Isaku Natsume

This volume is an excellent continuation of the story in three mini arcs that reveal more about our beloved main couple. The first story arc both gives us some background on Kaburagi as well as introduce to us someone from his past (who has a lot of potential to be a fun recurring character and definitely doesn't show up in the series enough!).

The second story arc in this volume lets us see how the two leads work together as partners at their job, their different strengths, and how they compliment each other both as coworkers and romantic partners.

The final story arc really drives this home with a great plot about Onoe trying to do Kaburagi's type of "dirty" work (ie. lying and deceiving people for a scoop) and how that affects Kaburagi, and reveals how Kaburagi feels about Onoe who is very different from him personality-wise. I really enjoyed this one in particular as I think Onoe often ends up as the butt of many jokes but here, you see just how competent he actually is at this job and how much his boss appreciates him.

Overall, this is a great follow up to the first volume that reveals more about each character and just why they make a good couple, while also keeping the comedy and sweet moments from the previous volume.… (meer)

I've read this multiple times by now but this was the first time to read the official English translation and Sublime Manga (the publisher) did a really good job with it. So happy to finally have a real paper copy of this in my hands!

In terms of the story, it's a fairly standard romance about how two co-workers who dislike each other at first manage to end up together. The characterization of both leads are convincing and their interactions are incredibly funny and incredibly sweet.

Over the course of the whole series (4 volumes at current count), you get to see them grow in their relationship, and one thing I really like is that while they do face obstacles as a couple, none of it feels like artificial drama created to inject conflict into the story. The obstacles they face are pretty realistic as to what two people would experience as a couple and as partners at work (they are a reporter and photographer team at a weekly magazine), and they deal with these issues in a more or less mature way.

By far one of my fave yaoi/BL series.… (meer)

Another solid installment of this series; Natsume Isaku never fails on delivering cute and funny and sweet BL. This time, someone from Kaburagi's past appears and it causes Onoe to question just how much he knows about his partner. It's really interesting to get a glimpse of Kaburagi's past and also to see just how much he's changed since then, due to Onoe's influence over the course of the series. The story also manages to avoid creating contrived misunderstandings between the main couple (which is one thing I love about most of this series), and they generally resolve their issues through communication and a lot of trust in each other.

However, being 5 volumes deep at this point, I think the story lines in this series are getting a little repetitive. Aside from the first volume (in which the central plot was the two leads getting together), every single volume has featured the appearance of a brand new character to throw a wrench into Onoe and Kaburagi's situation. While we've thankfully managed to avoid the usual cliches like an old flame or a love rival showing up, it kind feels like each volume has been a bit of a repeat, with every new character introduced seemingly coming between them. Entertaining and enjoyable repeats, but nonetheless, after 4 volumes of this, it's getting a bit old.

Part of the problem, I think, is that the world-building surrounding Onoe and Kaburagi's lives outside of work hasn't really been developed significantly, and recurring background characters seem to only pop in for brief cameos instead of taking an active role in the actual plot. I'd love to see more of them, and see Onoe and Kaburagi's lives open up to include and integrate more people, and it would probably breathe some fresh life into the plot lines.

Still, I am hopeful for the next volume that is coming out next February, because based on the book blurb, it looks like the plot line will involve Onoe and Kaburagi moving in together, and facing issues related to that.… (meer)