Elisa Rolle's Blog, page 16

Limited Run by Eeej

 


Life is rough enough for a struggling young actor, but Yeon-oh has bigger problems at home with his gambling addict of a father. Between barely finding any work and constantly getting hounded by unsavory loan sharks, Yeon-oh finds himself reluctantly accepting a dangerous offer from a dangerous man...

My Rate: 8 (www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/limited_run)

The starting point of Limited Run is quite common for a manhwa: a rich businessman decides to sponsor a young actor burdened by their father debt, almost an ordinary contract for these BL manhwa, so ordinary that I'm wondering if it's just the fantasy of South Korean authors, or there is something true behind. Nevertheless, the graphic was nice, the sex story (because at the beginning is not a love story) was also nice. There is a turn of event that makes it going out of the ordinary path, and if you consider the bound between Yeon-oh and President Kwon, the actions of this businessman are quite to be reprimended, he is indeed exploiting someone who is completely innocent for his own gain. What I really liked of the story is that when Yeon-oh falls in love for President Kwon, he is open with his feelings, he is able to declare them, and not instead run away like they always do other characters in this same situation. That was really refreshing, it basically saved all the story for me.

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Full Volume by Eunji Yang

 

Dowon has a problem. His neighbor, Beom, seems awfully rude, but he’s infuriatingly gorgeous. And the completely ridiculous cherry on top? Beom turns out to be Dowon’s all-time favorite camboy, which only adds to the (sexual) frustration. Beom is a metaphorical pain in Dowon’s ass, and Dowon would like to return the favor physically, thank you very much. So, Dowon has a problem—in his pants. The question is, how is he going to solve it? You’ll find out the answer if you crank the volume up, and watch very, very closely…

My Rate: 7 (www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/fullvolume)

I have to say that, despite the story being nice, and somewhat romantic, with that hint of comedy that I usually love, there was indeed too much sex in this story. I don't mind sex, even when it's graphic, but when the sex overcomes the story so much that there is not much of it, then it's too much. Nevertheless, here you have not one, but two nice couples (three if you consider the trainer and his teddy), and so it could be interesting if you skip all the sex.


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Who can define popularity? by Tak bon

After being teased during elementary school for his looks, Siwon Cha dedicated countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears to evolve into the hottest guy ever. To secure his place as the campus hottie, he put in great effort on his first day of university, only to find out that there is someone else in his department who is threatening to take his spot: Daun Hyung. Not only is he gorgeous, but he is even rumored to be the heir to Hansun Conglomerate! Will Siwon be able to defeat his rival?

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/3SqRI4V)

Who can define popularity? manhwa is quite different from its double adaptation to drama (Blueming and Something's not right), nevertheless is quite nice. The manhwa is quite innocent if you consider the usual level of sex you have in the other webtoon, but here they even duel with contrasting feelings to arrive to a chaste kiss, and there is nothing more after that. It's quite funny, cause usually it's the drama that erase the sex, and here instead, Blueming is way more sexy than its original manhwa. And the comic is also more cute than both its adaptation. It's like manhwa and dramas are for two different age level users. There is also a mix in the quality of the graphic, sometime it's very detailed and beautiful, some other time is sort of a sketch... not sure I liked the switch, but indeed the beautiful rich panels are enough to satisfy me.

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The Origin of Species by Harusari and AshK

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Lee Youngjin has never been like other Omegas. Rather than being physically superior to humans like the rest of his species, Youngjin is a gifted hacker. But when his talent leads him to an ill-fated heist mission, Youngjin finds himself trapped in the clutches of a powerful Alpha businessman named Seo Seunghyun. Now, he must do anything he can to guarantee safety for himself and his colleagues - even if it means sleeping with the enemy. But as the business deal between Youngjin and Seunghyun quickly becomes more personal, will they be able to see eye to eye? Or will their differences be too much to overcome?

My Rate: 8 (www.tappytoon.com/en/book/the-origin-of-species-m)

There are many things I like about this manhwa, but probably the same I can say about what I don't like. It's quite dark, and there is on screen violence, and the main lead Seo Seunghyun, is not only moving on the edge of legality, he is often trespassing that edge. Moreover, I don't understand the starting point of Lee Youngjin and Seo Seunghyun's relationship: how can be a sextape of Seo Seunghyun being of any detriment for him? what does Lee Youngjin want to achieve with it? but soon after, with Lee Youngjin's request of sleep together after sex, and Seo Seunghyun stating that he will treat Youngjin as a lover, they made me fall for them. Season 3 is all about cuteness and happy feeling, therefore making amends for all the violence in the first two seasons.



