My Androgynous Boyfriend Vol. 2

The first volume was strictly slice of life with nary an over-arching plot in sight. In this volume, the creator starts developing an overarching narrative and expanding the cast, with mixed results.

It's still not very plotty, but we're starting to see the shape of a story: what does Meguru want? This volume sees him taking new steps in his career and reflecting upon what that might mean for his relationship with Waka. We're also getting more of his point of view on their relationship, which seems to me to indicate that he feels a little insecure (thinking that perhaps he loves Waka more than she loves him -- could just be my reading though.)

The major addition to the cast is yet another androgynous boy character with a personality that I suspect will be controversial among readers. He's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder about his cute looks, and a raging obsession with a celebrity he idolizes for his manliness.

Overall, I still found myself enjoying this a lot, but it didn't make quite as strong an impact as volume 1 due to the growing pains of expanding the story. I'm simply not as invested in the new characters and storyline yet. Plus, I found myself missing Waka, as she doesn't appear as much in this volume. It will all likely pay off in the long run though, since I don't think the purely slice of life fluff content of vol 1 could've gone on forever without getting dull.

Again, as a note to queer readers: your mileage is gonna vary on whether any of this is "queer." Meguru still reads as a straight man (albeit a gender non-conforming one). I suspect that the new character's celebrity obsession will be revealed to be a crush (and possibly a gay romance eventually) but so far it's just idolization. Still recommended for queer readers because its just lovely to see a depiction of a character like this who so thoroughly enjoys dressing as he pleases.