Rei Taki

I like the author's desire to educate and encourage acceptance of others' differences, but the actual stories are just really bad soap opera dreck with a secret twin and other goofy revelations in the closing stretch.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 15. "You're Fired." -- Chapter 16. A Handcrafted Wedding -- Chapter 17. Family Trouble -- Chapter 18. Cherry Blossoms Fall, and Bloom Once Again -- Chapter 19. Yo and Sumi -- Chapter 20. The Beginning -- Chapter 21. When We Are Nameless -- Final Chapter. To All of Us Who Are Nameless… (meer)

The parade of gender and sexuality continues. The drama wants to be heated, but the educational exposition keeps throwing cold water on the story.

Today's topics include outing, suicide, lithromantics, greygender, agender, and polyamory. To help flesh out the mysterious bartender, a prying prude is introduced to the cast and shoved into the bar to disapprove and be enlightened.

There's only one volume left in the series, and I'm going to request that my library purchase it so I can find out how it all ends.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 6. A Sunny Spot, Closed Within -- Chapter 7. A Margarita -- Chapter 8. An Unwanted Reciprocation -- Chapter 9. Three Different Kinds of "Love" -- Chapter 10. The Mirror and the Ghost -- Chapter 11. My True Self -- Chapter 12. The Eye of the Storm -- Chapter 13. The First Day at Work (Part 1) -- Chapter 14. The First Day at Work (Part 2)… (meer)

What if "The Love Boat" were populated only with LGBTQIA+ people?

The enigmatic Yo runs a bar/sex club where everyone is welcome and allowed to express their gender and sexuality however they wish. The over-the-top melodrama and wants-to-be shocking nudity are occasionally interrupted by educational exchanges about gender identity as we are introduced through a series of interconnected short stories to people from all over the spectrum. A lot of the drama comes from acts of or fear of homophobia -- internal and external -- and transphobia. Despite that, people are coming out all over the pages and having dramatic breakthroughs.

It's equally amusing, dubious, and moving in its overheated way.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 1. Welcome to BAR California -- Chapter 2. An Orchid Blooming in the Fog -- Chapter 3. Family of Mannequins -- Chapter 4. True Love -- Chapter 5. Aromantic Fairy Tale -- Prototype Story: A Self for All Seasons… (meer)