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Manga Review | Hotaru Dies Tomorrow by Fuyu Saikawa

Title: Hotaru Dies Tomorrow

Author(s): Fuyu Saikawa

Artist(s): Fuyu Saikawa

Saneatsu is in love, but not with a real person. He's in love with the main character of his favorite novel, the somber and hypersexual Hotaru – a cat-eyed beauty with dusty pink hair. Every partner he's ever had has never been able to compare to her, resulting in Saneatsu being dumped over and over again. He's lonely, but he longs for Hotaru and no one else. To his surprise, he runs into a young man with cat eyes and dusty pink hair. He kisses the man before he can control himself and asks him out.

The man, to Saneatsu's surprise, agrees, and the two start an intensely sexual relationship – exactly what Saneatsu would expect from being with his beloved Hotaru. This Hotaru's name is Nao, and his entire personality, likes and dislikes, reactions, and commentary all align with his beloved Hotaru. This is everything Saneatsu could have ever wanted in a relationship. But is Hotaru really the one Saneatsu wants to be in a relationship with?

Title: My Demon Cry Baby, Maria

Author(s): Yukihiko Sano

Artist(s): Yukihiko Sano

Satoru is in mourning. His unrequited love, Jun Mariya, has passed away before Satoru ever got the chance to talk to him, much less confess to him. In the throes of sorrow, Satoru crumples up and marks all over the love letter he had intended to give to Jun someday before throwing it aside. Then, he lies there, expressing his want to die. Out of nowhere, a voice calls out to him, offering to take his life. It is a fluffy little black smoke cloud, claiming to be a demon, having been summoned from Satoru's inadvertent scribbling of a summoning circle.

Satoru is surprised, of course, but intrigued, as the demon offers him a wish in exchange for his life span, which the demon will steadily feed on for the remainder of Satoru's life. Satoru can only think of one wish: to see Jun. The demon takes this opportunity to lure Satoru even further, suddenly shifting into Jun's exact likeness. Satoru is shocked but is more than happy to make this deal so he can be with Jun. Similarly, the demon is delighted to make such an easy deal.

What the innocent demon doesn't realize is that Satoru has some depraved plans for this demonic lookalike, and he has every intention of acting on them until his dying breath.

Title: Perfectly Broken Love

Author(s): SUMA

Artist(s): SUMA

Ma Dongjae loves BL. He reads everything he can get his hands on and swoons over the romantic storylines, hoping to have his own happily ever after someday. Unfortunately, he seems to only be attracted to straight men. Even worse, most of the time, these men turn out to be bigots, so when he confesses, they respond in the worst ways possible. Thankfully, Dongjae isn't one to take any insults sitting down. He has no problem putting assholes in their place, but the latest instance ends up happening in a very public place, drawing the attention of someone nearby. While Dongjae is mourning another horrible rejection in private, the “someone” who happened to see it all go down follows Dongjae.

There, the stranger wastes no time coming on to Dongjae, letting Dongjae know that he's gay and is more than willing to be with Dongjae. Dongjae is beyond turned off by this man's persistence. Thankfully, Dongjae gets away from the pervert without much trouble. Unfortunately, attending his new class, it turns out the stranger is in the same class. Dongjae is trying to come up with some way of dropping out of the class when one of their classmates brings up the recent public rejection Dongjae just experienced. Dongjae is uncomfortable, ready to get into another fight if need be, when Tae-jun, the stranger, jumps in, telling the classmate off for bringing up something like that in class.

Tae-jun seems like a completely different person, and Dongjae finds himself attracted to this new version. But when Dongjae tries to get close, Tae-jun appears to want nothing to do with him, completely counter to what Dongjae experienced only a short time prior. After spending time with each different variation of “Tae-jun,” Dongjae learns that Tae-jun has DID, and while Tae-oh, the personality that initially hit on Dongjae, is gay, Tae-jun, the personality Dongjae actually likes, is not. Brokenhearted, Dongjae is preparing to move on when Tae-oh makes him an offer: I'll help you with Tae-jun if you let me touch you. It's an uncomfortable offer, but one that Dongjae is tempted to accept, imagining all of those BL happily ever afters.

