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Ritsu Natsumizu – DMP/June – 2012 – 1 volume

More salaryman-themed BL, which I may have mentioned before is sort of what I look for in this stuff. That was the one and only reason I snagged this. I thought it might be up my alley. And it is. But it’s one of those volumes that’s only okay. If you like salaryman stuff, it’s an okay read, but there’s no reason to rush out and buy this if it is not to your taste.

There’s two main stories. In the first, the main couple is Hayashi and Shinohara. Hayashi is straight, but finds himself in bed one morning with Shinohara. The two work together, and Hayashi is friends with Shinohara, but the two aren’t particularly close. Turns out that Hayashi was merely drunk that night, and nothing happened between the two. But Hayashi can’t stop thinking about shy, standoffish Shinohara, who admits to having a crush on him. After some false starts and cruelty, everything is smooth sailing.

In the second story, a shy, bespectacled office worker named Fujino is suddenly the center of attention for popular Kuraki. The two engage in a contest, where Kuraki vows to find a better melon bread than the one that Fujino buys from the cafeteria every day. When Kuraki runs out of melon bread, the two have to admit to having a good time, or else they have no common ground on which to hook up. Later, Fujino worries that he’s not good enough for the perennially popular Kuraki, who has many other fans.

There’s nothing here you haven’t seen before, though I admit to being partial to the melon bread competition. The characters are fairly typical, though kudos to the first story for varying the formula just a bit so that the seme is the one who is confused and not sure what he wants, while the uke is the gay one. It’s not revolutionary, but at least it’s something.

So, yes. If you know your taste, and this sounds like it might match it, expect a good read out of it. Otherwise, you’re probably better off with a quick read elsewhere.