Rainy Day Love

Satomi Konno – DMP / Digital Manga Guild – 2011 – 1 volume

Another from the DMG on eManga! This one took me by surprise. The first half is a sweet, if somewhat formulaic, story about two former classmates falling in love. It’s the second story that gets me every time in this volume, though.

The first story is about Yuta and Shizuno. Former classmates in high school, Yuta has since graduated, and the two now occasionally meet when Shizuno stops by Yuta’s family shop. It’s pretty standard fare, where a mutual crush works itself out between them, but it’s a very adorable take on it. Subsequent chapters are about Yuta and Shizuno exploring the physical aspects of their relationship, with the third about the sex. That one was where the charm of the story really came through for me, and I couldn’t get enough of Yuta’s innocent probes into the subject, and how best to approach it so that he wouldn’t be injured.

The last third of the book focuses on Yuta’s brother Shoichi and his best friend Seigo. This story is less about a mutual crush and more about Seigo’s unrelenting pursuit of Shoichi for the last 20 years. They’re best friends, but try as he might, Seigo can’t get Shoichi to take a hint. This one had a taste of drama to it, too, though it has the same happy, adorable tone as the first couple’s story. There’s a lot of humor here, too. Not only did the idea of Seigo pursuing a clueless Shoichi for twenty years appeal to me, there were also a lot of goofy jokes about how clueless Shoichi really was. I thought this part was much more romantic than the first half, but I did like both stories equally.

I think the way the story was told, for both couples, simply appealed to me. It’s a well-told, very light, very humorous, and very romantic book. I usually have more of a taste for dramatic BL, but I couldn’t help loving this book. It’s been one of my absolute favorites of the DMG releases so far, and I would encourage anyone looking for a light read on eManga to take a look.