ลิ้มรักรสเมล่อน (ภาคต้น)

メロンの味 / Meron no aji #1

by Etsuko, 絵津鼓, สุวภัทร สองเมือง (Translator)

“ฉันเลือกนากาโจคุงแล้วกัน!” นากาโจทำงานอยู่ที่ไลฟ์เฮาส์ ส่วนคิอุจิเป็นลูกค้าประจำ ทั้งคู่ต้องมาอาศัยอยู่ใต้ชายคาเดียวกันแบบไม่ทันตั้งตัว คิอุจิเพิ่งเลิกกับแฟนสาวที่อยู่กินด้วยกัน เลยกำลังมองหาที่ซุกหัวนอนใหม่ไปสักระยะ ยิ่งไปกว่านั้นเขายังบอกว่าถ้าไม่มีไออุ่นจากผิวกายคนจะนอนไม่หลับ เลยมาขอนอนร่วมเตียงด้วย นากาโจพยายามปฏิเสธด้วยการเปิดเผยว่าตัวเองเป็นเกย์ แต่อีกฝ่ายกลับพูดเต็มปากเต็มคำว่า “ไม่เป็นไร!”...

Genres: Manga, Queer, Romance, Drama, Boys Love

170 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2021

Reviews

[⋆ ࣪˖ ִֶָ sel ་༘࿐ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume unfolds in a melancholic hush. Everything feels restrained: the dialogue, the spaces, even the emotions the characters refuse to name. It’s quiet and simple on the surface, yet the vague, heavy atmosphere—those unspoken walls and carefully guarded secrets—slowly eats away at you. There’s a constant sense that something is being held back, something fragile and unresolved. By the end of this volume, I strongly felt the need to know more.

[Sparkling Lemonade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chinese title: 哈密瓜的滋味 上

This one has 神率 of 69.3% on Chil-Chil.
5⭐️

Etsuko sensei got married and her drawing style has evolved to be more mature, she wrote that she’s experimenting with new ways of creation and expression. You may refer back to Etsuko sensei’s In the Apartment for the kind of reading experience you’d expect, ordinary daily life filled with light dialogues and slight sadness.

This is a realistic story about helpless adult life, raising awareness for mental health. As you can see from the cover, the story has an emo vibe, both characters don’t look happy. They may not be the suitable person to save each other from drowning but somehow they managed to find mutual salvation by being together.

The seme 木内昌汰 (30) is an unemployed ex-musician, he’s a regular customer at the live house and close friends with the owner. He just broke up with his gf and needed a place to stay.

The uke 中城親 (25) works as bartender at the live house. His parents own a furniture and home decoration business, he lives in the top floor of the office building that his parents bought.

The uke took seme in and they started a cohabitation life while slowly getting to know one another. On the surface the seme is cheerful and talkative one and the uke is the calm and quiet one. They respect personal space and keep a comfortable distance, their relationship doesn’t need to be defined. Just two lonely souls licking each other’s wounds and finding warmth by cuddling together.

One night they went to a traditional cafe for some late night drinks, the seme ordered a melon soda with ice cream float, he said it’s not real melon but people assume that’s the actual taste. It’s hinting that he’s suffering from depression but people think that he’s ok because he’s smiling on the surface.

The uke’s mom has been blaming herself since finding out her son is gay so she supports him financially to compensate. The two don’t talk to each other although they are in the same building. The uke’s bf has been sleeping with other guys but not with him because he doesn’t like rough sex, so their relationship is on the verge of ending. He seeks love and care from the bf and parents but gets distanced away from them. This cushy lifestyle won’t last forever and he needs to think about his future…

The seme got famous when he was in 3rd year of middle school, as the singer and song writer for a new band. Their popularity declined after 5 years and disbanded when he’s 20. Now he lives a low key life and still gets royalties from his songs being played. He reached the peak of his music career in early teens and has been living aimlessly for over a decade. The more knowledge and experience he accumulate the less material can be converted to music…

They are good people, both want to love and be loved. Although the seme’s used to sleeping around, he rarely gets into relationship with girls. 3 month is already a long time for him and he disposed of his furnitures when moved in with her. The uke knows how hard it is to be in a same-sex relationship where the two person like each other, he cherishes his boyfriend but is hurt by his infidelity.

