On paper, the premise of this story is predictable; an ordinary youth, previously content with going with the flow and conforming to society's wish, meets a strange but earnest youth and learns to work hard for what they actually want in life. This is a common premise in a growing up story.
But the execution makes all the difference here.
For one, the characters are incredibly fleshed out, acting more like actual teenagers instead of a bundle of archetypes. And their bonds are really palpable. You get a clear sense that oh yeah these two people really enjoy each other's company. When they are with each
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Feb 1, 2026
The Count's Secret Maid
(Manga)
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I kinda expected a different story and I must admit it does tarnish my enjoyment a little bit.
Based from the dramatic first few chapter, I did expect this story to be a hurt-comfort deal where the FL will slowly and gently pull the ML out of his depressive paranoid funk, and love will slowly blossom between them. But instead of a slow burn, the story quickly takes a wild turn towards soap opera, with dramatic moments and multiple men that may or may not be love interest, as well as grand gestures of affection and desperation...and for my biased perspective, the change of tone feels a ... 
Jan 31, 2026
Tayutau Kohaku
(Manga)
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A taciturn brown-haired uke who keeps his feelings close to his chest is slowly melting under the constant care and affection from his black-haired senpai in the workplace....
Yeah on paper this is basically Doushitemo Furetakunai for Gen Z. But given that uncanny similarity, the story actually takes a VERY different direction to its narrative. And that's good. The narrative doesn't concern itself with tropes and drama and instead centers the story around the two main characters. I like both of them; they feel real and nuanced, like the kind of people you can actually meet in your workplace. I particularly enjoy the seme who, despite not being ... 
Jan 31, 2026
Himitsu Kichi ni Aijin
(Manga)
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This is one of the few stories where the age gap *feels* noticeable.... and not in a good way.
While the art is clean, and the peaceful moments feels good, and there are moments where the humanity behind the BL peeks through.... The so-called 'romance' is positioned to be the MAIN thing about this story and as a result, it feels uneven and skeevy. Keeping the uke's secret crush hidden for a long time is the wrong creative direction; it makes the uke's 'seduction' looking more deceptive and manipulative than anything else. Meanwhile, the way the seme reciprocates becomes very exploitative. He's taking advantage of his former ... 
Jan 30, 2026
Kowagaranaide, Soba ni Ite
(Manga)
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Yeah the premise is a bit overdone. Nothing's wrong with that personally speaking. Just because a bakery has perfected a certain cake does not mean other places can't make that same cake.
However, my main problem it is the execution is itself very much by the books. Whether the story structure, the character dynamics, the plot beats... everything is predictable that at some point you just breezes through. On top of all that, the story does drag the angst a little bit. As a result, the drama fails to become delicious because it's lacks any new iterations. Characters is also pretty stereotypical. Of course it's a Golden ... 
Jan 30, 2026
If you like Norra and Shuri from A Stepmother's Marchen, wants to savor their long-ass yearning but can't deal with the POLITICS, then I recommend reading this.
Beautiful art, easily one of the best in the medium. Main characters are decently fleshed out; nuanced without being too complicated or angsty. Side characters...can be a bit more, but they fulfill their purposes. The plot is light but not vapid. It also has decently historical vibes, aside from one fever dream when they suddenly go James Bond. Incredible chemistry, sweet and fluffy and full of playful banter and YEARNING. My primary hope is that they don't bloat the story. 
Jan 30, 2026
Lyrical Muscle Encounter
(Manga)
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Hmmm.
The middle feels dragged. The first chapter goes in with full force of a lewd fantasy and at first I thought "oh, yes, full lewd smut shenanigans", but then the next few chapters seems to be spent pulling back, adding tension that does not need to be added instead of going full force with the smut. And it's one thing if all the delay gives out more of the main characters but...it's not. The chapters after the first throws the main characters into a repetitive push-and-pull, not adding much to the main characters and making the delay feel more unnecessary and forced. The main characters ... 
Jan 30, 2026
Aoharu Cynical
(Manga)
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The first story is decently interesting, but the execution could be improved.
Initially the moral conflict between the traumatized uke and the helpful seme seems promising; this could have been an interesting story that explores the wounded mentality of a bullying victim. But the execution and the unfolding feels a bit too rushed and uneven. The characters doesn't really get a chance to shine and to flesh out the differences in their mentality. The final conflict comes and goes without much impact. And the story just moves towards quick fixes, which is doubly unfortunate. The art is pretty clean and decent, though. It fits the mood that ... 
Jan 28, 2026
First and foremost, this story is not for me. Both Guideverse as a concept and the dynamics between the main characters are not my thing, so the things I'll say in the next pragraph are mostly subjective bias.
I don't really like the romance, nor the Guideverse excuse for physical skinship. ML is a red flag disguising as a green flag Golden Retriever and as the story goes I am getting more and more annoyed. But the subjective comments ends here. Objectively, I do think the story can do with a lot more refinement. The art is the most consistent of them all. The characters are pretty, the ... 
Jan 27, 2026
To be honest, the story has some good parts. I like how proactive the MC is in resolving the plot. I like how the MC builds the relationship with the capture targets. I think she has a decent to good chemistry with them.
But the story in general is nothing special. They knowingly lean into the common archetypes of the RoFan genre but doesn't build much into it beyond "omg must raise affection point". Normally this can be saved with good art...but I think that is where this story fumbles. The art is...bad. It's stiff, with wooden characters having barely no expression and barely any movement. They ... |
