Pairing: M/M
Orientation: gay, bisexual
Identity: cisgender
There are Things I Can’t Tell You by Edako Mofumofu is such a well told story about friendship and how there are certain things that you keep even from your closest friend. The manga revolves around two young men who meet in junior high, and how their relationship evolves from simple childhood friendship to something that becomes more difficult to describe as they grow older and their feelings for each other deepen. It is a book about facing personal biases while navigating the often difficult course of young adulthood.
Kasumi and Kyousuke are complete opposites. While Kasumi is shy, reserved and keeps mostly to himself, Kyousuke is often the center of attention, always around friends and not afraid to go after what he wants. Growing up, they are often each other’s pillar of strength. Kasumi sees Kyousuke as a hero, saving him from bullies, and Kyousuke sees Kasumi as the calmness in the middle of the tsunami that is his life.
I really enjoyed this book and it’s exploration of friendship and how that can deepen into love. I really liked the fact that the relationship wasn’t manipulative or one sided. There was no unnecessary miscommunication or misunderstanding. Everything these two boys did, even those things that hurt each other, they did because they believed that it would make the other happy. As misguided as that was, the thing they could not tell each other was that the other’s happiness was more important than their own.
***I was provided a digital copy of this title by NetGalley for an honest review.
Books and Dramas 