elixir-reviews

[elixir-reviews]

Ichido Dake Demo, Koukai Shitemasu by Miyahara Miyako

Overall Score ★★★★★★★★★☆

Recommendation/TDLR;

I was unsure about this one at the beginning because of some dubiousness going on, but further plot developments make the misunderstanding sort of cute. See the spoilers section if you want more details about this.

Overall this was a really cute story about two women falling in love in kind of weird but very authentically emotional circumstances.

General Info

19 chapters/3 volumes

manga

alt title: "Even If It Was Just Once, I Regret It"/"I Can't Believe I Slept with You"

Genres

Romance, comedy, shojo ai/GL, slice of life, NSFW

Plot ★★★★★

Premise ★★★★☆

A recently jobless Kozuka Chiyo is wallowing in self-pity when her landlord bangs on her door with bad news: she's three months behind on her rent. She makes a deal. The two begin living together in a romance comedy that appears to start with sex.

Structure ★★★★★

There's a couple of sort-of reveals that I think could have been hinted at a little more earlier on but overall nothing stuck out as too fast or too slow paced.

Ending ★★★★★

Tropes ★★★★★

Characters ★★★★★

Complexity/depth ★★★★★

The characters seemed a little trope-y at first but I honestly came to really enjoy their personalities

Chemistry ★★★★★

Design ★★★★★

Development ★★★★☆

There's some sweet developments but not much in the way of character arcs

Side Characters ★★★★★

Side pairing(s)

N/A

Supporting cast ★★★★★

The side cast don't get a huge amount of time but the time they do have is really fun. They're basically all girls and they're supportive with strong characters for the amount of time they have. Overall enjoyable cast, especially the main pair and a certain coworker from later in the story.

Female characters

(removed because the whole supporting cast is female)

Antagonists

N/A

Art ★★★★★

Readability ★★★★★

Style ★★★★★

Consistency ★★★★★

Warnings ! . . . .

Implied past homophobia (minor)

Dubcon involving alcohol (see spoilers for more info)

-- Spoiler section --

Warnings (spoilers)

So this one is tricky because it involves a pretty late-game spoiler and it doesn't completely excuse the dubcon that goes on. So, fair warning that this next section will completely spoil something from the last few chapters and that it might not really make the situation better for you depending on you personally. So the premise is framed that the landlady asks Kozuka for sex in exchange for her rent, but it's later revealed that this was actually a joke that was a reference to the first time they met before she was Kozuka's landlord (in which Kozuka was drunk and thus didn't immediately remember.) Then, when Kozuka and the landlady meet again after Kozuka moves in, she makes the same joke, but again Kozuka takes her seriously and they end up in bed. It's still iffy but personally, I think the way its handled is alright and their relationship is otherwise pretty healthy and respectful, despite the weirdness going on. It's one of those times where you should just know what you're getting into and dip out if its too uncomfortable for you.

[elixir-reviews]

Unripe Expression by Aga

Overall Score ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Recommendation/TDLR;

This one unfortunately was a little disappointing for me personally. There's a lot of will-they-won't-they with the cast of characters, and it's up in the air until basically the very end who will end having a happy ending, and I was disappointed by my favourite character not getting any resolution to his story. However, if you like the characters that do end up together, you will probably enjoy this one a lot more than I did.

General Info

70 Chapters (completed)

Manhwa

Genres

Drama, romance, school life, shonen ai/BL

Plot ★★★☆☆

Premise ★★☆☆☆

Lee Jae Won starts to have a crush on a classmate, Han Ka Ram. He turns to the internet for advice, makes friends, has fights, discovers himself, and does other high-school-related activities.

Structure ★★★☆☆

Ending ★★☆☆☆

The ending will be hit or miss, depending on your personal preference. I wasn't a huge fan, but that's just my take. See spoilers for more info.

Tropes ★★★☆☆

Characters ★★★★★

Complexity/depth ★★★★☆

Chemistry ★★★★★

The whole cast has differing and dynamic relationships with each other, which is always fun to watch.

Design ★★★★★

I found the characters all cute and distinct.

Development ★★★★☆

This is one of the rare stories where some of the characters make negative choices for understandable reasons and realistically grow from those errors. That's not to say it's all good, but I enjoyed what was there.

Side Characters ★★★☆☆

Side pairing(s)

It's hard to say whether there is truly side pairings in this one, as there's multiple possible relationships right up until the end, so it's hard for me to rate them.

Supporting cast ★★★★★

The whole cast is fun to watch interacting. If nothing else, I think the characters are what saved this from being a total wash for me. They're simple and fun. Plus, this is one of those rare few romances where the main cast all have their own fleshed-out friendships with a wider circle of friends which is always great to see, especially in stories set in school.

Female characters ★★★★☆

There's at least one supporting female character who actually affects the story, and she's not romantically involved with any of the other characters either. She's a fun character who has her own thoughts and takes action as well. Aside from her there's several other female characters, mostly family members, who all seem to have personalities and lives outside the story.

Antagonists

N/A

Art ★★★★★

Readability ★★★★★

Style ★★★★★

The art is really cute and expressive, with lots of fun poses and expressions. It has a great sense of movement. This combined with the likable characters is what made it worth it to read for me.

Consistency ★★★★★

Warnings . . . . .

Nothing comes to mind, but I might be forgetting something. It's a very tame story.

-- Spoiler section --

Ending: (vague spoiler) Your milage will vary depending on which characters you'd like to couple up. The two I thought had the cutest dynamic didn't end up together, with one of the characters getting a pretty flat ending where he sort of just gets nothing he wants and no closure for no real good reason. On the other hand, if you like the eventual couple, I'm sure this ending is great.

[elixir-reviews]

Don't Forget These Feelings by Lotto

Overall Score ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Recommendation/TDLR;

A pretty simple and sweet story. It's not breaking any records with it's plot or characters, but it's an enjoyable read with no high-stakes drama and some cute moments and chemistry with the cast. Worth a read if you're looking for something cozy.

General Info

49 Chapters (complete)

I've noticed the title is translated into both "Don't Forget These Feelings" and "Don't Forget You Like Me"

Original title is "좋아한다는 걸 잊지마"

Genres

Comedy, romance, shonen ai/BL, school life

Plot ★★★★☆

Premise ★★★☆☆

Jungmin is a returning university student and a major ul-ppa* who notices a freshman, Jiho, and finds him extremely attractive. After that first meeting, they can't seem to stop running into each other.

(* ul-ppa is Korean slang for someone who is weak for beautiful and handsome people.)

Structure ★★★★��

Ending ★★★★☆

It felt quite sudden, but I think the story was just about the right length for it to end.

Tropes ★★★★☆

Characters ★★★☆☆

Complexity/depth ★★★☆☆

Absolutely not complex at all, but I don't think this story needed deep and involved characters or arcs.

Chemistry ★★★★☆

Design ★★★★☆

Some of the characters look a little similar or a bit plain, but I found them appealing.

Development ★★★☆☆

Very little development, but again, I don't think it was needed.

Side Characters ★★★★★

Side pairing(s) ★★★★★

I really enjoyed the side pairing. If I had one complaint it's that their entire story is sort of crammed in at the end, right before a pretty sudden ending, so it really throws off the structure and pacing of the story.

Supporting cast ★★★★★

There's a few supporting characters who were really fun and enjoyable to have on screen. It's also a major bonus that the main characters seem to have genuine chemistry and friendships with more than just each other.

Female characters ★★★★★

I honestly think one of the female side characters is better than almost the entire supporting cast. She was definitely my favourite part of the story, even if she is kind of annoying at the beginning.

Antagonists

N/A

Art ★★★★★

Readability ★★★★★

Style ★★★★☆

Consistency ★★★★★

Warnings ! . . . .

Casual drinking

[elixir-reviews]

No Love Zone by Dambi

Overall Score ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Recommendation/TDLR;

Dropped for blatant SA that goes by completely unaddressed. See spoilers for more detail, if you really need to.

General Info

Dropped at ~CH17

Manhwa

Warnings ! ! ! ! !

Sexual assault

-- Spoilers Section --

One of the characters gets to the point of being black-out drunk while the other seems to be completely sober. The drunk character talks about how much he hates the other one, how annoying he is, asks him to take him home, asks him to let go of him/put him down, then kisses him (all while completely trashed). There's then an explicit scene of the two of them, one still drunk and the other still sober, and it's framed like it's perfectly normal and fine and drawn like it's meant to be sexy. Hard pass.

[elixir-reviews]

Wolf in the House by Park Ji-Yeon

Overall Score ★★★★★★★★★★

Recommendation/TDLR;

I thought this story was pretty wonderful. It's not overly complex, but the world-building and characters give the impression that the world is living, breathing and changing. The relationships range from simple and relatively sweet, to complex and fraught but ultimately satisfying. It's not too long a read and ends definitively, which is always a plus in my book.

The more mature topics that are touched on are handled well, extremely well when compared to the usual fare, and are treated with the right amount of realism for the heavier topics to be respected but not consumptive (milage may vary). Overall, I enjoyed it when my expectations were rather low (I absolutely judged the concept and thought it would be a shallow smut-fest about werewolves). I'd definitely give this one a go, especially if you are tired of the more teen- and school-centric stories that rather overwhelm the genre

NOTE: Please read warnings section carefully.

NOTE 2: I have a lot to say about this one, so feel free to skip the sections that don't interest you

General Info

79 chapters (including epilogue)

Manhwa (Lenzin)

Genres

Action, urban fantasy/supernatural, romance, drama, NSFW, shonen ai/BL

Plot ★★★★★

Premise ★★★★★

Minsuk is a semi-struggling writer who has just ended an on/off relationship of 10-years who, on a slight whim, decides to adopt a Siberian husky named Bexan. However, he quickly realises that Bexan is not an ordinary dog once night falls.

(See spoilers section for an important note that contains spoilers for the first couple of chapters.)

Structure ★★★★★

Ending ★★★★★

When including the epilogue, the ending is very satisfying

Tropes ★★★★★

Characters ★★★★★

Complexity/depth ★★★★★

Chemistry ★★★★★

Design ★★★★★

The designs are really propped up by the beautiful art, but they all work.

Development ★★★★☆

There was a good amount of development for both main and supporting characters. A lot of the development happens in flashbacks, however, and some people might find that a cop-out, as there's less development throughout the course of the story.

Side Characters ★★★★☆

Side pairing(s) ★★★★☆

You have to really like the side pairing, at least as individual characters, as their backstory takes up a large chunk of the second season. Luckily, I found their story interesting, and probably would have even without the romantic aspect. However, I can acknowledge that if you aren't that interested, this part of the story seems like a whole different story and can drag on for some time.

Supporting cast ★★★★★

There's some really good side characters, including POC and other queer folks, so I don't have any problems here.

Female characters ★★★☆☆

This one is difficult, as it's not until really late (about the second half/third) into the story that there are any meaningful female characters. However, the female characters that do eventually become important include at least three strong characters, including queer and WOC, so I'm torn. It is definitely not the worst offering when it comes to this genre, however, not by a long shot

Antagonists ★★★★★

Antagonists are mostly internal, but there are some vague external ones that more act like obstacles and threats, rather than characters. There are also several morally grey characters that you could class as either antagonists or simply complicated supporting characters, which also fill this role. I think what's here suits the story nicely

Art ★★★★★

Readability ★★★★★

Style ★★★★★

If nothing else, look at the first few chapters for the art alone. There's a gorgeous use of texture and colour that makes all the art extremely dynamic and beautiful. Because of how wonderful the art is, when there are visual gags that involve a more goofy style, they tend to hit pretty hard (at least in my opinion). I particularly liked the weight and movement the artist gives to hair

Consistency ★★★★★

Warnings ! ! ! ! .

Explicit NSFW (safe, sane and consensual. See spoilers for more info.)

Age gap (I think, it's mentioned once that one character is older than another, but it doesn't really specify by how much)

Blood and violence, including dog attacks, dogs being injured and other animal-related violence (medium to severe - some attacks are particularly brutal. No animals die.)

Attempted (implied) sexual violence (minor and not explicit, but depicted on-screen) and past sexual violence (Not depicted on screen. See spoilers for more info on both.)

Toxic / obsessive ex-partner (including minor stalking, see spoilers for more info)

Drugs, gangs/mafia, violent crime, police involvement (backstory, flashbacks)

Past domestic violence (off-screen, flashbacks/backstory)

-- Spoiler section --

Plot: spoiler section

Yes, Bexan and Minsuk are the main couple, NO they NEVER do anything sexual while Bexan is a dog. Trust me, I was worried at the start, but there's never ANY hint of there being anything sexual happening when Bexan is not a human, and (further spoilers ahead) the same goes for all the other couples that contain a werewolf.

Warnings: spoiler section

(explicit NSFW) The main couple is incredibly safe, sane and consensual, and there's even several mentions of consent throughout. There's some scenes in the past between a side character and another character that is from their past that are consensual but implied to maybe be unsafe or not sane.

(sexual violence, abusive ex-partner. chapter 27-28) There's a scene where a character traps and follows their ex, then forces them against a wall. He attempts to kiss them and open their shirt, but they are interrupted and the assailant is slapped by his ex. He's then threatened off-screen and stops attempting to find and harass his ex. During these events the victim seems annoyed and exasperated but not scared or traumatised, is able to defend themselves and has an (enthusiastic) support system

(past sexual violence, related drug use. chapter 43) A character's backstory is revealed to have involved being locked in a basement and sexually abused by a religious figure. It's also implied that they were forced to take (unspecified) drugs the time this was happening. He is rescued and appears to be close to death and displays violent traumatic responses afterwards. He is also involved with further potentially unhealthy relationships afterwards, but none anywhere as toxic, abusive or traumatic

[elixir-reviews]

Pink Heart Jam by Shikke

Overall Score ★★★★★★★★★☆

Recommendation/TLDR;

I really enjoyed this story, particularly the art and the characters. It's short and reasonably well resolved, making it a satisfying and fairly quick read. It's aimed at an adult audience in the sense that the characters are well-rounded and mature, though they do have depth and complexities which is where most of the friction comes from. I'd definitely give this one a read if you have an afternoon free and enjoy a grounded and realistic story with minimal frustration and enjoyable characters.

General Info

10 chapters (completed AFAIK)

Print manga

Genres

Music, school life, university, romance, NSFW, shonen ai/BL

Plot ★★★★☆

Premise ★★★☆☆

College student Haiga meets an upperclassman Kanae after joining the Multiphonics Research Club. He doesn't get much of an opportunity to talk until meeting Kanae at his place of work by pure chance; an erotic massage parlour.

Structure ★★★★☆

Ending ★★★★☆

I wouldn't call the ending bad, but it was just a little abrupt and maybe rushed. Nothing was left notably unresolved, but it would have been nice to have maybe one or two pages more of wind-down before it was over

Tropes ★★★★★

Characters ★★★★☆

Complexity/depth ★★★★★

Definitely had the right amount of depth for the story being told and the length of the narrative

Chemistry ★★★★☆

Design ★★★★★

I did adore the character designs. Simple but distinctive and realistic

Development ★★★★☆

Both characters go through relatively minor but satisfying arcs. Nothing groundbreaking, but grounded and reasonably well-earned. It focuses a lot on the dynamic between the two main characters, so there's basically no development or arcs for any of the background characters bar maybe a couple of characters that get highlighted in the middle. If you don't like the main two characters, there isn't much else for you here. Luckily, I really liked both of them, so this wasn't an issue for me

Side Characters ★★★★☆

Side pairing(s)

N/A

Female characters ★★★★☆

This does unfortunately have a case of "girl crushing on one of the main pairing" but she's a likeable character and pretty much only around for a few chapters. She's not exactly used as a prop to get between the main pair, but she is used a little bit as a prop for the development of the relationship. How her crush interacts with her is used for a way for the other main character to understand him more, and also understand their relationship better.

I'm personally not a huge fan of this trope/genre convention, but it is not that obtrusive and certainly doesn't ruin the story. It's handled with much more maturity than is typical of the genre

Antagonists

N/A

Art ★★★★★

Readability ★★★★★

Style ★★★★★

The style shines most with the characters and their movements. The backgrounds are simple but well-done. It's all very well drawn in a way that's full of characters and charm.

Consistency ★★★★★

Warnings ! . . . .

Use of alcohol/smoking

Explicit NSFW scenes (completely consensual)

Sex work (completely consentual)

Very much aimed at an adult audience with the adult(ish) world in mind. The main characters are in their 2nd and 4th year of college, and they act like it. They party and talk about adult topics naturally, but nothing extreme.

-- Spoiler Section --

Personally, I think that Kanae's sex work is handled okay but not excellently. There's an implication that he will quit if he finds a boyfriend, which he does end up doing, but this is mostly portrayed as a personal choice. He's never looked down on for his work, and when a character somewhat accidentally implies he should have another job, he quickly realises that was rude of him and apologises later.

Haiga is shown to be curious about his sexuality and completely open and honest about thinking he's bi. Kanae is also very open and comfortable with the fact that he's gay. There's no homophobia or biphobia, but of course this was just from my perspective; someone else may take issue with something I didn't even register as a potential problem.

You may be able to read a little touch of pushiness with their first sexual encounter, stemming from Haiga's uncertainty around sex work and his own sexuality, but I didn't think it came across as pressuring or dubcon at all. Again, your milage may vary.

I would avoid this story if you dislike the "falling in love after having sex" trope, but if you're on the fence, rest assured that the relationship mostly progresses through spending non-sexual time together and through their musical relationship. The sex sparks the initial interest, but Haiga makes it pretty clear early on that he mostly returns to Kanae's place of work because he likes him as a person and Kanae barely turns up to school. Kanae is okay with this, though there is one instance where Kanae tells Haiga not to come and doesn't explain it's for (spoiler reasons), before ghosting him for a while, leading to Haiga turning up anyway. There's an uncomfortable interaction between him and another sex worker which is highly inappropriate, but it quickly stops when Haiga rejects the advances. This is probably the worst it gets, but I found it to be handled pretty well. Yet again, milage may vary

[elixir-reviews]

reviews master-list

reviewed

pink heart jam (Shikke) [9/10]

wolf in the house (Park Ji-Yeon) [10/10]

no love zone (Dambi) [0/10]

don't forget these feelings (Lotto) [7/10]

unripe expression (Aga) [6/10]

ichido dake demo, koukai shitemasu (Miyahara Miyako) [9/10]

finished - review yet to be posted

after hours (Yuhta Hishio)

knock me out (Boris)

sign (ker)

here u are (D. Jun)

on or off (A1)

reading

momentum (Park Ji-Yeon)

queue

pulse (Ratana Satis)

that summer (Kim Hyun)

saiyaku wa boku o suki sugiru/disasters like me too much (Kannagi Satoru, Ninomiya Etsumi)

love tractor (A1)

salad days (Tang LiuZang , Jing ShuiBian)

dangerous convenience store (945)

not reviewing

princess jellyfish (★★★★☆)

not reviewing because of how long ago i read it

painter of the night (☆☆☆☆☆)

absolutely hated it. don't want to touch this thing with a 10ft pole

mushroom girls in love (★★☆☆☆)

was just kind of meh, not really interested in doing a full write-up

[elixir-reviews]

hi all,

i've been reading a lot of manga/manhwa/manhua and i haven't really found a good place to either record what i'm reading or find detailed reviews. so i decided on a whim i would do some reviewing in my spare time. not sure how often or how long i'll do this, but i thought it was a good way to pass the time as well as remember what i've read! i'll be reviewing/posting about both what i like, what i hated, what i dropped, what i was so-so on, and i'll be reviewing both in print comics and online/webtoons when i read them

so, if anyone stumbles across this blog, hi! feel free to send in a request and i'll check it out :)

- elixir (they/them)