muse ✨'s manga / #purchased(61)

Another melancholic, beautiful story by Asou Mitsuaki. A bartender struggling to overcome the abuse and trauma he faced from parents and a teacher connects with a distant relative who is determined to treat him well. This doesn't hold the emotional power of Only You, Only or Season, but it was moving and I liked it. I cried right at the end. I think if I had read this a little more slowly, over coffee, I would like it quite a lot. ETA June 2020: I reread this with tea across a couple hours during the rain, and gave it full stars. This is beautiful.

A year out from a failed relationship, a lonely tailor is mistaken as someone intending to commit suicide and stopped on the platform by a high school student. That encounter changes his perspective, and he grows closer with his boss, whom he ends up falling in love with. Heartwarming and looks to be traditionally drawn in ink.

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.

A carefree son is summoned home after dad gets wind of his grades. He falls for his servant, who has crushed on him for ages. His dad's story: Twenty years after brothers-in-law-to-be fell in love and risked a forbidden affair, they have a chance to be together. Too short, but I would read a hundred chapters about the dad. Both story lines are entertaining, but the dad's -- finally being with the person you've loved for two decades -- really touched me. Honestly, I reread the dad's three chapters probably once a month. That's why this gets five stars. It really resonated, despite not being long or developed. I'd write a novel based on the concept of waiting twenty years to be with the person you loved.

I just gained ten years on my life after reading this. After he's dumped in the street, a man sits on a bench to cry and is startled when a pair of underwear falls on him from the apartment above. It belongs to an older man, recently divorced, who effortlessly inserts himself into his life. Gentle, sweet, hopeful, mature, no pain. This is a lovely story.

I AM CLEANSED! Naohito, single and pushing 40, is forced to attend a mixer where he meets Tohru, who is friendly, young, and speaks his mind - sometimes a little too much for Naohito, whose obsession with maintaining a perfect public image has cost him all but one relationship. When Tohru suggests being friends, Naohito sidesteps it, assuming they'll never meet again. But Tohru turns out to be an employee of an important client, so when his apartment burns down and he begs for a place to stay, Naohito reluctantly takes him in. This is about being honest with people you're close to and opening yourself up to new possibilities.

Chapters 1-3: High schooler Haato feels a bond with his abusive mother's former lover Shibusawa, a member of the yakuza and the only person to have shown him kindness. Years later, Haato is working as a host and is openly in love with Shibusawa, who toes the line of a relationship but never crosses it until Haato loses someone close to him. The last story is about two coworkers: a man confesses to a coworker he sees feeding stray cats outside their building. ETA June 2020: After rereading the first story for the billionth time, I bought the manga. Hisashi does marry, but his husband dies post-story. We pick him back up here when he is 39 (chapter 5): https://www.mangago.me/read-manga/akanai_tobira/ July 2021: this might be the story I’ve read the most. Even more than the one about the hot dad who gets back together with his boyfriend after 20 years. Something about this makes me feel so sad and so moved. I wish there were more than just three chapters. I would love to know more about their daily life after they lived together.

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

Azuma, the teenaged son of a deceased kimono maker, falls for the mysterious Matsuoka--a man who insists on caring for Azuma and his sickly mother, saying he is only paying back a kindness. As he falls in love, Azuma grows jealous of his father's memory, believing that he was Matsuoka's savior, but his eyes are opened in more than one way when he visits Matsuoka in Tokyo. Original notes: A beautiful story. Matsuoka seeks to repay the kindness of the only person who ever treated him as human, the young son of a former employer. This author is spectacular.

Kohei is hearing impaired and isolated as a result. People mistake his silence as elitism, so he's left out of activities and feels like he's bothering people if he asks them to repeat what they've said. But one day, a loud, carefree boy named Taiichi falls onto the roof where he's eating his lunch and befriends him. This is a really gentle and lovely story about first love, but it's more about friendship and trying to understand and bridge differences between us. ETA: All volumes of this manga are licensed in English