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Manga Review | Living With Him by Toworu Miyata

Title: Living With Him

Author(s): Toworu Miyata

Artist(s): Toworu Miyata

This review includes the bonus story Living With Him: Heating Up.

Ryota Natsukawa, now in college, is ready to start his new life of independence. Well, really, he’s always been independent. While his mother often worked, Ryota, the oldest child, took on many home responsibilities, including caring for his younger sister. This has inadvertently made him the ideal homemaker, and while he doesn’t have a problem taking care of the house and others around him, he’s ready to focus on himself. Unfortunately, due to pressure from his mother, Ryota loses his chance to live alone and is forced to move in with his old childhood friend, Kazuhito Tanaka.

Ryota isn’t looking forward to caring for someone else again but quickly falls into his homemaker and parental role. As they interact with each other in close quarters, Ryota realizes that Kazuhito is more than capable of taking care of himself and seems to want to take care of Ryota. Maybe this living arrangement isn’t so bad? Even though Kazuhito is a great roommate and seemingly perfect in every way, he can’t seem to keep a girlfriend. Thankful for how great of a roommate Kazuhito is, Ryota offers to fake date him to identify the issue. As expected, Kazuhito is an excellent partner, and Ryota finds himself falling for him.

They’re great roommates. They’re great fake boyfriends. But what if they were real boyfriends?

Title: Therapy Game

Author(s): Meguru Hinohara

Artist(s): Meguru Hinohara

This is the sequel series for Secret XXX, and it’s highly recommended that you read that title first before coming to this one.

Minato is out for revenge. While out at a gay drag bar, Minato was comforted by a drunken and heartbroken Shizuma. Shizuma, though in tears after being cheated on and dumped, felt compelled to comfort Minato, who was sad that his brother was finding love and moving on in life without him. Charmed by the sweet young man, Minato decided to take care of him, leading to them having a steamy night in bed. The next morning, Shizuma calls out for his ex, only to have Minato respond. The sweet and loving Shizuma is suddenly standoffish and embarrassed, admitting he remembers nothing about their night together.

Feeling bamboozled, Minato is furious and embarrassed. He had been vulnerable with Shizuma, only to be forgotten entirely. His initial goal is to scare Shizuma off. But Shizuma wants to take responsibility for anything he did to Minato, which presents a much more satisfying opportunity for revenge. Minato fully intends to take Shizuma up on his offer of taking responsibility, and over time, he wants to drown him in love and affection, wrap him around his little finger, only to break his heart.

What Minato doesn’t anticipate is Shizuma stealing his heart in the process.

Title: Secret XXX

Author(s): Meguru Hinohara

Artist(s): Meguru Hinohara

Shohei loves rabbits. He adores them. Growing up in a family of exotic vets and zookeepers, he’s been surrounded by a variety of interesting animals, but none can beat rabbits in his heart. Unfortunately, when he finally got the chance to get a pet rabbit in his childhood, he discovered he was deathly allergic to them. Heartbroken, he grew up longing for them all the same. Once he finally reached college, he happened upon a rabbit shop, Trois Lapin. For days, he spent his time after class watching all of the bunnies from the outside window until he was approached by an employee named Mito, who asked if he’d like to come in and see them up close.

Shohei was more than happy to take him up on that offer, even though he went home feeling sick afterward. After being invited inside once, Shohei can’t help volunteering as often as he can to be near all of the sweet little bunnies. However, as he spends more time in the shop, working alongside Mito, he finds that there is more than just the rabbits that he loves within the shop. If it ever got out that he was allergic to rabbits, he knows that Mito and his grandmother, the owner, would never allow him to continue working there. So, Shohei keeps his allergy a secret at the risk of his health.

But can he grow closer to Mito when he can’t get close to his rabbits?

Title: Heat x Beat: I May Be an Omega, but I'm Going to Be an Idol!

Author(s): Ken Homerun

Artist(s): Ken Homerun

Asahi Amaya wants to be an idol. He’s longed to become someone that the masses could love and support so he can entertain them and bring them joy in return. His inspiration comes from a long-retired actress and singer who had to leave because she got pregnant. Of course, he admires her talent, but he admires her even more for being one of the few famous omegas. Why would this matter? Because he is an omega.

But he doesn’t let anyone know, as omegas are heavily judged for their biology, often going into heat and, as such, “seducing” others. Asahi makes it all the way through auditions and is placed in a new unit dubbed B-Marks, but on the day he meets his fellow idols, he finds out one of them is an alpha. Instantly, the two recognize each other, and Asahi is forced to confess that he is an omega. Thankfully, his management will let him stay in the group, but he has to keep his identity as an omega secret.

Asahi will do anything to keep his dream alive, but Madoka, the alpha, is a huge obstacle. Can Asahi keep his secondary gender a secret while his groupmate constantly causes him to go into heat? Or will he end up just like his inspiration, forced to quit altogether?

