otakulys's manga / #yaoi(378)

These guys are always cute. ^^

Wow, I've been meaning to read this forever, and I can't believe it took me this long. This was not at all what I was expecting. I hate that I have to wait now. I hope it updates more soon. But seriously, I went in expecting way more cliches and shallow character motivations. This is an intense thriller, not just plotless smut. I'm always looking for stuff like that, but rarely does it bay off in this way. Plus, gorgeous art. I'm scared it's gonna have a sad ending, or a bittersweet one, and I'm pretty sure at least one of the characters I like will die, so that sucks, but I'm hoping it's all worth it in the end.

Suuuuuper messed up. But it was psychological and fascinating like everything Harada does. I don't typically read doujinshi, and I've never seen this anime, but I love Harada, so I thought I'd read it regardless. I feel like I got everything without knowing the backstory, just from the context of this oneshot. I've heard this one described as the most disturbing yaoi, but it's not even in the top ten. Definitely messed up, but nobody got eaten alive, or raped by a horse, or disemboweled during sex, so it could have been worse. XD (And has been!) If you like mind rape and twisted stories, especially violence and torture, this is the manga for you. Otherwise, maybe go read something fluffy.

"And he's letting me live!" Aw, how romantic! I really wanted to enjoy this manga, but it was BS like that that killed it. Even with the rape to love, which I loathe, I was gonna give it three stars because I feel like there isn't enough decent yakuza/hitman type stuff out there. But the moment he yelled at JJ for being "kind" when he "slept with" Azusa, I just couldn't do it. Not the worst thing I've ever read, but give me a break. "When you were raping me, you shouldn't have been nice! Now I want to be your waifu!" Come on, yaoiland. Come on.

Wtf, never have I read something that was SO shitty and SO beautiful at the same time. The art is gorgeous, and I want to keep reading, but my god. It was gross enough when they were raping him left and right (and lol at the guy saying it isn't fun to watch when it isn't consensual like, uh, excuse me? What do you call the last dozen times you've been watching AND participating?), but when he told the brothers that when he was almost gang raped, he felt bad for THEM, I was like, I'm out. Flipping through, I see it only gets more disgusting. "Semen! I want semen!" Honestly, weird as it is, I'd be fine if it hadn't been rape from the start. If for whatever reason, he'd been into it, and they'd all come together to make a baby, fine. The way he acts during sex is creepy, but whatever. It's the fact that this was rape for the first half, then they all just pretend it never happened that makes all the other creepy stuff that much creepier. The youngest brother seems mentally disabled, and they're all just total freaks with no redeeming qualities beyond being drawn beautifully. This woman needs a writer to help her art find the outlet it deserves. Cause, believe me, having a fragrant anus is not as sexy as you seem to think it is, ma'am.

The art is pretty, so typically I would be slightly forgiving of some obnoxious but typical yaoi tropes. But this doesn't even have to do with the pathetic uke. What about the other prostitutes? What happened to the one that was flipping out and begging them to stop? Did he get executed? I couldn't figure out what was going on at the end of that scene. But the fact that all of these people had been mistreated and tormented, there's no forgiving that. I don't care if this rape to love BS ended in the seme being sweet to the uke. What the hell. The uke isn't the only victim that matters. Super grossed out right now. I always hate how rape and abuse are okay as long as there's twoo wuv at the end, but it doesn't usually branch out to other people who never get their own happy ending. I really liked a lot of the art, and if they'd gone the dark route and really explored how awful this place was, I would have liked it. Instead, all is forgiven because the seme had a sad childhood. Boohoo. All of these people you're raping and forcing into prostitution aren't having a grand time either, and they aren't doing that crap to others.

I haven't finished watching Yuri on Ice, but Yurio is my favorite character so far, so I thought I'd read this. It's short and cute, nothing remarkable but not bad. I really hope Yurio gets a solid m/m romance in the next season. I just want to squish him.

UGH. GOD, MY HEART. My face hurts from crying. I wanted so badly for them to be best friends forever. Regardless of what Kirino chose. The fact that they never saw each other again kills me. So heartbreaking. But their friendship was so beautiful and important. I'm glad they had it at all. Man, this manga was brilliant and tragic. You never see yaoi that really tackles the challenges of being gay in Japan, or just in general. It comes with so much baggage, navigating the good and bad, deciding whether or not to live a lie. This story really explores all of the outcomes based on different decisions and circumstances. My heart hurt so much by the end, knowing that not all of them would have the happy endings they deserved, but this was so well done, and so unusual. Typically, realistic seems to mean everyone dies or something, which honestly isn't realistic at all. It isn't all misery and despair. There are moments of hope, and moments of sadness. It may not have been perfect, but there's always more living to do. And it's never too late, really. Let's hope Kirino eventually finds the life that's right for him. Another thing I loved was the emphasis on friendship. It's so rare to have two gay male characters (though Kirino may have been transgender) without the two of them having romantic or sexual feelings for one another in yaoi. I really appreciated that they just loved each other platonically. They were best friends, which is very important, and romance didn't enter into that. It feels like we're so often told that romantic love is the most important, but I don't think that was the case here at all. Familial love, the love that comes with friendship, even self love. They're all so critical to happiness. "I'm sure there'll be a lot of people there... like us." That line broke my heart knowing that Kirino chooses to deny himself. It also hurts just knowing how isolated and scary it is for them, being gay, in such a small and homophobic community. The fact that they loved one another so much and were best friends like that... it just breaks my heart. The choices they made meant they couldn't be together, and that wasn't fair. That they'd even have to make those choices, to live the truth or to live a lie. They helped one another survive, and they never got to see each other again. Despite how much this manga killed me, I'm glad I read it. It really was beautiful, despite being so sad. I wish there'd been a more hopeful ending, but I enjoyed the good times when they were there. I'd love to read more just like this, only with them all being happy together in the end.

A little confusing at times (and was he in love with his actual sister? What?), but overall, it's a very sweet, touching story. Sad at times, for sure, but it has a happy ending, and that's what matters. I don't know if this piece was inspired by The Vow or by the story that inspired The Vow, which was a true story, but it's definitely a fascinating concept. There were things I would have changed, but I really did enjoy this manga. And I love the art. So pretty. I'm gonna go devour more of this artist's work and see if she'll be one of my faves.

I was torn between four stars and five until the ending. It was so sweet, so I had to go with five. Beautiful art as always, and the mangaka sure has her little kinks that seem to pop up a lot. She loves two moles on the uke, a seme with memory loss, and lack of communication of feelings causing issues, lol. But her work is great, and she never uses nasty tropes like rape to love, so her little quirks are fine by me. I actually guessed the twist right at the beginning (in a general sense) but I got so caught up in the story that I actually forgot and got surprised. XD That's the sign of a good manga. This isn't my absolute fave by her for a few reasons, but I did really enjoy it. She's quickly becoming one of my favorite mangaka.