Title: Confessions of the Night

Author(s): JIHA

Artist(s): JIHA

Enoch is a priest. He has been struggling recently after the death of his lover, Ray, who passed away from illness. Though his faith is a comfort, it does little to assuage his loneliness. All of these feelings come to a head when he begins to see his dead lover, Ray, amongst the congregation in the church. At first, it's like he's nothing more than a ghost or a shadow, appearing out of nowhere but not interacting with anyone or anything. But then this echo of Ray starts talking to Enoch, and Enoch discovers he is the only one who can touch or speak to Ray.

The intensity of the interactions only grows and grows until Ray is openly trying to seduce Enoch. Can this man of God avoid temptation? Or will this imposter of his lover be too much to reject?

Title: I'm Yours, Blood and Soul

Author(s): GyaGa

Artist(s): GyaGa

Deok Bokhee is a vampire. At least once a week, if not more, he goes out to the clubs on the hunt for his next meal. He ends up with an impressive catch that leads to a steamy moment in the bathroom, then evolves to an even steamier time in a hotel room. The two are very compatible, which makes this meal all the more delectable. Bokhee is just about to take a bite of his prey when, out of nowhere, the man he's in bed with sprouts little black wings. As it turns out, the man he thought was a human is a demon, also on the hunt for a meal.

Kim Mariam is that demon. While the sex was great, the prey wasn't what he expected. Thankfully, vampires are just as edible as humans, if not more so, since vampires are immortal and have multiple souls inside them, thanks to their own hunger, often causing the death of others. So, Mariam isn't all that put off, but Bokhee seems to be beyond disgusted. After Bokhee goes off to shower, Mariam takes a moment to rifle through Bokhee's belongings, discovering an unusual bottle among his things. Thirsty and not worried about what's in the bottle since he's immortal, he gulps it down.

Unfortunately, that was a bottle of Bokhee's 500-year-old vampire blood, and whoever drinks it creates a link with Bokhee that will make it so Bokhee can only drink from that person. Bokhee is beyond upset, as the only way to break the link is for one of them to die. As a demon, Mariam will never die, and Bokhee is not interested in dying. So these two are now forced together, and while Bokhee desperately wants out of this contract, Mariam seems all too happy to be linked to the resistant vampire. All while they are struggling to deal with this new connection, there is a serial killer whose murders resemble a vampire killing, and that puts Bokhee in the crosshairs of the police.

Title: Escape into Oblivion

Author(s): Gawee

Artist(s): Gawee

Woojin is willing to do anything to escape. Escape from what? His family, school, his lovers, and life in general. He'll do whatever it takes to escape, whether through sex, alcohol, moving away, hiding from school, or anything else. It's almost like a game to Woojin, and it's one that he wins often. That is until he meets Hwon.

Hwon does anything Woojin asks, even when Woojin does everything he can to either run from Hwon or hurt him. This intensity of love is new to Woojin, and it scares him. What scares him even more, though, is who Hwon might be. Part of why Woojin feels the need to escape is that when he was a child, his friend was beaten by a homeless boy they would occasionally pick on and whom Woojin would confide in. Rather than save his friend, Woojin ran away, never to see the friend again.

Could Hwon be that friend seeking revenge? Or could he be the homeless boy, finally back to take what belongs to him, Woojin? Woojin's not sure which he would prefer, but he knows one thing for sure. No matter who Hwon ends up being, Woojin has fallen hopelessly in love with him, which is something he can't escape.

Title: The Unquenchable Mr. Kim

Author(s): MORAK

Artist(s): MORAK

Doyun is trying to stay alive and keep his job. Unfortunately, that's harder for him since he isn't your average human. Doyun is actually a half-vampire. Because of his odd disposition, Doyun cannot consume human blood. Thankfully, vampires don't have to only drink blood, but it's not any easier to get. Vampires can also subsist on essence, which they can get from humans by having sex with them.

Doyun hasn't had a partner in a while, so he's pretty worn out. Food or coffee isn't enough to keep him moving along. So, to make his life a bit easier, he's planning to find a sex friend. In his tired stupor, he intends to let his guardian know but accidentally messages his boss instead. Fully prepared to get fired, Doyun goes to see his boss and tries to explain the unfortunate mishap.

