otakulys's manga / #actual gay character(16)

I have mixed feelings about this one. The art is GORGEOUS, and I love Umi, the uke. I grew to tolerate the seme, and I understood that his behavior was reflective of his own demons and inability to separate his father's behavior from what was happening with Umi. But I don't feel like there was ever a satisfying moment of accountability and remorse for how he behaved. He slapped Umi right after he was assaulted. That really needed to be addressed, and it never was. I did like the catharsis at the end, and the truth about Umi's first love. So sad and heartbreaking, so I'm glad he finds happiness in the end. However, it's so brief, you don't get much time to enjoy it. It's great that the seme realizes now that he's found his other half. And up to that point, I feel like he was primarily asexual, with even his pleased response to seeing gay sex videos coming across as scientific, more than anything. But I think they work together, and though it touched on the depressing realities of being gay in a homophobic world, it was sweet over all. I just want to squeeze Umi forever, though. I love him so much. Four stars instead of five because I find the way a lot of things with the seme were handled to be annoying. At least the end is sweet. (And bonus points for Umi's awesome mom and her perfect response to his confession!)

Hmm... Only one chapter, so I'm not sure yet. The art is honestly hit or miss for me. It can be beautiful, but sometimes it looks awkward. I hope these characters end up fleshed out and awesome, though. I like Minato so far, but I feel less than nothing for the other dude. The straight guy. I hope he becomes more interesting soon. I also get the "sad past" feeling from Minato, so I hope we get to see something like that soon.

Mixed feelings, but I'm really intrigued. I like this one more than the other one by her that I've started reading. I'm curious as to how this will unfold. It isn't exactly shocking or surprising, but I still find it interesting enough to wonder what direction it'll take. Such pretty boys. Also, he totally saved that other boy from getting raped, but they aren't talking about that. Does that mean he didn't give a crap? Rude. EDIT: Okay, chapter four was kind of... odd. The uke took this crap up a notch. Is he some kind of weird virgin? I just assumed he had a sexual relationship with his sensei, but I guess it's more like he's just a possession. It creeped me out a lot when he started acting like a child throwing a tantrum, though. It just really reinforced the concept that this guy is mentally eight years old. He's naive and awkward, and being beautiful doesn't really make up for how much that gets to me. At any rate, did he scratch the tattoo? That's a lot of blood, if that's all it was. Though to be fair, I've never had a back tattoo, so maybe the skin was already just very overextended and thin.

Stories like this really frustrate me, because there's so much potential, and it's all thrown away for some simple rape to love. I was really hoping the second story would just end after the first part, focusing on the messed up relationship they had that would mean they could never be together. It's better than what it was, and seeing the uke drop to his knees like that really grossed me out after what that jerk did to him. Being "in love" doesn't give you a free pass to hurt someone. The first story, I found the uke interesting but the seme boring. However, the art is so pretty, and I did enjoy elements of both stories, even if the way they wrapped up annoyed me, so I gave it four stars instead of the two it would probably get based on those endings alone. Also, I love the guy painting the house, totally like, "Ah, I see you're in chains. That's nice."

Very lovely so far, and even the misunderstandings, which I freaking hate as a trope, are at least sorted out fairly quickly. I love that this story has so much to do with being out and living life in a world filled with uncertainty and homophobia. So much fear and heartbreak, it makes me cry. But there's hope, and I really appreciate the flashes of them together in the future. It hurts right now, but we know that in the end, they're happy. And LiHuan really is perfect for YuYang. He's patient and kind and understanding, and he's willing to deal with Yang's messy baggage without being pushy or frustrated. He's perceptive, and he isn't just forcing himself on Yang. You can tell that they'll have a healthy relationship, because LiHuan really listens and pays attention, and YuYang, once he gets past all of his fear and his walls of protection, loves with all his heart. I get why people are annoyed with the random couple introduced. Why did she shove another straight guy/gay guy relationship in here, especially one that has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the story. I mean, I know that several of them are friends with Pan, but why is the uke just some weird, random straight guy with an annoying personality? At any rate, I like the story enough to tolerate it, but it would be nice to focus more on the careful, complex process of teaching YuYang to trust, and to undo all of those years of hurt.

So heartbreaking, and the fact that it hasn't been picked up again yet makes it worse, since it's left hanging. I wish I could read and understand the raws! The only thing is, the rape bullshit pisses me off, though it's nothing new. Plus I hate that the seme is openly gay and also predatory, like being out means he's automatically a rapist. So gross. But I care a lot about the healing process for the main character, which is why I want more. So rarely does yaoi actually dive into the pain and struggles of someone growing up in a very rigid and homophobic environment. I mean, I love stories where homophobia doesn't exist and a lot of people seem to be into the same sex, but it's nice to see real issues examined, for the catharsis if nothing else. Hopefully we get chapter two in the near future.