By Eu
I started reading this thinking it will be another porn without plot manga. And boy, was I wrong – I walked out drowning in the sea of feels.
Sex Friends
Uehara Ari straight up deals with sex friends – something of a wide occurrence lately it seems, brazen like one of the main characters, Toua. Jirou meets Toua, one of his classmates back in his university days, after a long time. Toua invites him at a bar where the guy laments about his fake celebrity persona. One thing leads to another; the two find themselves constantly hanging out – in bed.
Sex Friends walks a fine line between friendship, love, and lust. Jirou and Toua both know this. But instead of staying in the safe zone, they keep on pushing their boundaries and challenging their relationship towards the dangerous area. It’s like they are testing and confirming their feelings through their favorite activity.
Unabashed Sexy Times
The cover is full of colorful bubbles, lollipops, and condoms that I thought I was in it for a feel-good read.
If it’s just porn, there’s an abundance of it. With Toua’s loose lower half, that’s already a given. A quickie, sex on the streets, at a bathroom in a restaurant, an orgy – you name it. The fujoshi in me should be delighted right? But the more sex they have, the emptier I feel. Jirou’s narration and monologue break my heart. Like in one scene, where Toua asks him to have sex with his friend Ryuu, the atmosphere in the panel dropped. I could almost hear their hearts breaking through my Kobo screen. Jirou and Ryuu might have satisfied their bodies, but sex is as empty as it can get.
Confusing
Confusing in a good way. I had a hard time grasping what Toua and Jirou are really thinking. Well, if they could only use their mouth on talking, and not on other things then perhaps they’d reach an understanding sooner. But despite having lots of dialogues, they never speak of the most important things.
It makes me happy that it did not end when they confessed. We still get a few more chapters after that. It’s just so so rewarding to see these two (finally!) make love. I have realized that they do suit each other, and not just their bodies. Jirou loves spoiling Toua. On the other hand, Toua acts cute, sweet, and spoiled with Jirou; not the bratty and laid-back guy he shows to others.
All in all, Sex Friends is an interesting read. It has lots of sex and feels. Plus, there’s no shortage of eye candies here.
[…] I love perverted ukes. But Chanbit Han is not just perverted, he also sleeps around. Meanwhile, Baekyung his manager sleeps with him too, all the while deeply in love with him. Sounds like a tricky business and a lot like this manga. […]