somethingslight's manga / #Romance(38)

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.