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Same Cell Organism
Nakagawa and Yokota are two boys very much in love with each other. Yokota is more open with his feelings, but Nakagawa is easily embarrassed of public displays of affection. Though they may be outwardly different, their feelings for each other are the same -- their connection is such that they liken themselves to Do-Seibutu (Same-Cell Organisms).
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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314 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 21, 2020
This contains a bunch of short stories and they were all really quiet and intense. The art is really pretty. The faces are pretty delicate and I like the way the author uses wispy lines and loose shapes in certain panels.
The first couple stories follow the same couple and I thought they were cute. You see them grow from strangers, to friends, to lovers in just a few short pages. Then there's the second story, which was really short. I was just thinking about how intense and deep the writing felt when I got hit with that twist?? I was shocked for a few seconds and then i started tearing up because what. Guess that one really hit. The angel one was probably my least favorite one, but it was still okay. I really liked the way the angel wings were drawn. The last one with the childhood friends was also short, but cute.
The first couple stories follow the same couple and I thought they were cute. You see them grow from strangers, to friends, to lovers in just a few short pages. Then there's the second story, which was really short. I was just thinking about how intense and deep the writing felt when I got hit with that twist?? I was shocked for a few seconds and then i started tearing up because what. Guess that one really hit. The angel one was probably my least favorite one, but it was still okay. I really liked the way the angel wings were drawn. The last one with the childhood friends was also short, but cute.
March 3, 2024
pretty
didn't love the last story because of the agegap but other than that I loved this manga! completely forgot about owning it too, but I think I can appreciate it more now. I like the art and the "floaty" dreamy atmosphere and just generally it was really sweet
didn't love the last story because of the agegap but other than that I loved this manga! completely forgot about owning it too, but I think I can appreciate it more now. I like the art and the "floaty" dreamy atmosphere and just generally it was really sweet
January 4, 2022
Years and years ago I purchased Same Cell Organism, read it, and put it away because I loved all of the short stories mangaka Sumomo Yumeka beautifully crafted. In the midst of my COVID-19 stress cleaning, I pulled this manga off of my bookshelf with the intention of putting in my sell pile. I rarely read manga these days--yaoi manga even less, and I couldn't quite remember why I had saved this particular book when I had gotten rid of everything else years ago.
I figured there was a reason past-me enjoyed this enough to save it, so I decided to read it one last time before making the decision of selling it or not.
I fell in love again.
Yumeka's Same Cell Organism is a collection of short one/two-shot comics focused on the concept of being "like-minded". The characters in her stories are often dichotomous: one is outgoing, one is quiet; One is an angel, one is a human; One is older, one is younger. These differences should mean that these characters wouldn't be able to understand each other or feasibly get along, but then there is always something that brings them together. An idea, a struggle, a world-view that shows that they aren't all that different at all.
Same Cell Organism features four different relationships, each of them focusing on different themes and settings.
The first story is about two boys who are very different in temperament who happen to strike up a friendship based on a silly observation they both make at the same time. Over time they become best friends, and unbeknownst to either of them, they are both falling in love with the other and are unsure of how to express it. Their series of stories are sweet, quintessential stories about friends becoming lovers and wanting to spend their lives together any way they can. It was a great story to serve as the opening tale of the book, and I think many people can connect to this one the most.
The second story really hits at the heartstrings, and without spoiling, I feel like this one is the most bittersweet and open-ended story out of the entire collection. Two boys share an attic in their high school and get to know each other. One is athletic and the other isn't, and they, too, develop feeling for one another. They don't really know much about the other, not even their last name or what class they belong to, but their connection doesn't require information like that to persist in a meaningful way. Their friendship and love for each other is deeper than that.
The third story is one I admire the most in Same Cell Organism because it is a story about a pretty obvious trans woman who falls in love with an angel they once met as a child. For a manga originally published in 2001 and then translated in 2006, this story was very progressive and is still progressive even today. I am unsure if Yumeka intended for this to be the intent behind the story, and from what I understand this particular story was incomplete and even a bit nonsensical for Yumeka, but I still think that regardless of the intent, it still tells a better trans story than a lot of popular media does today.
The forth and final story is about a high school student who has been in love with his childhood friend who also happens to be 5 years older than him. I'm not somebody bothered by age gaps when it comes to consenting adults, but I imagine for many people there would be some uncomfortable undertones with a high schooler and somebody in their 20s falling in love. I’m going to take this as a product of its time when people weren’t addressing age gaps between teens and adults and it was still seen as a romantic trope in media. Regardless, their story is interesting because they both clearly like each other, but don't realize they are on the same wavelength about not wanting to play the "brother" role to the other anymore. My only issue with the story is that we don't really get a sense of their past as childhood friends that would lead to a reason why they are in love.
In the end, all of the stories are affecting in their own way. Yumeka beautifully illustrates each tale in a very iconic 90s/2000s style of art that keeps your focus on the characters. You really get the vibe that these characters are in their own world with each other because nothing else outside of them matters. The bittersweet, wistful feelings evoked by these stories really sold me on this collection as something worth keeping on my shelf.
I just have to try and not forget my reason for keeping it again.
