Even So, I Will Love You Tenderly

If love is sweet then unrequited love is bittersweet. It's difficult to take the next step—confessing—especially when the other party doesn't swing for the same team that you do. It's not just admitting that you like the other person, it's stepping out of the closet and risking the chance that the other person may not be able to view you the same way anymore. And even in the best case scenario, is it still possible to be friends at the end? Deguchi is a self-confident, charismatic office worker that satisfies his carnal urges through one-night stands. But perchance he happens to meet Onoda through a mutualacquaintance, which, much to his chagrin, sparks a one-sided and unrequited love for a kind, gentle man that seems all but oblivious to Deguchi's interest in him. The development between the two is gradual and satisfying, and despite there being large gaps between the chapters (three years apparently have passed by about chapter four or five), the pacing is impeccable. It can be said that the trope of “gay man and straight man” tends to be overused, but Yoneda Kou pulls it off flawlessly. Onoda doesn't immediately fall for Deguchi, it's a struggle for him from the very beginning to even comprehend how a relationship between them would ever work. Which brings us to the characters themselves, which are fleshed out nicely for such a short one volume manga. Particularly because Yoneda actually gives them development as well. Deguchi starts out as somewhat cynical about others and can come across as, at times, bitter. Onoda on the other hand seems like a spineless jellyfish that eventually grows himself a backbone, particularly with Deguchi. All of this combined with Yoneda's gorgeous crisp, clean, and captivating art, if you liked Doushitemo Furetakunai, you will adore this. If you're a yaoi fan that appreciates that love can, at times, be accompanied by pain as well, then you will no doubt enjoy this. It's every bit as good as the original story that it stems from.