Status Updates From Phantom Busters, Vol. 2

zaki's wistful look up to the sky as he explains who suguru geto is oh i know he's cried over satosugu edits at 3 am
this is another chapter that is chock full of tiny character moments like that and i also LOVE the slow buildup for the inevitable twist, starting with mogari noticing ren's scars. he's an idiot but he's not dumb, nor is he naive to his family's heartlessness

i love how each of the guys get individualized moments to openly express their love and appreciation for the friendship and to actively CHOOSE to rely on each other. while this is probably my least favorite chapter so far, i love the overall arc of mogari getting insecure about potentially holding eugene back and then eugene assuaging all those doubts by loudly and unabashedly choosing him

is there a single friend group free of homoerotic tension in this manga or
nika and usami are constantly vying for ichimiya's attention (and asking to be "used and abused" mmhmmm sure boys), ichimiya is obsessed with the core four, the core four is. well. we know what they are. and now maria and rinri????? this is EXACTLY how i like my character webs to function

let's go lesbians let's go
this almost makes up for the scourge of misogynistic tropes in this chapter

zaki is definitely on ao3 he knows exactly how dumb tamon and mogari sound with that particular slip up and he's INTO IT

save me hair-down-eugene why is he GORGEOUS
mogari can never see eugene like this i fear he would never be the same. the last remaining brain cell would explode on sight

this is perhaps one of the best pages of any manga i've ever read, literally everything about it is perfection
it's also not lost on me that mogari's only hangup was the snot, not the fact that knight is a guy, which was so refreshing to see. that was the easy joke, but neoshoco completely dodged it and instead decided to have boys kissing be the cure for the toxic masculinity demons. brilliant

toxic masculinity framed as literal possessive spirits that feed off of insecurity and fear and loneliness????? neoshoco i adore you and this incredibly queer manga