LGBT manga

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Lenni Reviews: “Forest of the Rabbits” Vol. 1, by ENJO

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is rated 18+

Shunta and Tamaki were childhood friends who reconnect in high school. While Shunta realized his attraction to his friend early on, Tamaki’s tumultuous upbringing has him clinging to traditional expectations. But Shunta doesn’t want to waste any more time before fulfilling his dream of dating Tamaki.

This is rough since it starts with them as young kids, and Tamaki is clearly not only neglected by his mother, but he’s also exposed to things a child shouldn’t because his mother is a sex worker. We are pro-sex work in this house, but not with your child in the next room or watching your clients as they go in and out of the home. That’s a dark cloud lurking behind this budding romance, making it hard to enjoy Shunta being a goofy simp for his crush. I almost don’t want them to get together until Tamaki has had a few months of intense therapy to deal with his clear trauma. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Champion of the Rose” Vol. 1, by Cat Aquino & Dominique Duran

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Princess Rosa’s brother tragically dies, making her hair to the throne of the Empire of Sagrada. As the largest kingdom in the Known World, Rosa looks forward to serving her people and the Dying God they all worship but instead, her father holds a tournament where the prize is her hand in marriage. Desperate to become queen and make real change, she enlists Rey as her champion. Rey is a swordsman from one of the kingdom’s colonies and only wants to earn enough money to return to his native lands.

It’s interesting that Rosa is a mixed-race princess of a kingdom fueled by colonizing others. She has to come to terms with what her kingdom has done to people who look just like her. She may have been relatively sheltered as a princess, but that doesn’t stop the whispers and judgment. Rey is a transman and a fucking badass, who literally and figuratively is infected by the evils done by those who’ve conquered his people. The combat is fantastically done. It’s ruthless and dark. It reminds me of Centuria, making this a damn good dark fantasy. 4.5 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Rainbows After Storms” Vol. 10, by Luka Kobachi

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

While Nanoha has decided to attend confectionary school in Tokyo, Chidori is still unsure. She is only certain she wants to follow Nanoha to Tokyo.

If Chidori isn’t able to get into a school close to Nanoha, it brings the possibility of having to be in a long distance relationship. I have to say, they’re being very mature for a YA manga. I suppose since this has been a fairly cozy slice of life so far, it’s not going to make a pivot to big dramatics. Which is great! It’s a healthy relationship and they’re adorable together. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Rainbows After Storms” Vol. 11, by Luka Kobachi

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Chidori helps Nanoha study but when Nanoha makes a new friend, Minami, Chidori get jealous of her taking up Nanoha’s time.

Minami is the vehicle used to fine out how Chidori and Nanoha met. They also have a date for Chidori’s birthday and head into Summer break. As with other volumes, this is just a sweet slice of life with very little drama. I like that the addition of Minami was just adding another nice person to the group. It’s just sweet to see this couple together in a fairly healthy relationship. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Man Who Defies the World of BL” Vol. 5, by Konkichi

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Our main character is still dodging various BL tropes but Hataro keeps popping up and threatening to break his avoidance streak.

I like the idea of this new unknown element but it took quite awhile to get there. Not that I want this to fall into the “gay for you” or “bi awakening” trope, since our MC is straight with no desire to change that. I think it’s more interesting if he stays straight while navigating this strange isekai because those two are BL tropes as well. But still, where is this going? Is he going to try to escape this world? So strange… 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Eat” by Nagabe

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Professor Lufria, a wolf, has a reputation as a strict, no-nonsense teacher. The only thing that breaks his composure is his secret kink: a desire to not only watch others eat, but to be eaten himself. Lufria is usually able to control his urges, but when one of his students, Gulla, bites him, his secret is revealed.

Yeah, this is pretty weird, but I got what I paid for: weird. It’s interesting to see odd desires explored, particularly with the extra layers of taboos: a carnivore wanting to be eaten and the herbivore craving meat, and a teacher/student relationship. There’s also a bit about how past traumas can impact physical intimacy later on in life, but that’s very brief. I think this needed a second volume to really dig into the subjects it’s trying to touch on. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “On and Off: Work-Life Imbalance” Vol. 3, by Shinnosuke Kanazawa

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Amata knows he should reveal the truth, that he’s the Lolita Aki has been hanging out with, but he doesn’t want to lose this budding friendship.

Since this is a light-hearted slice of life, I doubt the outcome of this confession will be a shock to you if you’re familiar with the genre at all. I do, however, wish to spoil the fact that Mitsu, the local stray cat, is adorable, and I am totally okay with her not only having her dedicated moments but playing a role in Amata and Aki’s friendship, especially now that everything is out in the open. It’s just cute, wholesome, and fun to read. 4 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Man Who Defies the World of BL” Vol. 4, by Konkichi

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

In this volume, our protagonist dodges age gap trope, the lost pet trope, and the supernatural/Halloween trope.

It appears the main character is still figuring out the rules.

Whenever the MC breaks the fourth wall, I have to wonder… What is the point? And not in a mean way, I mean will this mean we’re going to keep racing through these tropes, or is there a bigger story around the fact he knows this isn’t real? Especially since he gets his own confession, unable to avoid it. We’ll see, since I can’t seem to give up on this series. 3 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “May I Have a Taste?” Vol 1. by Amidamuku

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review and is for mature readers only.

Minoru Sato is a 40-year-old virgin salaryman who was turned into a vampire. His coworker, Yamadera, finds out Minoru’s secret and wants to be a vampire, too.

If this didn’t end on a cliffhanger, I’m not sure I would want to continue, since this is the second comic I’ve read in a row where the dynamic makes me uncomfortable. Yamadera is really creepy. He’s not like Ko from Call of the Night, who had this innocent charm. Yamadera is clearly not someone who should have any power, let alone be a vampire. He’s a manipulative twatwaffle who will use Minoru to get what he wants and Minoru doesn’t deserve that. 1.7 out of 5.

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Lenni Reviews: “Rainbows After Storms” Vol. 9, by Luka Kobachi

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Final exams are over and with Winter Break in full swing, the friend group decides to have a Christmas party. Nanoha searches for a goal to work towards for after graduation. 

What Nanoha will decide to do seems to be a ball that just keeps getting kicked down the line in favor of more slice-of-life events like New Year’s or Valentine’s Day. Those scenes are fine, but the way things are going, it’s just gonna be a bigger problem later on. Also, the way it’s just tucked in between Christmas parties and cookie baking makes me wonder if this will actually be a thing or if it just fizzle out. Guess we’ll see. 3 out of 5.

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