Mimi
... Ok, but why didn't your dad just teach you the damn recipe?
Anyway, this was fine. Just fine. But just fine in a more positive way than a low 3 “just fine". I thought Roy and Kotaro were cute together, I also most cried seeing them try to do a high five but Kotaro didn't have his glasses on so they missed and I loved everything about that bit. My only problem was how the dialogue flowed. something about the dialogue felt off in a way that felt like I was missing context. Like, the amount of times I've said “why bring that up out of nowhere" or “who asked" was a lot.
The way they brought up certain topics felt forced, like they were being told their next line off screen while also being told to stay on track. There was a part where Masuda came by to pick up the order list and, without being promoted, brought up Kotaro was down at the cafe, kicking off the conflict. That's just one of three parts that's stood out to me like that, but It didn't make sense for him to bring that up the way he did because it didn't feel natural to the conversation. It came off as gossip to start something for no reason and that's just how a lot of conversations went in this story. When people talked it either felt like a tonal whiplash or or “who asked" moment.
... Ok, but why didn't your dad just teach you the damn recipe?
Anyway, this was fine. Just fine. But just fine in a more positive way than a low 3 “just fine". I thought Roy and Kotaro were cute together, I also most cried seeing them try to do a high five but Kotaro didn't have his glasses on so they missed and I loved everything about that bit. My only problem was how the dialogue flowed. something about the dialogue felt off in a way that felt like I was missing context. Like, the amount of times I've said “why bring that up out of nowhere" or “who asked" was a lot.
The way they brought up certain topics felt forced, like they were being told their next line off screen while also being told to stay on track. There was a part where Masuda came by to pick up the order list and, without being promoted, brought up Kotaro was down at the cafe, kicking off the conflict. That's just one of three parts that's stood out to me like that, but It didn't make sense for him to bring that up the way he did because it didn't feel natural to the conversation. It came off as gossip to start something for no reason and that's just how a lot of conversations went in this story. When people talked it either felt like a tonal whiplash or or “who asked" moment.
I'm sorry but I was really bored during the main story. I don't know, the story felt kind of stale but also cute. I just couldn't bring myself to care about either of them as much as I wanted to that when their conflict happened I didn't feel anything. It wasn't a bad story, I just didn't care.
Now as for the 2nd story, I was giddy for more of Minakami. I remember thinking to myself “man, I really like the design of the cafe owner. I really want to see more of them". But they just had to ruin it by the college guy be 19. Ugh. It's a cute story but they could've made him at least 24? Even before finding out his age I couldn't stop thinking how I would've loved it more of it was about him and the bartender from the place Suzuki worked at instead because I need more mature couples in my life. So that kind of sucked seeing that Isaki was under 20. And then they hit me with a joke like “What kind of useless adult am I, getting involved with a kid" like, ew!? Like, ew? Like, ew.
Something I do like, though, was the way this author draws mouths and eyes. Specifically their smiles, though. It makes me think of how fixated I was with another author, Kei Sumiya, who’s smiles during some genuine moments are so radiant, shiny, blinding, and warm. The :3 smiles Kure does makes me smile, I love it. It’s like when you’re talking to someone who understands the importance of emoticons and put shit like :) and -A- and (^u^) at the end of their text. I’m in love. I’m in love with the way Kure draws smiles.
I'm sorry but I was really bored during the main story. I don't know, the story felt kind of stale but also cute. I just couldn't bring myself to care about either of them as much as I wanted to that when their conflict happened I didn't feel anything. It wasn't a bad story, I just didn't care.
Now as for the 2nd story, I was giddy for more of Minakami. I remember thinking to myself “man, I really like the design of the cafe owner. I really want to see more of them". But they just had to ruin it by the college guy be 19. Ugh. It's a cute story but they could've made him at least 24? Even before finding out his age I couldn't stop thinking how I would've loved it more of it was about him and the bartender from the place Suzuki worked at instead because I need more mature couples in my life. So that kind of sucked seeing that Isaki was under 20. And then they hit me with a joke like “What kind of useless adult am I, getting involved with a kid" like, ew!? Like, ew? Like, ew.
Something I do like, though, was the way this author draws mouths and eyes. Specifically their smiles, though. It makes me think of how fixated I was with another author, Kei Sumiya, who’s smiles during some genuine moments are so radiant, shiny, blinding, and warm. The :3 smiles Kure does makes me smile, I love it. It’s like when you’re talking to someone who understands the importance of emoticons and put shit like :) and -A- and (^u^) at the end of their text. I’m in love. I’m in love with the way Kure draws smiles.
I felt like I had to reorganize my thoughts on this story. This was a less-than-average read for me sometimes. I really like the almost family-like dynamic between Maggie, Al, Ned, and Mary, they had this vibe of “we’ve been friends since first grade, we grew up together” and I loved that. I loved that Maggie knew about Ned’s feelings for Al and was here for them, I loved that they all were here for Maggie towards the end of the book. I loved the tension the book had at times! There are a lot of things about the stories and the characters and the backstory that interest me so much.