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Something's Not Right (2025)

 Something's Not Right is adapted from the manhwa Who Can Define Popularity, the same webtoon from which they adapted Blueming, another drama that I quite liked. Do Ba U and Ji Hun are the sidecouple in the webtoon, but here, in this drama, they are center stage. I quite liked their sweet story, I also like that, up until the end, it was not clear if the happy ending was with Ji Hun or Jung Ha Min. Tell you the truth, I was rooting for Jung Ha Min. The story is set in college, but the characters are behaving more like high school students, they have a sort of innocence in them that is endearing. Something's Not Right is very cute, if I have to find a fault, is that, sometime, the flashback are a little bit confusing, it helped a lot that in most of them Do Ba U and Ji Hun are wearing their school uniform. Said that, I cannot really find any other fault in this sweet, sweet love story. HEA. You can see it on Viki. Heat Level: 3/6.

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Heat Level:
1/6: glances, caress, hugs, no kisses
2/6: kisses, closed mouth or camera angles
3/6: full kisses, clothes on
4/6: full kisses, some clothes off, hands above the waist, pants stay on
5/6: most clothes off, they have sex, but it’s masked, no sexy sounds
6/6: full nudity mostly hidden by camera angles, they have sex, sexy sounds



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Smyrna and Capri by Brothers without a tomorrow

What if your sworn enemy holds the key to your future? Theo Peserus: an alpha of the mighty Peserus clan, called forth to provide the clan with a child. For a tree to bear fruit, a worthy Capri must be chosen to inseminate him. Seram Marita: a revolutionary army soldier hailing from the Langeres clan. Having escaped from his imprisonment, he now weaves through the maze-like halls of the Peserus castle, looking for a way out. But a tempting odor permeates the air and leads Seram straight to the enemy. Intoxicated on pheromones, the two adversaries are now engaged, not in a battle for their lives, but in a war of lust... What fruit will come to bear when these foes, this Smyrna and this Capri, become entangled in a decadence that they both cannot resist…?

My Rate: 9 (www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/smyrna_capri_en)

I have to admit that I liked this one more for the graphic than the story itself. Both Theo and Seram are quite the specimen, and when they created their chibi version (sort of small creature to maintain the contact between them when they are far from each other) I completely lost it. The cuteness was so strange in the middle of a battlefield, that made me forget that historical and/or fantasy settings is not exactly my cup of tea. In this one I think they mixed the old legend that dragons are hermafrodite, and therefore even Theo, a man, can give birth to an egg, that will become a baby once it hatches. So basically they mixed a legend of the ancient world with the omegaverse of the new world. Nice mixing, good story.



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Minmotion Syndrome by Niji

 

“I’ll repay that 450 thousand for you…but in exchange, you’re mine.” Due to the debt left behind by his father, alpha Seo Taeyoon is at the mercy of Park Jae-in, a mob boss with a penchant for violence. But when Taeyoon is able to identify Jae-in as an omega by scent alone, the ruthless criminal is taken aback – because nobody should be able to smell his pheromones. Seeing this as his opportunity to regain what once was lost, Jae-in offers to pay off Taeyoon’s father’s loan in exchange for a life of servitude. Now Jae-in holds the key to both the physical and metaphorical locks around Taeyoon’s neck. And so begins their relationship as master and slave...but there's no telling how it will end.

My Rate: 9 (www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/minmotion_en)

Minmotion Syndrome is set in the Omegaverse universe and it has all the thropes of that universe, making it the perfect read if you want to try one. I think this was among the first I read, and, yes, it got me hooked. It has the right level of drama, without being too sad. My only complaint is that Taeyoon's father is already dead at the beginning of the story, and so there is no chance for Taeyoon to reconcile. It's sad, cause, little by little, we arrive to care for that lonely omega who was able to raise such a good and caring son. Taeyoon has no bad feelings inside him, and is not able to be mean. Really liked also the character of Jae-in, and how he was able to raise from his misfortune, and, also in his case, still be able to love and care for someone else. Nice one.


