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美しいこと #1
美人 上
每個禮拜，松岡會找一天扮成美麗的女人上街，
以吸引男人的目光為樂。
某天，以女裝姿態出現的他，
被男人搭訕後受到不愉快的對待。
茫然失措之際，有個溫柔男人伸出援手，
竟是同公司以笨拙著稱的寬末。
誤以為松岡真的是女人，
持續和他見面的寬末告白了。
然而，松岡卻決定再也不以女裝見他…。
以吸引男人的目光為樂。
某天，以女裝姿態出現的他，
被男人搭訕後受到不愉快的對待。
茫然失措之際，有個溫柔男人伸出援手，
竟是同公司以笨拙著稱的寬末。
誤以為松岡真的是女人，
持續和他見面的寬末告白了。
然而，松岡卻決定再也不以女裝見他…。
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First published November 21, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 8, 2015
4.75 stars.. the fifth depends on the second volume. This certainly was really good, the kind of BL that goes beyond the usual superficialities.
Matsuoka Yousuke has an unusual hobby: every Friday, he dresses up as a woman. He isn't gay, but he clearly enjoys using make up and dressing up in pretty clothes. When one evening, things take a nasty turn, he's rescued by Hirosue, a guy who works at the same company as him, but in a different department. Hirosue is gentle and kind, but also rather shy and not good with words. Even though Matsuoka doesn't really plan on meeting him again and again while dressed as a woman, he does - and as time passes, not only does Hirosue fall in love with "him", Matsuoka also falls for Hirosue, hard.
However, when he tells Hirosue he is actually a man, it's all over - despite Hirosue telling Youko (the name Matsuoka picked for his female alter ego) he would love her no matter what. But life being what it is (and this being a novel), the two aren't allowed to get over their feelings in peace. At the end of the first novel, while I'm sure they will end up together, I'm not entire sure how it will go. I like that.
I also like the question this poses: does/can love really surpass one's sexuality? In BL, it pretty much always does, but this time it's in a more serious setting. I do have a problem with Matsuoka's behaviour, though - or rather, he doesn't seem to understand how much he hurt Hirosue by lying to him. For someone like Hirosue, meeting and falling in love someone like Youko must have been a dream come true, and it all being a lie - I don't think Matsuoka has really considered that. To be fair, he doesn't seem to have the capacity to do so, having his hands full with his own feelings.
It was the first novel I read by Konohara Narise, and I really enjoyed it. I'll reserve my final judgment until after I've read the second novel, but so far I get why she is so popular.
Matsuoka Yousuke has an unusual hobby: every Friday, he dresses up as a woman. He isn't gay, but he clearly enjoys using make up and dressing up in pretty clothes. When one evening, things take a nasty turn, he's rescued by Hirosue, a guy who works at the same company as him, but in a different department. Hirosue is gentle and kind, but also rather shy and not good with words. Even though Matsuoka doesn't really plan on meeting him again and again while dressed as a woman, he does - and as time passes, not only does Hirosue fall in love with "him", Matsuoka also falls for Hirosue, hard.
However, when he tells Hirosue he is actually a man, it's all over - despite Hirosue telling Youko (the name Matsuoka picked for his female alter ego) he would love her no matter what. But life being what it is (and this being a novel), the two aren't allowed to get over their feelings in peace. At the end of the first novel, while I'm sure they will end up together, I'm not entire sure how it will go. I like that.
I also like the question this poses: does/can love really surpass one's sexuality? In BL, it pretty much always does, but this time it's in a more serious setting. I do have a problem with Matsuoka's behaviour, though - or rather, he doesn't seem to understand how much he hurt Hirosue by lying to him. For someone like Hirosue, meeting and falling in love someone like Youko must have been a dream come true, and it all being a lie - I don't think Matsuoka has really considered that. To be fair, he doesn't seem to have the capacity to do so, having his hands full with his own feelings.
It was the first novel I read by Konohara Narise, and I really enjoyed it. I'll reserve my final judgment until after I've read the second novel, but so far I get why she is so popular.
