Reunion & Inspiration: Sorato’s “Fill in Color”

Read it on Renta!:
Fill in Color by Sorato

Japanese Title:
フィルイン・カラー

Links
Sorato Twitter (author)
Sorato Pixiv
comic picn Twitter (publisher)

Next up in our series of reviews spotlighting some of the manga included in our “Stunning Art Sale” is a manga that’s all about art and finding the beauty in life.

Sorato’s Fill in Color is a nice blend of cute and awkward boys, fun dramatic irony, and steamy goodness all wrapped up in some gorgeous art.

Our story opens with Saki (the blonde dude on the cover there), a young man working as a freelance designer, trying to drink his woes away after a disappointing meeting with his latest client. Anyone who’s worked in a creative field where your own personal vision is constantly at the mercy of the demons of capitalism should be able to relate to his struggle

On his way home, he runs into a beautiful young man with stunning red hair — stopping him right in his tracks.

Read on to find out how the spontaneous romance between these two develops into something beautiful and meaningful — just like a work of art.

After Saki publicly shouts from just how shooketh he is over the little twink’s lovely red hair (like any true artiste would), he is surprised to find that the owner of said hair is not repulsed by his little outburst — and in fact, proceeds to come on to him.

Without so much as a self-introduction, the mysterious redhead asks Saki out in the most awkward way possible. Understandably confused yet rather amused at the younger man’s complete lack of rizz, Saki decides to humor him, and takes him to the most romantic first date spot possible… an adult movie theater.

Saki’s attempt to mess with the nervous wreck of a redhead (whose name is still unknown to him at this point) is pretty successful, but Little Red is undeterred — and even asks to go home with Saki. Assuming he’s after a one-night stand, Saki doesn’t think it over too hard, they head back to his place, and yaoi ensues.

Right from the first chapter, Sorato-sensei gives us plenty to enjoy in terms of spicy content. Little Red makes a wonderful blushy, teary bottom, and it’s sweet how Saki takes the lead while making a conscious effort to respect his partner’s boundaries.

After their night of fun, Little Red slips away, and Saki assumes he’ll never see him again. But, *le gasp* the series still has 5 chapters left!

Before long our boys meet again, and this time Little Red actually gets a name — Yu.

After another chance encounter leads to Yu helping Saki out with a design project, the two go out for a meal together and get to know each other more. It’s here that they start to connect on an even deeper level than on their night of passion — Yu expresses his admiration for Saki’s artistic sense, and Saki finds himself surprisingly moved by his words.

This time, he takes the initiative, and officially asks Yu out for another date. And this time, Yu’s the one who’s Shooketh (but overjoyed).

As a new couple, the two experience new sights together, and it’s very fluffy and cute (and pretty hot at times ), but this love story isn’t without its conflicts. I don’t think it’s too spoilery to say that the “twist” hinted at from the first chapter is finally addressed in the second half of the series, and how it plays out until the end is pretty interesting. We get a good look into both Saki and Yu, how they’ve become the people they are today, and some commentary on how much impact a powerful piece of art — or the right words from the right person — can have on one’s life.

At just 6 chapters (all available on Renta! now), this story has a nice ending and might just leave you feeling more inspired to pursue your own passions in life (and if, for you, that just means reading more BL? Hell yeah )

Honestly, I’d say this series worth checking out for the smut (I mean, ART) factor alone. But its emotional storytelling and characters that are all adorable in their own right are nothing to sleep on either! Fill in Color is a quick, feel-good read that I think I’ll be coming back to the next time I find myself in a creative slump.

Also, to see this boi.

If you’re interested in reading more of Sorato‘s heartfelt and cute manga, we also have Teacher’s Pet on Renta! I haven’t yet read this one myself yet, but it’s highly rated, is tagged as “fluff,” and *record scratch* involves dogs?? Oh, I’m so in