RoseMary's manga / #Catholic/Boarding School(36)

17 Volumes (Complete) [Baka-Updates] Serge Battour is the son of a French viscount and a Romani prostitute, and despite his kind nature and academic talent, is shunned by his family and his peers due to the color of his skin. He begins to attend Lacombrade Academy, his father's alma mater, in the hopes that there he will find a place to belong. Gilbert Cocteau is, like Serge, the orphaned son of a wealthy family, and is infamous at Lacombrade for his beautiful and delicate appearance, lack of dedication to schoolwork, and habit of prostituting himself to other students. He has no intention to connect with any of his classmates, instead devoting himself to his uncle Auguste. Due to a shortage of living space, Serge and Gilbert become roommates even though Gilbert's antisocial nature has in the past made it impossible for him to room with anybody. Serge, being sociable and idealistic, is determined to be friends with Gilbert; Gilbert is only interested in either being able to manipulate Serge or push him away entirely. To the surprise of both of the boys, however, the two eventually form a deep, albeit generally dismal, bond that leads to a romantic connection.

"I'll be just fine, no matter the contents. Because...I'm not alone anymore. This room is filled to the brim with happiness." - I think regarding Roger's growth, his evolution through the story, it was truly great! Ultimately that was the focus of the story - How thanks to Reno he was finally able to move forward and leave the past behind, how he finally found friendship and love - and that was so well-written. Having said that, while I really liked how it ended, just let me add that I think it needed an extra to be perfect! Because after resolving the whole situation, I admit in the end I wanted to see a scene of the couple's intimate time and well there was also the thing they talked about before about Roger going to visit Reno's house, so I think it would have been really nice to see that! But it's still a very good story anyway! # Foreign Setting and Foreign Characters Adapted from: Kami-sama no Ude no Naka - Both stories take place in the same setting.

️A masterpiece! A well-written emotional rollercoaster! I was so absorbed while reading and I was truly touched...a beautiful story! It's a timeless fave of mine. Re-reading this, it makes me feel so nostalgic because it takes me back the those good old times when BL like this were written! There's no way around it, the stories back then had that something which can't be found in today's BL anymore! The drama in old BL was so good, as well as the characterization and the art style. Not to mention the feelings conveyed in them! Man, the emotions were so intense and turbulent...I really loved all this! And this story is a great example of those things! It also has an exquisite slow pace, which was so right for this story and gave way to a great building up, both emotional and plot-wise, which lets the reader get to care for the characters and get attached to the story, feeling their own feelings and wanting to read till the end, accompanying them, just to see them happy! It's really one of the best shounen ai and old manga! To me, this is really a precious unforgettable story! >>> Vol. 3, ch. 5 "Memory" gave even more value to Robert and Georges' relationship, which felt truly precious and special, because Robert actually had met Georges before Grace once when they were children, right when Robert's mother died. During that brief chance encounter, Robert was struck by the purity of the boy and the kindness he showed him. It was something he had never known, so he was struck by it to the point of being even scared by it. But he thought "so overwhelmingly beautiful". Then, as we see at the end of Vol. 4 ch. 4, there was also a funny episode, when Georges started middle school, where they kind of met again for chance unknowingly. So, in the end, it felt like a fated relationship! Then, at vol. 7 ch. 3, it was so beautiful when Robert realized the kid he encountered back then was Georges! So, Grace certainly was precious to Robert and he loved her (although it was unrequited, as she one-sidedly loved Robert's brother the priest Louis), but in the end it was more like he fell in love with her at first sight because he unconsciously saw the kid back then in her. So, George is not really a substitute. And anyway Robert already said to Alain (Grace's step-brother) that George wasn't a substitute even before realizing that he was that kid! So, when he realized, it was all even more precious! >>> In the end, I admit I wanted to see more of Robert and Georges, but it was sweet with their matching rings and all! Even though there were really only three kiss scenes in all, it didn't matter! It was perfect just like that!️ # Catholic All-Boys School (It also has a dormitory, where some of the side characters are staying, but the two protagonists commute from home, so they aren't dorm residents), Classmates, Older Seme (about 2 years older - after Grace died hit by a car for which Robert blamed himself, he didn't go to school for a long time and he even stayed at a center of care to get back on his feet. So, when he goes back to school, he's in the same class as George), Foreign Setting and Foreign Characters. [[Notes for myself]] Vol. 4 ch. 3 - the part about Grace. Robert's housekeeper tells Georges the whole story // Vol. 7 ch. 2 - The whole truth about Georges' birth and how he was connected to Grace, who turns out to be his sister) Alternate Story: 101-ninme no Alice (Not scanlated) - Music-themed story // It shares the same universe of La Esperança. Georges appears there in a few scenes.

(()) [From BangAQUA] Kaede transferred to a boarding school so that he would be able to look for his brother. They had been separated when they were still kids. There, he got to know a popular guy named Senoo Subaru (Kou). Kaede did not really like the presumptuous Senoo at first, but later on he found out that in the underground room where Senoo and his buddies usually met, clues as to his brother’s whereabouts could be found. On top of that, when Kaede’s longing for his brother was getting stronger and stronger, Senoo suddenly said the exact same things that Kaede’s brother had said… > [Spoiler / Note for myself] It turns out Tsubaki, the older brother Kaede was searching for, is dead (when he was a child, he accidentally drank water mixed with arsenic and after that he got sick frequently. When he was in high school, he was staying in that underground room. Then he got pneumonia and died). He was actually Kaede's half-brother, because his mother had him from another man, so that's why Kaede's father resented him but then he was also hoping that Kaede would bring him back to reconcile. On the other hand, Senoo is the son of the school's principal, who married Kaede's mother after she divorced Kaede's father. So Senoo and Tsubaki were step-brothers. Then, Senoo and Kaede are sort of step-brothers too, but they didn't live in the same family, as Kaede remained with his father, and they didn't know each other. They meet for the first time at school, although Tsubaki talked a lot about Kaede to Senoo, so that's why Senoo was interested in Kaede from the very start.

"The second Shounen Ai manga ever published" (1971) // Collection of Stories // 1 Volume (Complete) - Dropped... Title story's alternate story: Thomas no Shinzou

Thomas no Shinzou (1974) - It was so beautifully written, so deep and full of all kinds of emotions. It's really a masterpiece! An essential, must-read classic! > I also want to recommend the film "Les amitiés particulières" (based on the homonymous novel by Roger Peyrefitte), which, together with some great literary works, also inspired Hagio Moto to write Thomas no Shinzou. The live-action "Summer Vacation 1999" (1988) is loosely based on Thomas no Shinzou - Note: A female cast was used to play the boys in the film, which is also very different from the original story anyway. Prequel: Houmonsha (The title story, about the earlier life of Oscar) Alternate Story: 11-gatsu no Gymnasium

GL by Nakamura Asumiko!

1 Volume (Complete) - Dropped... Adapted to Live-action Sequel: Takumi-kun Series

8 Vols (2001 - Complete) - Dropped... Adapted to the well-known live-action movie series Prequel: Soshite Shunpuu ni Sasayaite