February 18, 2022
I became really interested in this story after reading the manga, and being really overcome with emotion and thoughts towards the idea of whether a person can really love and accept someone they "love" after discovering that they are a different sex than they thought. Initially, I was kinda annoyed with Matsuoka since he kept delaying the inevitable (not telling Hirosue that he's actually a man) and kept getting his hopes up by continuing to crossdress and even date Hirosue knowing how smitten he was, but I think what the novel shows better than in the manga was the loneliness of Matsuoka. From the story, we're aware of how difficult Hirosue's life is with work not going well, his superior being very overbearing, getting transferred, and having no real friends he can talk to. However, because of Matsuoka's "better" work life, we, or I kinda failed to realise that Matsuoka was in a similar situation. Even though he was working his way up well in his career, at the same time, Matsuoka was lonely. His girlfriend left him, work in sales was tough having him run around and cater to clients 24/7, he had to listen to Fukuda because it was important to have a grasp on what's going on at the company, he was constantly donning his work persona and could never catch a break, which led to him cross-dressing to relax, and I think it was through the novel that it kinda clicked to me how just as Hirosue felt like he found someone he could be himself with, Matsuoka also found someone he could let go of his work persona for.
I think the story demonstrated really well how isolated you can feel as a working adult, and I think that made it difficult for me to continue to dislike Matsuoka's decisions, because even though he felt guilty towards Hirosue, he couldn't help it knowing how someone could so genuinely love him for who he was even if it was himself as a woman. Hirosue accepted Matsuoka no matter how much he hurt him, and I think that his love really made me understand how difficult it was for Matsuoka to say anything knowing how everything could end.
As expected, Hirosue didn't receive the news well, and it didn't help that Matsuoka never really gave him some alone time to process it all. However, I could understand why Matsuoka didn't want to give him a break, because he knew that if he let go now, Hirosue would never come back to find him, and he didn't want to face that. Regardless, Matsuoka ended up having to face the reality of it all in the worst way possible (TW: rape) with a drunk Hirosue forcing himself on Matsuoka after Matsuoka realised he was trying to have sex with him whilst thinking about his female persona. Honestly, the scene was much more graphic than in the manga because knowing that even after the horrible ordeal Matsuoka had to go through with the person he loved not looking at him for himself, covering his mouth because he didn't want to hear his "male voice", he still bothered to clean up the blood that was on the carpet or ground or whatever so that Hirosue wouldn't feel bad about it all just broke me. Which is also why I hated how at the end of this book, Hirosue broke up with his girlfriend because he couldn't forget about Matsuoka, but he couldn't think of Matsuoka as his partner and decided he wanted them to "try things out" selfishly. Matsuoka always considered Hirosue's perspective, always thought about his feelings even when he was trying to hate him, but always controlled by Hirosue's whims and indecisiveness. I hated how Matsuoka always grasped at any little bone Hirosue gave him, but I couldn't fault him for it because I could understand how painful it was to give them another chance but still do it because you know you don't want to give up on them if there's still even a tinge of hope left.
And yes, the whole book was such a rollercoaster of emotions leaving me in tears in the middle of the night, so I immediately started reading the next book lol. The story has its' problems especially with the rape and I really don't want to ever read that part again because it shattered me how terrible the whole thing played out, but it's definitely a book I couldn't stop reading, I just had to know how this would all play out!
I think the story demonstrated really well how isolated you can feel as a working adult, and I think that made it difficult for me to continue to dislike Matsuoka's decisions, because even though he felt guilty towards Hirosue, he couldn't help it knowing how someone could so genuinely love him for who he was even if it was himself as a woman. Hirosue accepted Matsuoka no matter how much he hurt him, and I think that his love really made me understand how difficult it was for Matsuoka to say anything knowing how everything could end.
As expected, Hirosue didn't receive the news well, and it didn't help that Matsuoka never really gave him some alone time to process it all. However, I could understand why Matsuoka didn't want to give him a break, because he knew that if he let go now, Hirosue would never come back to find him, and he didn't want to face that. Regardless, Matsuoka ended up having to face the reality of it all in the worst way possible (TW: rape) with a drunk Hirosue forcing himself on Matsuoka after Matsuoka realised he was trying to have sex with him whilst thinking about his female persona. Honestly, the scene was much more graphic than in the manga because knowing that even after the horrible ordeal Matsuoka had to go through with the person he loved not looking at him for himself, covering his mouth because he didn't want to hear his "male voice", he still bothered to clean up the blood that was on the carpet or ground or whatever so that Hirosue wouldn't feel bad about it all just broke me. Which is also why I hated how at the end of this book, Hirosue broke up with his girlfriend because he couldn't forget about Matsuoka, but he couldn't think of Matsuoka as his partner and decided he wanted them to "try things out" selfishly. Matsuoka always considered Hirosue's perspective, always thought about his feelings even when he was trying to hate him, but always controlled by Hirosue's whims and indecisiveness. I hated how Matsuoka always grasped at any little bone Hirosue gave him, but I couldn't fault him for it because I could understand how painful it was to give them another chance but still do it because you know you don't want to give up on them if there's still even a tinge of hope left.
