stressedpenguin's manga / #over 30 club(7)

7/10. it was good but minus points cuz the ending was so unsatisfying. it feels like nothing get resolved.

Guy happens to see a very skeletal looking salaryman on the shinkansen one day and cant stop observing him. By chance they start talking and bond over horse racing. It's a slow story. Everything is revealed through Tohru's internal thoughts and his conversations with his friends and with Makoto. These two create a safe space together. The story has a strong atmosphere and sense of direction. Makoto crying because he's so overwhelmed that Tohru would cry for his sake is incredibly touching. There's so much about this that I love; I just cant express it well. I was rooting for Makoto to quit his job but I'm actually happier that it seems his power harassing boss has actually improved. Rather than running away, i love the aubtle message that these situations CAN improve and that we should aim to improve them. It gives me a bit of hope. (But also I'm all for starving out companies that dont treat their employees right bc we cant all afford to play the long game.) 9/10. This is a masterfully crafted story.

Adorable lil story about a cop and his unrequited love from years ago. No drama, just domestic fluff. It's very wholesome but i was also just not invested in them at all, despite my best efforts 6/10 It's good I just wasnt into it

Huh. Okay I didn't really feel much while reading this one. The seme confessing was almost a surprise for me. Uke gave me almost aro / ace vibes with his complete lack of interest in the romantic part of the date and general not understanding romance, but that's just me projecting. The seme put a lot of effort into their relationship, but the uke barely reciprocated at all. Everything was for research. Yknow... it's kinda bugging me know. He barely seemed to think about the seme at all ever, even when they split up. He seemed so lonely but part of me wonders of a romantic relationship was the answer, or if he was just lacking in close friends outside his brother. Like, when the seme finds him alone and he finally starts reciprocating the seme's feelings, I didn't feel like he was actually in love. It almost felt more like... he was relieved someone was thinking about him, romantically or not. In the end, their relationship still felt one sided to me. So I wound up feeling kinda.. empty when I finished this. Idk. Not sure how to rate this one. I feel so conflicted about it. Hmm 4/10? 8/10?

Very fluffy, wholesome story with lots of food and a liiiiiiitle bit of angst. I'm really happy Ishida gets to explore his own interests and discovers the right path for himself. That age gap was kinda hanging over my head the whole time. They're both adults and aren't so different in terms of where they are in life, so it wasn't wildly uncomfortable. That said, I'm just not into massive age gaps. 7/10

I literally do not have the tags to describe this one, it does a lot of things different from the usual. The manga follows these two lovers from when the meet in high school, through the struggles of college, and the struggles of adulthood beyond adulthood, and it's very sweet and painful. I loved how whimsical their meeting was, both walking the painted line, conjuring the danger waiting if they fell to either side. I love the lil tango(?) they do to get around it. It made me so happy!! You watch their romantic relationship build and then fall apart as harsh reality and their own insecurities catch up with them. And when they find each other again, it almost hurts as much as it heals. And then you watch them grow old and we return to that painted line on the street and we follow that to the end of the story and their lives. Rarely do you see a story that ends when the characters lives end outside of a tragedy. I'm really happy to have read this. Wow. This story gets just poetic enough that it brought out my own poetic side that hasn't seen the light of day since high school, I've gotta give this a 9/10

The fact that they had this miscommunication for so long drove me nuts and even when they met, it just felt clumsy. Mm. 5/10