muse ✨'s manga / #tw noncon(37)

A conceited host is cut by a customer and has to live with his scars. Luckily, the bodyguard from the club likes him anyway. A host and the guy who hazed him reunite a few years later and realize that, in spite of the bad beginning, they're a good fit. A 40yo divorced man falls for his young housekeeper.

Oof. This was interesting and I couldn't stop reading it, but this is NOT a story that's going to improve the day. It wasn't intended to, though. I had no sense that the author believed this is healthy, just interesting, which is fine by me. The plot: Teenaged Naoki becomes obsessed with the doctor who treats his asthma, drugging his alcohol to sleep with him and later chasing him to America when the doctor moves for research. Even though they're together, Naoki doesn't trust the doctor not to leave him. After an afternoon Christmas shopping with a friend's help, the doctor returns home only to be accused of cheating and pretty brutally raped. (He's shown with blood streaming down his thighs.) Even so, he forgives Naoki and stays in the relationship when they move back to Japan, though he distances himself a bit. When Naoki's father demands they break things off, the doctor agrees, which nearly kills both of them. Naoki attempts suicide in the hospital and suffers a severe asthma attack. His father relents, realizing he's made a mistake in separating them, but the damage is done. The doctor moves onto the same floor as Naoki to keep an eye on him, which only fuels Naoki's ire. Things come to a head when Michael, the friend from America, visits and Naoki resumes his accusation that the doctor was once unfaithful to him. Believing things are truly over, the doctor accepts a marriage interview, only to have Naoki show up at the hotel, finally having heard the truth about the doctor from his father. Things end on a happy note, and maybe they'll be better off when Naoki is a little older, but this was pretty much a roadmap of Things Not To Do In A Relationship. The "jazz" theme was used sparingly and maybe made more sense in the original manuscript the mangaka worked from. The concept of dreams vs. reality was used a lot more, and Buddhism played a role in many parts. There was even a nice slam against the homophobia some Christians have that made me cheer a little.

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.

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 soul bond unites an unlikely pair who have to navigate a future together. Spinoff about the much more interesting couple from Pendulum. Normally enemies-to-lovers isn't my thing, but this features INSTANT SOUL BOND and FALLING IN LOVE WHILE BEING GROUCHY, which kinda is. There's a spinoff about their kids which is cute as heck.

Omegaverse-like world where people emit pheromones others can't resist. Also features one couple mutually obsessed with each other.

Three stars for the second story only, a businessman and a guy in a book store. In the others, the pace moved too quickly to get invested.

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.