To his surprise, though, chief Gangwoo isn't mad at all. Actually, he's very interested in Doyun's hunt for a partner. So, he offers himself up to take the role. Needing to get essence and happy not to lose his job, Doyun is willing to give the chief a try. Unfortunately, things don't work out as well as Doyun hopes. As it turns out, his constitution is worsening, and essence is no longer enough. Will Doyun be able to find a new way to feed? Or is he doomed to die an agonizing death?

Title: Dine With a Vampire

Author(s): PANGIN

Artist(s): PINKO

Sooin spends every day living in utter hell. He lives in a world stuck between guilt and rage, love and vengeance, and complacency and revenge. The best he can do on a day-to-day basis is to try not to anger his roommate, Sungha. Why Sungha? Because Sungha spends every day torturing and beating Sooin because Sooin fell in love with him. Sooin could leave, but his guilt won't allow him to, as he feels his love for Sungha has turned him into a monster. So he endures Sungha's cruelty, but not without hoping that someday he can escape.

Then, while at work, Sooin meets another kind of monster. He runs into the owner of the restaurant he works at, Chi-hwan, because of a cut on Sooin's finger. It turns out that Chi-hwan is a vampire, but not just any vampire. Instead, he is a vampire that can't drink human blood and must subsist off the hearts of his fellow vampire brethren. But for some reason, he is drawn to Sooin's blood, and when he gets a taste of it, he finds it perfectly palatable when human blood hasn't been for so long.

Desperate to ensure Sooin stays alive and well so he can partake in his blood, Chi-hwan makes him an offer Sooin can't refuse. Chi-hwan will kill for Sooin, including Sungha. All Sooin has to do is give him blood.

Title: University of the Underworld

Author(s): Ziloi

Our main character is a new ghost. He doesn't remember how or when he died, nor does he remember who he even is, so he spends the first moments of his new ghostly life simply waiting when he wakes up. For what? For the ghostly guards, of course, that will help guide him to the underworld. No matter how long he waits, though, there is no sign of any guards of any kind to come and help. So, on a whim, the ghostling decides that if he isn't destined to go to the underworld, he'll become a malevolent spirit. Unfortunately, his first target is none other than Bai Shaonan, a ghost, and a powerful one at that.

The little ghostling's antics do not amuse Bai Shaonan, and he's compelled to destroy the new ghost and move along with his undead life. However, there is something about the little ghost that Shaonan just won't seem to let him do it, especially when he finds out the little guy wants to become a malevolent spirit and has no clue who he is. So, looking around, Shaonan picks a random name: Cui Yue. Then, he takes little Cui Yue under his wing and back to the underworld, specifically the university where Shaonan is actually a dean.

Cui Yue starts his life as an underworld college student, but it's not all fun and games. Cui Yue isn't a very good student, but he's trying his best, and his grades are the least of his worries when he realizes that Shaonan's interest may not end at mere scholarly interest. But beyond school and romantic troubles, there is an underworld to the underworld that is working to destroy both Cui Yue and Bai Shaonan for eternity.

Title: A Kind Goblin's Bird

Author(s): 8cat

Artist(s): 8cat

There is a tale about a woman who can help grant wishes in people's sleep. All she has to do is sing as the person falls asleep, and in their dreams, they will see their wishes granted. She is an oracle and one that Sah Heonyoung seeks out to test her powers. When he sees her, they are inexplicably drawn to each other; Sah Heonyoung, in particular, is drawn to the oracle. However, his identity as the twin of the crown prince, a goblin, makes it impossible to want anything without fear of losing it.

The oracle in question has never had a name. She is forced to live out in the woods of the mountain, surviving on weeds and grass in between the few times she is called to perform her wish-granting ceremony. Over time, her body has accumulated many scars, her legs have weakened to the point that she can't stand for long, and her eyesight is poor at night. Her life is an endless struggle until she meets the goblin in the red mask. He whisks her away, gives her a name, and asks her to be his bride. In an instant, her life has changed, but the imperial family, his family, threatens to steal away her happiness forever.

Impersonation

Manga Review | Hotaru Dies Tomorrow by Fuyu Saikawa

Manga Review | My Demon Cry Baby, Maria by Yukihiko Sano

Manhwa Review | Perfectly Broken Love by SUMA

Manhwa Review | Confessions of the Night by JIHA

Manhwa Review | I’m Yours, Blood and Soul by GyaGa

Manhwa Review | The Unquenchable Mr. Kim by MORAK

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