[Manga] Ai no Kotoba mo Shiranaide (愛の言葉も知らないで)

Synopsis:
Kojima, the Vice President of the student body, always strives to be in the #1 spot in school. He normally gets along with the carefree Kurata until one day Kojima snaps and forces Kurata to have sex with him. So starts their S&M relationship or is it, love…?

The book also includes Hiroto x Kota the story about a pair of cousins, and a surprise omake! This is the latest installment of the Seiryo Higashi High School series.

Ai mo Shiranaide is another book from the Seiryo High School series and a sequel of Konna Otoko wo Aisareru. This time, two pairings are introduced. The first two chapters and an extra story revolves around the Student Council Vice President Kojima and his classmate Kurata. Chapters three to five is about forbidden love between step-brothers.

The first couple have already appeared in the first book. They had a brief conversation there and we somehow catch glimpses of how they treat each other. In the first book, they seem to be close to each other even before Retsu and Kaji become lovers. However, in the first chapter of their own story, it appears that they only got closer after spending time with each other due to Kojima stressing so much in school works. I got confused on the timeline of the story because of that. The manga-ka, nevertheless, makes it clearer when she incorporated the Cultural Festival in this book as well. I am under the impression that the first book and this one happened alongside each other. While Retsu and Kaji are trying to build a relationship, Kojima and Kurata have a blossoming love story too.

If there is a subtle S&M hint in the previous pairing, it becomes apparent in this one. More like, the couple acknowledges their doS and doM tendencies. Kojima continues to hit or kick Kurata whenever the latter makes a move. On the other hand, Kurata does not mind that and even gets excited about those actions. The two have been left wondering if they have developed a fetish lol. This makes the couple compatible with both their personalities and fetishes coincides. It is also enjoyable to see that the one dominating the other is the uke making Kojima the attack uke type pffft.

Then there are the step-brothers who are still somewhat related to Kaji as the older brother, Kota, is a classmate of the Student Council President. Meanwhile, Retsu is friends with Hiroto as the two are both 2nd-year students. Man, how I loved seeing related stories and characters. It is always nice seeing them getting along with each other. Kaji, being the manipulative type, extends a helping hand to the two to add some spice to their relationship.

Among the pairings, my favorite is Hiroto and Kota. They are just the perfect couple to my taste. With an intimidating look yet puppy-like personality of Hiroto in contrast with his cheerful yet fearsome older brother Kota, the two completes the sweetness that the first couple have started. It is, however, nowhere near originality. They are just the ‘non-blood-related-brothers-who-happen-to-screw-each-other’ story.

What’s good is that despite having stereotypical characters, the manga-ka does not drag the angst and let the characters faced the problems head-on. They work out on their problems without ‘owning’ the other. Which is why I think this is the redeeming factor of the entire manga other than the good combination of humor, romance, and sex.

This is as good, if not better, than the first book in which I have also enjoyed. The art is still as charming as before with clean panels. Even if the previous pairing, Kaji and Retsu, appeared in the story; the book itself is loosely connected to the story so it is not highly recommended to read Konna Otoko Aisareru first before this. That does not change the fact that this is a good BL manga that shouldn’t miss.