Elisa Rolle's Blog, page 7

Confessions of a Shy Baker by Masaomi Itou

 

Toshimitsu Yamamura owns a real estate company and loves baking delicious, healthy snacks in his spare time. When his coworker comes to him one day with the idea of advertising their real estate agency as LGBT-friendly, Toshi realizes this little change could really help people who often face discrimination in his industry. He's terrified, though, because he worries this move will out him as gay. Joined by his boyfriend Gonta who inspired him to bake in the first place, Toshi navigates a changing world that's slowly becoming more accepting, faces his fears and discomfort, and bakes some incredibly lovely treats along the way.

My Rate: 7 (amzn.to/462ax4U)


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Be My Worst Nightmare! by Ayane Shiro (aka Michelle)

 

Sayo Hoshikawa is a high schooler with a height complex who witnesses his unrequited crush getting rejected by the person Sayo despises most: the tall, popular, and menacing Itsuki Mashiba. He’s better than Sayo at pretty much everything, and what really gets under Sayo’s skin is when the jerk calls him cute! But one night, he has a dream about Mashiba caressing him…and that’s only the beginning! As his dreams get even more intense, will Sayo’s nightmares ever end, or will he have to confront how he might really feel about Mashiba?

My Rate: 7 (amzn.to/4mHGFSt)


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The Pizza Delivery Man and the Gold Palace by u-pi

 

Woo-won is a pizza delivery guy down on his luck, and Seo-an is wealthy man suffering from panic attacks and social phobia. You wouldn’t think these two would have any reason to get to know one another, but one small kindness leads to a series of encounters that bring the two men closer together than either of them anticipated. Maybe they can find the solutions to their problems together…or perhaps they don’t need solutions, but simply each other.

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

I like this one, but really, all the hiatus is making me crazy... That is the reason why normally I don't read manhwa that are ongoing, but this one is so nice that I have started it two times, always hoping it will end in the meantime, cause, yes, this is going on for three season, more than 100 episodes, and apparengly it's not near the end. There are still too many loose trends, and Woo-won hasn't yet decided to leave his pizza-delivery job to start modelling or acting seriously... How a young man is not able to understand that he is wasting his youth doing side job when he has served a very good job opportunity on a silver plate. And it's not even that Seo-an gave it to him, it's something he gained from his own... so yes, plenty of frustration over Woo-won, but Seo-an, on the other hand, is giving you plenty of satisfaction. He is really, deeply and sincerely in love with Woo-won, and he is also able to not make him feel like they are on different level. He knows when to give and when to take, and yes, there is a pun intended here. Nice graphic. Can't wait to see how it ends.





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Lost in the Cloud by Paskim

 

One young man learns that not everything is safe when uploaded to the cloud. The hit full-color Boys’ Love webtoon sensation, now in print in English for the first time!

Skylar has a secret: he’s been covertly snapping photos of his crush, Chan-il, and storing them in the cloud. He thought they were safe—until the photos vanish, and an anonymous text exposes his secret.

The blackmailer? Chan-il’s sharp-tongued best friend, Cirrus. Instead of outing Skylar, Cirrus proposes a deal that pulls him into a web of awkward encounters, close calls, and a deeply personal game. What does Cirrus really want, and why can’t Skylar shake the feeling there’s more to this game than meets the eye?

My Rate: 9 (amzn.to/465UunD)

Lost in the Cloud is not your typical romance, and Cirrus and Skylar are not your typical teenagers. Both of them had serius trauma while children, and in particular Cirrus developed a double personality, bright and good boy in public, dark and crazy kid at home. He identifies in Skylar another misfit, a twin souls, and he had to to everything to have Skylar only for him, distancing him even more from the others. Probably I'm a misfit too, cause I have never considered Cirrus a villain, but actually I wanted for Skylar to see beyond the appearance and be able to love Cirrus, cause I knew the healing power of Love was the only cure for Cirrus. The graphic is original but superb, the dark moments are almost horror pictures, but when Cirrus and Skylar have the few bright moments, the graphic conveys light colors and happiness all over. Bit long story, but worth it.


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Like the Beast by Kotetsuko Yamamoto

 

Tomoharu Ueda is content being a police officer in his neighborhood. He likes helping people, and in return, people like him. One night, he gets visited by a yakuza who turned to be the victim of the underwear thief he caught the previous night. The yakuza is Aki Gotouda, the heir of the Gotouda group, who thanked him for catching the thief. To Tomoharu's surprise, Aki confesses that he has feelings for him. Thus starts a forbidden relationship between a police officer and a yakuza.

My Rate: 9 (mangaplanet.com/comic/5facb14faa491)

If I have to pick a work by Kotetsuko Yamamoto, my choice is between Like the Beast and What About Tomorrow. Usually I don't like when the characters are too childlike, but I will give it a pass, since in Like the Beast the two are actually adult men, looking like teenagers, but nevertheless of age. The series is not particularly sexy, even if there are those moments as well, and it's a Romeo and Julius like romance, between a cop and a Yakuza. But if you consider the Yakuza looks like a middle age school boys, and that his wrongdoings seems more like juvenile acts, then the drama is out of the picture, and only the romance remains. To me it's a bit too long as a series, but indeed, you can get attached to the characters and it's nice to see their development.


