Koi da Ai da wa Sateoite

(Will You Set Love Aside - by Amamiya)

TW: None, but noting the cigarette usage is off the charts (for all those trying to quit).

Rating: 18+ (NSFW)

Length: Quick and dirty (one volume).

Vibe: Cute.

Star rating: 4.8/5 (but like, this is one of my FAVES)

This is one of my favorite quick titles and I quite love this mangaka's style. My hubby isn't crazy about the art style (I love it though) as it is a bit old school. The story is very straightforward: A one-night stand turns into friends with benefits turns into...?

The reason I love this one so much really is because all of romance is very implicit: mainly things like what it means to kiss someone or not. The author is very clear about the boundaries the two lovers set for each other and it is through the physical (they never say a thing really!) that those boundaries start to be questioned.

Also, the Uke is mega cute/beautiful.

Head past the image for a full breakdown/thoughts/rants/etc (spoilers included!)

(Love these guys)

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Full thoughts (SPOILERS AHEAD)

OK now for the reeaaaal. I love this manga and I will never be able to say that enough. Of course, when I first read it, truthfully, I was left feeling like I wanted more. I am not sure if I wanted an explicit confession, or a "we're dating", or I just wanted more, but it wasn't love at first sight for me.

IMPLICIT LOVE

However, what makes me one of my favorites today comes from continuing to read Amamiya-senei's works. In doing so, I began to fully truly appreciate manga as a medium. My background is in both literature and media, so text and visual, but not text and visual. Basically, I began to slow down and take in this work as storytelling that's equal parts text and equal parts visuals.

Amimiya-sensei is a master at this with Will You Set Love Aside. Like I said, what makes this great are all the implicit things: like the fact that these two don't kiss until the final panels, even after that awkward moment in Taichi's entrance. One of my favorite moments is when Taichi subconsciously reaches up to Fuji after noticing his hair is curling, and we get our first kiss (ah!) on Taichi's hand. That moment is so sweet and it is no doubt the moment Taichi began to realize he was falling for Fuji. (As an FYI: within the world of BL especially, there is a complex surrounding curling hair during sex.)

FUJI (THE UKE)

Amamiya-sensei employs the fear and a very real occurrence with same-sex couples: the one that leaves for the opposite sex. Especially in countries like Japan where same-sex couples are not legally recognized - it is easy for someone like that a** who cheated on poor Fuji to pick the less challenging, "more normal" route of being with a woman (just because I understand it doesn't mean he's not an a** for cheating). The pain of this is two-fold: 1) you are cheated on 2) you are reminded that you can't provide what your partner is seeking (normalcy, or boobs, etc). It explains a little as to why we first encounter Fuji drunk and lonely on a park bench.

Fuji is also such a likable character, and I found myself rooting for them for the sake of him. I really wanted him to have a happy ending and I needed Taichi to get his act together to provide one. (Side note: Fuji waking up to Taichi's alarm, I felt that bedhead in my heart).

TAICHI (THE SEME)

I'll be honest, at first, Taichi was not my favorite seme. No cooking (lol), no spoiling, no courting, nothing. But, Taichi is also blatantly, well Taichi, and as I got to see more of him, the more I realized he's not so much a jerk as he is brazen. Additionally, that moment in the bar where Fuji points out the cute girl checking him out? It was clear Taichi met his match (set and won by Fuji of course). While there isn't much depth to Taichi questioning his sexuality (and I'm not it is needed here), the idea that Taichu just can't leave Fuji alone shows us that there is something deeper brewing - sure it started with a mutual love for sex, but in the world of BL often, sex = connection, and these two have one. Touching upon his earlier heartbreak and the way that Taichi openly claims their relationship is SWOOON.

WRAP UP

Alright sorry this ended up being so long because I LOVE THIS DAMN MANGA and if I am being honest I am already longwinded in general...

...So to wrap things up, I also really appreciated the little snippet of an after-story with a weekend at a spa. It was just heartwarming to see these two continue, and we even got to see how their relationship evolved beyond sex since Taichi gets super busy and doesn't even realize the absence of sex in his life (for once) AND we see that they now comfortably kiss. Physicality is a BIG part of their love language obviously and so Fuji's hug from behind?

(From Kiss Him, Not Me - a reverse-harem anime featuring a Fujoshi that I will be sprinkling around this blog lol)