Bath Towel
One day we're going to have a long conversation about Toribito Hitomi's obsession with incestuous relationships but today is not that day. Main character Yuuji is drawn into a weird web centering around Anju, a classmate famous both for his beauty and his hedonism. Meanwhile we get involved with Yuuji's brother who has had a rush on Anju for years and the mysterious Kaoru no Kimi, someone Anju claims is special to him. The plot-twist of Kaoru no Kimi's identity is obvious to people familiar with Oniisama e..., though the joke is most likely a Genji Monogatari reference. On the whole, it feels like Toribito bit of more than she can chew, with multiple love triangles, a main character who becomes a passive narrator, and a plot that doesn't go anywhere. It's like sloppier Takaguchi Satosumi (Poet Was Not... or Pink, perhaps?) and is interesting if only for the comparison to Toribito's current work, which is much tighter and dramatically interesting.
Inu to Tsubame
The official summary and first chapter of this story hides the lede and makes it sound like the pet dog aspect between Kaede and Noro (the childhood friend) will play a bigger part than it actually does. The reality is that this story is very much about Kaede trying to understand and move on from his brother's death, especially his belief that he caused his brother to commit suicide. Noro's own unhappy childhood is hinted at, but Amagakure resists the temptation to make the whole story about people's deeply unsettling family tragedies and instead gives most of the Noro screentime to his fascinatingly complex feelings towards Kaede. Chapter 2 is a standout, with Noro musing over Kaede's selfishness and his own desire to both monopolize and be monopolized, and it neatly sets up Kaede's own fear that he causes pain to the people around him by being demanding and nosy. The intrusion of a friend of Kaede's brother in the last two chapters is a little too convenient, but on par with the themes of self-discovery, acceptance, and regret. Tonally, the art is sparse and kinetic, with a lot of white space, which may be surprising for readers of Amagakure's other works, like "Amaama to Inazuma."
Ani No Chuukoku