Lies Are A Gentleman's Manners (嘘つきは紳士のはじまり) by Matsuo Marta

I bought this manga in the recent Cosplay Mania '15 market, not knowing what to expect from the art style and synopsis. The art was significantly different from what I usually see, for better or for worse, and the blond, I thought, doesn't look very bishounen nor does he look like my type. But because of the mere fact that it was rated 16+/Young Adult plus the hooking, eye-catching title, I decided to buy it. (I know, it was presumptuous of me. But usually, I notice that the yaoi manga with less sex scenes have more story to make up for it.)

Cute Beast (かわいいビースト) by Tsuge Amayo

It was on one long-awaited pay day when I was looking for local sellers who just might have Natsume Isaku's "DASH!" that I happened upon a local merchant from Livejournal. Sending her a PM, I learned that my desired manga had long since been sold to another buyer and I was given a list of all her available secondhand manga. After some contemplation and research, I bought two titles from the list that caught my interest. (Simultaneously with two others from a different store, but that's a different story.)

One of such titles was Cute Beast by Tsuge Amayo. To be honest, when I checked this title in my 'researching', I didn't expect a lot; actually I was mostly in it for the art style. I find it borderline androgynous, somewhere between what I consider a nice balance and too girly (see: my review on You & Me, Etc.) but I decided to buy it anyway because hey, why not, I thought, it's not everyday I get to find accessible sources for manga.

You & Me, Etc. (僕らにまつわるエトセトラ) by Kyugo

To be honest, when I was going over the choices for the next batch of manga for me to buy, this manga didn't make it to the top choices. At that time, I had planned to buy only three volumes, but Kyugo's work was not one of them, although I took a second look at it because the art looked nice. (If you're curious, the three volumes I originally wanted to buy were Cute Beast (my review), Wolf Magic, and New Beginnings.) But out of sheer excitement over getting my allowance and having a discount if I added one more, I decided to include it in the list. And oh boy, was I glad I did.

False Memories (イカサマメモリー) by Natsume Isaku

Let me start by saying that Natsume Isaku is my absolute favorite mangaka (which totally has nothing to do with why I chose to review this one first, not at all). Unlike most of the other talented mangaka, Natsume-sensei's manga does not consist of angst and drama; instead, they are more focused on half-hearted comedy and slice of life. Her characters are everyday people — from businessmen to teachers and students to landlords and tenants. Usually when I read manga with these types of settings and characters, I forget them as soon as I read the next manga, unless the story has some sort of twist. Her art is by no means extremely realistic nor sexualized; in fact, I suggest reading her manga not for the sex (like most yaoi manga), but for the heartwarming story.