Dirty Darling
Don't Call Me Dirty

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Read “Don’t Call Me Dirty” for Pride Month: a manga about two men who each have very little self worth, yet who can see goodness in the other once they meet.

Made note of it a year or two ago when a friend mentioned it in a series of notable boy love manga for entry level yaoi readers, or for those looking for a, more-or-less, safe for work BL read. I never had the push to read it until another friend's Pride Month Manga Reading challenge(?) gave me the inspiration / push to finally read some of the short length BL manga I have.

At only 6 ... chapters in one volume, “Don’t Call Me Dirty” still manages to be a very engaging read. Emotional too. Not an easy going boy love romance, there’s some real hurt explored here as both men are ousted from society for being perceived as "dirty", either physically or in the abstract. Yet the hurt is balanced by lighthearted moments sprinkled throughout, including little kids who tell it like it is, and a dad addicted to social media XD

Overall an 8/10 for me; I think the point was made, and was definitely a good read, but I wanted more exploration of the characters, both the main and the side characters (though there is a sequel dealing with two of the others seen here…). Not as emotionally gripping as it could be, I don’t think. Still, I do recommend!

No reviews yet? I guess I'll break the ice.
My biggest gripe is the dialogue/translation. When discussing the central theme of 'being dirty', the writer/translater make it very vague, so I found it hard to understand (That might just be me).
But from my understanding, the comparison between a man and a homeless man is how they are viewed as dirty by others. The people judge Hama solely on appearance, but Shouji's boyfriend judges Shouji on his actions/intimacy.
The art is decent, nothing grand, but it gets the job done. I find that a few read this cause they found Hama attractive, and I'm in the same boat. ... It was nice to see multiple locations illustrated beyond the shop and street.
The characters were somewhat chaotic in personality. Maybe I didn't anticipate so many to be straightforward and blunt. But I feel it added to the comedy of Shouji pussyfooting around issues. Hama stayed consistent right toward the end, where he changed a bit too quickly; I think another chapter of Hama warming up to Shouji would've helped.
Overall, I enjoyed it and planned to read the sequel! This manga made me smile and was wholesome despite the sexual theme.