I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #unrequited love(68)

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.

Shougo, shiftless and lighthearted, shows up on the doorstep of his stepbrother, Kyoura, whom he has not seen since their parents' bitter divorce years before, after losing his job. This reignites Kyoura's thwarted passions and leads to the revelation of old secrets that tore apart their family. Serious subject matter, but treated lightly and sweetly, with many comic moments and lots of hot sex.

Two separate stories. (2) Page 106: The story where the one roommate jumps out a window and sprains his ankle in order to avoid seeing the roommate he thinks rejected him. Two young men share a college dorm, but since one has been harbouring a secret crush on the other throughout their stay, he is anxious to find his own place. The other roommate is reluctant to let him. (1) Bratty kid takes friends up on a bet that he can't seduce the school nurse, a handsome man. The nurse gives him the best kiss of his life, and changes him forever. Sadly for him, the nurse spotted him miles away and was just toying with him. Now he has to win him back, or so he thinks.

"I want all your firsts." Jun steps forward when Toshiyuki finally gives up his unrequited gay love for his heterosexual childhood friend, Yasoshira. The rest of the story explores how they overcome their reticence and have a real relationship. Sakuragi Yaya understands and depicts emotions clearly. This is one of her best, a yaoi classic.

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.

A series of oneshots about men coming to terms with the fact that they love other men ... so standard yaoi plots, but with lots of sexual tension and Sakurai Ryou's beautiful drawings.

Masaya, who eats Suburu's meals and messes around with girls at his apartment, is completely clueless about Suburu's feelings. Suburu wants this to change.

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.