Since the seme cannot fall asleep alone, he sleeps on the uke’s bed and would snuggle up and hold his hand. The seme touched the uke one morning and said it’s not just for fun, he then hugs the uke and said he won’t hurt his feelings. Later one the seme kissed the uke to comfort him because he’s down after arguing with his mom and breaking up with the ex-bf…

There are many hints about seme’s mental condition, for example, he’d get emotional easily and cry over small things, he’s sensitive about other people’s feelings (especially kids)… He doesn’t like crowded places with lots of people, he’d start coughing when he’s stressed, he doesn’t want to go out on raining days and keeps the lights off at home… There’s darkness creeping up when he’s in shower, there’s darkness swallowing him from the ground when walking in the street…

As usual, the first volume is mostly laying the groundwork for the second volume, not much ups and downs because it’s the calm before the storm. They share many sweet little moments, such as drinking Yakult, going to coin laundry, walking to the park, cleaning the bathroom, cooking and eating, talking about imaginary parenthood, planning a trip to buy body wash…

[Thora Schramm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, comfort read men det är ju typ inget som händer

[Ester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primer tomo muy introductorio donde se nos presenta a los protagonistas y se nos dan algunas pinceladas de sus personalidades y de sus vidas para comprender la situación vital de cada uno de ellos. Nakajô trabaja en un bar y acepta que Kiuchi, un cliente habitual, vaya a vivir a su casa después de romper con la novia al no tener donde ir. Será a partir de esa extraña convivencia que ambos sabrán del otro.

Leer la reseña de la obra completa aquí:

https://unabibliotecaentremundos.blog...

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kiuchi, one of the regulars at the bar Nakajou works at, has broken up with his girlfriend and has nowhere else to stay. Nakajou pretty much gets forced to put Kiuchi up for a while until he finds a new place, even if they don't really know each other that well.

Kiuchi in general seems like an open type of person who's easy to get along with, so the two of them don't really have a problem with staying together. But I'm guessing the title has to do with Kiuchi being unable to show what he really feels/who he really is? At some point he orders a cream soda (melon float) from a family restaurant and talks about how the taste of melon is artificial, even if it tastes good.

I'm still not sure though because while we know more about Nakajou (who's the pov character), we don't really get much from Kiuchi.

And there's a lot of melancholy here:

- broken relationships. Kiuchi's girlfriend thing seems pretty much done at this point, but we also have Nakajou's broken relationship with his mother (she's doing the Asian parent version of Catholic guilt after finding out her son is gay). And Nakajou's lackluster relationship with a boyfriend who sleeps around but isn't even good in bed.

There’s also a plot point with a kid who gets treated badly by his mom (employee at the furniture store owned by Nakajou's parents). And the longing both Nakajou and Kiuchi have for having a child/having a family.

- because the 2 characters are on the older side (Nakajou is 25 and Kiuchi is 30), their concerns are a lot more mature. But both of them are still drifting at this age: Nakajou with a job that doesn't really pay enough, relying on the things his mother gives him out of guilt. Kiuchi the frustrated musician who has succumbed to the pressure of his debut song and hasn't written anything in ten years. And I think that's what really gets me. It seems that Kiuchi still likes music, but being unable to create the thing that gave/gives you happiness sounds hellish to me. Being scared (of failure) to the point of inaction sounds heartbreaking.

I hope things turn out well in the next volume 🥺

[Janina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Sterne. Ganz gut! Ich könnte nichts nennen, was mich gestört hat, aber richtig toll fand ich es auch nicht. Die Komposition und der Zeichnungsstil sind wirklich cool und haben mich mehr an Comics erinnert als Manga. Die Story war auch nett! Wahrscheinlich werde ich den zweiten Band auch lesen, wenn ich ihn mal in der Buchhandlung liegen sehe.

tw/cw: Depression, Homophobie, erwähnter Dub-Con(?)

[ℂ ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Per mi m'he pogut llegir l'edició en castellà i estic fascinada amb la narració de la mangaka ❤️ en aquest primer volum tenim una presentació dels protagonistes, dos llops solitaris que carreguen amb un bagatge emocional delicat, però que no se'ns explica directament. En aquest primer volum, de manera subtil i magistral, l'autora deixa anar pistes que ens fan pensar que els dos personatges no estan passant per un bon moment i es refugien en l'altre per trobar cert consol. M'ha agradat molt, però m'ha faltat certa intensitat, que suposo que trobaré en el segon volum :3

[Truc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Không phải lời khuyên cứu con người ta khỏi trầm cảm, mà là đôi lúc chỉ cần có người lựa chọn không rời đi. Sự hiện diện đúng lúc nặng hơn ngàn lời động viên mà sai cách

[lulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might revise this rating after reading vol 2, but for now 3⭐️ it is. I just felt emotionally disconnected from the characters in this first part, but we’ll probably get some backstory on vol 2.

[Flavia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 Stars