Hoshi to Kuzu - Don't Worry, Be Happy
Both leads are ambitious and seem to like each other equally. I think what’s particularly interesting about this one is that the male lead is clearly interested her early on in the story, and expresses those feelings in a cute manner (clearly blushing as opposed to slightly red ears or adamant denials). It is also interesting that both characters acknowledge feelings for the other person early on, the female lead explicitly stating her feelings (as the manga is from her perspective). What’s nice is that she also doesn’t turn into a sap because of this acknowledgment — she still thinks he’s petty sometimes and teases him. That is true of the male lead as well, though we haven’t really seen him talking about his feelings to someone, since the manga is not from his perspective.
Sore Demo Suki Desu Kasahara-san
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
Sorenari ni Shinken nandesu