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窮鼠はチーズの夢を見る/俎上の鯉は二度跳ねる [Kyuuso wa Cheese no Yume o Miru/Sojou no Koi wa Nido Haneru] #1
The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese
Kyouichi's indecisive character has led him to repeatedly commit the foolish mistake of adultery. One day, Imagase, a college classmate he hasn't seen since graduation, shows up as the private detective hired by his wife to investigate his infidelity. Imagase, however, proposes a deal. He won't tell Kyouichi's wife about his affairs, but, for compensation, he makes an unbelievable demand: "I want your body in exchange..."
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
12 people are currently reading
443 people want to read
About the author
Setona Mizushiro
140 books159 followersMizushiro Setona (水城せとな in Japanese, or 水城雪可奈 in Chinese language) is a popular mangaka who started out in the dōjinshi circles.
Her first real dabble in the world of creating manga was in 1985 when she participated in the publication of a dōjinshi. She remained active in the dōjinshi world until her debut in 1993 with the short single "Fuyu ga Owarou Toshiteita" (Winter Was Ending) that ran in Shōgakukan's Puchi Comic magazine.
Though her current drawing style is high on the aesthetic value, her earlier works had less finesse. Regardless of the lesser emphasis on the visual elements in her earlier works, her popularity grew largely due to her unparalleled grasp for storytelling. Her works are noted for their slightly askew plots and deep exploration of the human psyche. Even her lighthearted Shōjo works usually have darker underlying elements. With an incomparable ability to craft stories that puzzle, sadden, assure, pervert, and move the depths of one's heart, she has gained a cult-like following. Her works include shojo, josei, and yaoi, and have been translated into multiple languages, including English, Italian, French and German.
Her first real dabble in the world of creating manga was in 1985 when she participated in the publication of a dōjinshi. She remained active in the dōjinshi world until her debut in 1993 with the short single "Fuyu ga Owarou Toshiteita" (Winter Was Ending) that ran in Shōgakukan's Puchi Comic magazine.
Though her current drawing style is high on the aesthetic value, her earlier works had less finesse. Regardless of the lesser emphasis on the visual elements in her earlier works, her popularity grew largely due to her unparalleled grasp for storytelling. Her works are noted for their slightly askew plots and deep exploration of the human psyche. Even her lighthearted Shōjo works usually have darker underlying elements. With an incomparable ability to craft stories that puzzle, sadden, assure, pervert, and move the depths of one's heart, she has gained a cult-like following. Her works include shojo, josei, and yaoi, and have been translated into multiple languages, including English, Italian, French and German.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
August 7, 2021
So what's this one about??
Basically, it is about a married man who cheats on his wife, she eventually hires a private detective to catch him cheating and the detective turns out to be someone who used to be in love with him from college.
But this manga rises above typical premise of yaoi mangas to provide a mature, unflinching look at a far-from-perfect relationship which is why I really liked it.
The characters Imagase and Kyouichi are flawed, complex and yet realistic. They are brilliantly developed and the inner turmoil, melodrama, and angst factor were truly there.
Speaking of art it was dense at some points while the author also kept it kinda mild here and there which gave it a nice balance I think.
In short this manga is not for everyone and there is also a movie version which is really good, you can watch it first before trying the manga.
Basically, it is about a married man who cheats on his wife, she eventually hires a private detective to catch him cheating and the detective turns out to be someone who used to be in love with him from college.
But this manga rises above typical premise of yaoi mangas to provide a mature, unflinching look at a far-from-perfect relationship which is why I really liked it.
The characters Imagase and Kyouichi are flawed, complex and yet realistic. They are brilliantly developed and the inner turmoil, melodrama, and angst factor were truly there.
Speaking of art it was dense at some points while the author also kept it kinda mild here and there which gave it a nice balance I think.
In short this manga is not for everyone and there is also a movie version which is really good, you can watch it first before trying the manga.
January 5, 2023
Angsty. Intense. Whimsical. Volatile. Poignant. Sick. Fucked-up.
Obsessive and destructive.
Fabulous.
Some stories are good regardless of the format. This manga held my heart in a grip and shattered my world for a few hours. Nothing here is admirable, or praiseworthy. The characters are unfaithful, dishonest, disloyal, mercurial, capricious, immoral, thoughtless, irresponsible, bloodsucking, spineless, inconsistent, mindless, opportunistic, selfish...
And totally, utterly, and impressively disfunctional together.
What a mess.
It doesn't work, and in the end it will never work (and yet it has to). No matter what, you keep hoping for them, dying and loving with them. Every turn of events. Every change of heart. Every loss. Every conquest. You suffer, you celebrate, and you love.
Wholeheartedly.
*****
Read in Manga Rock.
Volumes in the series:
+
=
***
There is a movie:
Obsessive and destructive.
Fabulous.
Some stories are good regardless of the format. This manga held my heart in a grip and shattered my world for a few hours. Nothing here is admirable, or praiseworthy. The characters are unfaithful, dishonest, disloyal, mercurial, capricious, immoral, thoughtless, irresponsible, bloodsucking, spineless, inconsistent, mindless, opportunistic, selfish...
And totally, utterly, and impressively disfunctional together.
What a mess.
