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It's really strange that this BL doesn't have any reviews... In the Apartment, the work that brought Etsuko to the spotlight on the BL scene, is a subtle story about not being able to deal with disappointment with yourself. It goes beyond the typical love conflits and presents two tridimensional characers with very down to earth problems: the anxiety to find a job to identify with, the doubt on dealing with toxic friends/family relationships and how to let go of the bad things of the past to live fully the present.

I just started reading after watching its drama adaptation, "More Than Words" (which combines this ... manga with its prequel - More Than Words - and its sequel - Zoku in the Apartment), because it was terrific (althought very VERY sad) and I wanted to see how much of that great writing and setting came from the original work. IT DID! Etsuko's writing shined thought out the whole story of Senoh and Sugimoto, bringing insightful reflections that appeal not only to 20 something, but also to queer 20-somethings, because of all the societal pressure for us to live a heteronormative live (like Mieko and Eiji). It was one of the most simple and yet deep work of BL manga that I ever seen, so it is a must read, not only to BL fans out there, but also to queer people wanting a complex romance to dive into.

(I must say, thought, Zoku in the Apartment is so connected to this one that both of them feels like a single story... The plot only feels completed with the sequel ending, so I sugest to read the both as one story)