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

A variety of different slice-of-life stories ranging from older virgins, violent rapists, roommates ... all somewhat melancholy and jaded.

Twisted period drama about a family with dark secrets and madness, leading to modern era abuse.

Slice-of-life story about advertising production manager, Daisuke, and his favourite photographer, Nishioka, a man who hides his attraction for "Dai-chan" under the disguise of acting like a spoilt infant terrible. Together, they weather office intrigue and unprofessional conduct in job settings that actually resemble real life jobs. Touko Kawaii's usual flair for great characterization turns ordinary things into extraordinary fun. The only complaint is that any text which runs along the page gutter by the spine in the second volume is almost indecipherable.

A beautiful and realistic slow-paced story about Kido Yuusuke, a young gay man fresh off recent heartbreak, who tries to play it cool with the casual dating scene, but has the misfortune of "Grindr-ing" Kamiyama Kouki, whose own tragic past has made him a kind and considerate lover beyond the norm. What else can Yuusuke do except fall for him in a big way? But does the older Kouki even want those feelings from such a young and untested partner? The second story is also a sweet one about a gay man, with a history of being exploited by closeted homosexuals, who becomes flatmate with a straight man. Asou Mitsuaki's soft and very beautifully drawn pictures have a quality about them that reminds me of 19th-century European engravings.

Dark oneshot about a BDSM encounter with knife slashing, drugging and rape-play. The final scene makes it clear that consent was implicit. Although this is framed as a one-off, there is more that hasn't yet been translated. This is a good story for people looking for hardcore kink.

Iku is an unsociable otaku who avoids human contact after moving to Tokyo, but has acquired the uncanny ability to see ghosts ... or, more specifically, the ghost of Seo Mimori, on the pedestrian overpass near his apartment. Once Mimori realizes Iku can see and communicate with him, he follows Iku home and soon the pair are living together, except for that one moment at 10:45 every night when Mimori returns to the bridge to re-enact his last corporeal act. Stung by the feelings of helplessness brought on by his mother's attempted suicide when the effort of raising Iku grew too hard after his father abandoned them, Iku swears he will never let Mimori experience the moment of his death again, and his passion leads to Mimori falling in love with him. Iku starts sleuthing to find out who Seo Mimori was and how he came to be on the bridge. This leads him, not to the grave that he fully expects, but to a hospital bed and a new set of problems which are addressed in Ohanu's beautiful, but confusing to follow sequel, 23:45 Re:. It takes some skilled and careful mining to extract the gold from this story and the sequel, but it's worth every moment.

A businessman and chronic liar meets an honest and forthright young college student at a drinking party. The kid has his number, tells him off and leaves his ego hungry for revenge seduction, but agrees to try him out as a dating partner for a month to see if that perception is skewed or not. Good art and interesting start.