It doesn't work, and in the end it will never work (and yet it has to). No matter what, you keep hoping for them, dying and loving with them. Every turn of events. Every change of heart. Every loss. Every conquest. You suffer, you celebrate, and you love.
Wholeheartedly.
*****
Read in Manga Rock.
Volumes in the series:
+
=
***
There is a movie:
January 31, 2015
I'm a bit torn about this - this was really, really good, but also rather painful to read at times. It's - I guess you could say that it's a love story, but not a romance. It's about a gay man who's in love with a straight man, and he basically ends up bullying the straight guy into a relationship with him. In a way, these two are very bad for each other, but they also fit together very well.
What hurt was to see how each of their stupidity and issues and ideas about how life is supposed to be ended up hurting them (and each other). But then again, that's how people are, right? Sometimes it seemed a bit immature, but when they're behaviour made me want to slap some sense into them, it wasn't because they were acting like overwrought cartoonish figures - I do think that people can act that way, and so this was a really well done portrait of that sort of relationship and people. There also were a lot of lines that really stood out to me.
I hope I'm making at least a little sense. I definitely need to read something lighter after having read this, but it definitely left an impression on me.
What hurt was to see how each of their stupidity and issues and ideas about how life is supposed to be ended up hurting them (and each other). But then again, that's how people are, right? Sometimes it seemed a bit immature, but when they're behaviour made me want to slap some sense into them, it wasn't because they were acting like overwrought cartoonish figures - I do think that people can act that way, and so this was a really well done portrait of that sort of relationship and people. There also were a lot of lines that really stood out to me.
I hope I'm making at least a little sense. I definitely need to read something lighter after having read this, but it definitely left an impression on me.
August 10, 2021
Edito tras relectura, esta vez de la edición de Seven Seas, y subo a 4 estrellas.
Pocas veces me pasa esto de que cambio mi valoración tan radicalmente al releer, pero este manga, esta segunda vez, me ha encantado. Podría fácil ente ponerle 5. Creo que esto se debe a que a estas alturas del partido me gustan los plots menos típicos, más elaborados, las parejas un tanto disfuncionales que encuentran su extraño equilibrio.
Primera lectura en febrero de 2017: 1 estrella.
Pues no me ha gustado, no veo química en la pareja y el dibujo no me seduce
:(
Pocas veces me pasa esto de que cambio mi valoración tan radicalmente al releer, pero este manga, esta segunda vez, me ha encantado. Podría fácil ente ponerle 5. Creo que esto se debe a que a estas alturas del partido me gustan los plots menos típicos, más elaborados, las parejas un tanto disfuncionales que encuentran su extraño equilibrio.
Primera lectura en febrero de 2017: 1 estrella.
Pues no me ha gustado, no veo química en la pareja y el dibujo no me seduce
:(
December 17, 2025
Premise: A married salaryman was being blackmailed by an old schoolmate, who threatened to expose his affair to his wife unless he agreed to the younger man’s demands, and since it is a yaoi story, so I guess you can tell where the story is going, right? Right?
(1) This author's artwork is lovely as always.
(2) a bit surprised that a married man is the MC. And of course they have other on again off again partners too.
(3) I think this story about two lousy adults being in love (?) is quite well written after a fashion, but not everyone is gonna like it.
(4) Yup, adults cannot throw everything away for love...
(5) I kinda like how the MCs are flawed but not to the point of entirely unlikable.
(1) This author's artwork is lovely as always.
(2) a bit surprised that a married man is the MC. And of course they have other on again off again partners too.
(3) I think this story about two lousy adults being in love (?) is quite well written after a fashion, but not everyone is gonna like it.
(4) Yup, adults cannot throw everything away for love...
(5) I kinda like how the MCs are flawed but not to the point of entirely unlikable.
September 25, 2022
Damn this story was crazy. These two guys individually are so messed up there is no way they aught to be in a relationship with anyone. But for some fucked up reason, regardless of that..regardless of how truly unhealthy their relationship is... I loved seeing them together. And, when looked at in a different way, they are actually perfect for each other.
Imagase is literally obsessed with Kyoichi and has been since college. He's so in love with him that he's willing to do almost anything to be with him, going so far as to blackmail him. Kyoichi, on the other hand, doesn't take responsibility for anything that happens in his relationships and willing allows himself to be swept along by whatever current he's pulled in by anyone showing him any amount of affection. He constantly cheats on his partners and hasn't really experienced what it feels like to truly love someone.
He relentlessly searches for someone to love him more than whoever he's currently with at the time and doesn't mind hooking up with people who just happen to want him in the moment. In a way, Imagase is perfect. He straight up tells Kyoichi that if he wants someone who will love him more than anyone or anything else in the world then he'll just have to settle for him. And Kyoichi would gladly do that (though how faithful he'd be is still up in the air) if he were gay...but he isn't.
Then again, he slowly becomes more and more comfortable with Imagase, allowing him to practically live with him, bathe with him, and sleep in the same bed with him. Without even realizing it he starts falling in love with him and becomes just as attached to him as Imagase is to him.
Despite what some say this was a really good story. Not every relationship is perfect and sometimes relationships form between people who are messed up. This was a realistic portrayal of what a relationship would look like between two very flawed individuals. If you don't mind a little angst and drama with your BL you might like this one, I certainly did.
