Sayonara, Itoshi no My Friend

There's something about Enzou's storytelling that makes me overlook things that I'd find annoying in other stories. Maybe it's because her characters are all adults and her art style is so expressive—seriously, few mangaka can draw anguish so well. Now, Enzou's plots usually come with a healthy helping of melodrama, and this isn't an exception: there's a lot of feelings being hurt, a lot of insecurity, and some exploration of how expectations and assumptions can lead to disappointment. What I found refreshing, though, is that Tatsuo doesn't get what he wants from the get-go: Hajime is clear about his limits and the relationship progresses (mostly) onhis terms. As predictable as the ending is, I did like the journey to it, even if I personally would've toned down Hajime's grand emotional confession, because it comes across as too much of a "he's all fixed now, yay!" moment and a bit inconsistent with what came before it. I also wish Tatsuo were less pushy overall and that Hajime were allowed to have more small steps of getting used to him, outside of the big confession. The second story—the one that focuses on Hajime's brother, Makoto—has more open communication. I was expecting Makoto to be the typical cold and rude asshole, and was surprised that that was not the case. Even if it has the ol' "I'm letting you go so that I don't get hurt later" trope, it still makes sense considering what we're shown about Makoto's upbringing. These two brothers have issues, but it's nice that they're beginning to sort them out at the end. But, tbh, I just wanted to see everyone happy at the end, so it worked out fine for me, even with the bumps along the way. I can see myself rereading this and enjoying it just as much, if not more.