Cut-Over Criteria By Koala Omugi
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me a free copy for an honest review
What's it about:
Cut-Over Criteria is a Boys' love office romance.
Jin a recent graduate has been assigned to help out his upperclassman Seto, who is a standoffish but highly competent systems engineer.
The review:
I love myself a good yaoi romance, but I didn't find myself enjoying 'Cut-Over Criteria', there was just no chemistry between the two main leads, the relationship felt forced there was no spark.
This is one I will not be adding to my shelves.
Rating: 1 ⭐️

As a warning there are spicy scenes, so if you are not a fan probably not one for you to read
-BL
_spicy scenes (18+/mature)
-age gap
-office romance
It is a pretty typical bl office romance, where our main character does not have the intention of being in a relationship with the other but ends up falling for him after spending time & getting to know him. The story does progress quickly, as it is a one-shot, but it doesn't drag on or end awkwardly. For me, I automatically get drawn the characters eyes and love seeing their chibi forms with the animal-like ears.

Seto views the world as a software program; so when Jin confesses to him, he believes that Jin has some sort of "bug". Seto ends up testing this "bug" and goes along with JIn, but Seto did not plan to actually fall for Jin and become lovers.

This is an incredibly sweet nerdy office romance, it felt realistic in how Seto initially enters the relationship as an experiment, to learn about himself. There is a bit of a power dynamic given that Seto is both older then Jin, as well as his superior.

I did enjoy Seto's continual references to his life in terms of software development.

This book also is more spicy then it had any reason to be, like every chapter has a sex scene in it. In the end it felt like it would be much better as fade to black scenes. Because these don't really add to the story, when I found myself stepping away from this while reading I would forget that this was spicy at all to then be startled the Next time it popped up.

This boy’s love manga starts out wordy. You have speech bubble, action bubbles, thought bubbles, and other “talk”. The story is not strait forward. It’s a workplace romance, with a bit of spice, so there are anatomical illustrations of penetration. At first this was annoying, and I almost DNFed it. But for some reason I kept up the story and did enjoy it. It was a close call, and it is not something I would want to read again, but it was decently done.

First of all I want to thank netgalley for providing me with this manga.

This manga tells us about Haruma Seto tends to view the world as one big software program. So when his new subordinate at work — a young but talented man named Jin Hagiwara — suddenly confesses to him, Haruma's left thinking there must be some sort of "bug." If he just goes along with Jin's confession, it gives him a chance to test for it. He's a successful systems engineer, after all, and this is just a test... right?

The story itself is the typical cliché of a co-worker, who for things in life must live together, learn to get along, misunderstood,
and although it was entertaining, it didn't kill me, since I felt that everything happened very quickly, I feel that it could have had a few more chapters, to develop a little more, explain a little more.

but it's entertaining to pass the time, I wouldn't buy it physically, but I recommend it if you like gay office romances.

That if I highlight that the drawing is beautiful, it has a good illustration.
I give it a 4 out of 5

Haruma Seto sees the world as one big software program mainly because his life revolves around his work so much. However when a talented subordinate, namely Jin Hagiwara suddenly and outright confesses, it leaves Haruma in a spot. Filled with the ups and downs of a workplace relationship, this boy’s romance will leave you with a smile on your face and a warm feeling within.

The romance is sweet and sincere. What starts out as an experiment for Haruma becomes something much more as he learns to explore his relationship and discover himself. Haruma is such a straightforward character that it was a nice balance to Hagiwara’s upfront personality. The story is fast-paced and focuses primarily on the relationship between our two main characters and their interactions that help grow the relationship.

The artwork wasn’t my favorite. I found the artwork a bit too simplistic mainly because of the thin lines. Backgrounds were quite often than not missing, expression seemed a little underwhelming and sometimes I couldn’t tell the characters apart. Note that there are graphic sex scenes in this manga.

Overall, this was a good read. I would have loved to see a bit more about the character’s backgrounds and their interaction with other characters given they had a shared workplace. So I guess I’m saying maybe this would have been a bit better as a short series instead of a standalone. Nonetheless, it’s a cute manga and works well with the main purpose it’s delivering.

