Part of the dislike is just personal preference--I don't really care for threesomes; I'm more the type who likes stories about someone finding their soulmate/one true love. (Which explains why I like those "mating bond" type stories in Snupin, I suppose.) Although as always, a really good writer can overcome my dislikes and make me believe that these three people are meant to be together.

So the initial threesome--between Takashi and his younger brother Atsushi and Atsushi's friend Ayumi--immediately turned me off. On top of the threesome thing, incest squicks me as well. The premise of the story is that Ayumi and Atsushi are both in love with Takashi. Ayumi doesn't have the courage to approach Takashi alone, so he enlists Atsushi's help, and they lure Takashi to a hotel room under the pretense of asking him to teach them how to be groupies. The three of them wind up having sex together, and then Ayumi and Atsushi ask Takashi to stop being a groupie for their sake, which he does, after going to "work" one last time to teach them a lesson for tricking him.

However, the threesome quickly becomes unbalanced. Takashi doesn't seem to have any qualms about sleeping with his brother, but it's clear that Ayumi is the one he really loves (in a romantic sense). And at one point Ayumi unexpectedly kisses Atsushi, causing the latter to wonder if he is the one that Ayumi really likes, and if Ayumi was using Takashi as an excuse to get closer to him. It seemed like the story was going to spin off into a really interesting direction, but then it turns out that Ayumi impulsively kissed Atsushi that one time because Atsushi's lips reminded him of Takashi's. Atsushi is relieved, but I was disappointed. I thought it would have been much more interesting if Ayumi had been in love with Atsushi, and how that would affect their relationship with Takashi.

Meanwhile, the threesome is falling apart. Atsushi feels like a third wheel, but ironically, Ayumi feels the same way, and begins avoiding Takashi, not knowing that he's the one Takashi loves and that Takashi is deeply hurt by his absence. Eventually things get sorted out (after a lot confrontation, drama, and some make-up sex), and Atsushi steps aside to let Takashi and Ayumi be together.

So I should be happy, right? No more threesome, no more incest, and two people who really love each other are together. But the ending didn't feel right, because I felt really bad for Atsushi, who is still in love with Takashi. He endures the pain of unrequited love because he knows that Takashi needs Ayumi, and he wants his brother to be happy. It just seems unfair that he doesn't get some happiness of his own.

And really, Atsushi is the most likeable of the threesome, at least in my opinion, because he seems to be the most perceptive and considerate person of them all. Ayumi is all right, I suppose, but he's a bit dense, and clueless as to how much he's hurting Takashi until Atsushi almost literally hits him over the head with it. And Takashi seems a little shallow and self-centered to me. At the end of the story, he's parading around wearing nothing but an apron in front of his brother and Ayumi, and then starts kissing Ayumi, even though he knows that Atsushi has feelings for him, right after Atsushi has stepped aside to let Ayumi and Takashi be a couple. It's like rubbing salt in Atsushi's wounds. I don't think he's deliberately being cruel; it's just part of his flamboyant personality, but it really seems incredibly thoughtless and self-centered that he doesn't stop to think about how his brother might feel.

There's a female classmate, Yao, that Atsushi is sort of friends with. She's disgusted when she finds out that he's in love with his brother, but she helps him out by letting him know when Takashi is in trouble with some guys that he picked up, and she later apologizes to him for what she said before. She seems to have some feelings for him, so maybe Atsushi will eventually end up with Yao? She's a smart, tough, outspoken girl who would be a good match for him, although I think it will take a long time for Atsushi to get over Takashi.

Or maybe he could get together with Tomomi from White Brand! After all, both guys are third wheels in their threesomes. (Well, not quite a threesome in Tomomi's case; more like unrequited love for his two friends.) Maybe they could comfort each other, and it could grow into something more.

I enjoyed White Brand better than Groupie. The stories were more of the romantic sort that appeal to me, although it still isn't on the same level as Haru, mainly because the stories are too short to get into the same depth of character development. The title story, "White Brand," was the longest, and so probably had the best character development of the lot. It was an interesting concept, with Keshiki being obsessed with the concept of whiteness as purity, thanks to his guilt over his father's death, and a relative's offhand remark at a funeral. It wraps up nicely with a happy ending, as does "Exhibition Painting," about a young man with psychic powers who rescues a handsome stranger off the street. I'm fond of mysteries, so l liked the sub-plot about the parents' murders.

"One Size Fits All" was sort of interesting, although I really didn't like the protagonist, Masatomo. He's a short guy with a size fetish who becomes obsessed with the tall male model who lives next door. Unlikeable, because he cares more about his lover's size than the person himself, although to be fair, the model, Kazumi, is probably using Masatomo as well, since he's ashamed of his high-pitched voice, and likes that Masatomo finds it attractive. There's a hint at the end that Masatomo might grow out of his "smallness" of mind, but I didn't care enough about the characters to really wish for a sequel.

On the other hand, I would love to see "Teal End" and "Hasta la Vista, Baby" expanded on. The first is the one about the foreign artist, Keith, who is studying laquerware under Takeshi's father. It seems like a happy ending, with Keith and Takeshi getting together, and Takeshi's father adopting Keith as his heir. But I found myself wondering, how will Takeshi's father react when he finds out that they're a couple? Will he feel like Keith has taken advantage of his hospitality? Will he be angry that neither Takeshi nor Keith will be able to marry and give him grandchildren (and future heirs)? I like to think that he would be shocked and a little angry at first, but would eventually come to accept them.

"Hasta la Vista," of course, is the one about the unrequited threesome. It was a great story with likeable characters, but it can't help but feel a little incomplete, because you find yourself wondering what will happen to Tomomi. The other two care about him as a friend--will they be able to open their hearts further and accept him as a lover? Or will he find a love of his own?

I think that Tomomi, Kumiya, and Kentarou have a much better chance of working out as a threesome, since Tomomi seems to love both of them, and they both care about him, if only as a friend. I feel like for a threesome to work, all three parties have to love each other equally, or the relationship will become unbalanced and fall apart. It doesn't work in Groupie because Atsushi and Ayumi are essentially competing for Takashi. They care about each other as friends, but they don't love each other that way, and Takashi doesn't really seem to love Atsushi in a romantic way, or at least, not as deeply as he loves Ayumi. On the other hand, with Kumiya and Kentarou already being an established couple who seem complete in each other, it's hard for a third party to work their way in.

Personally, I lean towards the idea of Tomomi finding a new love of his own. Initially, I thought of Yoshizumi--funny, how he seems to be compatible with so many characters! I'm already practically shipping him with Asano, but I could see him with Tomomi, or with Fumiko or Masahiko (thanks to snapelike), and maybe even with Shimizu. My, how Yoshizumi gets around in the Nitta universe! ^_^