Imagase is literally obsessed with Kyoichi and has been since college. He's so in love with him that he's willing to do almost anything to be with him, going so far as to blackmail him. Kyoichi, on the other hand, doesn't take responsibility for anything that happens in his relationships and willing allows himself to be swept along by whatever current he's pulled in by anyone showing him any amount of affection. He constantly cheats on his partners and hasn't really experienced what it feels like to truly love someone.
He relentlessly searches for someone to love him more than whoever he's currently with at the time and doesn't mind hooking up with people who just happen to want him in the moment. In a way, Imagase is perfect. He straight up tells Kyoichi that if he wants someone who will love him more than anyone or anything else in the world then he'll just have to settle for him. And Kyoichi would gladly do that (though how faithful he'd be is still up in the air) if he were gay...but he isn't.
Then again, he slowly becomes more and more comfortable with Imagase, allowing him to practically live with him, bathe with him, and sleep in the same bed with him. Without even realizing it he starts falling in love with him and becomes just as attached to him as Imagase is to him.
Despite what some say this was a really good story. Not every relationship is perfect and sometimes relationships form between people who are messed up. This was a realistic portrayal of what a relationship would look like between two very flawed individuals. If you don't mind a little angst and drama with your BL you might like this one, I certainly did.
March 4, 2019
In the second book of this series, there's an author's note at the end that was translated luckily - the mangaka says that she wanted to explore what happens when a person has always just gone along with who loved them best and never invested heavily into emotional relationships because something better might come along - what would happen if they met a love that convinced them no one could love them more?
These two manga explore this particular relationship of a very reserved and pleasant, straight guy called Kyouichi getting into a relationship with a younger male and gay kouhai from his university years who for some reason fell in love with him then and has always been carrying a torch for him.
The start is somewhat sordid in set-up, but when you read along you come to realise that it's not the average over-the-top drama for the sake of the sex scenes - although, make no mistake, the few that are included are very hot and not censored in the German edition - but two men, one of whom has lived gay and one of whom has lived straight who find that the idealised love that one brings to the other actually turns into an even more burning feeling after it is realised and makes Kyouichi the recipient emotionally finally grow up to realise how being loved like that makes him feel (It finally convinces him that he is worthy of being loved and he starts to like himself) and be able to reciprocate and go after his love when the extreme emotions make Imagase so confused and scared of the future that he pushes Kyouichi away with words.
None of the women that are part of Kyouichi's life are truly bad, some are a bit manipulative but no more than Imagase is and at the end of the second novel I could sort of understand what Imagase saw in him and appreciate the strength that made Kyouichi lay down the law - it is particularly effective in the drawing when a reserved character lets lose, even if it's just for a few panels.
That this is only a HFN is very much a Setona Mizushiro feature, I think. She doesn't ignore reality - and these are two men in Japan being homosexual. There'll always be problems.
This first volume could stand alone, but I do think the second one was even stronger and finished the story at a much happier point over all.
These two manga explore this particular relationship of a very reserved and pleasant, straight guy called Kyouichi getting into a relationship with a younger male and gay kouhai from his university years who for some reason fell in love with him then and has always been carrying a torch for him.
The start is somewhat sordid in set-up, but when you read along you come to realise that it's not the average over-the-top drama for the sake of the sex scenes - although, make no mistake, the few that are included are very hot and not censored in the German edition - but two men, one of whom has lived gay and one of whom has lived straight who find that the idealised love that one brings to the other actually turns into an even more burning feeling after it is realised and makes Kyouichi the recipient emotionally finally grow up to realise how being loved like that makes him feel (It finally convinces him that he is worthy of being loved and he starts to like himself) and be able to reciprocate and go after his love when the extreme emotions make Imagase so confused and scared of the future that he pushes Kyouichi away with words.
None of the women that are part of Kyouichi's life are truly bad, some are a bit manipulative but no more than Imagase is and at the end of the second novel I could sort of understand what Imagase saw in him and appreciate the strength that made Kyouichi lay down the law - it is particularly effective in the drawing when a reserved character lets lose, even if it's just for a few panels.
That this is only a HFN is very much a Setona Mizushiro feature, I think. She doesn't ignore reality - and these are two men in Japan being homosexual. There'll always be problems.
This first volume could stand alone, but I do think the second one was even stronger and finished the story at a much happier point over all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2020
Somebody tell this poor author that bisexuality exists
August 31, 2015
I re-read this.
I'm so masochistic.
Read this review. She said it all.
********************************************************************
I cried reading this.
Too many emotions.
I'm so masochistic.
Read this review. She said it all.
********************************************************************
I cried reading this.
Too many emotions.
February 4, 2018
The story is angsty and intriguing, with characters who are neither admirable not particularly nice (unfaithful, blackmailing, self-centred). With the exception of a few moments, I really didn't click with the drawing style and the page layout/encapsulation.
May 9, 2021
Un manga acquistato sotto consiglio perché autoconclusivo, anche se risulta a breve un seguito, dal titolo talmente tanto simbolico e riassuntivo, che non necessita aggiungere altro.
