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Manga Review | Sweet Blood by Nene Shakeda

Title: Sweet Blood

Author(s): Nene Shakeda

Artist(s): Nene Shakeda

In a world dominated by vampires, human rights and freedoms have been severely limited. Humans and vampires are segregated, with very few select humans given passes to travel through and in vampire areas without being accompanied by a vampire. Jinosuke is one of those few humans. He's a potter whose work is impeded by the deteriorating relationship between humans and vampires. Unfortunately, his most recent job has just been canceled due to his sponsor pulling out.

Frustrated and unemployed, Jinosuke travels through a vampire district, aimless and trying to determine his next course of action. Even with a pass, it's not easy going through the streets of vampire districts, as all vampires have silver hair, and humans don't. So, Jinosuke is constantly being watched and talked about. He's hardly bothered by the attention until he ends up in a sparsely populated area. There, he is ambushed, confined, and then sold in a human auction for vampires. This is very illegal, but as the product being sold, Jinosuke has no choice but to go along with the process.

In the end, Jinosuke is purchased by a youthful-looking vampire named Noi, a human anthropologist. Thankfully, Noi doesn't want to force Jinosuke into being food but would like to make a trade. In exchange for his blood and knowledge of humans, Jinosuke can continue to work and live under Noi's protection. It's not ideal, but it's better than the alternative, so Jinosuke accepts. What Jinosuke doesn't expect is for the feeding to feel so good. As they share more time (and fluids) with one another, Jinosuke begins to suspect it wasn't a coincidence that Noi was the one to purchase him.

Title: You Dirty, Sweaty Boy

Author(s): Mumumu Momo

Artist(s): Mumumu Momo

Ochi is doing fine at his office job on the development team, but then he's transferred to the sales team. Ochi is generally not cut out for sales, preferring to be less client-facing. Add on his issue with overactive sweat glands, and this new position feels like torture for Ochi. His only saving grace is being paired with one of the top salespeople, Kitami. Kitami is everything Ochi wishes he could be: confident, extroverted, and charming. Ochi admires Kitami, especially as he patiently trains and encourages Ochi.

That admiration quickly dissipates, though, when Ochi learns of Kitami's odd fetish, one that he fulfills through Ochi every chance he can get.

Title: Charming Scarface

Author(s): Io Kaziwara

Artist(s): Io Kaziwara

Yuma is a big, bulky bear of a man, but inside, he's a soft sweetheart. This gentle personality manifests in the motherly way he dotes on his younger childhood friend Shizuya, in his love for kid's picture books, and at work when helping kids find books they'll love at the bookstore. But nothing gives him more pride than Shizuya. Much of who he is as an adult was carefully crafted for Yuma to be the best big brother and guardian figure for Shizuya. Yuma's happiness is intrinsically tied to Shizuya's, and Yuma wouldn't have it any other way.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard Yuma tries, it seems like Shizuya just isn't all that happy. Undeterred, Yuma does everything he can to dote on Shizuya in hopes that he will become the upstanding man Yuma knows he can be. One evening, while in town, Yuma's devotion to Shizuya reaches a dangerous level. As much as Yuma likes to think Shizuya is still the small, sweet, and gentle little boy, Shizuya has played the role of a delinquent through his teen years and, consequently, has gained a violent reputation and many enemies. He's challenged by some other delinquents, itching for a fight, but what was going to be a fight with fists turns deadly as one of the guys pulls out a knife.

When Yuma sees his beloved Shizuya threatened with a blade, he has no hesitation and jumps in the way, permanently scarring his face and making his life much harder, as children are afraid of the scar. Shizuya is beyond guilty, but Yuma is all too happy to sacrifice himself and his livelihood for Shizuya's happiness.

Title: Reward Me with Your Body, Sir

Author(s): Reo Ohno

Artist(s): Reo Ohno

Ookami is doing his best to please his clients, but his secretaries are making it difficult. They are often incompetent at best and unreliable at worst, making Ookami's working life impossible. He is desperate for a solution and willing to hire anyone just so long as they don't get in his way. As a result, Ookami looks to… an unconventional source. He checks out an app to rent a boyfriend.

