muse ✨'s manga / #mature characters(69)

A series of oneshots from Scarlet Beriko. They all move pretty quickly but the art is pretty. The fourth chapter has two 37yo characters.

A 40-something owner of a sandal shop who has pretty much given up on love finds it in his new assistant, a high school student who shares a last name with the sempai he’d once loved.

A 31-year-old discovers a 19-year-old sleeping outside on Christmas and gives him a place to stay. I like other works by this author but something about this isn’t clicking with me. I got bored by the third chapter and dropped it. ETA December 2021: Gave this a second shot and made it through to the end. I never did care about the main couple, but the second couple in the house had a touching backstory. I raised this to three stars because of them. If the story head focused on the two of them running away with each other, with the others as a backdrop, I think I would’ve preferred it more. There was no emotional build on the main couple. We were told they liked each other, but I never really saw it, and the ex being brought in was too quick.

Every week, Satoya meets up with an older man he knows only as 'Kio' whom he met through a dating app. They eat gelato and have sex, but Kio never stays the night and they know nothing about each other. Six months in, they begin to eat together and talk more, and the sex becomes more intense. Kio stays over - heralding a change in their relationship - but then he disappears, and Satoya has no way to contact him. He never even knew his name. Will Kio come back into his life? Of course, this is BL manga. There's a happy ending. This is sweet and I understand the sequel is available on Renta. I'm going to check it out. My only advice for the couple would be...just talk about things openly. Radio silence isn't helpful. September 2020 ETA: The sequel was added! Naoki is now 30+! The new chapters are another volume of domestic bliss.

The story of Danny’s older brother Gene after he left the Amish community and found love with a lawyer in New York City. In the present timeline, Gene does not appear to be living with him any longer, and I worry this may be a sad ending. Waiting on the second volume. Because this takes place in the 1970s in the United States, it contains period-typical homophobia. It also features 2020s United States grocery pricing.

The sequel to Koi ga Ochitara. established relationship, domestic bliss! A little bit of communication issues but everything works out well. I would love to know about the other couple.

Oh my god they were roommates! A well-meaning, meddling friend matchmakes a troubled 20-something and a 38-year-old divorcee. The matchmaker is also 38 and has his own spinoff called Engage.

Naru’s spin off from Love Nest. This is not going to sit well with some people but I'm enjoying it. Naru was my favorite character in Love Nest. If you don't like him, you probably won't like this. This is an AU of the Cowherd and the Weaver, the story from the Tanabata Festival which is central to the work. Two lovers are fated to only meet one day a year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cowherd_and_the_Weaver_Girl - Naru and Mei are technically uncle and nephew, although they are not biologically related. Mei's father's was Naru's much older step-brother; Naru was the child from his mother's first marriage. Naru was registered into the Naruse family and considered Matochika his brother. Mei has never been registered into the Naruse family, however, and very few people know he is Matochika's child. - They are 38 and 21 - Naru has seen Mei only a handful of times since he was a child, of his own design. He had not intended to see him at all until Mei was an adult, but Mei had behavioral issues and seeing Naru once a year worked as motivation for him to behave. - He probably saw him as a baby, but for Yui & Mei's sake he likely kept a firm distance so that no one suspected Mei was his brother's kid. Mei has no memory of meeting Naru before he was five years old, and that meeting was not on purpose. - Naru remains an enigma. We know next to nothing about him personally by the end of volume 2, except for a fear of praying mantises. - Naru is manipulative, which we know from Love Nest. He isn't necessarily cruel-intentioned but he manipulates people. - Sometimes I'm not sure if Naru realizes that he's flirting. He uses flirtation with everyone, including Mei -- even when he's trying to keep an emotional distance. It might be a defense mechanism. If he DOES realize that he's flirting, then he's leading Mei on. If he doesn't realize, I give him a pass. - I expect that Naru’s other relationships will end by the close of the series. Mei has already said he can only imagine himself being with one person, so I think Naru would honor that. Naru obviously doesn’t share that belief, so I’m optimistic the series won’t slam poly relationships as a stepping stone. - I don’t get the sense that Naru was in love with his own brother, although it's possible. I think he admired him and appreciated having someone in his life who actually cared about him. If he did have a crush, he was a little kid crushing on an adult man he was not related to by blood (and growing with that crush). It’s the same situation Mei is in now - Naru is reluctant to return Mei's feelings. Beyond the age gap and sense of responsibility re: Mei's feelings, I imagine he worries about betraying his brother. If his brother were alive, Naru/Mei would not be happening. It can only happen because of the 16 years separation that allowed Mei to grow up without any family connection to Naru. If they stay together, they will have to navigate this technical relationship for the rest of their lives. - Naru's feelings for Mei are very, very strong and very confused, but he seems to be tipping over into being in love by the end of Volume 2 - I know he’s not going to because this author is absolutely predictable with the seme/uke art styles, but Naru face down on a mattress is a lost opportunity. Let Mei top! - I believe Naru is being honest when he says that Mei is his treasure. I don’t believe he means him any harm. I think he fully intended to be an uncle to him and cherish him in place of his parents. - Asahi and Masoto are on board with Mei's feelings for Naru - Mei’s adopted parents don’t seem surprised about his feelings for Naru or even opposed to them. Of everyone in the story, they should be the most skeptical of his motivations. They may be avatars for the writer's opinions to justify the setup, but within the universe it tells me they don't perceive any threat from him. - Naru is definitely worried about *something* happening in the near future with the Naruse family, and has made arrangements for other people to take care of Mei in his stead