April 2023 Roundup

5/3/23

Super late with this one hhhh

READING

The reading slump continued in April, unfortunately. My most anticipated releases drop this month (Run Away With Me, Girl vol. 3 hit my mailbox yesterday!) so hopefully that'll change. April wasn't a complete, bust, though.

I Didn't Mean to Fall in Love by Minta Suzumaru

I love a good Older Uke/Younger Seme story. It felt like I was late to the party on this one; apparently title has been available digital for some time and I'd heard nothing but good things about it. I understand the hype now: gorgeous art, relatable characters, realistic sex scenes--and even some fuojshi appreciation!

It ended pretty tidily so I don't expect a second volume of this, but I wouldn't say no to some special chapters in the future. A solid 4 stars from me.

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat,, vol. 1 by Sakaomi Yuzaki

I can't believe how long it took me to read this after hearing about the live-action adaptation and the mangaka's Marriage Equality Charity Shop. My fiancee and I were passing through our local manga shop and I stumbled upon a copy of volume 1 by chance and snatched it up immediately.

First off: This title had so many relatable tidbits in it. I can't remember ever reading a manga, yuri or otherwise, where periods were discussed. There was also a conversation about the gender pay gap that had me nodding along vigorously. Nomoto recoiling at her male coworker's insistence that her cooking skills will make her a good wife or mother also hit home. Lesbian or not, that shit gets old.

The first volume was cute, relatable, and genuinely funny at times. I would have liked more romantic tension between our two leads--the overall tone reminded me a lot of I’m Kinda Chubby and I’m Your Hero where it was apparent why the title had run in a josei magazine rather than BL (or in this case, yuri) one. This is only volume 1, though, and there are at least three licensed. I'm excited to see how Nomoto and Kasuga's relationship evolves.

Now I just need to track down the drama...

Black or White, vol. 5 by Sachimo

I took a break from reading Black or White after devouring the first two volumes in one day (my brain does not like to cooperate with me). It was only during my reading slump that I decided to pick it back up again. Shin continues to be lovable while Shige continues to be a whole factory of red flags mistakenly painted white, but I'm enjoying the journey and the colorful cast of side characters. My enthusiasm for this series and Sachimo's writing has dulled sense those first two volumes, but it's still on track to make my Top Series of the Year list.

One thing I found interesting in volumes 4 & 5 are how easily the mangaka writes about prep and foreplay. Yes, Shige wholeheartedly disregards foreplay (and consent) without batting a lash, but talking about lube, douching, and stretching in a BL? We're a long ways away from the early days, comrades.

WATCHING

The Eighth Sense (2023)

I hesitate to call this a BL because I don't believe I've ever seen the creators themselves refer to it as a such. There's a tendency in fandom, both live-action and not, to call anything featuring a relationship between men BL, and while I roll my eyes at creators who treat the BL label like a dirty word I do respect how creatives choose to categorize their works. However, it is in the BL cateogry on Viki and the social team has repeatedly referenced Viki in their posts, so I'll tentatively lable it that for now.

BL or not, The Eighth Sense was a beautiful series. A K-Drama with an indie darling feel? Revolutionary! I was also charmed by how open the directors were to fans and their feedback. They've dubbed the fandom "Free Birds" and regularly talk to them on Twitter and Insta. Really adds to that indie filmmaker feel.

The team has made allusions to there being more of the series, maybe a second season? They're currently auctioning off a prop from set to raise funds for their next move. I hope that move includes a boxset!

Unintentional Love Story (2023)

Listen: I can admit when I'm wrong. I took one look at Unintentional Love Story--the pleasant-looking cast of semi-familiar faces, the unassuming cover of the original webtoon, the by-the-numbers plot summary on MDL--and said "Nah, not for me." Korean BLs tend to get a little...overhyped in fandom. Whether it's a mix of K-Pop stan crossover, the spotless reputation of K-Dramas, or regularl weridos dubbing anything Korean to be superior, I had just had it. I mean, we all lived through the mediocrity that was Color Rush, and coming hot off the heels of the Individual Circumstances snoozefest I decided to save myself some grief and skip this one.

Big mistake!!!

If it wasn't for sheer boredom I never would have given this series a chance, meaning I never would have felt the warm fuzzies Wonyoung and Taejoong's relationship gave me. And I saw the return of Won Taemin who previously starred in my favorite Korean BL of all time (he plays a delinquent obsessed with a childhood friend, nice). I ended up loving this so much that I staretd (respectfully) spamming the official instagram account, begging for a boxset release. So far all that's been announced is the OST and a photobook, which I'll probably have to settle for. In my experience, Korea doesn't do physical releases as much as Japan or Thailand, and when they do it's usulaly from a Japanese licensor and without English subtitles. Yes, I am still upset about never owning an official copy of You Make Me Dance.

UPDATE: At the time of posting this the creators have announced they're selling the vase seen in the series. Prod teams will literally sell a vase before selling a boxset. Goodnight.

The End of the World With You (2023)

Did someone say "Toxic"? Bruh, this show. This show. Thetoxicity, the apocalypse, the fucking, the crying, the gender and sexuality reveals—this drama had everything. I first saw Seto Toshiki in Senpai, This Can't Be Love! which was... bad. And his performance wasn't exactly the greatest. I'm also not the biggest fan of end-of-the-world settings, so I had low expectations going into this thing. But it's based on a manga by Marukido Maki (the mind behind the manga series Pornographer which was adapted into a whirlwind multi-part drama series in 2018) so I was going to give it a go. I'm so glad I did. I only wish Japanese companies would include English subtitles on these kinds of releases because I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Jack O'Frost (2023)

Japan has been stepping up their BL drama game lately. The End Of The World With You, My Beautiful Man: Eternal, and Jack O'Frost are all contenders for the Top 5 2023 BL Drama list so far and it's only March! Jack O'Frost had little fanfare when it was announced so it almost slipped under the radar for me, but I quickly grew to love it. How cute are Kosuke Suzuki and Kyoya Honda? The 6-episode series, while shorter than the other Tunku Shower BLs, didn't result in a rushed or unfufilling ending. It wasn't perfect by any means, but damn if it didn't make me feel things.

ON REPEAT

April was a little all over the place, but that's nothing new for me.

I've recently rediscovered my love of New Orleans Bounce—it tickles my brain. Katey Redd is an icon who makes me wish I could twerk (we need more Black Girls Who Can't Twerk representation anyway. That's my line and I am sticking to it).

NEATO

I'm four months late to this hbomberguy video but it is a whirlwind. You can't guess where it ends up—or you could if you're more tapped into the video game world than I am. Highly recommend!


currently listening Verbal Justice by Chuohku
currently reading Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns