I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #drama(235)

Dogs.

I suppose with the acceptance of homosexuality becoming more widespread, yaoi writers have to turn to different themes to ramp up the illicit "forbidden love" that gives these stories their psychological and sexual tension. Hence the wild-assed reinterpretation of Medieaval Christian Theology. Huzzah! It's downright weird seeing the Lord of the Flies drawn as a smoking hot rebel with a sharp uniform that will satisfy any costume fetish, as opposed to ... well, a pig's corpse in advanced putrefaction, but I'm glad I was spared the traditional depiction circa Heironymous Bosche et al. Still, I have to laugh whenever yaoi mangaka get their hands on something to do with this subject because it's always turned tits-over-teakettles. As usual per Kisaragi Hirotaki, gorgeous art and lots of UST.

Haru has an obsessive attachment to his brother's best friend, Soudai, and follows him compulsively from school to school, even into club activities. Suddenly, however, Soudai becomes aware of how Haru struggles to overtake him and withdraws to a place which is, for all purposes, unreachable. What will Haru do?

Yuka Ogura, a 15-year-old student, has a pretty damned hard life, although it doesn't show on the surface, and he does the best he can, which is actually amazingly well, considering. Abandoned by his single mother, he was raised by his grandmother, the property manager at the small apartment complex where they live, except she now lies in a coma at the hospital. As an even younger student, he was singled out by a seriously creepy teacher and, instead of receiving compassion from others at his school, he is blamed for the incident and bullied. And if anyone thinks this means he is, at least, receiving support and guidance from the staff, forget it. Instead, another seriously suspicious teacher is on his case, Nishio-san, a woman whose true agenda appears to hide under an unctuous cloak of concern. All this in the first chapter. Meanwhile, Yuka espies his new and gorgeous next-door neighbour kissing another man, and it turns out to be the student teacher, Hikaru Gotou, who is his teacher for the year. Love at first sight for poor Yuka! Unfortunately for him, Gotou is a bit of a feckless man, who uses sarcasm to blow him off, and is completely unequal to the emotional tsunami that comes barreling in with Yuka. Blackmail works to the extent that Gotou is more set than ever against getting involved with kids, especially this kid, except Nishio steps in with a horrifyingly detailed account of Yuka's tragic backstory, and instead of scaring him off, it backfires: Gotou is every bit as hooked as the reader. One of Ougi Yuzuha's best stories, this starts off as a modern horror tale about a boy's coming of age, with suspense and drama to keep readers clicking each page, and transforms into a gentler romance. It may feel strange to cheer on a teacher x student relationship, but thank goodness Yuka has Gotou. Read this! One of my faves.

Inuyashiki is a sad old man doomed to die neglected and unloved by his family, until an alien accident melds his mind and soul to a cyborg body and he acquires miraculous powers.

A high school student, with a tragic past and loving brothers who inspire him, is hired to be a housekeeper-companion to a wealthy young man who has contracted a mysterious illness. Complications set in as a result of mistaken identities, deception (well-meant, but poorly executed) and confused feelings. I usually don't like Sou Irime's stories because I found her semes have a nasty streak, but she has crafted a rather nice tear-jerker here, and there is no intentional cruelty in the trick that is played on the uke.

A young man has a sexual relationship with his cram school teacher in order to explore the meaning of 'like' and 'love', never realizing that this teacher was in an intimate relationship with his regular high school teacher. His intervention provides a means for both teachers to connect with their feelings honestly. An exploration of emotional detachment and the toll it takes on the heart, rendered in beautiful line drawings by Yamagata Satomi.

Two boys, dumped by the same girl, end up drinking together and sharing a bed. The bitter one tests the other for emotional intimacy without realizing that they had made a true connection during that short time. Realistic and keenly observed slice-of-life oneshot by Yamagata Satomi.

This one is all over the place. It starts off with brother love, then does a quick palm off to UFOs, conspiracy theory stuff and alien possession. Right now, it's in the middle of a scary boil-the-bunny-type of family rivalry. Even so, it's still hugely entertaining, but definitely whack. It's been 3 years since anything happened with the manga, though, so I think that's all we're going to learn about it.

Classic yaoi BDSM fetish club.