Smells like green spirit is a small peek into the lives of closeted gay men in the deep countryside of japan.

Story - 8
The story's refreshing, short and bittersweet. It follows mishima, a closeted and bullied gay boy. He comes across an unlikely ally, who also turns out to be gay. From there, an exploration into sexuality and the many ways in which people hide it, and the consequences of discovery ensues.

The story can be a bit jarring, because it feels fast-paced, with some events happening seemingly out of nowhere, with little lead-up and not much of a resolution. But, I'm not sure this story intended to invoke excitement over the daily lives of countryside boys. Reality often doesn't have much of a lead-up, or a resolution. In that way, this story did a wonderful job capturing the somewhat disappointing, and jarring events in life, in all its bittersweet forms

Art - 7
Now, imma keep it real. The art wasn't much to write home about. the only reason why i rated it at a 7 is because any BL that doesnt have yaoi hands is actually a godsend

Characters - 8
I think this is where the real charm of this manga is. I'll keep this brief
None of these characters are anything special. But I think that's what makes them so charming. They're not meant to be these wild, outlandish people who try to save the world or start a movement. They're just regular guys being dudes

The beauty of the characters though, more than anything, is the actual friendship that blossoms. The act of coming out to your first friend who shares the same experiences as you do is an indescribable one... And one that I feel this manga captured perfectly.

I gotta say, I was a bit disappointed in the extremely quick individual 'character development' that seemingly comes out of nowhere, but at the same time, this is a 14 chapter manga, so it's hard to expect too much.

Enjoyment - 10
Now, I fucking loved reading this. It's so rare to find manga that actually address the issues of being gay in a semi-realistic way (not that this was perfect, but still!). More than anything, I felt that the relationships that grow and develop where so comforting to read...

Overall - 9

If u just wanna see guys being dudes, then read this.