Shinoda is gay and in love with Ikeuchi, a younger fellow basketball club member (with a girlfriend). In the very beginning of the manga he confesses, and the rest simply details episodes in their starting romance. There isn't exactly too much plot to speak of. The first chapter deals with the start of the relationship, the second seems to center around how they deal with the romantic competition/jealousy, the third centers around a plot to dress up Shinoda as a girl, the fourth is the obligatory 'one's got the flu' episode, and the last covers the hectic first date. The mood is sweet and quite, with a slice of life sort of feel. There's often humor, but it's gentle stuff mostly. The manga also sports a few very likable supporting characters in the ex girlfriend and a couple other male friends. Through all the stories, the common thread seems to be Shinoda's wondering if Ikeuchi really wants a girl, or would like him better as one. There is a good dose of sex, but it tends less toward the eye candy style and more toward emphasizing the intimacy of the scene.

The first couple pages of this manga intrigued me very much, as Shinoda put up a somewhat 'confident gay man' act when expressing his desires to Ikeuchi, but after the scene is over it is promptly revealed how naive and uneasy he really is. I began looking forward to a story about Shinoda being very much in love with this other character but having difficulty expressing himself because of his desire to seem confident, masculine, and mature. ....Then when Ikeuchi actually accepts Shinoda's offer and the relationship starts... Things quickly devolve into the usual simple seme/uke dynamic, with Shinoda as the latter, never again showing any sign of the interesting attempt at cool manly indifference he used before.

While a disappointment, reading this was still an enjoyable, if not particularly memorable experience. Even if Shinoda is eventually made out to be the pretty/cute uke type, he's never really feminized too much, and the art keeps them both looking firmly masculine, in both character design and body language. The supporting characters do a good job of mixing things up in the couple's lives a little to keep the stories a little more interesting, along with having some of their own intriguing-sounding (though mostly only alluded to) romantic entanglements. Though I wouldn't say they were my favorite aspect, I do think they are one of the things, if anything, that do set this manga a little apart from a lot of other manga like it, and probably what enabled the story to go on beyond one volume (as it seems to have) without going stale. All the same, after a volume of this, I'm on a bit of an overload of plotless romantic shenanigans, and won't immediately seek out the second volume, if ever. I am interested in looking up this managka's other works, though, as I do like their style, and if I could find something by them with a clearer plot, I might really enjoy it. ( )