There is a seemingly neverending supply of potential boyfriends, which means an unending supply of potential secretaries. At a cursory glance, Ookami lands on Mao. He's beautiful, and, for no reason in particular, he is Ookami's first choice. When they meet in person, it starts out more awkward than he would like. Mao immediately tries to jump Ookami's bones, which almost puts Ookami off this plan altogether. But once Ookami sees Mao all cleaned up and in action, he knows he made the right choice.

That is until Mao asks for a reward afterward.

Title: My Lovely Bunny

Author(s): Sakana Tojo

Artist(s): Sakana Tojo

Uito and Sei have known each other since they were children. And unknowingly to each other, that love grew deeper and deeper until, in middle school, they confessed their romantic feelings at the risk of their friendship. Thankfully, it all worked out, and they have been dating ever since. Unfortunately, in high school, they try to express their love for each other physically, and while they do get chances here and there, it's nowhere near enough to sate their lust for one another.

Thankfully, with the support of their few trusted relatives, they're able to enjoy their high school romance. But no matter how much time they spend together, it just never is enough. They can't wait to graduate high school so they can move in together. Until then, they'll take advantage of every opportunity they can. If young love can last a lifetime, Uito and Sei are determined to make theirs go the distance.

Title: Kuroe and the Garden of Feminine Pleasures

Author(s): Chifuyu

Artist(s): Chifuyu

Sonogi Eda woke up after a night out drinking in a shocking predicament. He has a vagina. Thankfully, he still has all his other parts, too, but that is a small comfort during this horrifying discovery. What's worse is that Sonogi doesn't have insurance, so he can't even afford to go to the doctor to get it checked out. Desperate for an outlet and anyone to confide in who can help, Sonogi goes in to work at the host club and asks his boss if he knows anyone with medical knowledge he could talk to.

As it turns out, the boss recommends the number one host of the club: Kuroe. While Sonogi's not convinced Kuroe can actually help, he has nowhere else to go and asks Kuroe to meet him in private. After disclosing his current predicament, Kuroe talks Sonogi into showing him his new body part. While all Kuroe does is humiliate and tease Sonogi, as well as blackmail him with this new secret, Kuroe does have some information about what is going on with Sonogi's body. There is an illegal drug going around that gives the person who takes it the opposite sex's genitals. Thankfully, it isn't permanent, but it won't go away in less than a month.

Relieved that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, Sonogi is comforted… except that now he's forced into Kuroe's servitude in exchange for keeping his secret. Can Sonogi withstand Kuroe's sadistic, womanizing tendencies?

Title: Enter the Beast

Author(s): Owal

Artist(s): Owal

Hajime Sato is an office worker. Work has been unbearable with neverending overtime. His only comfort in this trying time is the prospect of seeing his favorite porn actress Chihiro when he gets the chance to go home. He's already thinking about her newest release while on the train heading back home for the first time in a long time, but then he hears her. Looking around on the train, he finds there is only one other person, and he has headphones in. But the headphones are doing nothing to deafen the sound of porn coming from the stranger's phone.

Hajime is beyond embarrassed for the strange man, watching porn in the middle of the day, but he's even more embarrassed for himself. No matter how hard he tries to hold back, he can't help getting a boner hearing his beloved Chihiro's voice. The man ends up catching Hajime in this precarious situation. The man takes Hajime off the train at the next stop, taking him into the bathroom to “relieve” themselves while listening to Chihiro.

Hajime's stunned, embarrassed, but relieved all the same. At least it's over, and he'll hopefully never run into this weirdo ever again. Little does Hajime know this stranger, coincidentally named Chihiro, has no intention of leaving Hajime alone.

Title: Wails of the Bound ;β

Author(s): Keri Kusabi

Artist(s): Keri Kusabi

This is the sequel to Wails of the Bound.

