I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #yaoi(950)

A young man works for a mycologist in the forests of Japan, studying fungi and mushrooms. Slowly, as the scientist opens his eyes to this new world and its astonishing beauty, the young man comes to love him. A schoolboy has an astonishing gift of inner sight which reveals a secret side of life when people go to sleep. A young man strikes up a friendship with a fox spirit. Aoi Aki's artwork is superb. The stories move at a gentle and realistic pace. The relationships are natural and unforced. I love this manga! It is one of my absolute favourites.

A stray cat who lives in the garden of a gay man who is being abused by a brutal partner, asks the moon to change it into a man so it may protect the one he loves. Another sweet kitty begs for the ability to convey feelings of love from the man he loves to the man's former lover. Stories that are so sweet and pure, they cuddle up and purr.

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!

Miyashiro Miyagi, whose job at the traditional Japanese restaurant, Tachibana, and entire fortunes exist solely because of Kazuki-Taichou's recognition of his ability and hard work, is threatened in his position by the heir to Tachibana, and must endure both scrutiny and suspicion due to his unknown family connections. Meanwhile, he is being sexually harassed by Haruhi, the assistant chef from Tachibana's affiliate restaurant. Miyagi's heart is filled with gratitude to Kazuki for all his support, but are his affections returned? Or are Kazuki and Haruhi hiding something from him?—Something crucial to his livelihood? This story is rich with well-developed characters and driven by a strong, interesting plot filled with intrigue. The sex scenes are ample, well-balanced in terms of power distribution and very, very satisfying. It is one of my old-time favourites!

Sugiura Sakae returns as a teacher to the elementary school where, years before, Fukada Ryuuji, his own teacher, saved him from grave personal danger, but age and despair have taken their toll on Fukada-sensei, and Suguira has a difficult time reconciling the memory of the man who protected and inspired him, with the scruffy man whose laisser-faire attitude offends his sense of effort and accomplishment. Can anything be done to mend Fukada's crushed soul? This inspirational story is one of my favourites and cemented Tenzen Mamoko as one of the greatest yaoi mangakas ever! Just a beautiful realistic story.

Serizawa, the technology section manager at a popular bookstore, is asked to deal with a customer whose appearance frightens fellow employees. He is surprised to discover what a gentle and goodhearted young man Keita is and, slowly, they develop from a good friendship into a more loving and trusting intimacy. This story is full of rewarding goodhearted gestures of kindness. The sweetness slays me! One of my favourites.

Salaryman, Sanoshita, is in a quandary about how to thank Manaka, the mover who saved him when he accidentally bumped into a pile of boxes at his new apartment, but was, in turn, injured himself. Attraction develops into a caring friendship and a wonderful love affair, with a few bumps and rocky patches along the way. Not only has this manga got one of the best lines ever, but there is an entire wordless picture story section. Other sweet and sexy short stories round out the collection.

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.