My Ex-Boyfriend Loves Boys' Love! · review
Spoiler warning
This review may discuss plot details.
Beautiful manga on so many fronts. The art: Loved it. It's not the most detailed or whatever but the expressions are adorable. They highlight the relevant emotions of any scene as intended to, with the comedic scenes feeling more lively, romantic scenes more heart-throbbing, and drama scenes more intense. It reminds of Eiji Masuda's work with very exaggerated expressions enhancing scenes in a similar but more potent way The writing: Loved it as well. It's such a wholesome depiction of relationships which honestly encompasses so many kinds of interpersonal relationships. You have Katakura's relationship with work colleagues which is such a hearty sight and fills youup with cheer. The light-hearted banter coupled with thoughtfulness of the colleagues was wonderful to see - the colleagues aren't really the focus but whenever they are there, they liven up their scenes really well. Akado and Kasuga's friendship and Katakura and Silvio's camaraderie which stem from respectively being otaku veterans and otaku newcomers was also very heartwarming. Both of these relationships involve mutual upliftment and support on many fronts.
And then the main couples. Kasuga's overthinking balanced by Silvio's gentleness. Katakura and Akado's carefreeness slowly blooming into a very mature romance - I loved the entire confession sequence which Mugimo-sensei made into multiple chapters; a decision I absolutely loved because the slower pacing gave the scene so much more potency. Akado being honest about her doubts with Katakura and how he helps her realize (or label) her feelings as romantic... very good writing. I'm giving this series a 10 because of the very mature nature of this series. It definitely fits the label of adult romance, and thankfully not in an erotic way.
I think the only drawback is that the main premise of the guy and girl both being into BL kind of faded into the background, but in my opinion it was developed into a more general depiction of otaku culture and love for creation and enjoyment of associated media. So it's actually not a drawback at all... maybe this is a perfect manga?!
So yeah 10/10, I want to collect this manga. This should be my default recommendation for people who ask for mature romances.