CUT by Toko Kawai: A

May 18, 2009 by 1 Comment

“Life is kind of a pain,” thinks Chiaki Sakaguchi at the outset of this exceptional one-shot. Chiaki is bored with school; it seems so trivial compared to the painful secret guilt he carries over his father’s death. In an attempt to dull that pain, Chiaki seeks out new pain, getting involved in an abusive incestuous relationship with his stepfather and resorting to cutting himself as a way to relieve his anxiety. When he meets Eiji Yukimura, a young man with his own dark secret, he finally has found someone who might understand.

CUT is a moving story of two very broken people connecting and finding, through each other, the strength to move forward. There are some disturbing elements involving incest and masochism, but such scenes are not played for titillation, since it’s clear Chiaki is merely doing these things in an attempt to forget his unbearable pain. Later on, when Chiaki turns his stepfather away and tells him, “You made me forget something horrible by doing something worse,” it’s truly a moment of triumph.

The relationship between Chiaki and Eiji is both sweet and sad and made me teary a few times (I never knew a knee nudge could be so poignant!). By the end, neither is completely healed, but they’ve both come to a place where they’re able to live with their wounds and trust that, with time and love, they will fade.

You don’t have to be a boys’ love fan to appreciate CUT. Like the works of est em, I think what it has to offer could appeal to anyone.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Manga Tagged With: , ,

ZE 1-2 by Yuki Shimizu: B-

May 6, 2009 by Leave a Comment

When Raizou’s beloved grandmother dies, he leaves the country home where they had lived and moves to the city, where he enrolls in culinary school and takes a job as a live-in housekeeper at a mansion. There, he meets the members of the Mitou family, who wield the word-based power of kotodama, and their kami-sama, human-like creations made from paper who heal the wounds caused by using kotodama. We are told that relationships between kami-sama and their masters must be homosexual and that healing requires contact with a mucous membrane of some sort. This results in all sorts of lusty shenanigans, as one might expect.

Among those living in the house is Kon, a kami-sama without a master, since the Mitou for whom he was originally created died before they could meet. Typically, a kami-sama in such a situation would be destroyed, but Waki, Kon’s maker, keeps him around and uses him to heal paying “guests” (read: pimps him out). Kon doesn’t object, though, since he doesn’t see any purpose to his existence other than being useful. When big, kind-hearted Raizou arrives, he is immediately captivated by Kon and, as he is further exposed to Kon’s sorrow and detachment, falls in love with him.

There are some things ZE does very well, but guiding readers gently into its complicated world isn’t among them. Seven characters are introduced in the first chapter alone, and two more follow by the end of the first volume. That’s a lot of names to try to remember! Many of these characters are one-note, like Kotoha Mitou, who is happy and likes sweets, or Benio, the kami who cosplays and flashes her boobs a lot. The focus is primarily on the relationships, but there are also some hints of things to come, like a trunk of which Waki is fiercely protective and some mysterious spectral attacks that come out of nowhere. This is definitely more plot that I’m accustomed to in a boys’ love series, and I credit it with being both intriguing and ambitious, but also found it to be pretty confusing at times.

The best thing about the series is the relationship between its lead characters. Raizou has nothing but good memories of living with his grandmother, which ground him in a healthy place and provide a contrast to the world Kon has known thus far. To help relieve Kon of his feeling of uselessness, he pledges to become his kotodamashi, an arrangement that’s accepted by the rest of the family. True, Raizou doesn’t possess a magical power of words, but the warm and loving things he says reach Kon anyway and effect a change within him. The intimate scenes between the two of them, filled with eagerness and awkwardness in equal measure, are absolutely fantastic; Yuki Shimizu could give lessons on how to make such moments entirely about the characters and not merely “insert tab A into slot B.”

Shimizu’s artistic style may not be distinctive, but it is at least clean and attractive. Despite the surfeit of characters, I never had any trouble telling them apart. There are a couple of things about the way sexy moments are drawn that amuse me, like inordinately slobbery kisses and the ridiculously huge cone of light representing Raizou’s manly bits, but I positively adore the cover to the second volume. If you look at most boys’ love covers, the two leads are usually clutching each other passionately. I don’t think I’ve ever seen another that looks so genuinely loving.

While ZE has its flaws, I ultimately found it to be enjoyable and thought it improved in the second volume. Shimizu is well known for crafting long series of quality (her Love Mode, published by BLU, clocks in at eleven volumes), so I look forward to seeing where the story goes from here.

ZE is published in English by Digital Manga Publishing; they’ve released two volumes so far. In Japan, seven volumes have been released so far. The series is still ongoing.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Manga, Supernatural Tagged With: ,

S 4: Afterglow by Saki Aida and Chiharu Nara: B-

April 25, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Masaki Shiiba was a detective investigating the manufacture of illegal firearms and Keigo Munechika was his “S,” an informant who played a key role in Shiiba’s information gathering. At some point in the past, the two began a romantic relationship, but a powerful yakuza boss with a grudge against Munechika wants to see him suffer and so hires a hitman who’ll receive one million yen every time he shoots Munechika.

As the fourth volume begins, Munechika lies hospitalized and Shiiba has turned in his resignation and bought an illegal gun with the intention of killing the man responsible—Takanari Godou—who also might’ve had something to do with the death of Shiiba’s sister eight years earlier. Shiiba gets as far as confronting Godou at gunpoint, but the other man manages to exploit his weaknesses in such a way that he agrees to do Godou’s bidding in exchange for the hit against Munechika being called off.