3.75 stars ⁣
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Cut-Over Criteria is a sweet office romance between Jin and Seto. Jin displays immense programming talent for a recent college graduate and is eager to catch the attention of Seto, an effective yet standoffish team lead. While there were some points of this stand-alone manga that prevented me from rating it higher, overall this story exceeded my expectations (as I wasn’t sure how the age gap element would play out) and I had a good time with it. I found the plot humorous and laughed out loud at several moments and while there are explicit scenes, I didn’t feel they overshadowed the plot and Cut-Over Criteria is also able to shine during fluffy moments between the couple. ⁣
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An aspect I found lacking was that I did enjoy the first half of the manga a bit more than the latter half. I thought the story was a good length, but could have had a bit stronger development. I wouldn’t go as far as to say the romance starts feeling superficial, but there are some points I wish had felt deeper and more impactful. ⁣
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As far as the age gap goes, I thought it might make me uncomfortable but it was handled in a practical way that was not off-putting, in my opinion. Seto is wary of getting close to others, while Jin is more open and affectionate, but also succumbing to jealousy when a misunderstanding arises from Seto going out to a bar with coworkers. I appreciated how this conflict was resolved with both apologizing for their miscommunication and the argument was able to serve as a positive development in their relationship. ⁣
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By the manga’s conclusion, I could relaistically see Jin and Seto continuing to strengthen their bond. I’d definitely recommend this title to others. Thanks to Netgalley and Tokyopop for providing me with a digital ARC.

I had a lot of concerns about this manga - it just wasn't one that I enjoyed, but I can appreciate some things about it. I love that it was about adults and took place in an office setting. So many manga are about high school students, I'm always happy to see adults in manga. However, the art style for this manga doesn't depict them as adults very well, the faces are still very childlike - I understand not everyone who is 30 looks grown, but it would have been helpful. The relationship between these guys didn't seem natural or organic at all. It was a real stretch, and I just couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. There is no sense of time so I have no clue how long this manga was supposed to be taking the place over, which also makes their relationship less believable. Not to mention the scenes with the boys is adult - this is not a book I could put in my library teen section, even if it was the best manga I had ever read.

Overall, I just didn't think this was that great, if you liked it that's wonderful - but it wasn't for me. I think there are a lot of better manga out there if you want something along the lines of what was delivered in this one.

Thank you to #NetGalley and LovexLove E-ARC of #CutOverCriteria by Koala Omugi to read and review.

I liked this one, I thought the characters were realistic, but out of the ordinary.
I think it's the kind of stories that different work place romance can imagine really happening.
I like that it didn't have the whole classic drama of higher ups not wanting coworkers dating and having them break up and such.
It wears it's 18+ mark with confidence.

I really enjoyed this read! It felt very wordy at the beginning as the panels were filled with so many word bubbles but it evens out and the story is so good. I really liked both of the characters and appreciated we got to see them grow and handle their own insecurities about their relationship. Very nice read

I gave this manga a 3/5 stars. Don’t get me wrong the couple was adorable, the age gap didn’t seem illegal, and the plot was solid. However it didn’t stand out to me. I have read a lot of homosexual manga and this one wasn’t very special. The characters were likable and I feel like the relationship was realistic it’s just I have seen it done before. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an early arc I was happy to read it and genuinely liked the story.

2.5 stars
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this manga.

Read this today while on strong painkillers for my chronic pain, so I barely remember anything about the actual plot... But the drawings were really nice! The "spicy" stuff was a lot tho, which isn't really my thing so yeah. It was okay.

Firstly, thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book to review!

I was intrigued when I first heard about this book, but it was unfortunately a flop for me. I am not a fan of the love at first sight trope, which plays a large part in this story. I also do not like stories that progress unrealistically fast. I read approximately 1/3 of this and had to skim the rest because of how much I disliked it. Good art though!

So good! Haruma and Jin are great together! Haruma has his head in computers and software so when Jin confesses his feelings, Haruma thinks it's a glitch he needs to fix. Loved it and their interactions. And the spice is great too. Tokyopop always gives us their best.

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴: Yaoi Manga

So this Yaoi Manga centers around the older Seto and the new graduate Jin. Seto is Jin’s senior at the IT company and seemingly straight until the outwardly gay Jin shows interest in him. These two at HOT AFFFF together. It was quite sweet watching Seto fall for Jin. Jin is a bit insecure but he eventually opens up. Some ups and downs but between the unique artistry and humor, I really enjoyed this one.

Now, the artistry is kind of detailed BUT not too detailed. Like you can clearly see what’s going on but certain body parts aren’t blatantly on display. You can kind of see what I mean on the second image of the book (3rd slide).

