muse ✨'s manga / #age gap(107)

Jimmy is headed down the wrong path in life when he is caught stealing a woman’s wallet on the train by a former cop, Reese, who is dealing with the trauma of his former partner’s murder. Set in New York City.

OH!!! This didn't go the way I worried it would, and I am so happy. This is a side story to Yukidoke no Koi. Several years after graduation, Oushirou still harbors feelings for his childhood friend Koba, who is moving to Tokyo for work and will live nearby. One afternoon Oushirou drops his wallet. It's picked up by a regular at the bar he frequents. After talking a while, the man - Inamura - offers his contact information and drops the fact that he's gay. He figures out that Oushirou is pining for Koba and offers to be a distraction. I worried this would be a situation where the childhood friend wises up and dates the main character, but it didn't play out that way. Koba and Oushirou remained dear friends, and Oushirou began a relationship with Inamura - moving in with him five years later. Content warning: There is a reference to one-sided love between brothers, but it is only spoken. We see nothing and nothing comes of it. I WOULD LIKE TO ADD! This is the FIRST! manga I've ever read where the characters have a frank, honest discussion about sex before they have sex. And then after sex, evaluate what happened, and one reassures the other that if bottoming isn't his thing, they'll work something out - that sex isn't everything. I've never seen that and it was totally refreshing and wonderful. Thank you to this author.

A butler and his young charge are kicked out of the family home until they have made ¥1 million. They end up as hosts and also in a relationship when the young master reveals he’s gay and has always been in love with Kaede.

A sex addict dates a guy at work. Two high school students fake date and one of them puts on a mating dance. This was a strange collection.

An otaku and newbie teacher falls for a student who turns out to be the younger brother of his favorite idol.

The lead member of an idol group falls for his former manager, who is reluctant to date him because of their age gap and positions at the company. When the idol decides to practice kissing for an upcoming movie role, he inadvertently confesses to his manager, who pushes him away for a little bit and then decides they can be together anyway. I love this author so I expected that this would have the same sort of emotional impact as my favorite of hers, which is about the two coworkers. Unfortunately this felt flat. I didn’t care about either character. I had zero investment in their relationship. The tension was manufactured around a slight age gap and the fact that one used to manage the other, but we didn’t really get to see much suffering during the brief time they were a part. They don’t seem to bring out anything great in one another. So while it was very pretty and it looked like the story I enjoyed by the same author, I would probably not read it again.

Sakuragi, an unsuccessful playwright suffering from insomnia, takes a vacation to clear his head and hooks up with a younger guy for the sake of something different. Three months later, he's annoyed when Imamura turns up at one of his plays, but a cold shoulder isn't enough to shake him. Inspired by Sakuragi's work, Imamura becomes an actor and quickly achieves the kind of success Sakuragi has only dreamed of, which puts pressure on an already tenuous relationship. Believable relationship stress. Believable frustration.

Oof. This was interesting and I couldn't stop reading it, but this is NOT a story that's going to improve the day. It wasn't intended to, though. I had no sense that the author believed this is healthy, just interesting, which is fine by me. The plot: Teenaged Naoki becomes obsessed with the doctor who treats his asthma, drugging his alcohol to sleep with him and later chasing him to America when the doctor moves for research. Even though they're together, Naoki doesn't trust the doctor not to leave him. After an afternoon Christmas shopping with a friend's help, the doctor returns home only to be accused of cheating and pretty brutally raped. (He's shown with blood streaming down his thighs.) Even so, he forgives Naoki and stays in the relationship when they move back to Japan, though he distances himself a bit. When Naoki's father demands they break things off, the doctor agrees, which nearly kills both of them. Naoki attempts suicide in the hospital and suffers a severe asthma attack. His father relents, realizing he's made a mistake in separating them, but the damage is done. The doctor moves onto the same floor as Naoki to keep an eye on him, which only fuels Naoki's ire. Things come to a head when Michael, the friend from America, visits and Naoki resumes his accusation that the doctor was once unfaithful to him. Believing things are truly over, the doctor accepts a marriage interview, only to have Naoki show up at the hotel, finally having heard the truth about the doctor from his father. Things end on a happy note, and maybe they'll be better off when Naoki is a little older, but this was pretty much a roadmap of Things Not To Do In A Relationship. The "jazz" theme was used sparingly and maybe made more sense in the original manuscript the mangaka worked from. The concept of dreams vs. reality was used a lot more, and Buddhism played a role in many parts. There was even a nice slam against the homophobia some Christians have that made me cheer a little.

College student Ryuuta returns to a restaurant summer job with the intent of finally saying goodbye to Nao, the owner he's loved one-sidedly for years. But he finds Nao newly single and heartbroken, having been suddenly left by Hana, his long-time girlfriend. Seeing his chance, Ryuuta confesses to him, but Nao isn't ready for a relationship and is stunned that someone he considers a brother is in love with him. They take things in stride, giving Nao time to heal and grow closer to Ryuuta, which he does in a gradual and believable way. The feelings for his ex linger, as feelings do, but this is mature and satisfying.