somethingslight's manga / #Beautiful Art(25)

(slight spoilers ahead!) takimoto finds out that the usually perfect manager sakuma is achluophobic, or afraid of the dark and being alone, after sakuma seeks refuge in takimoto and cries during a blackout. this makes sakuma feel safe, so he asks takimoto to sleep with him... literally. takimoto becomes sakuma's body pillow to help him sleep due to his phobia. characters: 7/10 i thought they were interesting. takimoto is honestly a little bland, but his character develops as he realizes his feelings for sakuma. however, he's not unlikable or anything though. despite how he acts outwardly and seemingly close-minded he is at times, he wanted to help sakuma and was always concerned for him from the very beginning. now, sakuma is more interesting, as we receive a background for him where his phobia is a result of childhood trauma. he acts a bit childish at times, but that's expected considering his situation and everything he has gone through. despite his supposedly "perfect' persona in the workplace, he is quite adorable in reality. however, it was kind of hard to feel that gap between those two parts of him due to the lack of exposition that would have established sakuma as that perfect person in the first place (which was eventually emphasized by his backstory, but i think it would have been even more effective if there was more exposition about his perfect side in the beginning). now, IWASE. iwase was really complex, in my opinion. honestly, i got some bad vibes from him in the beginning, and then he turned into this overly protective character that really rubbed me the wrong way. after the explanation of their childhood to takimoto, his actions were a lot more understood and i really commended him for taking the action that would have benefited sakuma the most, further showing his love for sakuma as an older brother. overall, pretty good cast of characters. story: 8/10 there are many people saying that this has great potential to become a yaoi, but i personally believe that this being a shounen ai really allowed the plot to focus on takimoto and sakuma's emotional relationship rather than physical and how they deal with sakuma's phobia. they even dive into the physical during the kiss/confession scene at the office, where we gain perspective on sakuma's views of physical touch. so, while it would be great to have some smut as an extra touch, it's totally not necessary to the overall story and didn't take away from it at all. now, the main plot was a good balance between the romance between the main couple and the main issue of sakuma's phobia, which was handled really well, i think. they were intertwined, allowing for the plot to progress naturally. like i said before, i wish they gave more scenes where sakuma's "perfect" side could be shown so it doesn't seem like his phobia defines him as much as it did, but that's the whole point of the story so it wasn't bothersome or anything like that. one last gripe i have is with the confession scene at the office. it seems that their jealousy was quite tame and sakuma wasn't taking it seriously at all, which just personally bothered me, but it makes sense with sakuma's past so i can't complain much. overall, a really beautiful story about a man finally finding what he's been looking for. (BONUS: that extra scene gave so much more depth as to why the father treated sakuma as he did. i'm not saying it's justified, but it gives a reason and shows his true intentions really well, honestly. he just wanted to protect sakuma, but it didn't turn out that way... it's sad.) art: 10/10 gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. the character designs are very stylized and the art style is unique, which i really loved. it had a sketchy, more raw feeling to it that really suited the tone of the manga. now, the smut isn't part of the main story, and it still wasn't fully smut, but i think the intimate scenes were drawn very beautifully! their facial expressions were really nice as well overall: 8.3/10 i think this manga handled the phobia and how romance can play into that really well, and it's a very enjoyable and heartwarming story.

atsushi finds himself single after his girlfriend breaks up with him for not being able to get hard. when his friend tsukasa catches him masturbating, atsushi is finally able to get it up! characters: 1/10 i'm sorry if that's a harsh rating, but none of these characters had any personality. they were extremely bland in my opinion and very two-dimensional. if you asked me to describe atsushi's and tsukasa's personalities, i literally wouldn't be able to do that other than "the guy who couldn't get hard but now he can" and "the guy who made the other guy get hard." sure, their interactions were cute (basic and predictable, but still cute), but i felt zero emotional connection to these characters. story: 3/10 the concept isn't new or unique; it's the usual "i'm straight but suddenly i like my friend because he got me hard!" it's not like i dislike the concept or anything, it's just that this story didn't do it well at all. the premise that the title entails literally lasts for the first chapter and then they start dating. like, okay, i understand that most bl stories are fast-paced in order to fit the plot in a certain number of chapters, but it was so obvious in this manga that it was really detrimental to my enjoyment of it. there is little to no plot, and i can usually enjoy that, but this just feels lazily written. i kept reading in hopes of a more cohesive or interesting plot point, but it never came. art: 9/10 the best aspect of the entire manga, in my opinion. the art style is very clean and the characters are very attractive and easy to look at. and the smut! nothing special or new, but extra points for atsushi's fat ass. honestly, the art and the smut was what kept me reading the story because it was not the characters or the plot. overall: 4.3/10 this is honestly one of the lower-tier bls that i've read, and i've read a lot. the art is quite nice, but the story and characters are boring and not well fleshed out at all. there are so many better bl works out there that i would recommend over this one.

sakura is a gay man, but he seeks marriage counseling to find a spouse to make his parents happy. however, he doesn't expect for the counselor to be yousuke, the child sakura used to babysit, who also recognizes sakura's sexuality! characters: 8/10 man, these characters are so enjoyable. i love the gap appeal with sakura, how he seems like this scruffy guy, when he actually has cute and stereotypically feminine interests. his struggles as a gay man are also very real, and i really loved how the mangaka wrote his character. yousuke, on the other hand, seemed quite bland and cold at the beginning, but that developed along with his relationship with sakura. now, the side characters are no exception from my enjoyment. they're all quite realistic, like they were real people, and they truly added more to the story by enhancing the character traits of the main couple. story: 8/10 while it may not be the best manga i've ever read, it's one that i can re-read over and over again, and i think that says something. i really enjoyed the development of their relationship; it seemed natural without feeling too slow or fast. the whole "prince and princess" concept fit the characters perfectly, in my opinion, with sakura's stereotypically feminine interests and yousuke's handsome and honest character. now, i LOVE when mangakas tackle the concept of homosexuality (on a societal or cultural level, like how a gay character feels about/struggles with their sexuality), and it was done very well in this story. in my opinion, it was very realistic and effective in deepening the reader's emotional connection to sakura and his relationship with yousuke. not the best story, but it's damn good to the point where i've read it about three times now. art: 9/10 honestly, not much to say except that it's SO nice to look at. it's not overly artistic, unique, or ground-breaking, but it fits the mood of the manga and captures the emotions of the characters really well. overall: 8.3/10 this story is so, so heartwarming, and it genuinely rots my teeth every time i read it with how sweet and adorable it is. after reading it a few times, i am in love with these characters and their development, and i think that anyone else who reads this will feel the same way.