Book 679: Our Dining Table – Mita Ori

This is another great introduction into manga in that it’s easy to follow the reverse (for western readers) style of reading any type of book. The lack of explicit sex and (often internalized) homophobia also make this more appealing to western audiences that might not necessarily want to read/see something that explicit.

I think I’m narrowing in on a type of yaoi that I enjoy reading. This is a lot like Go for it, Nakamura!, in that there’s a purity around 95% of it. It’s so stinking adorable and this is definitely one of those books where you read a page/panel and put the book to your chest and sigh with a goofy grin on your face.

I haven’t read it yet, but I think I need to actually go read the full Wikipedia page on yaoi to see if this is a specific sub-genre. There was no sex, but there was sexual tension. There was trauma, but nothing as brutal as what I’ve seen in some of the other yaoi I’ve read. And there was an adorable little meet cute personified in Tane.

The primary characters are “salaryman” Yutaka and the brothers Minoru and Tane. I found “salaryman” to be hilarious for some reason, I guess because it’s just a generic term for worker or maybe businessman? And the story follows the developing relationship of the three after Tane in the most adorable meet cute crashes Yutaka’s solo lunch in a local park.

I really liked Yutaka’s character and his social anxieties and quirks that were totally brought on by his upbringing and as I’m writing about this I think of Austen’s Fanny Price of Mansfield Park. I think some of Yutaka’s hesitation and quirkiness is natural, but I think a lot was forced onto him growing up. Minoru and Tane have lost their mother and Minoru has been aimless the past few years with Tane really keeping him as grounded as he can be in a way only a young child can be (he’s 4 or 5ish?).

Yutaka and Minoru provide stability to each other as their relationship develops and Tane keeps Yutaka on his toes when more often than not it seems he just wants quiet and predictability. The story progresses slowly, but at a pace that is gratifying and ultimately perfectly timed to leave you with that aforementioned grin on your face and sigh echoing around the room and in your heart.

Recommendation: Definite read. I thoroughly enjoyed it for the story and as sad as I was to see it end, I was sooooooo happy that the author included a fast-forward epilogue.