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Boku no Mii-chan by Sonoo Michiru

"Anyone will do. Let's get married." Morio, a wealthy scion, has been a recluse for 10 years. For the sake of his bedridden grandmother, he arranges a marriage interview, but the person who shows up is a tall, beautiful foreigner... a man!? Morio is surprised, but the man, Mitya, gently heals Morio's heart, and Morio proposes to him♥ Mitya formally agrees to move in with Morio, but in fact, Mitya suffered a deep emotional scar in in the past in his homeland!?

My Rate: 7

I have a kink for diffirent sized couple, and in this case it was a really huge difference, 40 cm. Plus the two are from different countries and do not speak each other language, so the contrast was even more evident. The story was surprisingly sweet, there is a little bit of sex, but it's almost an afterthought and it's not so primary, it's not even part of their daily conversation. What instead is the focus of the story is the healing power of love: both Morio and Mitya had soffered losses in the past, and they need to heal their wounds to be able to continue with their life. Two hurting souls finding comfort in each other arms this is what the story is about. The graphic is somewhat ethereal, like the story itself, and it concentrates on the good things, just giving a glimpse on the bad ones.

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Thoroughbred Doesn't Flutter by Rico Sakura

Shishidou the lion is a playboy who's always in conflict with the thoroughbred honor-student Toshimasa Shiba. However, they were childhood friends and used to get along well in the past. Everything changed between them when Shishidou reached puberty.

My Rate: 7

The second book in the series it's a little less cute and a little more sexy. Shiba and Shishidou are childhood friends, but when puberty hits, things got derailed. In this series basically sexual urges are equalled to hunting, and Shishidou, a lion, was unable to control his urges when he was an adolescent. Not that later things got better. Actually Shiba decides to "sacrifice" himself to avoid Shishidou hunting other herbivore... even if, I think Shiba was just jelaus. I think the second book doesn't have a satisfying ending, meaning that, I'm not sure how these two will overcome their family in order to be able to be happy together. Right now I think they are just living an high school romance, we don't have the basis to say if it will last.

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The Vampire And The Virgin Rose by Komachi Katsura

 

Yayoi’s in love with his classmate Chitose. Up until now, he’s been satisfied with watching the attractive but aloof vampire from afar. Then one day, Chitose asks to feed on Yayoi, who hesitantly agrees. But there’s one condition before each feeding: they must sleep together first. It’s a startling proposition for anyone, especially for Yayoi, who’s never even had his first kiss! And even though Chitose insists that all they’re doing is feeding, the warmth of his embrace suggests otherwise...

My Rate: 8 (tapas.io/series/the-vampire-and-the-virgin-rose-mature/info)

The graphic of Komachi Katsura is somewhat disconcerting, and at first you even wonder if the characters are really appealing or not, but once you enter her visual world, you found that indeed it's very beautiful and the characters are sort of mesmerizing. I really liked this story, even if it's not joyous or sweet, it has always a bittersweet undertone, it's at the very end and happily ever after (with a cat too!). Even the starting of the love between Chitose and Yayoi is bittersweet, but in a way Chitose is always nice and true to Yayoi, and he doesn't force the other boy to do nothing, actually he indulges in his every wim, like saving one canary life. I would have not minded to read more of adult Chitorse and Yayoi, but this is just one volume story, and it focuses mostly on their high school life.

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Minori's Hand by Scarlet Beriko

 

The chiropractors, oasis, is no place for ordinary customers. It caters for all sorts from hotshot, crime syndicate leaders to nationally popular celebrities. Even those socially depicted as assertive are no match to the touch of Dr. Minori Shigehumi's magic fingers. Overflowing with affection, Dr. Minori's technique leads their heated bodies to a greater level of satisfaction......

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

If I hadn't read Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato, I would have been sad for the young yakuza leader, so don't be worried for him. Said that, I like Scarlet Beriko, and so it was a given that I liked also this one, even if I think it is one of her earlier work. The graphic is a little less stylish than Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato or Jealousy, but the story is, as always, a mix of romance with a little sadistic side. But even if a little bit twisted, her characters nevertheless have always a nice happy ending.

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Room to Room by Lee Aru

 

Dowan is a typical college kid who loves to workout and hang out with his friends. But when his secret crush becomes his roommate, how will he be able to control his urges? To make matters worse, his crush-cum-roommate, Chamin, suffers from “sexsomnia.” He completely forgets his sexual episodes the next day. This leads to steamy nights between the two but leaves Dowan feeling empty when things go back to normal the next day. His heart broken anew every day, Dowan just has to figure out a way to make his roommate his boyfriend for real...

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

If Window to Window was mostly about sex but cute, its sequel about side couple Dowan and Chamin is just about sex. The graphic is still nice, and yes, also the sex is nice, but I still cringe a little seeing that again these two are venturing into a sex relationship without being aware of its consequences... actually in this case Chamin is really unaware, since he is having a bad case of sexinsonnia, and Dowan at first doesn't realize it. Not that when he realizes it things change a lot... If I have to find a merit on this story is that Dowan is a real gay character, and not someone who is gay since he is in love with a man. Dowan is gay even before meeting Chamin, and it just happens that Chamin is totally his type... with the only big problem that Chamin has a girlfriend. Luckily when they start having sex, Chamin has been dumped by his girlfriend, so there is no cheating happening. Room to Love is a short sequel to Room to Room and is about Dowan doing his military service: I quite liked this glimpse on the real life of a South Korean young man.





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