The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese

I usually steer clear of yaoi. I do read adult mangas from time to time and I don't mind yuri, but I'd gag at the thought of gay men sex scenes. Yet, I dare to say Kyuuso wa Cheese no Yume wo Miru is by a long shot the best adult manga I've read and one of the few (adult or non-adult) mangas that do portray what could be a real homossexual relationship. Questioning and exploring one's sexuality was something I've always been fond of. I believe sexual identity is a grey and foggy area where nothing should absolutely labeled or defined. Kyouichi findshimself hanging on the very same thoughts as he pursues a relationship with his kouhai from college, Imagase. For them, sex is the absolute acceptance of each other's demons. The characters are extremely flawed in a good way. They slowly strip themselves from all the social and conventional layers that get in the way and reveal themselves as humans. The sex scenes are all too good. They're revigorating and exciting. Trust me, this comes from a person that disliked yaoi at first. There's no clear separation from the sex and the dialogues in between, so don't think on skipping them. The art is not utterly perfect but it does justice to everything else. The boys are drawn in a way that enhances their sexual features (Kyouichi being the more masculine type and Imagase the more feminine one). Also, do read the sequel. They complement eachother and give more meaning to Kyouichi's conflicting soul-searching and a clearer view on Imagase's feelings for his sempai. In the end, this manga left me thinking about my own sexuality. If by chance I meet an attractive gay woman that falls in love with me, what will I do? Will I go for it? Would it be just for the thrill of it? Could I call it love?

Don't be fooled by the summary: The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese doesn't follow your usual coercion -> love plotline. What distinguishes this manga from many others in the genre is that it takes the usual BL tropes and adds realism. Coercion isn't romantic. Lust is lust. Straight men don't magically turn gay after one homosexual encounter. The characters in the series are flawed, complex, and very human. (Admittedly, Imagase is a bit of a weak point - I couldn't warm to him at all, even though he does rise above the usual stalker character archetype. A bit.) From the synopsis alone, The Cornered Mouse Dreams ofCheese seems like your standard cliche-ridden BL manga, with a flimsy plot that is little more than an excuse for getting the two leads into bed together. Yet this manga rises above its would-be typical premise to provide a mature, unflinching look at a far-from-perfect relationship. --- Story [7/10] There isn't much plot to this series, but that's probably because the manga isn't about plot, as such. Its focus is on people, and emotions, and how relationships can be difficult and destructive. Art [8/10] The art is serviceable, if not amazing - the mangaka does display a sensitive use of space and visual pacing, though, which more than makes up for that. Character [9/10] See above. The manga makes no excuses for its characters, and doesn't try to idealise their actions. There are some weak points - not all of Kyouichi's reactions are convincing - but there's a good deal of realism and character development, a far cry from much of BL. Enjoyment [7/10] It's hard to really 'enjoy' this series, because of how emotionally brutal it can be. While none of the characters is really "bad", they certainly have their bad aspects, and watching their stories unfold is somehow more painful precisely because of how imperfect and human they are. If you like drama and angst, you'll probably enjoy this more than I did. Perhaps 'enjoyment' is the wrong dimension on which to assess this series: if one assessed it for emotional impact, it would certainly score high.

In all honesty, this is one of the least problematic yaoi series I've read as of now, even if it's still twisted as it is. The reason I still like it though is because instead of being heteronormative and misleading about being gay, it openly accepts that a gay relationship is a relationship between two men, not a man who acts like an overly submissive man and an overly abusively agressive alpha man. With all that out of the way, the only messed up parts of the story are left in the human nature of the characters, which I found to be very natural soI liked that. I will say straight up that I wasn't a massive fan of this series-- but it was a personal preference of not being into the plot all the much. The manga itself was objectively well done. Let's go into the specifics. The story was pretty standard. I won't spoil anything, but it's about repressed sexual feelings and people's natures and how different they are from eachother. Does it have cliche moments? Yes. But is it realistic about human nature? Definitely. That's why I liked how the story was handled-- it was very real. In addition, the art was very clean, realistic, and well-done. Nothing like usual yaoi or shoujo where the semes look like slenderman. In fact, there was none of the 'seme' or 'uke' stereotypes going on in the art either. At first glance (or even as you read into it) it's pretty hard to tell, and I adored that aespect. As for the characters, I personally didn't like them all that much (again, you may-- it's just that I'm not a big fan of people who cheat, really) so I was a little biased against them. They were written well, just not my style and I frequently found myself a little annoyed with them or questioning their motivations. I enjoyed this manga enough to get through it fairly quickly. It wasn't overly super impressive except that it doesn't rely on heternormativity and isn't all rainbows and flowers. Those two points really sealed it as 'good' for me. I would recommend this if you: like realistic love stories, like reading about human depravity, like short mangas, like well-drawn mangas, don't like stereotypes, are sick of seme/uke dynamics, dislike heteronormativity in gay relationships/media I would NOT recommend this if you: like the seme/uke structure, are expecting a ton of full-on smut immediately, like indisputably happy relationships/endings Have a great day everyone!

Some people are offended by the natures of the characters of the manga, but I wasn't at all. It was honest and enjoyable. The characters were brilliantly developed and the inner turmoil, melodrama, and angst factor were truly there. The best part of the manga is definitely in its character appeal. We can easily relate ourselves with the two main protagonists. They aren't fabrications of shoujo excitement, but they have true faults, but they're honest about them. Doubt, confusion, trust, conformity, the search for true love, what we want from our lives is all on the page for you. From the title, to the plot,to the characters - everything is gripping. The artwork is also poignantly done. A hand grab, a head pat, falling tears - very moving. Give it a try!