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Manga Review | A Home Far Away by Teki Yatsuda

Title: A Home Far Away

Author(s): Teki Yatsuda

Artist(s): Teki Yatsuda

Alan never feels more uncomfortable than he does when he is at home. His parents are intensely religious to the point that they are stunted into praying their lives away at home, blaming even the most slight inconvenience on sin and the devil. This would be bad enough, but Alan suffers from a chronic disease that his parents blame on some sin he has committed and believes that prayer and repentance will heal him. Alan’s life is suffocating, but he has nowhere else to go.

One evening, having stayed out past curfew, Alan refuses to go home, though he knows he will be punished when he gets home. Instead, he hangs out on the front steps of a restaurant. While sitting there, he’s approached by one of the workers, Hayden, who offers to let him out of the cold after his nose starts bleeding, which is a common symptom of his disease. The two share a deep conversation that continues daily, where Hayden reveals that he’s a drifter and will be moving on soon. Alan is heartbroken, but what can he do?

The day Hayden is set to leave, after a desperate and emotional confession from Alan, Hayden offers him a chance to escape with him. Of course, there’s a chance, even if they run, that Alan will never find happiness, but at least it would be his choice. So the two escape together, trying to find any small moments of joy they can cultivate for themselves while their dark pasts loom over them.

Title: No Love Zone

Author(s): Danbi

Artist(s): Danbi

Eunkyum is a newbie at his company. He’s been there a year, but his level of responsibility is still pretty low, much to his dismay. While he pines for better opportunities at work, he also longs for better in his love life. Unfortunately, his relationship history has been fraught with shitty men. His current partner is no different, always asking him for money and ignoring him most of the time. Still, Eunkyum will take what he can get… until he sees his beau out in the streets with a wife and child in tow.

Eunkyum is heartbroken. At least work isn’t so bad… until he meets his new manager Jihyuk. Jihyuk is exactly Eunkyum’s type, tall, dark, and handsome. Too bad he seems to have it out for Eunkyum, tossing all of the scut work onto his plate and criticizing every little thing he turns in. So his love life is in shambles, and his professional life isn’t going so hot either. Can Eunkyum catch a break? And will he figure out why Jihyuk is trying so hard to put him down?

Title: Mr. Mini Mart

Author(s): Junko

Artist(s): Junko

Nakaba has become a NEET. He dropped out of school due to intense bullying and has spent every day at home ever since. He would be in high school right now, but the thought of returning to that situation is too much to bear. But being stuck in his room for the rest of his life is neither feasible nor ideal. So when the opportunity to work at a relative’s convenience store comes up, he takes this chance to get back out into the world and start a new life for himself.

Unfortunately, it isn’t all that simple. His coworker, Yamai, is a big tough guy, and even though they are close in age, Nakaba can’t help feeling intimidated by him. Nakaba also can’t help hating him, even just a little bit. That is until he catches Yamai saving a kitten in a busy street. Yamai smiles so gently and tucks the kitten into his jacket. Nakaba isn’t sure he’s looking at the same person. Now that he knows that prickly exterior is hiding a much softer inside, Nakaba wants to get to know this sweet Yamai. But will getting close to another person lead him to a devastating end like his school life had?

There’s only one way to find out.

Title: Snow Fairy

Author(s): Tomo Serizawa

Artist(s): Tomo Serizawa

Haruki has been living alone in snowy Hokkaido since the death of his parents years back. His life is very routine and ordinary. He helps his elderly neighbors clear their driveways, makes deliveries around the small town, cares for his grandmother next door, and maintains the house his parents left behind. His existence is a lonely one, but one that he enjoys. He never plans to change his lifestyle until he finds an abandoned, snow-covered car on the side of the road. Worried for the driver, he stops and gets out, only to find a strange photographer in the middle of the snow.

Narumi is an animal photographer, and he’s traveled to Hokkaido to capture images of an animal called a snow fairy. Unfortunately, he has nowhere to stay but no plans to leave. If nothing else, he’ll stay in a tent until he can photograph his elusive snow fairies. Haruki can’t bring himself to leave Narumi out in the snow, so he offers him a place to stay in his empty house.

Narumi has no qualms about taking Haruki up on this offer. The routine life Haruki has built for himself is flipped upside down by the boisterous Narumi. Yet, Haruki’s not sure that he minds all that much.

Title: Cut-Over Criteria

Author(s): Koala Omugi

Artist(s): Koala Omugi

Seto is a project manager of a group of developers. The work environment is fast-paced and stressful, but he enjoys what he does. Programming for Seto is organized and formulaic, and he applies all he knows regarding programming to his daily life. The program of his life is going very well until a new bug is introduced into the system: a new hire named Jin.

Jin is a young guy who just graduated and is already super skilled. Seto likes working with him until Jin comes out and confesses that he likes Seto romantically. While Seto is fine with being attracted to men or women, he isn’t ok with dating a subordinate, especially one as young as Jin. But Seto underestimates how persistent this bug in his code is.

As annoying as Jin might be, Seto finds himself not wanting to patch him out… and instead make Jin an update in his life.

Title: Love Stage!!

Author(s): Eiki Eiki

Artist(s): Taishi Zaou

Izumi doesn’t fit in with his family. His mother was a model and is now a famous actress; his father was a stage actor and founded the SenaPro talent agency, and his older brother is the frontman for a famous band. It would be an understatement to say he has talent running through his veins. However, no matter how much innate talent he may have in the entertainment industry, Izumi has no interest in pursuing a career in that field. Instead, Izumi has dreams of becoming a mangaka, just like the creator of his favorite series, Lala Lulu. There’s just one problem: he’s terrible and has no idea.