Il protagonista principale è Kyoichi, un uomo sposato che vive costantemente di rapporti extraconiugali usando la scusa continua "è capitato". Dall'altra parte troveremo Imagase, investigatore privato che per tacere i suoi risultati compromettenti alla moglie di Kyoichi, instilla una serie di ricatti a suo favore. Un gioco costante tra gatto e topo.
Proprio come vuole il titolo, ci sarà una serie di botta e risposta di situazioni che presentano i due personaggi e relativi rapporti intimi che cercano di spiegare e comprendere l'orientamento sessuale di uno dei due. Comprendere i propri desideri e colpevolizzarsi sulle diverse "etichette", metterà scompiglio nel cuore di Kyoichi che non capisce quanto sia sottile il filo che divide la realtà dalla finzione.
Ho trovato la storia bella ma a tratti ripetitiva, quasi come se non era possibile cambiare la forma per spiegare la stessa cosa. Lo studio dietro alla propria "consapevolezza" sessuale, ha un suo ruolo predominante ma mai pesante agli occhi del lettore. Il finale è un continuo movimento intenso e veloce, tanto da riuscire a far tenere il fiato sospeso. Consigliato per chi ama i manga autoconclusivi senza troppe pretese. Veloce e intenso.
Il protagonista principale è Kyoichi, un uomo sposato che vive costantemente di rapporti extraconiugali usando la scusa continua "è capitato". Dall'altra parte troveremo Imagase, investigatore privato che per tacere i suoi risultati compromettenti alla moglie di Kyoichi, instilla una serie di ricatti a suo favore. Un gioco costante tra gatto e topo.
Proprio come vuole il titolo, ci sarà una serie di botta e risposta di situazioni che presentano i due personaggi e relativi rapporti intimi che cercano di spiegare e comprendere l'orientamento sessuale di uno dei due. Comprendere i propri desideri e colpevolizzarsi sulle diverse "etichette", metterà scompiglio nel cuore di Kyoichi che non capisce quanto sia sottile il filo che divide la realtà dalla finzione.
Ho trovato la storia bella ma a tratti ripetitiva, quasi come se non era possibile cambiare la forma per spiegare la stessa cosa. Lo studio dietro alla propria "consapevolezza" sessuale, ha un suo ruolo predominante ma mai pesante agli occhi del lettore. Il finale è un continuo movimento intenso e veloce, tanto da riuscire a far tenere il fiato sospeso. Consigliato per chi ama i manga autoconclusivi senza troppe pretese. Veloce e intenso.
January 29, 2019
This story is a mess. So I guess I'm also a mess because I always laugh like a maniac when I read it. And then I cry, also like a maniac. Imagase is my problematic fave, that's the reason.
Oh, and Mizushiro Setona has never heard of bisexuality. But if you think "Kyuuso wa Cheese" is problematic, try "Houkago Hokenshitsu". No, wait, don't do it to yourself, that manga is actually awful and so faux deep it makes my brain hurt.
But in all honesty, I think I like "Kyuuso wa Cheese" because it's pretty upfront about being f*cked up. It's not as self-conscious as Nakamura Asumiko's works (Mizushiro's just not that good of a writer - not even close!) but it's not shoving any "oh look how ~romantic~ and ~healthy~ this relationship is!" bs down my throat. So even though I do want to grab the author by the shoulders and yell: "Woman! What the hell!"... I can still enjoy this. And enjoy Imagase. He's so messed up, my poor baby (spoiler alert: he's not really a "poor baby" but...) <3
Oh, and Mizushiro Setona has never heard of bisexuality. But if you think "Kyuuso wa Cheese" is problematic, try "Houkago Hokenshitsu". No, wait, don't do it to yourself, that manga is actually awful and so faux deep it makes my brain hurt.
But in all honesty, I think I like "Kyuuso wa Cheese" because it's pretty upfront about being f*cked up. It's not as self-conscious as Nakamura Asumiko's works (Mizushiro's just not that good of a writer - not even close!) but it's not shoving any "oh look how ~romantic~ and ~healthy~ this relationship is!" bs down my throat. So even though I do want to grab the author by the shoulders and yell: "Woman! What the hell!"... I can still enjoy this. And enjoy Imagase. He's so messed up, my poor baby (spoiler alert: he's not really a "poor baby" but...) <3
February 10, 2024
Hier wird entweder Schwarz oder Weiß gesehen. Der Protagonist muss sich entscheiden, ob er auf Frauen oder Männer steht. Von Bisexualität hat die Autorin wohl nie etwas gehört? Das Konzept von Liebe erscheint mir auch viel zu toxisch. Vielmehr zielt das Buch nur auf erotische Inhalte aus, ohne spannende Erkenntnisse zu vermitteln.
January 9, 2022
3.5 Stars
This was intense, painful and a bit frustrating at times. It realistically deals with relationships, loyalty, obsession, love and so many more. Ends with a Hfn, so I’ll read book 2 to see how everything works out.
This was intense, painful and a bit frustrating at times. It realistically deals with relationships, loyalty, obsession, love and so many more. Ends with a Hfn, so I’ll read book 2 to see how everything works out.
