TGIF!! This has been a long time coming, but I’m finally bringing back Fangirl Friday!! I’ve been slowly getting back into my blogging stride and I’m going to be honest, these are my favorite posts to write since I’m really just fangirling about random stuff I’ve come across be they movies, webcomics, anime, books, dramas… I even wrote one about Barack Obama. So, this is one segment I’m excited to bring back from the dead! Since this is the first post in a while, I wanted to make this one really special, so I decided to go with something that combines two of my loves: Boys Love and Webcomics… Don’t believe me? See for yourself, most of my previous Fangirl Moment posts are either BL related, Webcomics, or BL Webcomics… I have my vices and BL is at the top of the list most days.
So, for this week’s post I wanted to cover MunZi’s ongoing BL webcomic Wistful Summer. It’s a drama filled comic about a guy who spent most of his life crushing on his best friend, but just when he starts to get over his crush a handsome stranger appears. Things only get more complicated when the best friend divorces his wife and starts hinting that maybe he’s been harboring some unrequited feelings of his own… O_O
First. First lie, first kiss, first love. When Henry and Sam first met that summer long ago, Henry learned the power of first love. But…time goes on, people part, summer ends and so too did their blink of a relationship. All but a distant memory now, when Henry and Sam gradually become close again, Henry finds himself feeling those fiery emotions for the first time since that wistful summer.
The comic was first published online in 2018 by Kakao, a Korean webcomic site, but you can read the comic in English over on Tapas. This is a paid release, but you can read the first couple of chapters for free. In order to read the non-free chapters you’ll need to use Ink, which is just Tapas’s internal currency. Tapas also has weekly free episode rotations, so if you plan accordingly, you can read the whole thing for free. I am not that patient, so I broke down and bought enough Ink to binge the available chapters… and it was worth every damn penny!
First thing’s first, the comic is ongoing, so that should already tell you a lot, since I don’t go out of my way to pick up ongoing series. Second, the comic features a love triangle, and everyone that knows me knows how much I loathe love triangles. It even has an unrequited childhood romance element, and yet, I fell in love with this series! It has the same kind of story you’d find in a drama or a soap opera, but apparently I life for that kinda stuff…
The comic follows Henry, an author who has secretly been in love with his best friend Sam since they met one summer years ago. Sam is an adorkable baseball loving who managed to weasel his way into Henry’s life after he accidentally assumes the latter is a baseball fan just like him… he totally isn’t btw. Henry is somewhere between a Kuudere and a Tsundere, not above shooting off snarky remarks, but secretly wants to be loved. Sam is oblivious about his friend’s feelings and eventually gets married and the two drift apart. Years later, Sam comes back into Henry’s life and reveals that he and his wife are getting divorced and the two start getting close again. Enter drama, stage left. While doing a lecture at a local college, Henry catches the eye of one of the students, Seth, who bears a striking resemblance to Sam stirring up memories of his first love… and new feeling too.
I love Henry! Most BL media portrays the uke as this sweet, innocent bunny that get’s taken in by a hungry wolf of a seme, but Henry is not like that at all. He kind of reminds me of Tsukishima from Haikyuu, sassy af and quick to throw shade. But, when he’s with Sam or Seth he lowers his guard and shows a much more vulnerable side. Sam is Henry’s first love, he still has feelings for him (even though he tries to deny it), but he’s hesitant to make the first move and risk ruining their friendship. Then Seth comes around and he looks exactly like Sam and he starts catching feelings. At first his interest in Seth is purely based on the fact that he looks and acts like Sam, and it’s a little sad to think that he’s just transposing his feelings for Sam onto Seth. But, the more they interact, the more Henry starts to see Seth as himself and not as a stand in for Sam. Of course this is when Sam starts hinting that maybe he does actually have feelings for Henry as well, even if he is too oblivious to admit it even to himself… and let me tell you, jealous Sam is absolutely PERFECT!!
Usually I hate love triangles, ever since the Yuki/Kyo/Tohru fiasco with Fruits Basket… but, it really works here. I really like both guys, Sam is sweet and well meaning, but a little oblivious and Seth is kind of impulsive but in an endearing puppy dog kind of way. Both guys are perfect for complement for Henry since he has more than enough salt to balance out their sweetness. Honestly, I’m team Sam (because why the hell not, he was there first!) but, if Henry ends up with Seth, I wouldn’t be all that upset by it since it is clear that Seth genuinely cares for Henry. We’re 33 chapters in and Sam still hasn’t made a move even though it is obvious to everyone (including his SISTER AND EX WIFE) that he has feelings for Henry… but, if he keeps dragging his feet, Seth is most definitely going to swoop in and steal his man.
I also like that there are other characters that get equal billing in the series, Henry has his friend/manager, Sam has his family and some mutual friends with Henry from school, and Seth has his BFF from college. There’s more to these characters than just their relationship with one another and I for one appreciate additional character depth. Most BL media just focuses on the romantic relationships so it’s nice to see that these characters have actual lives.
I’m invested. I’m in this for the long haul. I love the characters and despite my reservations about love triangles, I even love that too… Henry is my spirit animal and whether he choses Seth or Sam, I’ll be happy. The premise is a bit cliché, but that’s part of the series’ charm. Where we are in the series, Seth just made a really big move and I am excited to see whether or not Sam will up the ante with a bold declaration of his own…
A cute and sentimental romance, this series might even remind you of your first love. And the love triangle among Sam, Seth, and Henry is the cherry on top to this summer romance! 😉 Read “Wistful Summer” on Tapas! https://t.co/7UTTrFrBzp #BL #yaoi #boyslove pic.twitter.com/xpeAv1xQbA
— Tapas (@tapas_app) June 10, 2019
Guess I’m going to give this a try too…
LOL it’s really good, you won’t regret it!