Books

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.

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Books

Book 672: Go for it, Nakamura! – Syundei

Adorable.

I could probably leave it at that, but since this is a blog and not just Twitter, I won’t.

Go for it, Nakamura! is a Japanese manga that’s on quite a few Best LGBT+ manga lists, so I thought I’d give it a try. I honestly wasn’t sure if it was going to be closer to My Brother’s Husband, Vol. 1 and My Brother’s Husband, Vol. 2 or more like Don’t Be Cruel #1 and #2 or #3 and #4. Thankfully, it was more like the latter, with no sex scenes (these are high school kids after all).

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Books

Book 603: Don’t Be Cruel (#3 & #4) – Yonezou Nekota

When I returned Don’t Be Cruel (#1 & #2) to the library, I was pleasantly surprised they had this one on the shelf so I grabbed it. Sadly, it’s the last one I think the library has, but I haven’t looked at all the digital options yet.

This one was much more to my taste than the first two volumes. It was much more loving and nurturing and much less focused on blackmail and rape/sex. There were still a few blush-inducing scenes, but they were more loving and caring than in the first anthology. I was able to successfully read this without closing it and quickly putting it in my bag.

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Books

Book 602: Don’t Be Cruel (#1 & #2) – Yonezou Nekota

Similar to Tableau Numéro 20, I found this on Grace’s Books Without Any Pictures. This one, however, is much more sexually explicit than the other. It jumps in pretty quick with hands down pants and what is basically a rape scene within the first 20-30 pages.

I’m not sure how much I liked it because of this change and the subject matter. If I’m honest, I think I prefer the non-explicit sexual tension and love that was portrayed in Tableau Numéro 20 versus this explicit blackmail. I was honestly surprised the library had this after I started reading it. It was in the general “Graphic Novels” section and not teen, so maybe that’s how they don’t get in too much trouble?

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Books

Book 595: Tableau Numéro 20 – Est Em

I came across this on Grace’s blog, Books Without Any Pictures, and her description of it being out of the normal for manga pulled me in. It didn’t hurt that it was short stories, which I’ll talk more about later. I requested this one because of the Spanish title and story names. The other I requested from the library was Don’t Be Cruel (#1 & #2), just because…

I was surprised the library had it, but then I remembered that it was yaoi and not bara (like Massive: Gay Erotic Manga and the Men Who Make It, which is SO much 100% more sexually explicit. This was the first yaoi I’ve ever read and it was interesting and honestly the part that caught me most off guard was the authors mention of her blood type in the afterward – I was like wait WTF?

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