June 8, 2023
Was truly a messy page turner in the best way possible. The main characters are so toxic yet so complicated and interesting, I just had to keep turning the page to see what would happen to them next. Can't wait to read the sequel and see what is in store next!!
July 2, 2023
well this is a MESS
March 21, 2021
March 2021 reread.
When Kyoichi's wife is looking for a reason to divorce her husband, she hires a private investigator. Imagase discovers that Kyoichi has been having affairs, so he offers to withhold the information from Kyoichi's wife...for a price.
Honestly, I don't know how to review this. In general, I have difficulty reviewing my favorite things, but with this title in particular I feel like anything I say will fall horribly short of just how good this is.
The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese (and its sequel, The Carp on the Chopping Block Jumps Twice) takes standard BL tropes (blackmail, NonCon, codependency, emotional claustrophobia, internalized bi/homophobia) and it doesn't so much "deconstruct" them as just go completely balls-to-the-wall and let the ugly, realistic consequences fall where they may.
Instead of tortured apologia or attempting to hand-wave the darker implications away with minimization, this narrative ruthlessly digs its claws in and will not let go. The NonCon is explored in all its uncomfortableness instead of being under rug swept, and it often functions as a vehicle for social commentary that raises some difficult questions. The story paints an unflinching picture of two maladjusted human beings on an unstoppable (downward?) spiral and the damage they inflict on each other. And it hurts so good.
Mizushiro's art manages to be clean and uncluttered, while also being extremely evocative and emotive. There are these breathtaking panels that will take up most of a page just to show the expression on a character's face or capture one small moment of intimacy. But the thing that always gets me are the long dialogue scenes, such as the scene in the car towards the end of this first volume where the emotional claustrophobia becomes literal within the confined space.
Ugh. This is so good. Heavy trigger warnings for NonCon, cheating, and emotional abuse (especially in the sequel) apply, so reader beware. But just. This is my favorite manga and that's just all there is to it.
When Kyoichi's wife is looking for a reason to divorce her husband, she hires a private investigator. Imagase discovers that Kyoichi has been having affairs, so he offers to withhold the information from Kyoichi's wife...for a price.
Honestly, I don't know how to review this. In general, I have difficulty reviewing my favorite things, but with this title in particular I feel like anything I say will fall horribly short of just how good this is.
The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese (and its sequel, The Carp on the Chopping Block Jumps Twice) takes standard BL tropes (blackmail, NonCon, codependency, emotional claustrophobia, internalized bi/homophobia) and it doesn't so much "deconstruct" them as just go completely balls-to-the-wall and let the ugly, realistic consequences fall where they may.
Instead of tortured apologia or attempting to hand-wave the darker implications away with minimization, this narrative ruthlessly digs its claws in and will not let go. The NonCon is explored in all its uncomfortableness instead of being under rug swept, and it often functions as a vehicle for social commentary that raises some difficult questions. The story paints an unflinching picture of two maladjusted human beings on an unstoppable (downward?) spiral and the damage they inflict on each other. And it hurts so good.
Mizushiro's art manages to be clean and uncluttered, while also being extremely evocative and emotive. There are these breathtaking panels that will take up most of a page just to show the expression on a character's face or capture one small moment of intimacy. But the thing that always gets me are the long dialogue scenes, such as the scene in the car towards the end of this first volume where the emotional claustrophobia becomes literal within the confined space.
Ugh. This is so good. Heavy trigger warnings for NonCon, cheating, and emotional abuse (especially in the sequel) apply, so reader beware. But just. This is my favorite manga and that's just all there is to it.
March 7, 2020
There were some parts in which the uke slept with women, but I didn't consider that cheating since him and the seme weren't really a couple. This story was pretty realistic and also if the art wasn't in my top 10, the plot sure was intriguing. The jealousy was a good bonus and I liked to see that both had to fight the green-eyed monster. Seemed fair.
(rounded to 5)
(rounded to 5)
May 12, 2026
"You're indecisive and a coward... and selfish!! But you're kind! And you're honest and faithful in your own way! You've got this composed and elegant exterior, but deep down, you've got so much passion! Every time I get a glimpse of that, it tears at my heart so badly I can hardly stand it! Let me have it!! Please give it to me!"
Ahhh, good, old-fashioned, home-cooked toxic yaoi, just like grandma used to make...!
This was one of those rare, satisfying books where literally everyone in it is a piece of shit, so you don’t necessarily have to worry about anything. Characters point out each others' flaws, but as soon as they do, you think, “Yeah, but haven’t you done worse…? Like two pages ago?” It’s kind of awesome to watch a circus of assholes make each other miserable, push and pull against each other, and try to find their answers, if you’re in the mood for it. I thought it was really entertaining, thought-provoking, and human.
The main character, Kyoichi, is such a real type of horrible guy. He goes along, not really thinking about acting on anything or what he could do for other people, just going with the flow and sucking up to whoever loves him in that moment. That much is clear when his solution to being cornered by a private investigator for cheating on his wife is to cheat on his wife with the private investigator. Like, he’s so stupid that it’s kind of laughable, and tends to make the wrong choice at every turn, clinging to whatever feeble "dignity" he has left and only living to make selfish choices. But that’s kind of what makes him such an awesome protagonist? Like, he sucks so much that I kind of adore it. I can’t stand him so much that I find him very pitiful and interesting, and even though he pretty much deserves a bad ending, I find myself wanting him to be happy, too.