But there was also something... something that held this back for me. I thought the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star bit was sweet in the context of what it was for until the author wanted me to take this song seriously and then it just felt corny. Even though I grew to enjoy their friendship, starting with Al flirting with both Maggie and Ned felt weird to me. It's just this "siblings who flirt with the same person and that person flirts with them both" is not my cup of coffee, to be honest. Chapter four felt kind of confusing to me the way it jumped around in the timeline.
I just find it funny that some of the small things got to me enough because of how mundane and still this story was. There was this gloomy and heavy atmosphere that was almost perfect. I love the hurt. The comfort is cute. But some of the comedy made me roll my eyes and I will never get over how they tried to make Twinkle Twinkle Little Star important.
I felt like I had to reorganize my thoughts on this story. This was a less-than-average read for me sometimes. I really like the almost family-like dynamic between Maggie, Al, Ned, and Mary, they had this vibe of “we’ve been friends since first grade, we grew up together” and I loved that. I loved that Maggie knew about Ned’s feelings for Al and was here for them, I loved that they all were here for Maggie towards the end of the book. I loved the tension the book had at times! There are a lot of things about the stories and the characters and the backstory that interest me so much.
But there was also something... something that held this back for me. I thought the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star bit was sweet in the context of what it was for until the author wanted me to take this song seriously and then it just felt corny. Even though I grew to enjoy their friendship, starting with Al flirting with both Maggie and Ned felt weird to me. It's just this "siblings who flirt with the same person and that person flirts with them both" is not my cup of coffee, to be honest. Chapter four felt kind of confusing to me the way it jumped around in the timeline.
I just find it funny that some of the small things got to me enough because of how mundane and still this story was. There was this gloomy and heavy atmosphere that was almost perfect. I love the hurt. The comfort is cute. But some of the comedy made me roll my eyes and I will never get over how they tried to make Twinkle Twinkle Little Star important.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA so anyway, this book gave me a migraine because of how much dread I've felt reading it. It’s been a very long time since I've read something this heavy in atmosphere, and yet, it still felt different than something like CUT or Ito-san. In the middle of chapter two I needed to sit the book down and take a nap after about an hour because I was already feeling so anxious Alan that it made me fucking tired. I’ve been looking for exactly this feeling for months! The hurt/comfort here was like Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas morning. I was bawling my eyes out, I was fucking miserable caring so hard about two fictional characters! I was having the time of my life reading this.
One of my main setbacks, though, was the high levels of religious preaching coming from ... everywhere. I get it, it was his upbringing and a huge part of the story. I think it's because my Baptist upbringing was never a negative one and I just have to remember that not everyone’s religious experience is that fortunate.
The other thing was the age gap situation. It's very well known that Alan is 17 when they first met. Hayden's, however, is very rocky. He's either between 18 (turning 19 that year) to 21 and the thought that he was 19 or 20 looking at Alan that way bothers me a little more than the religious talk. That being said, 17 was the legal age in Texas in 1999... Plus, it started in winter and Alan most likely have been 18 for some months by the time any romance started between them. Also, the little note at the end talking about how everyone was legally above age is funny to me because I’ve never seen that disclaimer at the end of a BL before. It still just felt weird to me, though.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA so anyway, this book gave me a migraine because of how much dread I've felt reading it. It’s been a very long time since I've read something this heavy in atmosphere, and yet, it still felt different than something like CUT or Ito-san. In the middle of chapter two I needed to sit the book down and take a nap after about an hour because I was already feeling so anxious Alan that it made me fucking tired. I’ve been looking for exactly this feeling for months! The hurt/comfort here was like Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas morning. I was bawling my eyes out, I was fucking miserable caring so hard about two fictional characters! I was having the time of my life reading this.
One of my main setbacks, though, was the high levels of religious preaching coming from ... everywhere. I get it, it was his upbringing and a huge part of the story. I think it's because my Baptist upbringing was never a negative one and I just have to remember that not everyone’s religious experience is that fortunate.
The other thing was the age gap situation. It's very well known that Alan is 17 when they first met. Hayden's, however, is very rocky. He's either between 18 (turning 19 that year) to 21 and the thought that he was 19 or 20 looking at Alan that way bothers me a little more than the religious talk. That being said, 17 was the legal age in Texas in 1999... Plus, it started in winter and Alan most likely have been 18 for some months by the time any romance started between them. Also, the little note at the end talking about how everyone was legally above age is funny to me because I’ve never seen that disclaimer at the end of a BL before. It still just felt weird to me, though.
... I’m so confused on this one. Kinda... Sorta?
