muse ✨'s manga / #purchased(61)

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.

This is a lovely read on a rainy day, which is how the story starts: a man running away from debt left to him by his former lover is caught in a typhoon and taken in by Ren, who is hiding from his former life in a tea shop that no one will visit. The art really plays up the contrast of light and dark. Often the characters are portrayed on white backgrounds, and other times the backgrounds are fully detailed and inked. It has a wonderful hand-drawn quality that really appealed to me. (I left this same review on June Manga's website)

A lonely young office worker is befriended by a child who steals his rice ball, and his older brother - Minoru - who asks him to teach him how to make them. The single father is their widowed dad; I didn't want to use a different tag for this. It's so heartwarming and sweet.

Two stories: As a child, Natsuki saw a gay couple on the beach, and it was his sole notice of them that made him realize he was different. Years later, he returns to the beach with his boyfriend. (There are more chapters about their love, how they met, and a beautiful rainy day at home.) Their story continues in the book Kare No Barairo No Jinsei. The second story is about a man who, fearing the end of the world, reconnects with a classmate he has admired for ten years. Their story is ambiguous, but I believe they will end up together. Some speculated they were the couple Natsuki had seen on the beach, but since their story takes place in 2012, I don't think it's possible given the timeframe and Natsuki's age.

A happy, gentle story about two college students who fall in love. The one with curry club. This is the sequel to Ringo ni Hachimitsu.

Read for the first story: After revealing his sexuality in an attempt to become closer to his wife, a 40-something man is left to raise his young daughter alone. Lucky for him, his boss thinks he's pretty cute. The second story is an interesting concept. What would happen if a trans girl fell in love with someone who is only attracted to men? The author had her very quickly decide that she would live as a man so she could be with the person she loved. I found that troubling. You don't become someone else for the sake of a partner. However, in the next chapter (which is not on Mangago yet), he bought her a pair of earrings he knew she loved, and he agreed to top, which was something she'd been too afraid to ask for initially. So maybe they can come to a solution where she can be her authentic self, and they can still be together. The third story: A traveler from Japan meets a man named Bird about to jump off of a cliff.

A candy store owner and a doctor enter into a relationship with little drama (and what there is is understandable), lots of mutual affection, a slow and realistic emotional build, passable communication (they try), FABULOUS sex, frank discussions *about* sex, a refreshing and honest attitude about their future, and they even have friendly relationships with their exes. Also features the cutest little girl ever. Have I died? Is this Heaven? This story is set in the same universe as the one with the hot priest, who shows up in this a few times.

An untalented man who chose to study art on a whim to redefine his past becomes obsessed with the impressive work of a fellow student, the deeply introverted Yukari. He and Yukari grow close after an incident on the train, and he comes to understand that Yukari's neuroses may have to do with his famous father's parenting. When Yukari is attacked during an art theft, Kurose's past surfaces when he has to fight (and nearly kill) the assailants. But the point of the story is that the past is defined by the future. Using his fighting skills to save the person he loved redefines Kurose's earlier life. And Yukari's past made him into the artist he is. In the very last panel, we see his notebook scattered across the bed, indicating that he's working again. But also sleeping and eating, since he appears to live with Kurose now, who -- unlike Yukari's own father -- actually wants to take care of him. What appears to be an earlier work by Eigyou Nika's author, Kanai Kei.

After his ex's harassment caused him to quit a promising job, Shima finds work at a smaller company and becomes interested in his manager...who is equally interested in him. I saw the movie first and tracked down the manga. I adore the movie adaptation, but I like the inner thoughts we get in the manga that couldn't be in the film. Shima is a lot sassier on paper.

This is the spinoff of "Doushitemo Furetakunei." It follows Onoda and his friend at TAG who'd known about Shima's situation. Deguchi and Onoda have been friends for three years, but Onoda doesn't know that Deguchi - a charasmatic, 31yo salesman - is gay, or that he's harbored feelings for Onoda since they met. When Onoda admits his feelings for Shima, Deguchi seizes the opportunity, only to be rejected - because Onoda thinks he's kidding. But when Onoda realizes Deguchi is serious, he asks for time to consider how he feels. This story is great because of the characters - Deguchi is interesting and layered, and Onoda is sweet and open-minded - but also because it touches on the fact that people don't always fall in love at the same rate, and that feelings are messy. Onoda juggles residual feelings for Shima while trying to sort through his feelings for Deguchi. The story is hopeful and always cheers me up. I tracked down and bought the licensed manga from June and have read it more times than I can count, though I prefer a few of the translations in this version. Also: The book contains two additional pages before the bathtub scene, which I read were included in the book release. Also also: Although Deguchi never appears in Doushitemo, if you watch the movie, he's in a few scenes, including at the bar with Onoda! Live action OTP!