The love interest, Imagase, is the same way. A serial cheater (and I hesitate to say that he's a predator because god, it's so homophobic, but in my opinion, Mizushiro very much wrote him to be a predator), I just want to grab him by the shoulders and beg him to find some self-worth. He’s been pining over the same milquetoast “straight” guy for like, almost a decade, and thinks it’s worth it to just wait around being this awful dude’s faux-wife until he can land himself an actual woman who will tolerate his sorry ass, at which point Imagase will supposedly finally lay off. He keeps insisting again and again that he “knows his place” and that this is enough for him, but it’s so sad and lame. I thought at many points that he could do better than 29-years-old-and-already-divorced serial cheater Kyoichi, but really -- I don't think he actually can. These two both suck so much that it kind of left me feeling like they deserved each other's worst flaws. They go to bed and lick each others' wounds, so much so that by the end of the book, it almost weirdly feels like a happy ending.
This is a very uncomfortable, skeevy yaoi about two people who can’t stop, and won’t stop, hurting each other, but in a way that really works for them both. It’s a thinker, that’s for sure, and I really appreciate that. I enjoyed watching these two assholes figure out what “normal” means for the two of them – so twisted it’s almost sweet.
May 24, 2023
*Note: Bi folks, be aware that you are completely erased as an option, as in it’s implied that if you enjoy/have s*x with the same gender, then you are automatically no longer interested in another gender and are just gay. A lot of the talk is coming from a place of internalized homophobia/biphobia, but it may still be upsetting.
I was worried about this one. I mean, the set up is two old friends reunite when one is hired by a wife to investigate the other’s cheating ways, and he blackmails the cheater into a kiss and accepting oral s*x from the blackmailer because the blackmailer always loved him and thinks this is the only way to get a hint of the relationship he always wanted with the man he loves (obviously still not okay).
But that premise is dropped quickly (and so is his marriage lol) as the cheater starts getting jealous and pursuing the blackmailer. It becomes increasingly obvious that the cheating guy is an unreliable narrator. He explains all his cheating as someone else’s fault and as him just “going with the flow” and “being easy.” But you later see him flirt up women all the way to bed, and he’s a repeated cheater. This unreliable narrator status is something this mangaka has used before and for the same reason: the character is hiding their real feelings. Usually, I’d call bs because the trope of “the straight guy who just doesn’t know he’s gay yet” is so big in BL, and I definitely still call bs on the erasure of bisexuality as an option. However, this “straight guy” exhibits internalized homophobia and biphobia. He’ll call the former-blackmailer now-partner (?) an “obsessive gay stalker” in his narration while enjoying domestic scenes with him. A nonsexual scene of them bathing and him enjoying getting his hair washed is juxtaposed with narration belittling the gay man as predatory. Other reviews describe their relationship as “a gay guy converting a straight guy,” but that’s just what it reads as if you accept the unreliable narration. This mangaka doesn’t do surface-level stuff like that. The unreliable narrator even calls out this idea by questioning whether he’s just being convinced because he goes with the flow, while admitting that he likes it and wants to treat the other guy well, even if he doesn’t know what to do with those thoughts as a “fully straight guy.”
This even comes to a head in a major moment when he expresses these predatory beliefs about gay men and the implication that he thinks the other guy would r@pe him happily, but the guy calls him out on his bs by saying that he’d only do something like that if that’s the only way the other guy would feel comfortable saying yes (by pretending he doesn’t want it). If unclear, he’s saying that he’d only do that if it was just the pretext the other would need. Like he’d be willing to be called a r@pist by his partner for actually consensual s*x if that’s the only way the other would feel comfortable with his sexuality. The internalized homophobia/biphobia is especially obvious when, in a consensual intimate moment, the “straight guy” gets startled by seeing just how much he looks like he likes being with this guy in the mirror, reflexively pushing the guy off and immediately apologizing when he sees he got hurt by the push. Later, when they come to terms with their relationship and the mirror shows up, the other guy covers his eyes for him, so he’s not triggered. He even pretends to forget about s*x acts they engaged in, only to quickly correct something the other said about it. This is through and through a story about internalized homophobia/biphobia.
However, it’s also a story about messy people. Although the blackmailer, well, blackmails, obsessively loves the other guy, and gets easily jealous, he doesn’t actually stalk the other guy, outside of the initial PI job, unlike what the unreliable narration says, but he does check his search history when he worries he’s cheating. He admits to wanting to have sex with the other guy, but after the blackmail situation is resolved, he doesn’t pursue anything farther than where they’ve gone before until his interest in such intimacy is reciprocated. Whenever the guy outright rejects him, he immediately backs off without doing anything petty. Outside of his still-very-not-okay blackmail, he respects consent quite a bit, which was surprising. He doesn’t really want to do anything the other guy doesn’t want.