I'm pretty sure I forgot that was tagged as mature, but I didn't think that this was going to have this many sex scenes. It kind of ruined the actual story for me even though half of the plot was about Keppei's issues revolving around having sex with Keita. There are times in this manga that didn't need a sex scene, times when serious talking about Keppei's embarrassment and Keita's trauma would've been better... But instead, they fucked.
It wasn’t like we didn’t get to see them talk about each other’s problems, it just wasn't enough and you could tell the author really wanted to put a sex scene in every chapter. There's also the fact that some of those scenes were with each other's 18yd selves and I hated that. It's just my age gape disgust that got in the way at times.
This story was both really cute and very frustrating for me. I really loved the characters and I liked the premise but the time we spent reading them fuck felt wasted. On top of how it ended in six chapters, it was difficult for me to be happy about the proposal with the way chapter six went.
... I’m so confused on this one. Kinda... Sorta?
I'm pretty sure I forgot that was tagged as mature, but I didn't think that this was going to have this many sex scenes. It kind of ruined the actual story for me even though half of the plot was about Keppei's issues revolving around having sex with Keita. There are times in this manga that didn't need a sex scene, times when serious talking about Keppei's embarrassment and Keita's trauma would've been better... But instead, they fucked.
It wasn’t like we didn’t get to see them talk about each other’s problems, it just wasn't enough and you could tell the author really wanted to put a sex scene in every chapter. There's also the fact that some of those scenes were with each other's 18yd selves and I hated that. It's just my age gape disgust that got in the way at times.
This story was both really cute and very frustrating for me. I really loved the characters and I liked the premise but the time we spent reading them fuck felt wasted. On top of how it ended in six chapters, it was difficult for me to be happy about the proposal with the way chapter six went.
Kind of started out rocky on the first chapter for me, I didn't really like how Reiji was just a 5yd kid in an adult's body. Dude just said his apt doesn't allow pets, he lives on the second floor, and here's this grown ass man banging on the floor for him to take in the cat... I didn't like that.
At least it got better and ended nicely. Even though it got cutter later on, I found that I really don't like when authors spend the whole book on the journey but only give us one chapter of them finally being together. It's different from a slow burn for me, I don't mind if it takes a while for the relationship to begin. It’s more of me wanting an extra one or two chapters of them dating instead of ending it immediately after they officially started dating.
This was basically just fine. I would've loved a second volume of all three of them just being and living together. I've come to like Reiji and Koichi by the end but there wasn't enough to make them memorable to me.
Kind of started out rocky on the first chapter for me, I didn't really like how Reiji was just a 5yd kid in an adult's body. Dude just said his apt doesn't allow pets, he lives on the second floor, and here's this grown ass man banging on the floor for him to take in the cat... I didn't like that.
At least it got better and ended nicely. Even though it got cutter later on, I found that I really don't like when authors spend the whole book on the journey but only give us one chapter of them finally being together. It's different from a slow burn for me, I don't mind if it takes a while for the relationship to begin. It’s more of me wanting an extra one or two chapters of them dating instead of ending it immediately after they officially started dating.
This was basically just fine. I would've loved a second volume of all three of them just being and living together. I've come to like Reiji and Koichi by the end but there wasn't enough to make them memorable to me.
I am so disappointed. I don't think this was bad, I just felt like it was rushed in its storytelling. By the time I got to the extra chapter about taking a summer vacation, it dawned on me that I was at the end of the book. Nothing really happened and it felt like I should've still been on chapter 3. Like, I jumped into this thinking I was gonna read something adorable, sad, and a bit bittersweet with some kind of slow burn showing these two friends trying to get to know each other and be friends again after not seeing each other for so long while also trying to be a couple.
There were some stuff like how Outa expressed to Tomoaki that he wanted to open up about what he's feeling more so that they can get on the same page. This is brought up twice and in both instances where I thought we were going to get more character development, nothing happened. Both of these characters didn't really mean anything to me by the end of it, I found myself getting angry at even the smallest of dumb BL tropes.
Man, I really wanted to like this because this is my time of story but the rushed storytelling really got to me.
I am so disappointed. I don't think this was bad, I just felt like it was rushed in its storytelling. By the time I got to the extra chapter about taking a summer vacation, it dawned on me that I was at the end of the book. Nothing really happened and it felt like I should've still been on chapter 3. Like, I jumped into this thinking I was gonna read something adorable, sad, and a bit bittersweet with some kind of slow burn showing these two friends trying to get to know each other and be friends again after not seeing each other for so long while also trying to be a couple.
There were some stuff like how Outa expressed to Tomoaki that he wanted to open up about what he's feeling more so that they can get on the same page. This is brought up twice and in both instances where I thought we were going to get more character development, nothing happened. Both of these characters didn't really mean anything to me by the end of it, I found myself getting angry at even the smallest of dumb BL tropes.
Man, I really wanted to like this because this is my time of story but the rushed storytelling really got to me.
