My ‘Manga To Buy’ list has been steadily growing, my ‘To Read’ pile has been ballooning and I’ve once again fallen behind with writing reviews for the new titles that I’ve read.
So, I think it’s time for another round of mini reviews!
I’ve Become An Omega Today Review
Synopsis:
Kanade has always loved his friend, Munechika, but never thought that it would be possible for them to be together since Munechika is an Alpha, while Kanade is merely a Beta. Alphas tend to be good at everything and almost always mate with Omegas. Your average-joe Beta would typically have no hope with an Alpha, and Kanade has no illusions that Munechika will want to be with him. That is, until Kanade suddenly goes into heat out of nowhere!
It would seem that he was misclassified as a Beta and is actually an Omega with a delayed onset of heat cycles. While trying to navigate his newly unpredictable hormones is a pain, Kanade is thrilled when he realizes that this twist of fate might finally give him a shot at the thing he’s wanted for so long: to become Munechika’s mate!
Review:
I’ve Become an Omega Today is my first foray into the world of omegaverse manga.
Omegaverse has become quite a popular genre in erotic romance fiction over the years, so I imagine most people are familiar with it now, but here’s a quick rundown for the uninitiated. Omegaverse refers to stories where human society has a hierarchy and people are divided into three classifications: Alphas, Betas and Omegas. Notably, Omegas – regardless of whether they’re male or female – can give birth to children thanks to the ability to go into heat. Some versions of omegaverse stories take place in worlds where there are no women at all and the genre has its roots in slash fan-fiction.
Prior to picking up this manga by Sachi Maiki, I had yet to really dip my toes into the omegaverse genre, but this proved to be an enjoyable introduction.
Munechika and Kanade have been friends for a long time and, despite what Kanade might think, Munechika cares deeply for him. He’s always trying to look out for his friend and worries about how the sudden changes happening to his body are affecting him. Sadly, neither he nor Kanade appear to be very good at expressing their feelings, and most of the manga is filled with unnecessary angst that could have been avoided with a simple conversation. It starts to get a bit frustrating towards the end, but this was thankfully balanced out by the fact that the boys are pretty cute together. So, while I would have preferred a little less waffling on the part of our leading men, I was quite happy when they finally got together.
If you’re looking for an introduction to the omegaverse genre that has both spice and drama, I’ve Become an Omega Today is worth a try. I certainly plan to pick up more titles in the genre in the future.
Final Score: 7 out of 10
For more information on this manga, visit Yen Press’ website.
The Two Lions Review
Synopsis:
When friendly and outgoing Junpei recognizes that his reserved university classmate is Leo, a kid from his high-school who was nick-named the “Demon Lion” and rumored to be in a gang, he doesn’t know what to think. Realizing that his secret is out, Leo corners Junpei and explains his situation. Leo is trying to get away from the rumors of his violent escapades and make a fresh start at university – and hopefully make some friends. Ever the softy, Junpei not only agrees to keep Leo’s reputation a secret, he offers to become his first friend! Leo is skeptical at first, but once her realizes that Junpei is sincere, the two start hanging out. They actually get along quite well and things seem to be going great, until Junpei realizes that he’s developing romantic feelings for Leo and starts to withdraw. Can these two awkward young men work things out and find love with each other? Or will Leo go back to being alone?
Review:
Nagisa Furuya’s The Two Lions is a bit of a slow burn romance. Junpei and Leo start out as friends and enjoy spending time together doing ordinary things, like going out to eat or just hanging out at each other’s places. Leo turns out to not be as violent or scary as the rumors suggested, having gained that reputation because he’d stepped in to help someone who was being attacked. He doesn’t have much experience with friendship, but appreciates Junpei’s easy going nature and kindness.
The romantic tension between them grows at a leisurely pace, until it gets to a point that Junpei doesn’t know how to handle it anymore. This is where things start to get exciting.
Everything builds up to a dramatic conclusion where Leo’s past comes back to haunt him and Junpei ends up smack-dab in the middle of it all. It was quite the thrilling turn for what had been a pretty quiet romance up until that point, and I enjoyed the action and found the way everything wrapped up to be very touching.