The cheater, well, cheats, even on this guy, but it’s clear that he cheats because he wants someone to love him, and the blackmailer calls him out for cheating on his wife at the mere chance that an affair partner loves him more than his wife. He doesn’t understand love and sees working on a relationship as a choice, wherein he’d rather hop to the next person who suggests they love him even a little, all while pushing the blame off himself. He generally doesn’t care to reciprocate unless he gets jealous. However, he also struggles with internalized homophobia/biphobia and will take blame immediately when he unknowingly hurts someone. When he found out that all his college PDA made the blackmailer jealous, go to “cruising spots,” and hook up with older men to get over it, he privately looks up what cruising spots are and gets down on himself for unknowingly hurting him.
Basically, they are still two toxic, messy people, but it’s weirdly healthy in ways you usually don’t see in BL and wouldn’t expect given the premise. Jeez, I wrote a lot, but it was actually pretty good, when I was super worried. Their character and relationship development is really interesting, as is the storytelling, which again might lead casual BL readers to misunderstand what is really going on. You can read this volume as a standalone, but apparently, there’s a sequel, which I hope says at this level. I’ll update this review to let you know if the sequel isn’t worth it.
4*
Warnings for blackmail, blackmail for kiss and accepting oral s*x (AKA dubious consent/noncon) at the start, homophobia, bi erasure/biphobia, internalized homophobia/biphobia, unreliable narrator, gay men as predatory stereotype, drunk s*x acts (AKA possible dubious consent), cheating, graphic enough s*x that you shouldn’t read it in public btw
I was worried about this one. I mean, the set up is two old friends reunite when one is hired by a wife to investigate the other’s cheating ways, and he blackmails the cheater into a kiss and accepting oral s*x from the blackmailer because the blackmailer always loved him and thinks this is the only way to get a hint of the relationship he always wanted with the man he loves (obviously still not okay).
But that premise is dropped quickly (and so is his marriage lol) as the cheater starts getting jealous and pursuing the blackmailer. It becomes increasingly obvious that the cheating guy is an unreliable narrator. He explains all his cheating as someone else’s fault and as him just “going with the flow” and “being easy.” But you later see him flirt up women all the way to bed, and he’s a repeated cheater. This unreliable narrator status is something this mangaka has used before and for the same reason: the character is hiding their real feelings. Usually, I’d call bs because the trope of “the straight guy who just doesn’t know he’s gay yet” is so big in BL, and I definitely still call bs on the erasure of bisexuality as an option. However, this “straight guy” exhibits internalized homophobia and biphobia. He’ll call the former-blackmailer now-partner (?) an “obsessive gay stalker” in his narration while enjoying domestic scenes with him. A nonsexual scene of them bathing and him enjoying getting his hair washed is juxtaposed with narration belittling the gay man as predatory. Other reviews describe their relationship as “a gay guy converting a straight guy,” but that’s just what it reads as if you accept the unreliable narration. This mangaka doesn’t do surface-level stuff like that. The unreliable narrator even calls out this idea by questioning whether he’s just being convinced because he goes with the flow, while admitting that he likes it and wants to treat the other guy well, even if he doesn’t know what to do with those thoughts as a “fully straight guy.”
This even comes to a head in a major moment when he expresses these predatory beliefs about gay men and the implication that he thinks the other guy would r@pe him happily, but the guy calls him out on his bs by saying that he’d only do something like that if that’s the only way the other guy would feel comfortable saying yes (by pretending he doesn’t want it). If unclear, he’s saying that he’d only do that if it was just the pretext the other would need. Like he’d be willing to be called a r@pist by his partner for actually consensual s*x if that’s the only way the other would feel comfortable with his sexuality. The internalized homophobia/biphobia is especially obvious when, in a consensual intimate moment, the “straight guy” gets startled by seeing just how much he looks like he likes being with this guy in the mirror, reflexively pushing the guy off and immediately apologizing when he sees he got hurt by the push. Later, when they come to terms with their relationship and the mirror shows up, the other guy covers his eyes for him, so he’s not triggered. He even pretends to forget about s*x acts they engaged in, only to quickly correct something the other said about it. This is through and through a story about internalized homophobia/biphobia.
However, it’s also a story about messy people. Although the blackmailer, well, blackmails, obsessively loves the other guy, and gets easily jealous, he doesn’t actually stalk the other guy, outside of the initial PI job, unlike what the unreliable narration says, but he does check his search history when he worries he’s cheating. He admits to wanting to have sex with the other guy, but after the blackmail situation is resolved, he doesn’t pursue anything farther than where they’ve gone before until his interest in such intimacy is reciprocated. Whenever the guy outright rejects him, he immediately backs off without doing anything petty. Outside of his still-very-not-okay blackmail, he respects consent quite a bit, which was surprising. He doesn’t really want to do anything the other guy doesn’t want.
The cheater, well, cheats, even on this guy, but it’s clear that he cheats because he wants someone to love him, and the blackmailer calls him out for cheating on his wife at the mere chance that an affair partner loves him more than his wife. He doesn’t understand love and sees working on a relationship as a choice, wherein he’d rather hop to the next person who suggests they love him even a little, all while pushing the blame off himself. He generally doesn’t care to reciprocate unless he gets jealous. However, he also struggles with internalized homophobia/biphobia and will take blame immediately when he unknowingly hurts someone. When he found out that all his college PDA made the blackmailer jealous, go to “cruising spots,” and hook up with older men to get over it, he privately looks up what cruising spots are and gets down on himself for unknowingly hurting him.
