otakulys's manga / #unrequited love(76)

I'm really glad his coworker showed up to set him right. He was such a pushy jerk. Poor baby uke. But I like this angle, never read a yaoi quite like this. I look forward to the next chapters.

Pretty art most of the time, but sometimes the faces went a bit ug. The part where he runs to confess or whatever made me throw up in my mouth. Typical rape to love. At least this guy apologized for it, which is rare in yaoiland. But he still shouldn't have gotten his twoo wuv in the end. There were elements that would have been cute if the rape hadn't occurred, but that tainted everything. Meh.

Aw, I wanna know what happens next. Honestly, I have mixed feelings. The first half, I loved it. The alpha actually physically harms himself to prevent himself from raping the omega. That never freaking happens. And he's nice and everything. But then it's all tsundere and typical with the omega chasing after him. We all know the alpha secretly wants him, too, but I'm sure it's gonna take five chapters and thirty misunderstandings for us to get there. So annoying. I'm leaving it at four due to misplaced optimism that it'll surprise me in other ways. I just hope it goes up from chapter one and doesn't just crumple into cliches.

This review is just for the one shot at the end: Honestly, as sweet as they both are, I kinda want them to stay platonic friends. I like that Haniwa doesn't have an agenda, that he's just protective of his friend, not protective because he wants to bang him. It sucks that it ends there, but I guess I'll just say that Hina finds someone great who's actually gay or bi, and he and Haniwa remain best friends forever. You never see gay characters with a truly awesome, close, straight male friend. I want him to have a happy ending with a guy who loves him back, but someone who actually likes guys. And I hope Itou gets his shit together and stops being a homophobic dick. I didn't really read the manga itself, just this oneshot, since people were raving about it. I'm not as interested in the manga for a number of reasons, but I might read it eventually. I wish there were more stories involving being outed and people dealing with coming out and potential homophobia. So few seem to want to tackle that at all, let alone do it properly. Most of the time it's brushed off as a random insult, or the other characters come around really quickly. This was just a sweet story about a good friendship, and I'd love to see more like it.

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.

Golly, mister! You didn't have to have a bunch of guys gang rape me to show you liked me! Next time, just ask me out! Tee hee!

Ume, how many straight boys you gonna fuck? Anyway, I liked this at first, but now I don't know how to feel, because I'm not sure how this will go. They're probably going to end up together (and I'd seriously rather Hara had his heart broken while Ume went off with Mori or something), but how are they going to reach that point with everything Hara is doing or has done? They keep playing Ume's legitimate pain for comedy. I don't really get how it's funny to be jerked around like that. Hara calls all the shots, and Ume just goes with it. But the story seems to have this air of self-awareness, so I want to keep going, but I'm really worried it's gonna be one of those weird, yaoiland solutions, where they suddenly at the last minute work it out, and they never really address what a selfish dick Hara is. The thing about that, though, is Hara isn't even really a dick, is he? It seems like he's legitimately mentally challenged. Like, is he mentally delayed, maybe? He literally always has the same expression, no matter what's happening, and he acts entirely on impulse without being considerate of other people's emotions, and he's not coming from a malicious place. It seems like he's either mentally challenged or on the autism spectrum. Either way, they portray him in such an odd way, I feel like it can't be accidental, but who knows. As of chapter three, I'm not sure what to expect. Bring more Mori, though! I'm sick of Ume dancing around this crap.

Noooooo, update soon, please! I so rarely find manga that truly scratches that hurt/comfort itch. I crave this sort of thing. It's so dark and beautiful and messed up. It made me cry, but in just the right way. I'm not sure what to expect in the future, but I really hope that there's an update soon. I'm worried this has been abandoned completely, since it's been a while. There are so many things I love about this story. I wish there were more like it out there. At the same time, I wish that love triangles didn't have to end in someone "choosing." Why can't he be with both of them? They're all fucked up anyway. They're all so damaged, especially the ukes. You can't entirely blame them for doing stupid, selfish things, given the way they've been taught to survive. Anyway, I'm going to die if this isn't updated.

Holy crap. I was not expecting to love this as much as I did! I want to keep reading about these two! I don't know if the cliffhanger with the ex is due to another volume coming or tied into the spin off with the ex, but I don't want this to be the end of their story. So freaking sweet and perfect! I thought it was going to be typical shoujo-esque silliness with no substance. It was so much more. I also really, really liked the stuff with his ex. I wish there were more stories with ex-boyfriend issues where the guy doesn't end up back with the abusive piece of crap or whatever. Seriously, though, I hope someone translates the spin off soon. And I hope we get more work from this author! So far, love her stuff!

Ugh, I'm still crying. Why is it that every time I find a new mangaka lately, there's hardly anything out. I love her art and the warmth of her storytelling, and I want more. Mooooore. D: Rio doesn't deserve hate at all for everything. She wasn't certain in high school, just had a hunch. It isn't like he told her he loved him and she ran off and took him for herself. She realized later that they both liked one another, which is why she broke up with Gaku. Obviously she loved both of them very much. If she hadn't died, they would all be together and happy. It's not like she would have tried to ruin things. Anyway, such a sweet and sad story. Poor Rio. But I liked it a lot, and I really want more from this artist.