TerracottaPie's manga / #Re-encounter(5)

"Do I want him, or do I want to be him?" Nagisa was a confused high schooler who couldn't figure out how he felt, what he felt, and who made him have these feelings. Ten years later he's back in his hometown as an adult and he's still as confused as ever, riddled with guilt thinking that his feelings caused his friend Minato's death. Somehow, he thinks that sleeping with Kaito, the third member of their friend group, will help him atone for a death that he believes he caused. Good but not good enough: 3/5.

A school life story about boys who meet again in high school after getting separated when one of them moves out of his childhood home due to family circumstances. Kind of boring. Made me smile once or twice (mainly because of the little sister) but that's it. I wonder if the translation made it more tedious or if it's a weakness in the author's writing. This shouldn't have included sex scenes. Makes me wonder if that's the author's actual name. If not, then that's an inspired choice... 2.5/5. (2021).

Taiga is so lovable, Kei not so much. Taiga does everything in this relationship; he flirts, confesses, chases, communicates ... and for what? Kei is too selfish and not in a good way. The conflict was forced and unnecessary. I love this author too much, but her writing is a bit off here. She usually does conceits pretty well but the extended metaphor doesn't work as well here. I understand what she's going for: a chameleon who absorbs and loses himself in the colours around him needs grounding, and that stability lies in an evasive love. A good metaphor but it loses potency when it's too heavy-handed. I still enjoy the premise, the dialogue, the writing (to a certain extent), and Taiga's character. Could've been better had it been longer and more fleshed out: 3.5/5. (2024).

When Yuuma reunites with Rei—now a stranger despite their shared past—he learns to navigate the chaos of life with someone who has DID, and slowly becomes a rare source of stability amid the disorder. The author is too preoccupied with the DID diagnosis and treatment to develop the romance. She uses the much loved trope of the pushy and sexually coercive top to hurry the relationship along; Rei kisses Yuuma so forcefully despite his protestations that they suddenly start dating. I hate pushy tops for this reason, it's a cop out for lazy talentless authors who don't want to - or don't know how to - write genuine chemistry and connection; just have the ML jump MC and kiss him so hard until he can't say no anymore, and ta-da! you got yourself a couple. As if coersion wasn't enough, Rei is also manipulative. When Yuuma tries to change rooms because of relentless sexual harassment, he accuses him of being prejudiced against people with DID and guilt trips him into staying—very shady behaviour. Yuuma is one of the flattest characters I've ever read. It's peculiar how even though he's the main character, he feels like a blank slate, or rather, someone whose existence matters only in his capacity as a remedy for Rei. He doesn't feel like a fully realised person, he takes on the role of caretaker for a guy he was briefly friendly with as a child and has forgotten about since. He readily accepts the trauma of a stranger without question, which sounds admirable in theory but so strange realistically. He has to mold himself into shapes to dovetail into the empty spaces inside Rei. The author has undeniably done research, so it's even more egregious that she fetishises the disorder by turning the alters into romantic rivals and some sex scenes into threesomes when she knows better. Apparently she was pressured into writing more smut scenes by the editors so that might explain some of the poor writing. Unfortunately, she doesn't stop at fetishisation but slips in a very sneaky assault scene. Yes, what Kazuha did in Chapter 10 is rape, people claiming Yuuma is a cheater for being raped are insane. This has plenty of shortcomings but I still think it's decent enough. The emotional moments are effective most of the time. The scene with Mutsumi receiving a gift for the first time was especially touching. Girlie just wanted to feel like someone cared for her, and I can relate. I also like how colourful Rei's personality becomes after the integration. I can overlook some inaccuracies for creative licence. It has shortcomings but decent for what it tries to be: 3/5. (2019-20).

Uncle and nephew bond as the nephew discovers his uncle's past through his diary. _____________________ There's a discussion on whether the long no-contact period was realistic. I think part of it is but not fully, and neither should it be. Realistically, contact would've been attempted for at least the first four years then slowly petered out, because staying in touch with a loved one you can't see can be soul crushing and would be difficult for many to maintain. I think the route the author took made the most sense narratively and thematically: it keeps up the parallelism between Gene leaving home for the first and second time and never looking back, and the theme of being brought back together thanks to a loved one (Gene encouraging Trevor to reunite with his family, nephew Gene being the catalyst for the re-encounter). As much as I argue for fiction's inextricable tie to reality, sometimes the tie must be severed for the story to be structurally sound, thus more evocative. Truly top-notch storytelling by Azuma Kaya, one of the most talented BL authors currently writing imo. Sometimes when you read a story you can feel the love the author has poured into it. You can feel that they stayed true to their vision, that they had strong narrative control and prioritised that over what would make it more palatable to readers (a love that is untouchable despite the generational gap and the extended absence). Nothing more to say: 5/5. (2021).