Title: Return of the Prince

Author(s): Junko

Artist(s): Junko

This is a collection of three BL shorts by Junko.

Return of the Prince (plus A Ring’s Tale)

Adult life isn’t all it’s made out to be for Kou. He works all the time, is constantly berated by his boss, and ends up home alone. While at a relative’s wedding, as if to rub salt in his wound, Kou runs into his cousin Fumihiro, whom he always picked on in their childhood. But as an adult, Fumihiro has become a handsome prince and is charismatic on top of that, causing all of their mutual family members to compare them, often leading to insults toward Kou. Frustrated, Kou takes advantage of the festivities and drinks himself silly. Fumihiro offers to care for Kou, leading to a steamy liaison between the two. Though it was only meant to be a one-night stand, Fumihiro seems to have no intention of leaving.

Metamorphosis

Ritsu Kitagami and Yasuhiro Adachi have been friends for as long as they can remember. Ritsu has always been quiet and considered a bit odd by those around him, but Yasuhiro cares for him all the same. Nothing has changed, even in high school, or so Yasuhiro thinks. While walking around campus, Yasuhiro sees Ritsu in a screaming match with someone, even going so far as to threaten to fight them. Yasuhiro doesn’t even recognize Ritsu. Although Yasuhiro doesn’t want to believe it, Ritsu has changed. But has Yasuhiro?

Beside Him

Haijima believes his best friend Shimizu might be in love with him, and in realizing this, he finds that he is in love with him, as well. But then Shimizu comes to school, announcing that he has a new girlfriend, and though Haijima believes Shimizu doesn’t really love the girl, over time, he discovers that Shimizu never loved him in the first place. Heartbroken, he goes to their mutual friend, Hachiya, for comfort, only for Hachiya to admit that he loves Haijima. But Haijima still loves Shimizu. What will this mean for their friendship?

Title: Love is an Illusion! - The Queen

Author(s): Fargo

Artist(s): Fargo

Seung-ah has been tied to alpha Do-gyeom, one of his best friends and first love, for twenty years, all by choice, initially as her friend but ultimately as her secretary. Unfortunately, this has given Seung-ah a front-row seat to all of Do-gyeom’s sexual conquests and escapades. Seung-ah does his best to keep his longing for Do-gyeom under wraps. His only comfort is that Do-gyeom has no intention of getting into a relationship or marrying, meaning he can always be the closest one to Do-gyeom, even when he feels he has no right to be.

He’s pretty content with this arrangement until Do-gyeom, after seeing her brothers getting married and starting families, decides that she wants to start her own family, too. Suddenly, it’s not enough that Seung-ah has to chase away one-night stands; now, he has to chase away the one-night stands and try to find her a worthy spouse. To his surprise, that person manifests in an unrelenting female omega, an employee of Do-gyeom, and a one-night stand. Seung-ah was willing to give Do-gyeom over to a worthy omega of the same class and power, but this was just too much for him to bear.

Unable to see his long unrequited love get married to someone beneath her, who isn’t Seung-ah himself, he runs to their longtime friend Mujin, who is happy to comfort Seung-ah in any way he can.

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?

Title: Killing Stalking

Author(s): Koogi

Artist(s): Koogi

Yoon Bum is a loner, but he doesn’t want to be. Bum longs for companionship, but not just with anyone. He longs for no one other than Oh Sangwoo. Bum has been quietly stalking Sangwoo since meeting him during conscription after Sangwoo rescued him from an assault by his platoon leader. After figuring out where he lives, Bum discovers the numbers of Sangwoo’s door lock and lists out every possible combination, which he decides to try so he can gain access to Sangwoo’s house. Unfortunately, at the end of the list, a cop car pulls up and begins questioning why he is there. Bum is in a panic but is able to say he’s Sangwoo’s cousin before getting the code right and slipping inside.

While Bum sees this as a victory, he doesn’t realize that the cops he spoke to know Sangwoo, and they end up telling him about the run-in with his “cousin,” prompting him to return home while Bum is lurking about. But having a stranger in his home isn’t the main reason Sangwoo is in a rush to get back. While Bum is snooping about, he discovers a basement door in the floor with a lock on it. Once he opens it and heads down, Bum discovers a woman, bound and beaten. Bum tries to help her, but before he can get her free, Sangwoo finds him, knocking Bum out with a baseball bat.

Bum is now Sangwoo’s newest victim. Can Bum survive this encounter? But more importantly, can he make Sangwoo love him as much as he loves him?

Print Version Available

Manga Review | Living With Him by Toworu Miyata

Manga Review | Therapy Game by Meguru Hinohara

Manga Review | Secret XXX by Meguru Hinohara

Manga Review | Heat x Beat: I May Be an Omega, but I’m Going to Be an Idol! by Ken Homerun

Manga Review | Return of the Prince by Junko

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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