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

During a drunken spree, failed novelist, Yuu, meets up with the Chris and gets "married" to him, symbolized by tattooed rings. Chris has been broken down with tragedy and suffers from bipolar personality disorder, which he masks with prostitution and drug use, but Yuu is swept up in his mania and has a tragic secret of his own. Will these two be able to heal each other? Hina Garasu's artwork is beautiful, adding more power and poignancy to the ending.

Descendents, some of them, of a particular family line have the ability to bond others to them by projecting sexual vibes at them. Others in the family, who are immune to its effects, have used this power to control people for power or wealth. This is the story of two men who come from this sort of background, and what they do about it. As usual, Minase Masara's illustrations are beautiful and elegant.

Stories of hook-ups which lead to something deeper. Some are quite odd, like the last one where the uke seems to suffer from a sort of asperger's syndrome.

Haru has everything handed to him on a silver platter, and is, therefore, satisfied with nothing. So it's satisfying to see him meet his match in a dating simulation game. Thank you, Horoboru Scanlations, for your hard work! It's an interesting story and fun to read.

Ogeretsu Tanaka is becoming one of my favourite mangakas for her beautiful artwork and character-centered stories. Here, the main character is toxic — bitter about his time in high school, and particularly, toward Natsuo, a 'hoodlum' who seemed to thrive on tormenting him — and his unfortunate target is ... Natsuo, a simplistic and inept young man with few social graces. It's brilliant set-up: make Natsuo fall in love with him, and then dump him in the most humiliating manner possible. Except he doesn't count on Natsuo being quite loveable in his own inept and dorky fashion. (2) The second story is a spin-off of Sabita Yoru Demo Koi wa Sasayaku, Ogeretsu Tanaka's amazing manga about partner abuse, and what happened to Ken, the abuser, after his relationship was over. At times awkward and fumbling, other times adept and hot as hell, this story is a believable testament to vulnerability and the healing power of love.

A surprising story about a mangaka with stellar talent in his field, but complete ineptitude in everything else, and his faithful friend who diligently cares for him, until the friend realizes his motives may be less pure and altruistic than he originally believed. Yamimaru Enjin's story may not seem that subtle on the surface, but she depicts Niki, the artist, with so much sensitivity and realism as a person who almost seems borderline autistic with his inability to accurately appraise the situations around him, his complete dependency on Shoji, and his lack of facility to cope with life. Shoji's personal struggles are painful in their own right, as he fights off his own inner demons and copes with the feeling of being used as a servant and dismissed as a man worthy of love and respect. This is a good, complicated story with tragedy in the past and treachery in the mix.