A compelling LGBT+ drama by the creator of Black Rose Alice and After School Nightmare! Ootomo Kyoichi, a weak-willed salaryman in a troubled marriage, is cheating on his wife. To his surprise, his wife hires a private eye to expose his affair-and the private eye is none other than Imagase, an underclassman Kyoichi knew in college. Imagase explains that he's gay and always had a crush on Kyoichi, so he offers to hide the infidelity in exchange for the make-out session he'd always fantasized about back in college. Kyoichi reluctantly agrees, thinking it will save his marriage, but things with Imagase soon spiral out of control.
This manga earns its Mature rating with some realistic and explicit scenes. However, unlike several recent BL titles, these encounters are always earned theyre there because they tell us about the shifting relationships between the characters and the power dynamics involved. And Setona Mizushiro who has a very distinctive and easily recognizable graphic style amplifies and intensifies the impact of these scenes with her skillful portrayal of the characters emotions in their facial expressions. The pictures speak even without the dialogue, but when enhanced by the dialogue (or the characters' thoughts) they convey so much more to the reader. Even though shes produced other engaging (though non-BL) work since this title (Black Rose Alice, Shitsuren Chocolatier) this is probably her most intense and compelling love story. Like 10 Dance by Inouesatoh, this is manga for grown-ups: nuanced, bitter-sweet (with more bitter than sweet here) and difficult to put down. There are so many subtl Read Full Review
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