Sleeps In Sunbeams's manga / #Psychological(72)

The dark and sad backstory of Haruko Chouno from Chou to Hana no Kankeisei. An upbringing like this is going to mess with your psyche, but it was well told and establishes Chou for the next volume.

Trigger Warning: Dubious consent Story 1 with the sliced up and self centred host and the muscled bodyguard who wanted to be at his side was rather messed up. Apple wasn’t very likeable and the bodyguard’s actions during the attack made him rather awful too. Though they ended up being good with each other, their relationship left a bit of an unpleasant taste. Story 2 with the call boy forcing the straight host was not one for me. The call boy was seriously unlikeable and there was no caring between the guys. It was simply a smut story. Story 3 with the 40yo divorced programmer and his housekeeper (young enough to be his son) was the story that I liked. They shared a loneliness and attraction that was much more romantic and each filled unmet needs in the other. I would happily reread this one.

Trigger warning: Rape Ouji no Hakoniwa: This was quite a dark story and the mangaka really did well sharing the pain felt by the broken Yuzuru. No longer the young master, Yuzuru was used to doing what it takes to get by. He was so tough yet fragile, I really felt for him and absolutely hated Iwase when he raped him too. All that TLC, ruined. Definitely a psychological aspect to the story with a Stockholm style relationship though the extra chapter lightened it a bit. Dannetsu Senjou no Kodou: Two roommates sharing a dorm with a line down the middle. This was a story where the seme bought girls to his room and made out right in front of the one he liked. He was deliberately cruel, though the uke would just put his headphones on and ignore him. I would have preferred the uke move to a different room and get away from that toxic relationship, but he was one of those “But I want to be near him” guys which just makes me roll my eyes when I see nothing likeable about a character. A weak uke, weak in character. Not my favourite type to read about. If he stood up for himself just a little and wasn’t such a doormat I would like it, but as it stands, it irritated me.

High school student Toda Yuji used to be best friends with Kojima Isagi when they were young. But as they got older they drifted apart, moving with different friendship groups. Now Kojima is a delinquent who cuts class frequently and a loner who is avoided. That was until he had a brief connection with Toda while leaping out from the 3rd floor at school. Then the two boys reestablished their friendship and roamed at night doing whatever they pleased. Toda had that angry teenage, lash out vibe going; turning his back on his mother and school work, beset by nightmares of the time when Kojima saved him as a child. Kojima was a neglected child of a mother who didn’t want him. But his bond with Toda was perhaps the most real part of his life. Events escalated until crisis point with both boys in a dire dilemma. But bonds of loyalty ran true, and while there was no romance between them, it became clear that they could be good for each other. This was a darker story than expected with a psychological element and rather realistic with the teenage angst.

This isn’t the kind of story that you want to reveal too much of and spoil. The fact that my pillow was drenched in tears shouldn’t be off putting simply because the story was so beautiful. Satoshi and Shizu were complex, well contrived characters that were totally endearing. The art was so well done too. Give it a read.

Seems that lots of readers found Yamada’s stalker like tendencies problematic, but I loved his super possessive nature and slightly yanderish obsession with Chino. As an ex delinquent, Chino could more than hold his own against Yamada if needed and there were a few instances of him putting his foot down (on Yamada’s chest lol). I think that what made me like Yamada so much is that he is fiercely protective of Chino and the stalker prince has a surprisingly gentle nature. So for me, this was a winner!

Definitely not your typical Yaoi. For 19yo University student Hitoshi Arai, his ordinary life is about to take an extreme turn. Enter 29yo Mah, a 6’2” wildcard who doesn’t play by any of the rules. When Mah first bulldozes into Hitoshi’s life and home, he terrorises the younger man, something that he finds endlessly entertaining. But there is something so cute about the awkward crybaby and there is some unexpected kindness in older criminal that they both end up being drawn to each other. So open the pages for an awkward mismatch that is unexpectedly wholesome between 2 extreme opposites.

Two wonderfully original stories. The priest and the cult member followed by the plant guy. They are both a little dark, especially the priest’s tale and even the art style has a suitable grittiness that I really liked. It has a bit of an old style noir effect that suits this mangaka’s offbeat stories.

This short story explores Pygmalionism (a rather uncommon fetish for statues, or as in this case, lifelike mannequins or dolls). Renounced clinical psychologist Keiichi Toma, is 30yo and a virgin who hides a secret fetish; his love for his sex doll. When he gets a spot as a visiting lecturer at college, Toma casts his eyes upon “the mannequin prince,” in his class and is instantly captivated by the expressionless beauty. Their story is too short to do it real justice. Indeed, Toma comes across as a bit of a weird pervert and not in a sexy way lol. He uses his professional skills to pursue Tamaki, which is a bit unfair and he sees Tamaki as a live doll. Thankfully Tamaki has more fire than expected.

This was such an interesting delinquent story. Taichi attended an all boys high school that was full of rough and tumble delinquents. Oddly enough, they viewed this gentle crybaby (and pervert magnet) as their leader. Something that Taichi thought must be teasing, because there was no way he would fight. But how to explain his busted knuckles and bruised body? Turns out Taichi has an alter who takes over and destroys anyone who threatens him. When Taichi runs into the head delinquent of a rival high school, he finds not an enemy but someone who is fascinated by both sides of Taichi. Mitsuru Gunji, takes interest in Taichi and quickly chases after both alters. But what are his true motives? And can Taichi trust himself to someone who has more sides than he does? I liked the story very much. The author used D.I.D with a reasonable amount of respect without it being intrusive. We saw the terrible trauma that happened to the young Taichi that lead to the split, and the violent side retained aspects of a younger child while still always taking that protective role. I thought the dark Mitsuru was a good match for Taichi. All in all, very entertaining.