Shelved: December 2015

There wasn’t much in the way of new stuff going on this month. That isn’t to say that I don’t have any, I do, but my mood was all over the place and I was mentally preoccupied. It also didn’t help that I lost all of my digital BL. Pretty much every file I’ve collected for nearly eight years, gone, in a matter of seconds and I’m still not quite sure how. There are some that I will be able to recover–I’ve almost restored all of my SuBLime and eManga files–but others are just gone. That happened on the 21st and I still feel a bit nauseous when I think about it. Usually when things like that happen I end up separating myself from the whole thing–like the time I lost 60,000 words of an original story in what was probably a similar set of circumstances; I stopped writing for three years and when I started writing again it was both cathartic and painful–but I’m trying not to be so extreme in my actions. I’ll just have to wait and see.


Zen--Summer EyesZen: Summer Eyes – A very tall student and a very petite student become classmates, then friends, then allies, and then something more. This story was so lovely and so adorable. I wasn’t really watching the clock, but I don’t think it took more than a half hour to read. [Read]

[divider]

{Nana Yaa Kyere} Hockey Homo-01Nana Yaa Kyere: Hockey Homo View 1-View 3

[divider]

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Unlicensed” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]

Ootsuki Miu: Ukkari Cherry – A collection of stories, two of which are related to Paradise Baby. The first story is about a disciplinary committee member and a guy who is thought to be a punk, but isn’t–there was a tall dark-haired megane, so that was nice. The second story is about a guy luring someone in with food–it was mostly stupid, but there was a striped shirt and this one panel in which the seme was laughing and it was really cute. The third story was kind of like Gift of the Magi, but with alcohol–it was better than the first two. The first Paradise Baby related story was about how Micchan felt about Sawa and Shiroi dating and wondering why he didn’t tell him. The second was about Shiroi confessing to Sawa. Had I not read and enjoyed Paradise Baby already, I think I probably would have only liked the one about Micchan.

Sakura Rico: Sabishigariya wa Yume wo Miru – Enh…

Yamamoto Kotetsuko: Honto Yajuu V08 – I’m so glad I gave this series another chance. A while back I wrote:

I love that, while he sometimes cringes, often can’t believe what he’s seeing, and has made suggestions for the sake of a situation, Tomoharu is in no way adamant about Aki making a permanent change to his wardrobe style.

And I still feel that way, but the sentiment has spread to Tomoharu’s overall approach. He totally accepts Aki for who he is and I really enjoy seeing them interact because of that. Also! This volume was a lot of fun with Takeuchi and Ayato. Their appearance has made me realize that Tomoharu is one of my favorite Yamamoto characters. As an idea, straightforward, always honest characters can seem very boring, but Tomoharu’s actions are never without consideration for the situation and the person he’s dealing with. He speaks up when necessary, chooses his words carefully, and while it kind of seems dishonest, he sometimes lets other people’s assumptions work for him, thus avoiding a point at which he would be presented with definitely having to make a choice between lying and telling the truth. Lastly, for this volume, I was grateful that Aki apologized for what happened with Ayato. Considering the situation, he could have easily pushed all the blame on Ayato and tried to end the situation without addressing that, regardless whose fault it was, Tomoharu was upset by it. I’m looking forward to the next volume.

Psyche Delico: EroMan – Kami to Pen to Sex to!! – I am severely lacking in whatever is required to appreciate this story.

Kyuugou: Acid Town V01-V04

Abe Miyuki: Super Lovers V05-V07 – Just before the middle of volume six, I was feeling like I was still enjoying the story–or at least getting something out of it–but I was only interested in what was going on with everyone but Haru and Ren. I always want to see more of Shima, but I really wanted to know more about Natsuo. Then I was blessed with the return of the handsome doctor. And I just want to see those guys hooked up with someone. They’re so handsome, so it seems like such a waste to not have them involved. But this is Abe, so if there’s anything I’m sure of about her works is that there’s usually a talk dark-haired hottie, a good story, a well-written female character, and lots of potential for “love” with no payoff. So when I got to volume seven, I was happy about the Takamura-Natsuo story line, but my hopes for any development are pretty much non-existent. I am happy to report that the twins turned 20 and Ren has finally turned 16–not that makes all that much difference. And he goes to the same school as Takara and Kiyomine, but years later. The Kashiwagis still reign. I don’t know what to make of this Akira kid. Ren certainly won’t let himself get bullied, but is he going to explain the truth of the situation to Haru? It’s possible Haru could go to jail if he does–at the very least he’d definitely lose it if he found out someone was harassing his precious Ren. Sadly, I can’t say I’m looking forward to this development, but I hope the events change my mind; Abe has a way of doing that.

Asada Nemui: Admonition from an Elder Brother – I’ve wanted to read this ever since I saw the cover somewhere–it’s so late 60s early 70s. I did enjoy it, though, so it was more than just a good looking book. When I read the To the Sea oneshot, it gave me a feeling that I couldn’t quite place, but I get it now. Asada’s art conjures up thoughts of Ima Ichiko’s serial work and early Takaguchi Satosumi illustrations and just a general feel of 70s art. As for the stories, they’re like the love child of Kunieda Saika and Ima Ichiko’s various styles–odd, comical, endearing, and a bit dark, among others. Having lost a lot of their work, reading this was sadly nostalgic and comforting. It’s a collection of stories and my favorite is definitely the title story and its related extras. It’s such a tease, but a delicious one that had me giggling and turning away as things developed, and I’m pretty sure I was blushing. “The Swerve” is about a misunderstanding that gets turned into reality and ends up saving two “middle-aged” losers. “Hairy Caterpillar” is where the weirdness of both Kunieda and Ima collide. “Life in the Park” goes on and you get the feeling that it’s going to be about seeing the best in people, but it’s not. And lastly, “The Sound of the Waves” takes you pretty much to the end before you’re sure of the editor’s true motives, but even then, the end doesn’t really spell out their future or leave it open. I’m totally on board for more Asada; I’ve compared them to two of my faves, but they’re definitely doing their own thing.

Aniya Yuiji: Mic and Neo V01 – Aniya took it way too easy. It’s part mystery, part gag, part meta, and part …what? Also, the characters are drawn in her deformed style for more than half the manga. However, there is an actual story–a pretty decent one–but I’m sure if you took all the extra stuff out, the complete story would fit in a single volume.

Kurahashi Tomo: Sick – There were a few things that bothered me, but I liked it for the most part. It was cute and I’ll probably read it again.

Mita Ori: Yamada to Shounen – Other than Yamada being too old for Chihiro, this was such a nice story and the pace at which their relationship developed was perfect.

Yuki Ringo: Hatsukoi wa Gunjou ni Tokeru

[/toggle]

UP
%d bloggers like this: