A biiiiiiiit late for this one, but better late than never! XD I quite like the ones this month, their genres are quite varying though hahaha.
Kannou Sensei by Yoshida Motoi
Genre: Drama, Romance, Seinen, Slice of Life
Status: Ongoing, 17 chapters scanlated
I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did, but then I realised it's by the same author who wrote Natsu no Zenjitsu (and Koi Kaze btw!), and now I see why! The author really knows how to make an atmosphere, because in both of these manga, you can really feel how real and heavy the atmosphere is without it being crazily solemn, it's just so..alluring and I can't help but get dragged into the story's pace. This is one that should be read by a mature audience (18+) btw, and I guess considering it delves into the relationship between an older man and a younger woman, it may not necessarily cater to a lot of people's tastes either, but it has great art and dialogue, making it a mesmerising manga.
The story follows Rokurou who is an older man (in his 40s?) working as an editor whilst writing literary fiction on the side, something he probably feels to be rather mundane in his life. But then one day, he chances upon a beautiful girl and helps fix her shoe or something (that scene was drawn so beautifully, very captivating)and from then on, he can't get her beauty and her off his mind. Coincidentally, he meets her again at the cafe she works at and then he starts to try and court her (but not overbearingly). The girl seems very persistent on rejecting his advances, but you can tell it's not because she's uninterested but that there's some other reason. Oh and because of her, he decides to delve into writing a genre he wasn't very keen on, which is erotic fiction.
Whether it's her beauty he's obsessed with, that majestic first meeting or there's just something about her that captivates him (or all of them), I don't know, but I do enjoy how sexually suggestive and tense the scenes can be, whilst also having a very innocent side to the whole thing - since although the man is mature, he is unmarried and I guess inexperienced, and although the girl is young and in like her 20s, she's got this mysteriously heavy aura alongside the innocent blushing and cute stuff she does. It's a very fascinatingly portrayed relationship between people, I love how they interact and how everything develops because it really makes you can't wait to see how tense, alluring and possibly awkward their next interaction would be or if it'll actually turn out to be a very sassy and heartwarming interaction between them that develops their relationship.
Shall We Have Dinner Tonight? by Park See-In
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Josei, Romance, Slice of Life
Status: Complete, 46 chapters scanlated
I've read a bit of this webtoon before but lost the name until I found it again and then binged it because it was so good (my favourite of the lot this month). It really runs true to the definition of slice of life because it does that aspect very very well. It has a very simple premise where two strangers spontaneously decided that they would meet up every week to have dinner together and share their past love stories over food, since they both don't have people they can share a meal with, and it's literally that. It revolves a bit more around romance in the last part of the story but it goes in quite naturally and imo very realistically.
What I love about this webtoon is the interaction between food and their stories. It was done very naturally just like any person would in reality - people talking about the food and the relating it to a past memory. The food they eat usually interrelates with a memory of a past relationship or memory (with the guy relating it to each woman he went out with, and the girl relating it to every memory she had with the guy she had dated for most of her life) and you can see the author put in effort into both the food and the relationships and I loved that. Another thing that was great was that initially, every memory of their past relationships would be an interesting story for the reader, but as they continue to share their memories and thoughts, you start to build up an understanding of both characters, their feelings and why their relationships didn't work out, and eventually recognising that even though they're just sharing stories, they're sharing very personal stories and memories of the past easily with each other and that made them get closer and trust each other as more than just a dinner partner. They learn to reflect on their past relationships through these talks as well and what went wrong etc and I think that was really nicely done too. The story has a very steady pace and I enjoyed every bit of it. The characters are very likeable and are unreserved about talking about their life, they're real, communicative and honest in their own different way.
Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue by Minatsuki Tsunami and art by Futatsuya Asu
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Status: Ongoing, 14 chapters scanlated
I honestly found this manga just before I realised there was a anime for it! LOL, tbh though, I find the manga to flow better and be less draggy and awkward in some parts, but just in case you want to see the cat in action, then definitely watch it because the cat is SO CUTE. Anyway, story revolves around Subaru who doesn't like dealing with people, he's practically been a introvert that only likes to read books since he was a kid and that worsened when *SPOILERS* his parents passed away. He writes novels as a living and one day he chanced upon a stray cat and spontaneously decided to take it in. Then comes all the awkward but super adorable moments of him trying to understand the cat and the cat trying to understand him as they live together. Within this, there are other characters such as his new editor that's a cat lover (but can't own one because his wife is allergic) so he visits Subaru often, the girl that works at the pet shop and Subaru's best friend etc that all unwittingly bring Subaru out of his shell slowly, and helps him change his mind that maybe interacting with people isn't so bad after all. It's a pretty heartwarming story and I love it.
The best and most unique part of this manga though is that you first read Subaru's perspective and then you kinda re-read the same events happening but this time in Haru's (the cat) perspective, her thought process and her story, so you just kinda watch why things happen the way they do and then it gets explained in Haru's perspective to let you understand this human-cat relationship haha. Haru is SUPER cute and adorable btw, she's so sweet, loving but also hurt (emotionally), so it really shows that just as Subaru is learning to interact with others, so is Haru, and so the both of them coming together has only made them more receptive of others and to learn how to appreciate the other's presence. I think a lot of cat owners would resonate with the events that occur but regardless, it's a very cute, fluffy, a bit sad but touching tale on how a cat and a man learn to cope with their life and loneliness as they experience new things and emotions together.
Sun-ken Rock by Boichi
Genre: Action, Drama, Comedy, Mature, Romance, Seinen
Status: Complete, 171 chapters scanlated
18+ only!!! LOL, yes I needed to emphasise that because there are some things in this manga that are very graphic and detailed (yes, the sex scenes LOL and anything in relation to that), it mostly revolves around the fights and interactions with violence but there is sex, there is nudity and there is also rape, so if you don't want to see that, don't read because it definitely happens often enough. There are quite a few negatives about this one, but overall I still really enjoyed it, mostly because of the MC and Tae-soo, and I guess Yumin (FMC) but she really doesn't appear that much and when she does, it's mostly sexual or terrible (that ending lol). ANYWAY, first things first, the story revolves around our MC Ken who is in love with his high school friend Yumin, but she rejects him saying that she's going to Korea to become a police woman. As the love crazed man that he is, he decides to follow her to Korea and become a policeman as well, but unlike her, he is unable to pass the tests to become one so he kinda becomes a NEET lol. That is until he meets a guy named Tae-soo who asks him to become the leader of their gang and that's when his story and destiny changes as he heads it with his strength and justice.
The thing I loved about this manga would undeniably have to be Ken's will and his strength. Not only is he a physically strong guy already, but he knows he isn't the strongest, so he hones his strength through proper training and then maintains a strict daily routine to keep himself strong because he believes that his body is one of the only things he can truly control. Not only that, he's also a very sentimental, sweet and kind guy that tries his best to live the way he thinks is right and he invariably influences the people around him to also believe in the same kind of morals - to protect the weak and do away with injustice. However, it doesn't fail in being unrealistic because it may seem naive to live like this, but with Tae-soo helping Ken, anything that needs to be done which is in a grey area, Tae-soo does behind Ken's back because he wants Ken to always stay true to who he is and to lead them like that, because that's the kind of leader he wants to follow to the end, and I really admired that about Tae-soo. I really loved how faithful and loyal the guys were to Ken and his beliefs and omg, gotta say, Boichi's art is superb! Ken looks amazing, fight scenes are awesome and Yumin is very hot and beautiful for sure. The characters also go chibi sometimes and that's really cute for the comedic factor lol. I think the story really develops well both how the gang evolves, how they get stronger, how they become involved in the grander scheme of things in society and all the underground dirty stuff that goes on, whilst retaining Ken as the man who tries his best to right all this (whilst fighting against himself as he questions whether what he does is right and whether he really wants to stay a gang leader), and even though it doesn't always work out, you'll know that Ken will beat the crap out of someone in a cool way lol.
There are some negatives though, which is that you should not expect anything from the girls, because they're legit there to be sexualised, the girls barely get any proper fights (maybe except Yumin near the end) and are there just to swoon over Ken. Yumin has a more developed relationship with him but her character kinda goes down the drain near the end because of the (I assume) rushed ending. The rushed ending kinda ruined it for me tbh but I still enjoyed at least 2/3 of it even with the questionable way it deals with the women in it though lol. It's a fun manga about the mafia and violence, so I'd say come here for the fights but you'll also leave with some heartwarming feels as you also get influenced by Ken into being someone that should never give up :D
