ArtemisFowl's manga / #emotional depth(73)

Second-year high schooler Hayakawa ends up running into 'Mad-dog' third year Shima. Shima ends up stopping by this kid's classroom and (after a long relationship of him just eating the Hayakawa's sweets) asks him how to make some of the sweets. Slowly but surely, they fall for each other. Side note: you know, one of the few manga that I've gotten my guess on who the seme and the uke is wrong (that's how typical and one-dimensionally sexist that most yaoi mangas are...(I can guess by the way most power dynamics are typically socialized/revered)) ~Chapter 5.5

A boy and his high school teacher get into shenanigans because of past and present ties to the teacher's yakuza history -- that history being that the teacher is heir to her yakuza syndicate's throne. Because of this interesting upbringing, the teacher is well suited to this school of delinquents, whether the students initially know it or not. Boy, are they in for a surprise... ~Chapter 'Gokusen Halloween Special'

It was very “lust at first sight”, with a sort of immediate attraction towards the other for both characters. I actually really liked it though. It had none of the cheese that I’m used to with instant attraction. The tension felt real (despite the fantasy-like element of jumping into bed so quickly. But hey, who knows? Maybe it’s not as unrealistic as people would think ;P) Edit (after I read the whole thing): Very cute! I loved the amount respect and patience they had for each other. There weren’t any silly miscommunications; Wujin and Jin were willing to wait for each other and truly listen to the other person. For instance, when Jin finds out about Wujin’s past, he doesn’t jump to conclusions. Instead, he is open to listening to Wujin’s side of the story without having already made up his mind from the information he heard from his friend. It could have easily turned into a drama fest with a less skilled author. I might add that this manga, unlike many other mangas I’ve read, portrays a truly healthy relationship. The healthiness of their relationship has nothing to do their lack of fighting, so much as their willingness to listen to, respect, and be patient with the other person, while growing because of their interactions with the other person. They were both willing to lean on each other and have the other person lean on them without the relationship turning co-dependent.

Wow, wow, wow! This manga blew me away. Two patrons at a bar become friends, one a straight-laced alpha who doesn't believe he's better than everyone else (and is constrained by the pressure of expected perfection at work). His drinking buddy hears him out, and in the first chapter they end up in bed, with the seme super out of it and the uke (an omega) just wanting to be impregnated so that he can have stability. Things do not go according to plan for the uke, and the seme stops anything from happening once he comes to. The next day, the seme goes to work and realizes that his drinking buddy happens to be a coworker in a different department -- who pursues him with the same relentlessness he showed the night of their almost-consumation. Easily could have been trite, but the author managed to spin gold with the dynamics and the complexities of their pasts. An exploration of depth, tenderness, and what it takes to love another fully. ~Chapter 6.5

Truly a compilation of stories concerning characters who are generous and kind and nonjudgmental, traits society rarely spotlights but are worth more than their weight in gold.

It explored the nuance and pain of a situation like that, although the ending (not the fact that they end up together or that there was relatively little drama, but rather the fact that parts of the dialogue at the end were cutesy) wasn’t keeping in tone with the nuance of the situation.

Kuroi-kun (yakuza extraordinaire) and his best on-and-off-again professed lover/friend Shirakaba (straight-rules lawyer) are running in circles around each other with Kuroi closing his ears as Shirakaba continues to confess his love to his gokudo crush (for more than 20 years). Kuroi also loves Shirakaba but doesn't want him to get involved with the yakuza, but Shirakaba does so anyway by becoming the family's lawyer (which Kuroi tries to protest by the silent treatment). Will this 30-year old love between these 37-year-olds finally be requited? ~Vol. 2, Chapter 1 (Chapter 6)

So much depth and nuance in all of the characters, and manages to balance lighthearted elements of the plot with more serious and complex ones. My favorite chapter is probably the switch-around, where the author reimagines Snow as a dragon and Tungsten as a human that becomes King. It is such an accurate and well-thought out version of what would happen in that scenario. It just speaks to the level of depth the writer brought to this concept, how pain can sometimes intermix with love. Props to the author for this masterwork. I hope s/he continues to write. 5/5 stars ~ Chapter (I'm not sure) 53-58