Mimurake no Musuko
Frustrating, slow, and not particularly well drawn, this manga still sticks with me because of the wonderful characterization of its main characters, Toshi and Kyuu. Kyuu grows up through the three volume series, and his homesickness is particularly well written. The mangaka doesn't shy away from sketching out everyone's complicated cowardice, from Toshi who won't tell Kyuu his feelings, to Kyuu who is afraid of appearing two-faced, to Kyuu's brother, Sumi, who can't stop running away. This is a manga about how to care for other people and convey that caring, and the sweetness of the end is doubly rewarding because of how hard it was to come by.
Akudama
Two-story volume. The first is about a high school student who is blackmailed by a salaryman(?) over stealing pencil lead. If that sounds petty, that's because the characters are bare sketches, and the plot merely hints at development. The fundamental question of "do the characters fall in love?" is answered, but there's a family subplot for the student and a backstory for the salaryman that falls to the wayside. It's not terrible, just too hesitant to be anything substantial, and then it just sort of ends. Story two is about two actors starring in a drama about two high school boys in love. As expected, reality and the drama begin to mix, and the mangaka does a surprisingly effective job superimposing the two on each other. The ending scene on the beach is probably the best moment in the whole volume, and even though the same issues from the first story carry through (no real understanding of either character, sketchy hesitant plot development) it works here because she doesn't try for weight themes, just a nice mood of two young men exploring the bounds of first love, professionalism, and communication. Maybe skip "Akudama" and jump straight into "Nonfiction," would be my recommendation.
Play Boy Blues