muse ✨'s manga / #happy ending(12)

A year after his boyfriend's death, high school student Kou meets Saki, a younger student who happens to resemble Kou's deceased boyfriend, but has nothing like his personality. Misumi was two-timing Kou with a girl from another school and he harbors anger in addition to the love he still feels. Kou and Saki gradually fall in love, but when Misumi's diary surfaces, Saki is afraid of being his replacement.

A photographer and a rep from an advertising company who have known each other for a long time finally start dating. There's very little drama involved in their relationship, mostly ghosts from the past. This is a nice story and didn't make me cry except for the New York flashback.

Two sets of childhood friends reunite five years later.

On their graduation day ten years ago, Takashi confessed to Hayate, a fellow club member, who was kind but firm with his rejection. But when Takashi started to cry, Hayate promised to celebrate his birthday with him every year until Takashi found someone to love. Ten years later and still in love, Takashi lies to Hayate about having a lover in order to end what has become a masochistic ritual, which forces Hayate to make a decision about how he really feels for Takashi. The bulk of this story happens after Hayate decides that, in spite of his preference for women, he loves and wants to be intimate with Takashi. Although other comments mention having an issue with how long this took for Hayate to accept, to the point of it being cruel to Takashi, I found it relatable. Hayate never met with him to be cruel, and I don't think he had any idea he'd caused Takashi to suffer. He was trying to be a supportive friend. After they get together, he is devoted to Takashi and their relationship, and prepared to live it openly. I found this surprisingly happy and sweet. Also: They have REALLY NICE AND SUPPORTIVE FRIENDS FROM HS! <3

A gay man falls in love with his company president's son, but when the president learns of their relationship, he undermines it, coaxing his son into an arranged marriage. A realistic, mature love story that ends well and happily, with incredibly touching moments - both happy and sad. I cried quite a bit, but the conclusion has me smiling. This is JUST as lovely and touching on re-read and they buy a car! ETA: I bought the manga since I've re-read it so many times.

A retired boxer falls for a mysterious bartender named Aoi. A moving and heartwarming story about the flaws in our memories and moving on from the past without erasing it.

I don't know how I feel about this story. I understand it from the dad's point-of-view to a degree. He had no idea of the actual identity of the person he fell in love with when he was 15, and he has stayed in love with the idea of that person for 22 years. But the son always knew the identity of the person he was with, and he was a few years older at the time because of the time travel so his seduction of the 15 year old felt off. I don't know anyone who would seduce a younger version of their parent; most people would be horrified by the idea. It says a lot about this person's character that he did not. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the writer developed the story enough in order for me to understand why the bond this person wanted so desperately with his father turned into romance within just a couple of weeks. I would've liked more development there. Maybe the son had come to believe he was delusional, that the future he thought he'd come from didn't exist, or that there was no way home. My true wish is that they'd both been using false names, and that neither of them had known. Putting all of that aside and returning to the present where they're in love, this was a story about two people who had once been together for a brief time and found an immense joy and happiness with each other. After they are reunited and their identities are clear, there is a three year gap. They are both unhappy without the other. They make the decision to live together as lovers knowing the relationship can never be revealed beyond the two of them. I wonder if the intention of the story was to explore whether love could be fulfilling if that love can never be revealed to a third person. Is it enough that they live together and have a life together in private? I do not feel this was written in support of this sort of relationship. I think the author chose this taboo subject specifically because it is so taboo. It's the ultimate taboo, isn't it? I think she chose it to force it to stay completely private. There is no one they could confide in. The only option they would have is to move somewhere no one knew either one of them, and hope that because of their different names and the fact that they do not resemble one another closely, they will never be mistaken for father and son. This would have been just as effective as a time travel story without the romance — a chance for a man to get to know his father, and a chance for them to then have a relationship as equals when he returns, minus the sexual content. I would have actually liked to read that.

After the sudden death of his lover, a man commits suicide only to wake 250 years later to an android who looks like the man he'd loved. I cried my eyes out, but this is not tragic. It's bittersweet but with a very happy ending. There are two small chapters after the end to make things lighter. Also I love the little square robot.

A multi-generational story of a family cursed to use a power that causes them physical harm, and the paper dolls - kami - who take on their pain. In good yaoi fashion, that means having a lot of sex. Also the puppets are made from human remains (for future generations, the remains of their own family.) Isn't yaoi fun. Among the stories, there were three I liked best: Genma and Himi (beware dub and noncon in their early days), Waki and Magane (because of the emotional challenge of being in love with someone who is bound to someone else), and Shoui and Asari. Theirs was, hands down, the best of the stories. The twins are awful. I skipped them on re-read. ETA: Considering I can't get this out of my head, adding it to the top 100 list. 4/25/20 - Still think about this a lot. Added a star. Skipped the twins again. They serve zero purpose and ruin so many poignant moments.