Sayonara Game by Yuu Minaduki

[reviews_and_ramblings]

 

Arimura enlists the help of Yosuke—a younger baseball club teammate from his high school days—to tutor his little sister. Yosuke has always been rather brusque around Arimura, but to the older man’s surprise, he discovers Yosuke actually looks up to him. Could Yosuke’s admiration be masking something more?

My Rate: 7 (amzn.to/3WdPHet)

Sayonara Game was nice, but instead of being hot, it felt more warm—let me clarify. The story was pleasant, but it seemed a bit restrained, as if the main characters weren’t fully opening up. Arimura appears to be gradually falling into a relationship with Yosuke, but it seem more not to disappoint the other man rather than being interested himself; it’s like he’s unsure how to reject him, so he just accepts Yosuke’s feelings. For Arimura, love arrives later in the story, which I thought was nice because Yosuke truly deserves it. The artwork was good—though the panels were somewhat crowded—and while the plot was engaging and well-developed, it maintained a subtle, gentle tone rather than a hot one.