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Love Is a Poison (2024)

 I had my radar on Love is a Poison for a year at least. It was on Netflix, but not for the Italian market, and I did wonder which level of BL it had, considering it was distributed in a mainstream platform. Indeed I wasn't expecting much, maybe something on the line of Fermat's Cuisine, obviously a love story between the two male characters, but all in the fantasy of the viewer and nothing on plain view. I was wrong. Not only Shiba and Haruto confesses their feelings, they even exchange rings and make their relationship public. Sure, the level of intimacy you have is the same of a regency romance: meaning, everything happens behind closed doors, and you are not invited inside the room but that doesn't matter, I liked the same that they were affectionate enough to make it clear they were a couple. Nice one. HEA. You can see it on Netflix and Viki. Heat Level: 3/6.

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Heat Level:
1/6: glances, caress, hugs, no kisses
2/6: kisses, closed mouth or camera angles
3/6: full kisses, clothes on
4/6: full kisses, some clothes off, hands above the waist, pants stay on
5/6: most clothes off, they have sex, but it’s masked, no sexy sounds
6/6: full nudity mostly hidden by camera angles, they have sex, sexy sounds



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Pink Heart Jam and Pink Heart Jam: Beat by Shikke

A drunken dare turns into a college student’s chance to confront his own sexuality—by visiting a male brothel!

For college student Haiga, starting school in the big city is a chance to make new friends and try new things. On the first day of classes, he spots an impossibly gorgeous upperclassman named Kanae strumming a guitar and decides to join the school’s rock band. But later, when a drunken dare gives Haiga the opportunity to visit a male brothel, he finds his crush employed there as a sex worker!

Haiga lets Kanae introduce him to gay sex, and afterward his innocent crush on Kanae is replaced with a whole new type of attraction. Even as their bond outside the brothel strengthens, Kanae will only be intimate inside its confines—and only in certain ways. What will it take for the two to go beyond experimentation and forge a real relationship?

My Rate: 9 (amzn.to/4kyLqMD)



A drunken college dare to visit a brothel leads to serious romance when a now-former brothel beauty and his younger college boyfriend move in together!

College student Haiga, now a senior, has finally moved in with his boyfriend, Kanae, a former classmate and brothel beauty who’s since graduated and joined the workforce. And although they’re living together, that doesn’t mean they aren’t both still busy with their own lives—Kanae with work and Haiga with his career aspirations.

Noticing Haiga’s job search hasn’t been going well—and that they haven’t been on a date in a while—Kanae decides to take him out to cheer him up. Unfortunately, even that doesn’t go well, and Kanae falls ill. But as the seasons pass, the two affirm and reaffirm their relationship, and before long, it’s time for Haiga’s final college performance—his graduation concert!

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/4jmRp61)

The main reason why I picked Pink Heart Jam was because the cover was super pretty :-) I will admit it, there was no other reason, but behind the pretty cover I discovered a nice story too. I was quite impressed how they managed to make romantic a story about sex workers, but they dealt with the matter in such a unattached attitude that made it like any other job. There was no dark stuff, no dirty details, Kanae is working at a brothel like if he was working behind the counter in a drugstore, and Haiga is not judging him less for it, actually I think Kanae could do even worst things and Haiga would still consider him sort of a semi-god. Yes, this one was this sort of mix of TMI details (like the condom for the fingers, first time I read about it) and beautiful panels that I couldn't avoid with falling for these guys.



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Pink Heart Jam: Beat by Shikke

 

A drunken college dare to visit a brothel leads to serious romance when a now-former brothel beauty and his younger college boyfriend move in together!

College student Haiga, now a senior, has finally moved in with his boyfriend, Kanae, a former classmate and brothel beauty who’s since graduated and joined the workforce. And although they’re living together, that doesn’t mean they aren’t both still busy with their own lives—Kanae with work and Haiga with his career aspirations.

Noticing Haiga’s job search hasn’t been going well—and that they haven’t been on a date in a while—Kanae decides to take him out to cheer him up. Unfortunately, even that doesn’t go well, and Kanae falls ill. But as the seasons pass, the two affirm and reaffirm their relationship, and before long, it’s time for Haiga’s final college performance—his graduation concert!

My Rate: 8 (amzn.to/4jmRp61)


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