otakulys's manga / #love(75)

I haven't finished watching Yuri on Ice, but Yurio is my favorite character so far, so I thought I'd read this. It's short and cute, nothing remarkable but not bad. I really hope Yurio gets a solid m/m romance in the next season. I just want to squish him.

Really sad. I read this ages ago, and it broke my heart. Pretty and tragic. I guess it's one of those things where, if you're going to be separated eventually anyway, you may as well have a moment of happiness. Can't read this again, though. I'll just cry.

Sweet and sad, short little story about a guy who loves someone who doesn't love him back, and a potential love that's nearby. Not as heartwarming as I was hoping, based on the tags, but the ending is certainly sweet. More development, length, and time to see their emotional connection would have helped.

A little confusing at times (and was he in love with his actual sister? What?), but overall, it's a very sweet, touching story. Sad at times, for sure, but it has a happy ending, and that's what matters. I don't know if this piece was inspired by The Vow or by the story that inspired The Vow, which was a true story, but it's definitely a fascinating concept. There were things I would have changed, but I really did enjoy this manga. And I love the art. So pretty. I'm gonna go devour more of this artist's work and see if she'll be one of my faves.

Aw, that was a cute little short. I like that it lets you fill in the rest at the end. Light and fluffy. I like that old man who keeps popping up, lol.

The more this drags out, the more I hate Ken. I really wish that Kirara would give him the cold shoulder for once. The tsundere thing gets old after a while. Anyway, it's still a cute manga. I hope the other two end up together. They'd be a cute couple. Hope it updates soon, and that the story starts to pick up a bit with the main two.

This should be called "Straight Boys and Unrequited Love." That was the theme throughout, but the endings were either happy or open with a sad-ish feel. Nothing was solidly stated. They all end at a crossroads, where a relationship may or may not develop. I love this artist, so I read it, even though I hate straight-gay pairings. The stories were all right, mostly a bit sad, but not nearly as soul-crushing as I was expecting. The comments had me afraid to even read it. But as of chapter 7, things are still relatively light. The longest story had more sad elements, of course, but there could still be more for the guys someday. I know the wish is for the guy who's in love to end up with his straight friend, but I wish more of these stories would end with the friendship continuing in a healthy way, and the guy falling head over heels for someone else who actually loves them back from the start. Why does it always have to be that the straight guy falls for him anyway, or no one gets what they want and everything is sad, the end? There are other options, is all I'm saying. x_x

Uuuuuuggggghhhhh. Okay, the first half of this manga, I thought I had found my dream couple or something. It was so perfect. Then... a bunch of the usual cliches came dancing in and ruined the perfect high. I'll break this into pros and cons, I guess. PROS: * BEAUTIFUL art. Ugh. * Super hot boys. * Genuine love for one another. * True friendship that matters dearly, even if they'd stayed platonic. * Mutual affection from the start. * Some side characters that I really liked. * Funny, cute moments throughout. * Super hot moments, particularly the one that gets this whole thing started. CONS: * MISUNDERSTANDINGS. I hate this trope SO much, and it's in everything. A little bit is one thing, but when it just goes on and on to the point of everyone involved seeming mentally challenged, it becomes more annoying than anything. Using misunderstandings that could easily be cleared up with a little communication is lazy writing. It's a weak plot device, and I can't stand it. Sadly, it's often in yaoi--and things with romance in general--so it's tough to avoid. * "It's okay if it's you." This trope is another one that I can't stand. It was set up in a way to indicate interest in girls had been either passing or just forced, but since bisexuality can never exist in yaoiland, they just HAD to shove in that pointless exchange with him telling the dude he's only into chicks. Why does it always have to be an exception? The cons were fewer in that sense, but they're right below "rape to love" in my list of yaoi tropes that I hate, so it hit me pretty hard. I wouldn't have cared as much if I hadn't liked it so much from the beginning. You may have noticed that it still has five stars, however. If I just ignore those other things, this really is a very sweet story with an adorable couple at the center. I want to read more about these two. I want to read more about senpai and his boyfriend, especially! XD And the art is just so damn lovely. Hopefully some of the mangaka's other work will inspire me in the same ways without irritating me in the others.

A little too short for what it deserved, I think, so the pacing was a bit quick, but I enjoyed it. This is a sweet story about trauma and healing, and I appreciated that it was treated that way. So often yaoi glosses over things like assault as if it's nothing more than a bad day. The seme in this story was very gentle and patient. This is everything I want in this type of story. Why aren't there more rape scenarios in yaoi that end in hurt/comfort? Rape is such a horrible thing, yet it's so rarely portrayed as that in yaoi. Anyway, very sweet little story. I'm glad I stumbled upon it. Also, I loved his friends. I wish I could have seen way more of them. They're adorable. The fact that they jumped to protect the poor, mistreated uke without even really knowing him warmed my heart. It was such a nice juxtaposition between the coldness of the other group of peers.

The way people were acting, I thought this was going to have a sad ending, but it was perfect! THIS is what I want. This is the hurt/comfort that I crave! Why can't there be more yaoi like this? Where the seme loves and protects his uke, and the harm comes from some other piece of crap? There's no force or rape to love or any of that garbage. Just real emotion. Plus, for me it's the psychology of trauma and the character working through it that draws me to violence and rape in manga, so it makes me sad that so often rape is romanticized or treated like a firm handshake. This was exactly what I was looking for. The beginning was a bit clumsy and rushed, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was very happy with where it went. I imagine people are freaking out because the rape was so graphic and the character actually had a realistic reaction to being assaulted, but the tags *did* say there was rape, and every chapter had a warning for violence, etc. So why are 90% of the comments people bitching about it? If you're a delicate person, skip stories that say that they contain violence and rape. At any rate, I really enjoyed this one, and it's the embodiment of my list, "Rape that Doesn't End in Love."