researcher with a tragic past, is kidnapped and subjected to sexual stimulus experiments by a mad scientist who happens to be a professor at their university hospital. Kisaragi, who has seen Kyouya's better side, rescues him and secrets him in his brother's hospital, while the mad scientist is still hunting for him. An interesting premise and promising start. Sadly, it looks like the translators have dumped the project.

A mysterious laboratory where stars are made; a scientist whose dead lover haunts him; a child whose encouragement pulls him through despair. Aoi Aki's stories are intense and, as always, so beautifully drawn and depicted. In this one, the birth of stars is linked to the rekindling of love.

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.

Kaichi is a mind reader with his own home and business, and a friend from back in school in the handsome lawyer, Anan Kei, whose thoughts are largely veiled from him. Just as it seems as though Kaichi and Anan are about to become lovers, Kaichi is asked by his uncle — the man to whom he owes his livelihood — to look after his abused step-cousin. Tatsuya is also able to veil his thoughts from Kaichi, but it is clear that the darkness hides tragic secrets which Kaichi is determined to find out. The trouble is, this leads to serious misunderstandings with Anan. A fascinating story with Kitazawa Kyou's usual sexy drawings of men. The translation needs the support of a good editor, but the meaning does come across.

Two stories about being on the opposite sides of unrequited love: (1) Two stories about being on the opposite sides of unrequited love: (1) Monji realizes that his two-timing lover, Chiba, will never reciprocate his feelings, but while his heart has been preoccupied, he never noticed the steady and nurturing quality of his long-time friendship with Hagiwara, nor understood what that meant. (2) Takaaki doesn't know what love is until he is loved by someone with so much intensity that, in an O Henry twist, his lover cannot bear the passion and needs to break up. Jaryuu's illustrations and characterizations are simple, clean and precise, and the observations are detailed and interesting. There was one strange passage that made no sense in translation, but the story was otherwise clear.

Hoshino was dazzled by his senpai, Akihino, when they formed the astronomy club together in high school, especially with his dreams of becoming a pilot. What he didn't know is that those dreams had only become an opportunity for Akihino because he was dazzled. After an eleven year separation, Hoshino is astonished to be reunited with Akihino, who has not been able to fulfill his dreams. Indeed, it seems that he is the single parent of Hoshino's biggest problem student and there is a sad mystery behind this, but Akihino does not want Hoshino to come any closer. A bittersweet story about adulthood and sacrifices, which becomes much sweeter when barriers are slowly worked through, although it's sometimes frustrating to watch.

One night, Mizushima, an assistant at Nanami Florist, steals a single rare white bloom from an exotic flowering shrub in a stranger's garden. The next day, wracked with guilt, he prepares a bouquet as an apology for the owner, unaware that his activity was already caught on camera. Before he can present his gift, the shrub's owner, Fujisawa Morihiro, confronts him at the shop and ends up hiring him to create a floral arrangement for the entrance to his mansion. Mizushima is pleased by this turn of events, and drawn to the loneliness of this wealthy man, but a mysterious young woman approaches him and warns him that his life is in danger. Are her accusations against Fujisawa legitimate or figurative, and has she exaggerated Mizushima's peril? Mizushima feels impelled to ignore her advice, setting a new series of events into motion. An interesting story premise (so far) which escalates quickly.

Natsume hides his depression by burying himself in work and overtime, but neglects his home. Touji is a cleaner at the company he hires to shovel out his apartment. On the pretext of losing his phone in Natsume's apartment, Touji handcuffs him to his couch, tells him he has had a premonition that they are meant to be together, and procedes to fellate him. Natsume is outraged, but after an electrifying start, Fujiyama Hyouta tones the story down to something much more subtle. The appearance of Touji's cousin sets up the premise of a mystery, but it isn't revealed in this story. Readers have to tackle the sequel, Akutai wa Ude no Naka de Futatabi, for that.