That’s the least of his worries, though, as he is now faced with a new issue. His mother wants nothing more than to act alongside one of the hottest actors of the time: Ryoma Ichijo. Fortunately, the opportunity arose as she asked to reprise her role in a wedding commercial she, Izumi’s father, and Ryoma starred in a decade ago. Unfortunately for Izumi, he’ll only take the role if the original cast returns. He hopes that he’ll get to meet the little girl he worked alongside in the commercial, as he’s been in love with her since they met all those years ago. Unbeknownst to Ryoma, that little girl was none other than a cross-dressing Izumi.

After some convincing and bribery with Lala Lulu merch, Izumi agrees to take the job. How will he handle Ryoma’s advances? More importantly, though, how will Ryoma handle finding out the woman he’s held a torch for all these years is actually a man?

Title: Intense

Author(s): Kyungha Yi

Artist(s): Kyungha Yi

Jiwoon Kang is nothing more than collateral. After his father, in debt to a large criminal organization, kills himself, the boss, Yoonshik, takes Jiwoon on as collateral. The boss trains him up so Jiwoon can someday work off the debt. In the meantime, Jiwoon learns to kill and becomes Yoonshik’s right-hand man. In an open secret, Jiwoon also plays the cooperative, though the unenthusiastic role of Yoonshik’s lover. When Yoonshik is sent to prison, Jiwoon is hidden in the redlight district, where he protects the working girls. There, he meets Soohan Lee.

Soohan Lee is mute. He just happened upon the redlight district years ago and, ever since, has taken up residence there, doing odd jobs for a little bit of cash and a roof over his head. His life is rather mundane, even in the bustling streets, that is, until he meets Jiwoon. After getting beaten up while defending a working girl from a customer, Jiwoon comes upon Soohan bloodied up on the ground. Despite their odd circumstances, Jiwoon is compelled to kiss Soohan, which he does. This sends them down a dangerous path fraught with jealousy, violence, crime, and more.

But in the end, will it be worth the struggle?

Title: I Didn't Mean to Fall in Love

Author(s): Suzumaru Minta

Artist(s): Suzumaru Minta

Yoshino is nearing his thirties and has never been kissed, much less had sex. He’s not totally innocent, though, as he has been playing solo for a long time now. But it’s just not enough anymore, and with Christmas on the horizon, he’s desperate to experience the real thing at least once before he reaches his lonely thirties. So, after listening in on a conversation between his coworkers, he discovers a gay bar and makes his way over after work on Christmas night, which is also his birthday.

While there, he finds himself pretty popular among all the regulars. This bar is unique, though, with two separate sections, one for platonic drinking and fun. In the back, though, is a place for anyone looking for hookups. Before Yoshino can even make his way back there, a silver-haired young man named Rou jumps up to join him. Rou is charming and relaxed and gives Yoshino all the feelings. It isn’t long before they head upstairs for a steamy night together.

With the deed done, Yoshino assumes that would be the first and last time he’d ever have with Rou. Even as he’s accepted this, though, he can’t help but be drawn back again and again for the warm college kid he shared his first time with. So, is this what love is, or is it simply lust?

Title: Until I Meet My Husband

Author(s): Ryousuke Nanasaki

This is the story of Ryousuke Nanasaki. From the time he was small, he always knew he was different. Whether it was the way he spoke, the way he walked, or the things he enjoyed, he never could mesh with what the world expected him to be as a little boy. This only became all the more apparent when he began going to school and was incessantly bullied for being a “girly-boy.” Whether it was by adults or his peers, he was always treated as an “other” until he met Tsukasa. Of course, Tsukasa was Ryousuke’s best friend, but more than that, he was his unrequited first love.

This starts a journey of self-acceptance, self-love, and the journey for true love for Ryousuke Nanasaki. Ryousuke has never been what the world perceived as normal, but that would never stop him. He wants true happiness with the one he loves and wants that for everyone, no matter who you choose to love.

Title: Golden Sparkle

Author(s): Suzumaru Minta

Artist(s): Suzumaru Minta

Himari Uehara has a fear of women. It all started when he was a child, just before starting school. He has a mother and a sister. His father left to work overseas, so he assumed all women were exactly like his mother and sister, with no one to tell him otherwise. When he starts school, he finds that women can be pretty terrifying and bullies, and as such, he fears all women outside his family. To keep himself safe, he makes himself less enticing, bleaching his hair to look like a delinquent and being unapproachable in general. So when he gets the chance to attend an all-boys school, he jumps at the opportunity, able to finally relax.

Unfortunately, due to his avoidance of women and his father being out of the country, Himari has never really had the “talk,” nor has he had any interest in sex. This all comes to a head when he begins to have wet dreams but has no clue what they are or what they mean. While in class, his classmates discuss porn, sex, and the like, all of which fly over his head. While alone with his closest friend, Gaku Asada, Himari takes the opportunity to figure out what all of that stuff means. Shocked and intrigued by his naivety, Gaku invites Himari to his dorm room. There, Gaku takes the time to teach him exactly what sex means, and while they enjoy the lesson and continue enjoying each other’s company, this only complicates their relationship.

Can two friends do things like that with each other and still be friends?

Print Version Available

Manga Review | A Home Far Away by Teki Yatsuda

Manhwa Review | No Love Zone by Danbi

Manga Review | Mr. Mini Mart by Junko

Manga Review | Snow Fairy by Tomo Serizawa

Manga Review | Cut-Over Criteria by Koala Omugi

Manga Review | Love Stage!! by Eiki Eiki

Manhwa Review | Intense by Kyungha Yi

Manga Review | I Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love by Suzumaru Minta

Novel Review | Until I Meet My Husband by Ryousuke Nanasaki

Manga Review | Golden Sparkle by Suzumaru Minta

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