Imagine a typical shoujo manga, but the male and female lead actually seem to have an equal investment and mutually enjoy each other. Radical, I know. Now imagine that, but also the female lead has actual romantic and sexual agency. Borderline revolutionary. (It's not even 'strong woman, submissive man,' it's just...two equal partners, who both want each other and both occasionally make a first move. A feminine girl who doesn't just exist solely to cry and swoon over a cute boy.)
Now make it a little erotic, a bit naïve, and you have this comic. It follows a lot of the usual narrative beats of a
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Oct 9, 2022
Mayoke no Darling
(Manga)
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This is a fairly middling manga, which will likely satisfy many BL fans who aren't very picky and mostly enjoy cute, fluffy stories.
The art is very nice, and the romantic build up + ending relationship dynamic are both entertaining and sweet. The love interest is fairly compelling, and most of my personal enjoyment came from watching him navigate his situation. The main character, however, doesn't really act like a human being—he more closely resembles the abstract concept of 'cute uwu baby boy.' I personally found him obnoxious and insulting, but I'm sure there are some readers who will be charmed by his cuteness. 
Oct 7, 2022
Perfect Fit
(Manga)
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I feel like this is a hard to review story, largely on account of the love interest.
The love interest is missing half of one arm. As a disabled person, I find this aspect of his character very, very cool and am pretty happy with how they handled it. He's not defined by it, it isn't at all the focus of the story, but it also does impact how he's viewed in a realistic way. Hell yea physically disabled sexy love interest. On top of that, he's also an asshole. Personally, I like asshole characters in my fiction, and it could be argued that he's still very ... 
Jul 26, 2022
This is less of a story and more a collection of scenes and moments. It's also a delight to read.
I've seen this manga labelled as 'wholecome', and I'm not sure I'd use that word per say...but the couple's interactions Can be rather heartwarming. The main draw, in my opinion, is that they act like a very realistic couple: they take digs at each other, they're buffoons when they're alone, they do and say weird shit (sometimes veering on haunting). And they're undoubtedly deeply in love with each other. It's a little bit horny, sometimes creepy, sometimes atmospheric and deep, and almost always funny. The visuals are ... 
Jul 21, 2022
This is kind of trashy, but the worldbuilding is so interesting that it's still an entertaining read.
Story: I love this kind of hokey premise. The 'lie meter' as a catalyst for the main couple meeting is executed fairly well (if a bit rushed), and the further worldbuilding and exploration in the second volume is also interesting. Art: It's not a very pretty style, a little dated, but endearing in it's own right. Characters: The two main characters are...fine. They're alright, a bit annoying but likable enough. The third most important character starts out as an interesting secret-antagonist, but becomes such a scumbag that it's hard to ... 
Jul 21, 2022
This is a manga that is trying to be a dance manga and a shoujo-romance, and doesn't manage to execute either perfectly. But it's also not terrible either, and it's short, so there's that.
23:00 feels more like a collection of ideas than a finished story. A lot of promising premises are introduced, such as the love interest's famous brothers, conflicts within the dance team, and a female rival for the love interest, but none are ever fleshed out. Rather, you get a taste of a lot of little stories that could have been. While the characters all lack depth, the dance sequences and the ways in ... 
Jul 13, 2022
Koko kara wa Off Record de
(Manga)
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This could be seen as a cute, wholesome, slightly-above-average BL romance story, unless you have a complicated relationship with the concepts of identity and two-facedness. Then this might be incredibly meaningful.
Logically, I know that if I were being impartial I might not rate this as high as I am. But even if this narrative doesn't deeply resonate with you, it's still a solid BL with interesting characters, a heartwarming romantic development, and a very sweet relationship. It even delivers on some erotica and has crossdressing thrown in (without the romance hinging on the uke being feminine or otherwise robbing him of his dignity as a ... 
Jul 13, 2022
Isekai no Sata wa Shachiku Shidai
(Manga)
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I could wax poetic about this series forever.
I would have already bought into this with the sheer premise of "saving the [fantasy isekai] world through accounting]", because that rules. But there are Layers to this narrative, including some incredibly thoughtful and well-executed explorations of Japanese work culture and health. This is a BL, but the romance often takes a backseat to the politics and social commentary. I'd say if you're a fan of period drama/office drama politics & court drama mystery you will get more out of this then someone just looking for a generic BL. (The romance definitely starts becoming more important ~10 chapters in, ... 
Mar 11, 2022
Aishitagari no Maison
(Manga)
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While the initial premise feels terribly unethical no matter how long I think about it, it sets the stage for a cute and satisfying school love comedy.
Art: Very pretty, quintessential shoujo. Everything I could ask for. Character: There are a few characters I disliked, either at the beginning or later as they developed, but the majority of the cast is decently endearing and the dynamics built through their friendships were interesting. There are no ground-breaking characters--they almost all fall into regular shoujo tropes--but if you're already a shoujo fan, that might not be a bad thing. I wish there was even one respectable adult, though. None of the ... 
Feb 26, 2022
Unmei no Tsugai ga Omae da Nante
(Manga)
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An unremarkable but unoffending ABO romance story.
I was originally drawn in for the premise of two antagonistic men who keep coming together but refuse to admit they even like each other, much less love. That expectation was delivered in full, along with great art, decent writing for both the smut and lifestyle scenes, and decently compelling story beats. The story does a good job slowly laying out the main character's attraction, but I think it could have benefitted from an additional chapter to really sell the love interest's feelings and flesh him out some more. But other than that the pacing is satisfactory, and it's overall ... |
