I Thot You Was a Toad's manga / #slice of life(123)

Very cute story about a scruffy, older guy, Yamada, who saves a young student, Chihiro, who is semi-passed out drunk in a park after suffering his first episode of unrequited love for another guy. Realistic, slow and kind (so far), there are many lovely moments and the art is beautiful. I particularly love the scene where Yamada wishes for all his luck in love to pass over to Chihiro.

Famous television idol scares the bejeezus out of a neighbour by prowling through his garden and around the apartment complex in seriously fishy disguises. Neighbour doesn't watch the telly, ergo doesn't know who famous guy is. His lack of awestruck obsequiousness makes him attractive, but what happens when he finally finds out the actor really is all that? As with all Yamato Nase's work, the uke is obvious and looks very child-like, but the story seems to be headed toward light comedy romp.

Handsome good-for-nothings who depend on their faces ... and it works.

Finally! A yaoi romance where the beloved, a florist named Haruto, asks his suitor, a half-Japanese restauranteur, Luka, why he is admired, since there appears to be no basis for this fascination; neither man having any cause to interact beyond the transaction of Luka buying flowers for his restaurant. We need to wait for the next installment to learn why, though.

Too light-as-air stories about (1) a baker and an author who fall for each other and (2) former classmates who fall for each other. There is no conflict to speak of in either story, just a simple whiff of mystery about their pasts.

High school photographer, Arata snaps action pictures of (mainly) Shoutarou and his basketball club teammates and sells the pictures to young women, who confess without success to Shoutarou. The two young men come to a slow realization about mutual attraction. I usually like Hayakawa Nojiko's manga, but this time I found the pacing very choppy and disjointed. I love her watercolours, but the fractured jumpiness, and sparsity of storytelling elements and background detail pushed me out too often this time.

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

During the high school greeting ceremony, the quiet and timid Sasano falls head-over-heels after gorgeous and popular Koga flashes a dazzling smile at someone, but doesn't believe he is compatible as a suitor and so decides to nurse his crush in secret. This story is about what happens when Koga notices Sasano and becomes curious. It's slow-paced shounen ai, and even though I'm not crazy about high-school stories, it wins for realism, a completely credible and very gentle slice-of-life bildungsroman treatment, sweetness and a terrific (not evil!) female character to whom most young women could probably relate.