Basically, they are still two toxic, messy people, but it’s weirdly healthy in ways you usually don’t see in BL and wouldn’t expect given the premise. Jeez, I wrote a lot, but it was actually pretty good, when I was super worried. Their character and relationship development is really interesting, as is the storytelling, which again might lead casual BL readers to misunderstand what is really going on. You can read this volume as a standalone, but apparently, there’s a sequel, which I hope says at this level. I’ll update this review to let you know if the sequel isn’t worth it.
4*
Warnings for blackmail, blackmail for kiss and accepting oral s*x (AKA dubious consent/noncon) at the start, homophobia, bi erasure/biphobia, internalized homophobia/biphobia, unreliable narrator, gay men as predatory stereotype, drunk s*x acts (AKA possible dubious consent), cheating, graphic enough s*x that you shouldn’t read it in public btw
August 11, 2020
this was an interesting ride lol. i put it on hold knowing nothing about the story because after school nightmare was weird and interesting enough to interest me in more from setona mizushiro, got it from the library, actually read the back cover, considered whether maybe i should have like...checked what it was about before borrowing and ultimately ended up thinking it had some interesting character work even as the general premise was pretty fucked up and textbook Problematique™
also made me nostalgic for home, i remember the days when i'd go read trashy bl at the bookstore by my house whenever i was bored, this is totally the kind of thing i'd have tried then
3 stars
also made me nostalgic for home, i remember the days when i'd go read trashy bl at the bookstore by my house whenever i was bored, this is totally the kind of thing i'd have tried then
3 stars
December 7, 2019
As usual with Mizushiro, I have mixed feelings. There is something very compelling about this mangaka's characters, but the stories are fucked up and problematic as hell.
October 28, 2020
This was tedious and cliché ridden. I love a good cliché, but nothing that happened convinced me that these characters were "in love". Blackmailing is not very sexy. Don't know why this was so hyped it even got a live action adaptation?!
August 10, 2021
The sequel packs a harder punch if you don't read this one at all...
April 15, 2023
both of them are the worst /affectionate
November 19, 2023
Olive oil???
February 8, 2024
The drama in this manga was yummy, but damn the main character was the most annoying! Sometimes it's interesting to read books with characters we don't like and I think this is an interesting case where him being incredibly irritating made the book even more engaging!
December 8, 2025
the emotional beats in this story are so strange…
July 5, 2024
Pas ouf
March 7, 2020
A character study of protagonist Otomo Kyoichi: a salaryman, nearing thirty, attractive, a natural, effortless magnetic charisma, oblivious, married (unhappily), a history of infidelity and philandering, not particularly discrete, passive moral character, history of getting “swept up” into adulterous relationships with women without any particular dedication or real emotional investment, like a weathervane pointing toward whatever wind prevails, spends lavishly on his wife as stand-in for affection and intimacy, unaware he is being cheated on, a combination of character traits and situational circumstances that make him susceptible to blackmail.
Enter Imagase, a former school friend of Kyoichi who now works as a chain-smoking private investigator hired by Kyoichi’s wife to investigate the possibility of cheating. Imagase first confronts Kyoichi with evidence of an affair with a temp from his office, but promises to keep his secret for a kiss. Next the PI returns with evidence of an affair with a woman from a client company and demands another kiss… but he doesn’t say where…
The Cornered Mouth Dreams of Cheese is a melodramatic drama of an obsessive relationship and compromised morality, but beyond that it’s an examination of Kyochi’s character. As he becomes entangled in Imagase’s affections, Kyochi is continually challenged on his habit of literally falling into whatever woman gives him a hint of affection–an unhappy wife from his high school reunion, an ex-girlfriend. When openly-gay Imagase lodges himself into Kyochi’s life, uncaring of his friend/victim’s supposed heterosexuality, he occupies a new, fraught place, more than a fling, less than a real relationship. The cornered mouse dreams of cheese, but as they bat one another around emotionally, sexually, its unclear whose who in this cat and mouse game.
Check out the rest of my review on my site: https://michaellyonswrites.wordpress....
Enter Imagase, a former school friend of Kyoichi who now works as a chain-smoking private investigator hired by Kyoichi’s wife to investigate the possibility of cheating. Imagase first confronts Kyoichi with evidence of an affair with a temp from his office, but promises to keep his secret for a kiss. Next the PI returns with evidence of an affair with a woman from a client company and demands another kiss… but he doesn’t say where…
The Cornered Mouth Dreams of Cheese is a melodramatic drama of an obsessive relationship and compromised morality, but beyond that it’s an examination of Kyochi’s character. As he becomes entangled in Imagase’s affections, Kyochi is continually challenged on his habit of literally falling into whatever woman gives him a hint of affection–an unhappy wife from his high school reunion, an ex-girlfriend. When openly-gay Imagase lodges himself into Kyochi’s life, uncaring of his friend/victim’s supposed heterosexuality, he occupies a new, fraught place, more than a fling, less than a real relationship. The cornered mouse dreams of cheese, but as they bat one another around emotionally, sexually, its unclear whose who in this cat and mouse game.
Check out the rest of my review on my site: https://michaellyonswrites.wordpress....
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