muse ✨'s manga / #actual women characters(10)

A serial adulterer who blames all of his problems on other people is reunited with a man who has been in love with him since college, but even though he's loved completely by this person, he continues to search for something else, insistent that he can't be happy with another man. Frustrating at times but really interesting and engaging. I don't LIKE the characters as people per se, but I like this story.

When their best childhood friend leaves her baby with them to work overseas, two guys who have been together for years but have never made a commitment to each other shuffle their lives around to care for her. Things that are amazing about this: - Established, realistic, loving relationship - Lots of women characters! Amazing women characters! Who don't die! They have careers and ambitions and speak their minds - A child with agency who also speaks her mind! - Sweet as hell proposal and engagement party - Supportive parents - Realizing that you are family when you say you are; you don't need it on paper. But it's great to be able to have it on paper, too.

Unrequited love between childhood friends. A playboy and the quiet boy at school who sweeps the courtyard.

This is long, so it's good for a cold day or spaced across a week. Childhood friends grow into something more over a period of years. Great female best friend character as well.

A lonely man takes in a man without a home to return to, and over half a year, they fall in love. Gentle, subtle, and incredibly moving. Childhood friends start dating and have jealousy issues (and very long bangs).

Mark me down as a fan of Scarlet Beriko! Best friends wander into murky territory when Masayuki discovers that Kei's legs look good in pantyhose. Their mutual friend Katsumi is in a relationship with the school doctor (lookalike to the tailor in my favorite story by this same author). Scarlet has a way of drawing you into the character's emotions. Her work is wonderfully sensual and moving, and the relationships feel genuine and deep. I laughed out loud and scared the dogs when Katsumi sent a picture of sensei post-sex. Scarlet reverses the genre's stereotypes about who plays what role in the bedroom and I love it. If she ever goes team switch, I'll die.

Hana, a naive BL fanatic, moves to Tokyo with his hopes set on finding a boyfriend and living a perfect manga life. He meets a great guy but soon comes to realize that reality is often nothing like fantasy. Laugh-out-loud funny and embarrassing.

Realizing he's gay, Shun walks out on his own wedding and flees to the island where his grandmother lives to escape his family. There, with the excuse of writing books, he befriends Mio, a boy who has lost his family. Before Mio is sent to an orphanage, he kisses Shun, promising to return. When he does three years later, Shun is conflicted, remembering his own family's reaction to him coming out, but they ultimately make future choices together. It deals with isolation, loneliness, and living honestly. Some other commenters complained that this seemed randomly thrown together. I disagree, although the transitions could have been clearer. There were a few times I had to stop and say, "Oh, we've jumped ahead in time," but the story itself doesn't bother me: Boy moves to island, boy meets other boy, other boy leaves island, other boy comes home and confesses his love three years later, they dance around each other, former fiancee makes boy confront reality, boys affirm their love, boys leave the island together.

The prequel to the one about the couple who takes care of their best friend’s baby. This hit all of the right emotional buttons. I loved it. and we got to see more of the teacher who will eventually be the father of Tomoe’s baby.

Three friends - two boys and a girl - have been friends since childhood. You can guess which two (eventually) hook up. Kudos to this story for a charming, lovely female character. She is precious and I Love Her.