No longer feeling compelled to protect his chief anymore, Miyabi, having finally met his alpha partner and being marked, Shingo Utou decides to take a promotion, putting him into the chief position of division two. Utou hopes his time of pining after and protecting omegas, who could never love him in return because he's a beta, is finally over for the foreseeable future, but then he meets the new hire: Sumito Sasabe.

Sasabe is an omega, and though he's not planning on disclosing his secondary gender at work, he has to disclose it to his bosses. Sasabe hates being an omega, as any success he has is always attributed to his ability to seduce and pleasure. But he hates betas even more as they can do nothing for him, unable to mark him and protect him from other alphas, so he'd rather hate them so he doesn't mistakenly fall in love with one.

Utou is having flashbacks of working with Miyabi, and after talking to his boss, it's clear that the intent of hiring Sasabe is to replace Miyabi and what he offered the company: his body. Utou has no intention of seeing another omega be used by clients again. But every time Utou tries to help, Sasabe sees him as just another predator trying to take advantage of him. Still, as time goes on and the two grow closer and closer, they find themselves falling for each other. But Sasabe's role in the company is already becoming that of a sex worker, and he's desperate to take that opportunity away. A beta can't mark an omega, so there is only so much Utou can do for Sasabe. Thankfully, there is an alpha from another company lingering around that Sasabe could use.

Title: Too Close for Love (digital) | Too Close to Fall in Love (TokyoPop print)

Author(s): Akira Nakata

Artist(s): Akira Nakata

Shizuka's father has finally found the one in a widower named Jace. Shizuka is very happy for his dad, but the addition of a younger brother in the house has him a bit worried. Thankfully, the younger brother, Motoya, is a pretty chill guy, and living together with them all isn't much of a problem. Yet, Shizuka is still nervous. Why? Motoya is exactly Shizuka's type.

But no matter how attracted Shizuka is to Motoya, he doesn't want to risk his father's happiness by pursuing Motoya. As sure as Shizuka is that he should maintain no more than a familial relationship with Motoya, it seems that Motoya may not have the same apprehension.

Title: Wails of the Bound

Author(s): Keri Kusabi

Artist(s): Keri Kusabi

Keisuke Takaba is an alpha, and he's recently been hired at a company. As the new guy, Takaba is still feeling out the office hierarchy, but all of his assumptions go out the window when he finds out his chief is an omega. Takaba has an aversion to omegas due to his childhood, having to see and hear his omega father being used and abused by various customers. Add in the unfortunate fact that Takaba doesn't even know who sired him, and this has created an intense hatred and phobia of omegas. But Chief Miyabi Karasuma isn't concerned with being well-liked, especially by alphas.

Miyabi Karasuma, chief of his department, didn't get where he is by being a well-mannered omega. Having been hidden away and confined by his father for most of his young life, the moment he became an adult, he was determined to build a life for himself where he used every advantage his omega body afforded him. He has sex with clients, many of his client's subordinates, and even the higher-ups in his own company, securing contracts and money that keep him at the top of his company's sales reports. His sales tactics are an open secret around the office, and most people despise him for his unconventional methods, none more so than Takaba.

But as Takaba spends more and more time with (and beneath) Karasuma, Takaba is beginning to realize that Karasuma isn't just any omega. Karasuma is strong. But even the strong need a place to rest, and Takaba wants nothing more than to be Karasuma's place. Can Takaba break through Karasuma's disgust for alphas?

Manga

Manga Review | You Dirty, Sweaty Boy by Mumumu Momo

Manga Review | Charming Scarface by Io Kaziwara

Manga Review | Reward Me with Your Body, Sir by Reo Ohno

Manga Review | My Lovely Bunny by Sakana Tojo

Manga Review | Kuroe and the Garden of Feminine Pleasures by Chifuyu

Manga Review | Enter the Beast by Owal

Manga Review | Wails of the Bound ;β by Keri Kusabi

Manga Review | Too Close for Love by Akira Nakata

Manga Review | Wails of the Bound by Keri Kusabi

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