Fun, sexy, fast-paced. I’m really liking these mangas and I may have started an addiction lol

POV: 1st, Dual
SPICE: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
🅁🄰🅃🄸🄽🄶: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚. 𝙈𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙞𝙨 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮.

I thought this was a lovely workplace romance. Haruma Seto is a single thirty year old man who heads an IT programming team at his work place. His life mostly revolves around work, programming and making sure the programs he designs are bug free. His home isn’t properly furnished because he hardly spends time at home. He lives to work until the day Jin Hagiwara, joins his team. Jin is a new graduate but has advanced skills in programming. He focuses on Haruma and Haruma finds this odd until Jin asks Haruma out.

Haruma is shocked that someone so young, male, and his staff could ask him out in such a direct way. Haruma is also not sure he is actually gay but he decides to humour Jin and the strike up a friendship which leads to them being lovers and before you know it Jin starts staying over and their relationship develops and Jin brings life to Haruma. Life and furniture and also home cooking and friendship.

This is a lovely office romance story that initially seems very unlikely, but love grows between this unlikely couple in the midst of programming, bugs and the office. The artwork is good, the story line is one of those comforting romances that are just so pleasant to read. Not too much drama, just a slow awakening to the possibilities of life with another.

I really enjoyed this book.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for and unbiased review.

Summary:

Haruma Seto and Jin Hagiwara really couldn't be more different. One is calm and practical; the other is deeply connected to his feelings. The latter's feelings are how we will end up in a particular situation.

Haruma Seto isn't afraid or ashamed of his feelings. This is why he felt comfortable confessing to Jin Hagiwara. Granted, he didn't know how Haruma would react or the spiral it would send him down.

My Review:

LOVE x LOVE did it again! Cut-Over Criteria is another sweet and endearing romance worth checking out. Honestly, remove the power imbalance (Haruma is Jin's superior), and this series would probably be perfect.

The romance is sweet but also shockingly honest? Haruma doesn't go into the relationship expecting to be swept off his feet. It's more of an experiment for him. Yet that is so human, as who hasn't felt the need to explore who they are?

Cut-Over Criteria doesn't shy away from the more graphic elements of romance, so if that isn't your cup of tea, this may not be the read for you. However, I have great news for you if that is what you're looking for!

Highlights:
Romance
LGBT
M/M Romance
Yaoi

I’m really enjoying this new rush of manga romance stories exploring adults figuring out the world around them, usually with ages ranging from people in their 20 into their 30s. This story is exactly that. Seto is an introvert set in his ways at work, while Jin, a much younger man (~9 year age gap which I’m not exactly sure how I feel about), is much more bold. When they begin working together, Jin makes a pass at Seto which throws Seto off guard.

I really enjoyed the discussions and communications with regards to the steamy times, but for a good portion, it did seem that Jin was forcing his way into Seto’s affections, especially after he had brushed him off as not interested. We want our heroes to listen and communicate, not demand affections in return.

In the story, there is miscommunication, a girl involved - classic BL tropes. I think the set up of the young adults and their age differences are what make this story stand out, even if it’s not all that much.

Additionally, there were several panels where I had no idea what I was looking at.I prefer a much cleaner drawing style sinceI don’t want to have to spend extra time on a panel figuring out what I’m looking at and how it fits in with the story.

I don’t think I would seek out work from this mangaka again, but there is promise in the setup and initial idea - it just could be better.

*I received an eARC from LOVE x LOVE & NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

Rating: 2.5 leaves out of 5
-Characters: 1.5/5
-Cover(plus art): 2.5/5
-Story: 1/5
-Writing: 4/5
Genre: Romance/BL
Type: Manga
Worth?: Eh

First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review. This was def not my cup of tea. I found the characters basic and the story really dull. If you are just in a horny mood, I guess this is for you?

Seto does some kind of computer programming and is a focused person without much room in his life for others.

He meets Hagiwara, a recent graduate, as a new worker at his company and is impressed by his abilities. But he's quickly put on edge by the attention Hagiwara directs his way.

Regardless of Seto's attempts to keep Hagiwara at arms length, Hagiwara is persistent and a little bit sneaky and eventually worms his way into Seto's affections.

Of course there's the typical trope of misunderstanding and miscommunication before they have their happy ending.

The art style is nice and it's funny enough to be charming.