And yes, the whole book was such a rollercoaster of emotions leaving me in tears in the middle of the night, so I immediately started reading the next book lol. The story has its' problems especially with the rape and I really don't want to ever read that part again because it shattered me how terrible the whole thing played out, but it's definitely a book I couldn't stop reading, I just had to know how this would all play out!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2018
(Added to BL manga because I don't have a separate BL shelf, don't @ me.)
A friend recced these novels and I thought I'd give them a try despite not really being into the whole BL light novel thing--I read BL manga and I definitely read light novels, but I wasn't really sure about those things put together.
So: I haven't read anything by Narise Konohara before, this came out in 2007, and there's a lot of BL themes I don't necessarily like (I'm not falling into the 'objectifying gay men' trap haters are spouting nowadays, but I have to admit a lot of BL tropes back in the days were of unhealthy relationships), so I was wary.
But I loved these novels so much, there were so many emotions and I just wanted Matsuoka and Hirosue to be happy!
Disclaimer: taken out of the romance framing, Hirosue is kind of scary. I was just telling a friend how Hirosue was too intense and pushy in his own way. Did I find him incredibly cute in the novel? Yes. Do I think he's a safe person to be with in a real life situation? No. Thank god both of them are equally fictional, then.
Trigger warnings: it was mentioned in the blurb, but Matsuoka was sexually assaulted in the beginning. An older man got him too drunk and tried to rape him, but then tried to beat him up instead when he found out Matsuoka was a man. Much farther on --that was a bit more graphic than the scene I mentioned earlier, but not Super Graphic. Still, if that's not your thing, might be best to stay away. Or skip those parts.
As I mentioned before, I want Matsuoka and Hirosue to be happy. I love both these characters, in all their awkward, dorky, cute, and hurtful glory. They're both older men, with Hirosue about five years older than Matsuoka at 35 (or so, they met when he was 34) and they're definitely more adult in their concerns and worries. The office situation in which Matsuoka finds Hirosue is frankly speaking, quite harrowing and it's hard not to feel bad for Hirosue and see how he's a really good person. Cowardly and unintentionally cruel sometimes, but Matsuoka knows this, even blinded by love as he is.
I love the extreme lack of gay panic in Matsuoka though. At first he clearly just wanted to return Hirosue's kindness and maybe do something nice for him. But the more he knew of the guy, the more he liked Hirosue and I thought it was kinda cute to have him go from 'I can't reject him, he'll feel bad' to 'I wish I can just tell him the truth so we can be friends' to 'I love him but will he love me back even when he finds out I'm a man?' Konohara is not pulling any punches here and they write about Matsuoka's unrequited love with (as I imagine it) a relish to crush our hearts. Poor Matsuoka!
A friend recced these novels and I thought I'd give them a try despite not really being into the whole BL light novel thing--I read BL manga and I definitely read light novels, but I wasn't really sure about those things put together.
So: I haven't read anything by Narise Konohara before, this came out in 2007, and there's a lot of BL themes I don't necessarily like (I'm not falling into the 'objectifying gay men' trap haters are spouting nowadays, but I have to admit a lot of BL tropes back in the days were of unhealthy relationships), so I was wary.
But I loved these novels so much, there were so many emotions and I just wanted Matsuoka and Hirosue to be happy!
Disclaimer: taken out of the romance framing, Hirosue is kind of scary. I was just telling a friend how Hirosue was too intense and pushy in his own way. Did I find him incredibly cute in the novel? Yes. Do I think he's a safe person to be with in a real life situation? No. Thank god both of them are equally fictional, then.
Trigger warnings: it was mentioned in the blurb, but Matsuoka was sexually assaulted in the beginning. An older man got him too drunk and tried to rape him, but then tried to beat him up instead when he found out Matsuoka was a man. Much farther on --that was a bit more graphic than the scene I mentioned earlier, but not Super Graphic. Still, if that's not your thing, might be best to stay away. Or skip those parts.