This was a good read, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet boys love romance with a bit of excitement.
Final Score: 8 out of 10
For more information on this manga, visit Seven Seas Entertainment’s website.
Would You Like to be a Family? Review
Review:
Would You Like to be a Family? is a collection of BL short stories by Koyama. The titular “Would You Like to be a Family?” is the longest story in the manga and the best segment of the book, in my opinion. This story follows a serious man who befriends his cheerful co-worker who is working hard to raise his adopted son as a single dad. The three start spending a lot of time together and the two co-workers are soon falling in love, much to the annoyance of the son, who wants to always be his dad’s number one. This story is adorable and funny, and I kind of wish the whole volume had been devoted to exploring these three’s sweet and fluffy life as a family.
The other two stories included in the volume are also cute, though I didn’t find them to be as memorable. “Kuma’s Feelings” follows a high school boy who becomes curious about his friend’s brother’s ex-boyfriend after he sees him crying. Curiosity becomes attraction and attraction blossoms into first love. The final story, “The First Love Psychology”, features an outgoing college boy who befriends an awkward classmate who’s majoring in psychology and tends to overthink everything – including the feelings simmering between them!
I’d recommend this manga to anyone looking for something light-hearted and fluffy.
Final Score: 7 out of 10
For more information on this manga, visit Tokyopop’s website.
Therapy Game Restart Vol 1 Review
Synopsis:
Shizuma and Minato are finally together and everything is looking rosy. Shizuma is graduating from veterinary school, he’s come out to his University friends and introduced Minato as his boyfriend, and their sex-life continues to be very steamy. But, for these two, nothing is ever simple.
When Shizuma starts a new job, he’s suddenly very busy and doesn’t have as much time for Minato. He also isn’t out to his co-workers, at Minato’s insistence. Minato doesn’t want to cause Shizuma trouble at work or come off as needy or annoying, so he tries to be understanding about the situation. The trouble is, it’s all an act! He is in fact extremely needy and is suffering from serious Shizuma withdrawal! Will these two be able to work things out, or will their new relationship crumble under the pressure?
Review:
Therapy Game is one of my favourite boys love manga series and I’ve been eagerly awaiting this sequel. Therapy Game Restart proves to be a more than worthy continuation of the original series, as it’s both extremely sexy and funny.
Shimuza and Minato are a lot of fun as couple and I adored seeing more of them together in this manga. Shizuma is a total sweety-pie and Minato remains a bit of a tempestuous brat, and it’s as hilarious as ever!
The new storyline revolving around Shimuza’s weird new workplace is also intriguing. The workload seemed designed to make new employees quit and the owner of the veterinary clinic is something of a mystery. I can’t imagine Minato will stand for any shady business when it comes to his beloved Shimuza, so I anticipate that things will get pretty crazy in future volumes. Should be a riot.
If you’re a fan of Therapy Game, you’ll love this delightful sequel. Be sure to snap it up!
Final Score: 9 out of 10
For more information on this manga, visit SuBLime Manga’s website.
Be sure to let me know what you think of these manga in the comments. If you’d like to read more of my BL manga reviews, then here are some recent posts to check out:
- Sayonara Game Review
- My Love Mix-Up! Vol 1 Review
- Manga Mini Reviews: BL Edition
- Bad Boys, Happy Home Vol 1 Review
- Like Two Peas in a Pod Review
If you enjoy reading my reviews, please consider supporting me through Kofi.
Al's Manga Blog 
I do have a soft spot for becoming a family by help raising a child stories. So I’m interested in the last one but disappointed it’s not a full volume (or series). But those Omegaverse stories, I’ve been like, “Did I miss the boat on something?? Where did this all come from?? This is a different author, right??” So I learned something today, about it starting in fanfiction.
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I wish it was a full volume too! Oh well, what we got was still cute.
Omegaverse seems to have ballooned in popularity in a relatively short period of time, so I can see how it would seem like the genre popped up out of nowhere if you hadn’t heard of it before 🙂
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