Title: Daisy Jealousy
Author: Ogerestu Tanaka
Release Date: November 10, 2020
Publisher: Libre
This is one of the best single volume reads for 2020. I am glad I picked up this title, and from now on I will automatically buy her works physically when a new one comes out. It was certainly a good read and had me hooked throughout the entire volume. It made me feel that I should always continue to pursue things I like even if an obstacle comes up. The main characters go through a vast variety of emotions that it makes them feel like real human beings.
Spoilers from here.
Misaki and Kaname are both students of a college learning about 3DCG and really enjoy what they are doing. Misaki is a hard worker trying to boost up his skills all the time and Kaname is a so-called genius. At first Kaname is only interested in 3DCG modelling but after a certain incident he becomes interested in Misaki. He is not the social type but he tries his very best to ask Misaki to go to various places with him. But after a certain conversation their relationship goes sour. This is due to the fact that Misaki feels that Kaname easily does things while Misaki has to struggle to get to a level that is not even as high as Kaname. At their graduation, Kaname calls Misaki aside and kisses him and Misaki becomes angry thinking that Kaname is making a fool out of him. They then depart ways and several years pass and both go on into the field of creating games for their career. They reunite when Kaname comes as a freelancer to Misaki’s company for a new project and eventually get close to each other. Kaname tells Misaki that he kissed him on graduation day because he likes him and things seem to be going well from there. But once again various emotions go through Misaki’s head as he starts feeling the pressure and find that he is being left behind by Kaname who is naturally doing extremely well in the industry. Misaki asks if Kaname is willing to quit his job. They then break up and Misaki leaves the gaming industry and parts with his love for games. Several years pass again, and Misaki does not have a stable job. In the meantime his college friend gives Misaki a game that Kaname was involved in. He plays the game and remembers that he liked the world he didn’t know; he wanted to know more and then wanted to create it, with Kaname. Even if he strayed away from being involved with games he couldn’t erase Kaname from his mind and that he liked what Kaname created. He then realizes that he likes Kaname quite a lot. Soon they run into each other and Misaki vows to Kaname that he will never again quit things he likes even if he can’t catch up to Kaname. They later meet up again and Misaki tells Kaname his desire to get back in the gaming industry and his hope of working together one day. At the same time Misaki apologizes to Kaname for laying the blame on him every time he became jealous of Kaname’s natural talents. Kaname once again tells him he likes Misaki and only Misaki. Misaki then confesses that he likes everything about Kaname.
My favourite part is when Misaki finds his old cellphone which he dropped (and screen cracked) on their graduation day. He browses a blog that he used to frequent and when he reads the comments he realizes that the blog author is Kaname. He learns that what Kaname was thinking was quite opposite of what he had comprehended. This further opens up his eyes and prompts him to meet up with him again.
I am not a big fan of explicit scenes in BL manga, but this one was a really good read and it did not bother me as much. It is wonderful to see how the characters develop and come to respect each other. And it is refreshing to see Misaki who had once departed from what was a big part of his life, return to it once again. This time with more passion. The author does such a good job compiling it into one volume and it doesn’t seem rushed or anything. I hope a commercial company picks up this title and releases it in English.
Purchase: Amazon Japan | CD Japan | Honto
Cover image from Amazon Japan.