Dekoboko Bittersweet Days

To me, the prequel manga “Dekoboko Sugar Days” was the complete package. In that story, BL tropes were executed perfectly, making for one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve experienced in the genre! Unfortunately, I don’t think that “Dekoboko Bittersweet Days” is as successful as its predecessor. The first half of the manga consists of some really cute scenarios, while also presenting Yuujirou and Rui’s hopes and anxieties about how their relationship will progress in the future. This is a very promising setup that I was excited to see the narrative explore, but it ended up falling rather flat. I feel like there are a lot of interestingways that the protagonists’ relationship could have developed as they navigated adulthood, but instead, the second half of the story is centered around an annoying, contrived conflict. A lack of communication between the couple leads to a number of problems that feel completely avoidable. Yuujirou’s behaviour, in particular, comes across as unnatural and forced; the storytelling in these moments seems both lazy and uninspired. With that being said, the art continues to be exceptionally cute, carrying the manga through its duller periods. It’s still an enjoyable read overall, but “Bittersweet Days” just doesn’t reach the same heights as the original. Though this was ultimately disappointing for me, it was still nice to revisit these characters and see how they changed by the end of the story.