Ookami-san to Eroi koto
That last scene where they awkwardly exchange hellos is the greatest thing.
Shuwashuwa, Kirari
Hana wa Saku ka
This is a masterpiece. Every character was fleshed out well, even the side characters. It wasn't really a yaoi/shounen ai as much as it was a story about seeing our parents as who they really are: conflicted, selfish, and inexplicably human. Also, like I said, that was some A+ characterization. They didn't make Shouichi into just a "bad guy"; they made him into a man who had made mistakes and who wanted the best for the people he loved but was terrible at showing it. Kashiwagi isn't just a guardian; he's a person who is still grieving over the loss of a dear friend, and juggling that with the high cost of taking care of said friend's orphaned son. Yoshitomi isn't just the caretaker; he's another person grieving over the loss of Yousuke, as well as someone stuck with the guilt of being the last person to see him alive. Yousuke, too, isn't just the mysterious father figure; he's revealed to be selfish, but caring in a deep way. Most of all, I love how Ayako was brought into the picture: the final chapter made everything suddenly make so much sense. Ayako was probably suffering from early-onset dementia of some kind, and Yousuke was a man struggling as he slowly lost his wife, while at the same time trying to protect his son. Ayako became less of a background character, and was revealed to actually be the crux of everything in a sense, the last piece in a complicated puzzle. This story was extremely good, and it's rare to find a romance that doesn't make the story entirely about the romance; as I said before, the romance is almost secondary to Youichi and Sakurai's emotional development, as well as the mystery that Yousuke left in his wake. ...I really, really loved this.
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