muse ✨'s manga / #age gap(107)

A chemistry teacher, Jinno, moves into the apartment next to a former student who had often talked to him after school and once said he liked him. Jinno asks him to have dinner so they can catch up, and since they both live alone and Morimoto enjoys cooking, he suggests they eat together sometimes. Their relationship grows sweetly domestic: they have dinner and sometimes lunch together, help each other with household tasks, and go clothes shopping. Jinno likens their relationship to dating and has no fear of that, slowly becoming aware of his own feelings and attraction, which he suspects are mutual. There is no relationship drama in this. Jinno works up the courage to ask Morimoto out and realizes that Morimoto had actually confessed to him in high school. They start dating and get a happy ending. A nice read on a sad day.

Sawamoto, a withdrawn delinquent, finds himself falling in love with the chemistry teacher he sometimes smokes with. Their good relationship only fuels his crush, which he can't seem to move past. His desperation leads him to drunkenly confess, making things between them awkward. Sensei distances himself, and Sawamoto falls into depression. Some time later, Sensei, having been made aware of Sawamoto's condition by a well-meaning friend, stops dismissing his feelings while still rejecting his advances, and eventually stops that too. We check in on them in a few years to find them still together and at the point in their relationship where they can argue and resolve things like adults. It bodes well. A surprising take on the teacher/student trope. This had none of the coercion or blackmail you often see. It had a mature, realistic built and tone. I really loved it.

Minase, a young actor, is frustrated that he can't get close to the stunt man he admires and ends up following him to a gay bar. Their sex friends relationship is temporarily satisfying, but after Minase saves him from a work accident, Imagi calls things off for the sake of Minase's career.

Well this was a collection. I liked the first story only, a student who doesn't have money for food and steals rice, passing out in the street. He ends up with the shop's owner, who is also his landlord. Tagging for noncon for at least two and domestic violence in pretty much all of them.

This was really nice! An aging Japanese actor is flown to Monte Carlo for a role in a film where he plays the older lover to a young French actor. A oneshot, surprisingly moving.

Art evolution! This begins old-school and evolves into the artist's current style. Two main stories: A boy mistaken for a call boy sleeps with the man who picks him up, Takamiya, and eventually they end up in a relationship that feels one-sided until the end. The better story: Aoe, Takamiya's friend and the owner of the call boy club, falls for Naoya, a high schooler he takes in. Their love story was really sweet all the way to the end. Also included: Aoe's brother Kiichi's love story with his bodyguard/long-time companion. Also also included: Takamiya's past with his uncle, who fell for Aoe before he died. This was a ride.

A year out from his divorce, Uematsu, a 40-something overworked businessman, frequents a gyudon restaurant and is befriended by the young waiter, Asahikawa. Something about him puts Uematsu at ease, so despite their age difference and his uncertain feelings, he accepts when Asahikawa asks him out. But when his estranged daughter comes back into his life, their blossoming relationship is put on hold. Luckily, these two aren't like the typical BL couple and work things out just fine. BUTTERFLIES. This was PG and I blushed.