I figured there was a reason past-me enjoyed this enough to save it, so I decided to read it one last time before making the decision of selling it or not.
I fell in love again.
Yumeka's Same Cell Organism is a collection of short one/two-shot comics focused on the concept of being "like-minded". The characters in her stories are often dichotomous: one is outgoing, one is quiet; One is an angel, one is a human; One is older, one is younger. These differences should mean that these characters wouldn't be able to understand each other or feasibly get along, but then there is always something that brings them together. An idea, a struggle, a world-view that shows that they aren't all that different at all.
Same Cell Organism features four different relationships, each of them focusing on different themes and settings.
The first story is about two boys who are very different in temperament who happen to strike up a friendship based on a silly observation they both make at the same time. Over time they become best friends, and unbeknownst to either of them, they are both falling in love with the other and are unsure of how to express it. Their series of stories are sweet, quintessential stories about friends becoming lovers and wanting to spend their lives together any way they can. It was a great story to serve as the opening tale of the book, and I think many people can connect to this one the most.
The second story really hits at the heartstrings, and without spoiling, I feel like this one is the most bittersweet and open-ended story out of the entire collection. Two boys share an attic in their high school and get to know each other. One is athletic and the other isn't, and they, too, develop feeling for one another. They don't really know much about the other, not even their last name or what class they belong to, but their connection doesn't require information like that to persist in a meaningful way. Their friendship and love for each other is deeper than that.
The third story is one I admire the most in Same Cell Organism because it is a story about a pretty obvious trans woman who falls in love with an angel they once met as a child. For a manga originally published in 2001 and then translated in 2006, this story was very progressive and is still progressive even today. I am unsure if Yumeka intended for this to be the intent behind the story, and from what I understand this particular story was incomplete and even a bit nonsensical for Yumeka, but I still think that regardless of the intent, it still tells a better trans story than a lot of popular media does today.
The forth and final story is about a high school student who has been in love with his childhood friend who also happens to be 5 years older than him. I'm not somebody bothered by age gaps when it comes to consenting adults, but I imagine for many people there would be some uncomfortable undertones with a high schooler and somebody in their 20s falling in love. I’m going to take this as a product of its time when people weren’t addressing age gaps between teens and adults and it was still seen as a romantic trope in media. Regardless, their story is interesting because they both clearly like each other, but don't realize they are on the same wavelength about not wanting to play the "brother" role to the other anymore. My only issue with the story is that we don't really get a sense of their past as childhood friends that would lead to a reason why they are in love.
In the end, all of the stories are affecting in their own way. Yumeka beautifully illustrates each tale in a very iconic 90s/2000s style of art that keeps your focus on the characters. You really get the vibe that these characters are in their own world with each other because nothing else outside of them matters. The bittersweet, wistful feelings evoked by these stories really sold me on this collection as something worth keeping on my shelf.
I just have to try and not forget my reason for keeping it again.
April 24, 2023
This is a short collection of several stories about love. The first few were probably my favorite--about two high school boys falling in love--although all of them had something sweet about them. The connection between all of them, aside from queer couples, was a bit vague and it did feel more like a draft of a bunch of ideas than a complete series, especially as they got more fantastical.
May 9, 2017
Beautiful art and the stories are sweet. Some of them were confusing, but I enjoyed them nonetheless.
August 24, 2017
Sweet collection of stories, lovely artwork.
March 30, 2020
Sweet, cute, and way less rapey than many books of its era.
December 21, 2021
It is AWESOME,some of them is sad
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2023
Interesting read. I got confused after a while with what stories were happening and which character was which.
January 2, 2025
Cute BL
November 13, 2009
Éste manga está lleno de pequeñas historias, de chicos narrando cómo conocieron al right-one y todo lo pasaron. Es uno de esos que hace te conmueve al grado de que no querrás separarte de él cuando lo hayas acabado. Yo lo leí en Comicastle y cuando lo acabé, tuve que comprarlo porque no lo quise dejar ir.
Una dosis de Bittersweetness que hace que te hace sentir muchas cosas cosas, todas lindas. Cursí, pero no lo suficiente para empalagar.
Lo leí hace como dos año y no he vuelto a encontrar nada igual.
Una dosis de Bittersweetness que hace que te hace sentir muchas cosas cosas, todas lindas. Cursí, pero no lo suficiente para empalagar.
Lo leí hace como dos año y no he vuelto a encontrar nada igual.
November 4, 2008
This volume has a few different stories in it. I enjoyed them all. I liked the angel story the wings look so fluffy, and when they showed him as the little angel with his wings I wanted to hug him (so cute). The last story is so cute with the little girl wanting to marry the one guy and the other one is jealous. Each of the stories where sweet in a different way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2015
An anthology of short manga, mostly yaoi. The atmosphere is entrancing and sad, like a change from fall to winter, but I didn't understand most of it. A combination of cultural difference, wordless manga, and most of the characters looking the same.
January 21, 2011
Slightly confusing but Yumeka has said that she too finds that her own stories make no sense. The art is wonderful though, as always.
March 15, 2013
Pretty good.
Pretty good.
Pretty good.
September 6, 2014
It was so adorable! I really liked the how the story ended
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews