Gives
To summarize, Seme betrays his gang of which Uke is the leader, but he makes a request that the Uke's life be spared, which was ignored by opposing gang. Uke is shot and buried along with all his gang, but Seme is able to dig him up in time and save him, and upon recuperating, Uke has amnesia and can't remember anything. During this time Seme earns uke's love by protecting him and taking a bullet for him. When Uke regains his memory back, instead of seeking revenge for the Seme's betrayal and annihilation of his gang, he decides to live the peaceful life of a (fisherman?). Seme follows Uke, dedicating himself to him, but Uke seems reticent and has not forgiven him yet, but signs of softening manifest, which foreshadows a future reconciliation. I loved it, and the ending was appropriate imo, considering that the Seme's betrayal was no small thing, and was an inch away of costing the Uke's life. Very interesting. Totally recommend it.
Despicable
This manga is composed of multiple stories whose central theme is unrequired love within complex love triangles, exploring some of the dark aspects of love and how it can twist (and/or be twisted by) human nature. The main triangle story is about two middle aged college professors (Yashiro and Okuzono) whom have been in love with each other since high school, but unable to confront and admit their feelings honestly to one another, have been playing a twisted “cat and mouse” game, where Okuzono pursues and steals all the people Yashiro gets involved with, and Yashiro in turn, only gets involved with people for the sole purpose of providing Okuzono the opportunity to steal them from him, all with the purpose of maintaining a psychological/emotional connection between the two. The dynamics of their relationship changes when a young detective, Utsugi, comes into the picture. Utsugi met Okuzono when he was younger and fell in love with him but was rejected, and has been carrying with the painful feelings of his unrequited love for 10 years. Through pure chance Utsugi is hired by Yashiro to investigate the affair between his current wife (whom he ends up divorcing) and Okuzono. It doesn’t take long for Utsugi to recognize the twisted nature of Yashiro’s and Okuzono’s relationship, and driven by his own feelings for Okuzono, becomes a new player in their old game, changing the dynamics of their relationship, establishing a complex triangle where all three end up having feelings for each other, where the old game played by Yashiro and Okuzono was replaced by a new one which now included Utsugi. At first I was a little thrown off by the age gap between Utsugi and Yashiro/Oksuzono, and was skeptical I would enjoy it or find anything “sexy” about the story; however, I’m glad I pushed on despite my doubts because the emotional complexity of both Yashiro’s and Okuzono’s characters were realistic, interesting and elicited empathy; I couldn’t tear my eyes away and it kept my curiosity engaged as I wanted to desperately know what would happen next and if there would be any type of satisfactory resolution for all three characters. Despite my doubts regarding the age gap, the sexual depictions between young Utsugi and middle aged Yashiro and Okzuzono turned out to be extremely hot as they were gorgeously drawn, especially Okuzono; so for those that might have the same apprehension as I did, I would urge you to put your fears to the side and give the manga a chance as I feel confident you will find it as compelling as I did. The rest of the separate stories vary in their pathos; however, the last story, also about a love triangle, was especially poignant and had me gushing in tears. In conclusion, this unassuming manga turned out to be for me a real surprise and I consider it to be one of those yaoi mangas that transcends its genre. I wholeheartedly recommend it. This is a solid one from Psyche Delico!
Blood Bank