otakulys's manga / #salaryman(3)

Cute so far. We'll see where it goes. I gave it five stars for now because the art is pretty, and I like that the main character is actually gay. Might change from here, but I like what little there is at the moment. ETA: Poor Irie! I wanted to cry when he started crying, all embarrassed and awkward. What the hell. I was happy because there was an actually gay character, and yet it still manages to go into the typical yaoi "it's okay if it's you" bullshit. I hope it isn't as dumb as that, but I have low expectations. Switching to four stars for that, but we'll see!

Super rushed and twisted. Very creepy seme. I had a feeling, for some reason, that that was his secret. Interesting, for sure. SPOILER BELOW + + + I'm hesitant with the tags here, because I've learned that "hermaphrodite" is actually an offensive term. I think "intersex" is the preferred usage? But that might actually apply to something else. I don't know the ins and outs. At any rate, I gave it a bit more points for including it at all, but I'd like to see this sort of thing explored beyond a fetish. It was too quick of a story for what it was about, which made it pretty clear that this was either just a kink, or meant to shock. So yeah, not amazing, but... there was some potential beneath it all, which is why I gave it a three rating rather than the two it probably deserves.

Reviewing up to chapter four from volume one, for now. At the beginning, I really didn't like this manga. It's weird. It had all of the components of something I'd like in theory, but I really hated that Kaji, for no reason, says he doesn't "bat for that team," then bugs Yura constantly about stuff that isn't his business. If he likes him, why immediately make it seem like he'll never be interested? Like going out of your way to make someone feel awkward. And after that, he was kind of a dick all around, and I just hated that Kaji had the power. I wanted him to get hurt, too. I wanted him to realize his shitty behavior resulted in him not getting what he wants so easily. But I knew from the start I'd never get that satisfaction. I hate that in yaoi, a gay guy swoons the moment a "straight" guy compliments or smiles at him. Like, he hates him, then pow, omgz what if he likes me??? He should be annoyed, like, what, you're a dick to me, and now you think I'd be into you? Blah, it just irks me. I mean, it's better than rape to love, and that "it's okay if it's you" bullshit is still kinda there, but not as bad. I just think it's up there in my top five most hated yaoi tropes, a guy suddenly tolerating this other dude, doing everything he says, fawning over him, when five seconds ago, the guy was just another fuckhead. It's just dumb. It's just so annoying that he hated this guy, but now he's getting all flustered and crap when it's the other guy who should be stressing out. Stop giving him all the power. x_x At any rate, it's a sweet enough turn when they finally come together, and I liked the emotional catharsis with the ex, so I stopped hating it so much. I'm looking forward to see where it all goes when I have the time to read it. And I'm glad it has more than one volume. So much yaoi is purely about the guys getting together, then it ends. Like, an entire volume of misunderstandings and pretending to be straight, sex in the last chapter, then the end. Drives me crazy.