As I mentioned before, I want Matsuoka and Hirosue to be happy. I love both these characters, in all their awkward, dorky, cute, and hurtful glory. They're both older men, with Hirosue about five years older than Matsuoka at 35 (or so, they met when he was 34) and they're definitely more adult in their concerns and worries. The office situation in which Matsuoka finds Hirosue is frankly speaking, quite harrowing and it's hard not to feel bad for Hirosue and see how he's a really good person. Cowardly and unintentionally cruel sometimes, but Matsuoka knows this, even blinded by love as he is.
I love the extreme lack of gay panic in Matsuoka though. At first he clearly just wanted to return Hirosue's kindness and maybe do something nice for him. But the more he knew of the guy, the more he liked Hirosue and I thought it was kinda cute to have him go from 'I can't reject him, he'll feel bad' to 'I wish I can just tell him the truth so we can be friends' to 'I love him but will he love me back even when he finds out I'm a man?' Konohara is not pulling any punches here and they write about Matsuoka's unrequited love with (as I imagine it) a relish to crush our hearts. Poor Matsuoka!
June 3, 2019
This book definitely doesn't portray the most healthiest of relationships . But altogether it touched me strongly. It is a very palpable and realistic story in as such that people are flawed. The love interest of the protagonist has many very good qualities and on the other hand he's also a horrible person. Not particularly horrible in the sense of a murderer or something, but small everyday things like being selfish or cowardly or indecisive. This book is especially difficult and also enlightening to read because you realise that, yes, no one is just nice and sweet and to fall in love with. People are also awful, but you are also awful yourself, and still people will fall in love with each other.
And the story starts out very sweet with the whole mistaken identity, cross-dressing thing, and then it hits you in the face and everything turns around. And then one of the most gut-wrenching emotional roller-coasters I've ever had started. Up till and ending that was almost poetic in it's sweetness and beauty.
The protagonist is really genuinely nice, I found it easy to emphasize with him and to suffer with him, you want him to be happy (you don't necessarily want him to be happy with Hirosue, but if that's what it takes you're fine with that too).
I came out of this book, feeling like I hadn't read anything like it before, and since then I haven't read anything like it either. I still feel like it's very much a piece of poetry more than anything else.
And the story starts out very sweet with the whole mistaken identity, cross-dressing thing, and then it hits you in the face and everything turns around. And then one of the most gut-wrenching emotional roller-coasters I've ever had started. Up till and ending that was almost poetic in it's sweetness and beauty.
The protagonist is really genuinely nice, I found it easy to emphasize with him and to suffer with him, you want him to be happy (you don't necessarily want him to be happy with Hirosue, but if that's what it takes you're fine with that too).
I came out of this book, feeling like I hadn't read anything like it before, and since then I haven't read anything like it either. I still feel like it's very much a piece of poetry more than anything else.
May 26, 2022
Lâu lâu đổi gió chút. Truyện ổn, thực ra BL chẳng khác ngôn tình là mấy, chỉ là thay vì tình yêu nam + nữ thì là nam + nam mà thôi. Mình thấy hơi vô lý khi việc giả gái lại dễ dàng đánh lừa người xung quanh như vậy.
May 17, 2017
Trên cả tuyệt vời ! Một bộ truyện bl đáng mong đợi nhất mình từng đọc! IPM luôn luôn ra những bộ truyện không làm mình thất vọng bao giờ ! Very very very good…!
November 10, 2020
Utsukushiki koto mượt mà nước chảy mây trôi, bản dịch của chị Lục Thiếu Hồng uyển chuyển, thế mà thằng cha Hirosue quá đáng ghét huhu
April 5, 2023
idk but I love this😭⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
November 20, 2016
Matsuoka dịu dàng, Matsuoka khờ khạo, ngốc ngếch trong tình yêu, đặt trọn niềm tin vào một lời nói đầu môi, cứ mãi ôm lấy từng chút hy vọng nhỏ nhoi... Nhưng nào nỡ trách móc cậu đây, chỉ muốn ôm lấy cậu vỗ về mà thủ thỉ rằng: "Tất cả rồi sẽ ổn thôi!"...
January 16, 2011
t
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2014
It was good! And angsty! Hit me in my feels~
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews