stressedpenguin's manga / #9/10(30)

this is my favorite mangaka. this is the manga with the two boys whose names both mean eight. 9/10

two friends who've always been in the same class suddenly get split up. Kai and Ren sometimes play act BL scenes but to Kai, it's no longer a joke. Furuya-sensei's works always have this grounded atmosphere to them and this one is no exception. I absolutely love it. has got that "don't wanna confess and ruin what we have" plot :D

ML actually has insecurities despite being an arrogant prick. Female protagonist who isn't undermined by being sexy. solid 8 or 9 out of 10

this one has a kinda sorrowful, lonely vibe to it, so it's super comforting when the two move in together. very atmospheric. 9/10

this is how you do healthy, kinky relationships. 9/10

Second story really got me man, all the tropes I love to death. First story (1-3): two friends watch porn together, get horny, and jack off together and it becomes a habit. they figure out they like each other Second story (4-7): gay hs kid (uke) is in love with his best friend and is jealous best friend (seme) is in love with this girl. uke finds out the girl likes seme and confesses, but he backtracks by pretending he's passing on a confession from the girl seme likes. seme can't stop thinking about uke's confession and after much good angst they get together. 9/10 for me

Kid is working hard at a job to buy smth for his bf only to find out his bf is cheating. Falls in love with the cool manager dude at work. Also motorcycles! Cute, slow burn kinda story. I'm changing my rating after a reread. The sense of passing time is incredible. The story and characters feel very real. The ins and outa of the jobs he works are shown and I love the scene when kipper reveals he bought a bike too. The impact was so sweet. Final verdict: 9/10

Ahhhhhh that was satisfying. Uke had a one night stand with a restaurant owner, starts working and living at the restaurant and the one night stand continues. The relationship is cute and the characters are pretty honest with their feelings and kiyo-san is a fantastic grandpa figure 9/10

B R U H this was so good. The smut was 10/10. The relationship was healthy and consensual. Most of the side stories were solid too. I loved all the characters. Only thing I'd change is the uke is too perfect. Like the seme kinda seems really lame comparatively since they have the same skill sets. The relationship feels a bit unbalanced sometimes and it's never really fixed. So 9.5/10

The emotions are strong with this. Watching these two guys in their, what, 30s or 40s? Watching them grapple with feeling empty and lonely even as they live life as if nothing's wrong, watching them just want *someone* to grow old with, that "social security", its heartbreaking. And then as they discover what it's like to be together, it's so healing. The story is called "I'm Doomed if It's Not You" but it doesnt feel like they're all isolated like a lot of other romance. They have friends and lives outside of each other, but they're each others lifelines. It's a relationship that feels like... less rose-tinted romance and more... just people getting together? Idk how to explain This is a strong contender for favorite romance manga. 9/10, it's so close but my 10s are strict