Who would you commiserate with on Black Day?

[geri_chan]

I got bogged down with various RL stuff, so this is a bit late, but here's my Black Day post, following up on my Valentine's and White Day posts. As mentioned in the previous posts, Black Day (April 14th) is an unofficial South Korean holiday in which the single people who didn't get gifts on Valentine's Day or White Day can get together and commiserate over black bean sauce noodles. So here are some of my favorite single manga guys who could maybe use some comfort on Black Day (contains a mini-review of Endless Comfort, with a few spoilers below the cut):


1) Ikegami-sensei, Narusawa's veterinarian friend in Voice or Noise, a Blu title that I reviewed in this earlier post. The bonus chapter at the end of volume 2 focuses on Ikegami, and seems to indicate that he has some unrequited feelings for Narusawa, who by this point is already in love with Shinichiro, even though he's not very good at expressing his feelings. To add insult to injury, Ikegami is the one who introduced Shinichiro to Narusawa, although he certainly never imagined that the two would become a couple. (And since Shinichiro is underage during volumes 1 and 2, he feels somewhat responsible and guilty for the relationship that ensues, although at least Narusawa refrains from consummating the relationship until Shinichiro becomes an adult.) Anyway, Ikegami is a really nice, ordinary, down-to-earth guy (which is probably why he makes a good balance to the more eccentric, misanthropic Narusawa), and I'd like to see him find some happiness for himself. (And btw, since Tokyopop is going out of business and Blu is a Tokyopop subsidiary, grab this series while you still can!)


2) Tatsumi Yuuki, a supporting character in Endless Comfort. The main story is about Yuuki's coworker and ex-lover Kuzumi, who is mourning the death of his mother, and finds mutual comfort with the shy and kind Yuu, the dog trainer who cares for the dogs on Kuzumi's mother's estate. Yuu was sexually abused by his stepfather and is still suffering from the trauma, but the issue is handled with surprising sensitivity for a yaoi title. The two don't just jump into a romance, and Yuu isn't magically healed by Kuzumi's love, but instead there's a slow and gradual buildup from an employer/employee relationship to friendship, and only once their friendship and trust is firmly established does friendship transition into romance. When they finally do make love, Kuzumi proceeds slowly and patiently, making sure every step of the way that Yuu is okay with things--a very nice contrast to the unfortunately common "rape is love" trope. And it's also made clear in the beginning of the manga that Kuzumi is gay, and not just "gay for that one special guy," which is another interesting departure.

The subplot involving Yuuki is much more problematic. Although at the beginning it appears that Yuuki is a rival for Kuzumi's affections, it quickly becomes clear that their past affair was only a temporary distraction and that Yuuki is really in love with their boss, company president Amamiya. Unfortunately, Amamiya not only has a wife and children, he has a constant string of lovers, both male and female, which means that not only does Yuuki have to watch his loved one be with other people, but as Amamiya's secretary, he has the unpleasant task of cleaning up after his employer's failed affairs. Kuzumi chides Amamiya, and tells him to give Yuuki a straight answer instead of keeping him hanging, to which Amamiya replies that although he loves Yuuki in his own way, he's incapable of being faithful to one person and can't treat Yuuki as he deserves. But at the same time, he isn't willing to let Yuuki go, either--they don't seem to be sleeping together, but there's a deep and dysfunctional emotional bond between them, leaving Yuuki in a perpetual state of unconsummated and not-quite-unrequited love. Amamiya later tells Yuuki that he needs Yuuki by his side and that he won't let him go, but it doesn't seem like he's going to give up his wife and lovers, which is incredibly selfish and unfair to Yuuki--not to mention the wife, whom we never see. Amamiya implies that she doesn't care about his affairs, but who knows if that's true or just a self-serving rationalization, or if she once cared but has been burned out by his repeated infidelities? If he really loves Yuuki, I feel like he ought to let him go and find someone who can love him wholeheartedly, since Yuuki is obviously miserable with the way things are now. Instead, Amamiya seems to want to have his cake and eat it too, which is exactly the kind of guy I despise. (I have a pretty strong infidelity squick, although as with everything else, there are stories that are so good that they become exceptions to the rule.) To be fair, I think the author intended the relationship to be messed up rather than romantic, but Amamiya's jerkish behavior infuriates me and makes me want to throw the book across the room, even though I really love the story between the main couple.

Anyway, I would commiserate with Yuuki on Black Day and urge him to dump Amamiya's cheating ass! (And to find a new job while he's at it, since I don't think he'll be able to break the connection as long as he and Amamiya are working together. Maybe I should introduce him to Ikegami?)


3) This one's a repeat from the Valentine's Day post, but Miyama from Arashi no Ato (After a Storm), who was dumped by his lover Sakaki after Sakaki fell in love with a straight dude. (Well, not so straight after all, since Okada did eventually return Sakaki's feelings.) It seems to have been a mostly casual relationship, but I think Miyama cared for Sakaki more than he was willing to admit, and I felt really bad for him. Plus, his sly and cynical personality appeals to me, although he's not on Onozuka's level. ~_^ I could introduce Miyama to Yuuki, too, but I think Ikegami-sensei would probably be a better match for him.


And a couple of hard-working managers that I forgot to mention on Valentine's Day! It's not explicitly stated that they're single in canon, but there's no mention of them having wives or girlfriends or boyfriends, so I'm assuming that they're single. Plus, their work is so time-consuming that they probably don't have time for relationships, as they seem to spend most of their time chauffeuring and chasing after and coordinating schedules for their temperamental actor clients.


4) Kaneko from Haru wo Daiteita (Embracing Love). I love Kaneko--he's a hard worker and a nice guy, although occasionally he seems a little out of his depth when Katou causes him trouble, which makes me think that he's relatively new on the job. And I do feel for him, since Katou can be quite a handful, although I'm sure that he doesn't intentionally mean to make things difficult for his manager. In spite of various difficulties (like the time Katou was suspended from working by the agency president during the Fuyu no Semi storyline), Kankeo remains steadfastly loyal to Katou and seems to care about him as a friend as well as a client. I don't really see him as gay, so I'd like to pair him up with a nice girl--maybe my OC actress Asami-chan from Unmasked. Or if Shimizu ever got divorced, I think that she and Kaneko would make a good couple, and that Kaneko would be a good stepfather to Shimizu's daughter. If I were to pair him up with a guy, it would probably be with another efficient manager/assistant type like Shiki from Love Control, or my OC host club assistant manager Shou (also from Unmasked) or Yashiro (see below). Or maybe Yuuki, since a steady, loyal, dependable guy like Kaneko would probably be good for him.


5) Yashiro Yukihito from Skip Beat--a bishie-guy-in-glasses type, my favorite! ^_^ (I talked a bit about him here on this post about a Haru/Skip Beat plot bunny that never came to fruition.) Like Kaneko, he's a hardworking manager in the show biz industry who has a temperamental actor for a client, but Yashiro seems to be more experienced and a lot firmer with his client, Ren, and he has a slightly devilish streak to him--he's not above using threats or blackmail to keep Ren in line at times. (Nothing serious or exploitative, I should add; it's mostly comical stuff like using the threat of his weird body chemistry to short out Ren's cell phone.) Although he's strict with Ren, he does care about Ren as a person and not just a client--much like Kaneko and Katou, so I think that he and Kaneko could at least be good friends if they ever met. Aside from Kaneko, I haven't really thought about who else I could pair him with, so I'll have to ponder that a bit further.