Let me be clear on one thing: I am not comparing S to great works of literature. As far as yaoi novels go, however, it seems to be better than most. True, the writing is facile, with a blatant disregard for the admonition “show, don’t tell,” but at least the story is trying to be about something more than sex. In fact, there’s only one sex scene in the whole book and it’s between two men who genuinely love each other. Despite Godou’s attempts to humiliate Shiiba while the latter is in his clutches, no nonconsensual scenes result. That alone is worthy of praise.

The basic plot is “the good guys versus Godou,” and I had no trouble getting into it, though the finer details never really coalesced for me. Nearly all of the characters are conflicted in some way, especially Shiiba, whose ruminating upon past events fills in the blanks pretty well. Throughout, I could easily visualize the action, so it felt a lot like reading a novelization of a story originally told in manga format.

There are some problems, though. After much is made of Shiiba needing to stay at Godou’s house in order to protect Munechika, there are no consequences when he leaves. When Shiiba is reunited with Munechika, who has some powerful connections himself, Munechika’s people simply say, “Oh yes, we know about the hitman,” and that’s that. It’s all very anticlimactic. Also, two characters, including the main villain, have similar angsty backgrounds that involve a mother’s inappropriate love for either her son or her son’s half-brother and her subsequent early demise. I’m not sure what the author was trying to say there.

DMP’s packaging is a mixed bag. A color illustration is included, which I appreciate—Chiharu Nara’s art is quite nice and depicts both Shiba and Munechika as mature, masculine men—but there are many grammatical errors in the text. Most of these are things that should’ve been easily caught, like “the wings itself aren’t blue,” while others, like “He took the bouquet from the employee’s hands, who looked conflicted,” conjure up amusing mental images of unusually expressive appendages.

If you’re looking for a yaoi novel with an emphasis on plot, then S might suit you to a T.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Books, LGBTQIA+, Light Novel Tagged With: ,

Double Trouble by Takashi Kanzaki: C-

March 15, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Fearful of acting on his attraction for his new stepbrother, Naruki, Kou Sawara moves away from home and into the dorm at his high school. Soon thereafter, however, Naruki transfers in. His meek and innocent personality is a hit with the guys at school and Kou works himself to the point of exhaustion protecting Naruki from their advances. When his roommate suggests hypnotizing Naruki so that he’ll be able to protect himself, Kou agrees. Unfortunately, this hypnosis manifests as a super-aggressive seme personality that has Naruki turning the tables on all his would-be seducers, Kou included.

Most of the story revolves around Kou’s conflicted feelings—he’s in love with the original Naruki, but that Naruki is not in touch with his own love for Kou. The aggressive Naruki openly confesses his affections, but Kou doesn’t want to be the “bottom” in the relationship, nor does he consider this personality to really be Naruki. Add in a manipulative roommate who wants Kou for himself, and you get the basic gist. The art and storytelling are both competent, and I did appreciate that the sex scenes are suggestive rather than explicit.

I should probably steer clear of boys’ love titles with wacky premises, though, because even though I know they’re meant to be comedic, I still end up taking them too seriously. For instance, I was really bothered that Kou never once thought about how wrong hypnotizing Naruki was. Now he’s basically hypnotically compelled to sleep with a whole bunch of guys and not remember doing so. Is that not rape? Is that not violation most profound, no matter how implausible the means?

It also really bugged me that there’s no resolution at all to the story. I might’ve liked it a bit more if Naruki had regained his own personality in the end, but as things leave off, it seems like he’ll be stuck with his split personality forever. Sorry, but inflicting permanent mental damage upon the one you love does not strike me as terribly romantic.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Manga Tagged With: ,

Desire: Dangerous Feelings by Maki Kazumi and Yukine Honami: C+

February 25, 2009 by Leave a Comment

The boys’ love manga Desire, published by DMP in 2004, was one of the first titles I read in that genre and remains one of my favorites. The story’s original creators team up once again for Desire: Dangerous Feelings, a novelization of the manga’s events that also includes some new material continuing where the original left off.

Timid high school student Toru Maiki has secretly loved his popular friend Ryoji for a long time. One day at lunch, Ryoji unexpectedly and shamelessly tells Toru, “When I look at you, I get turned on.” Toru, paranoid about his feelings being discovered, reacts angrily. Later, however, when Ryoji insists they sleep together so he can see what it’s like, Toru goes along with it with the hope that doing so will get thoughts of Ryoji out of his system. This, of course, does not happen, and as the boys continue their purely physical relationship, Toru suffers a great deal of heartache from sleeping with someone he loves who does not feel the same way about him.

Because I am familiar with the original story, it’s hard to know how well the text-only version would work for someone who can’t bring Yukine Honami’s expressive artwork to mind to accompany the action (the sporadic illustrations don’t add much). The language used is very simple and, though the smattering of new details is welcome, some poignancy is lost in this format. In the manga, we’re able to see Toru’s face as he struggles with his thoughts and feelings. In the novelization, those same moments are presented in an almost clinical fashion. Here’s an example:

Toru felt like he was going to have a breakdown just thinking about it. He thought if every day would be this stressful then he would die.

The novel also fares poorly in regards to Desire’s one serious flaw: non-consensual scenes. Ryoji basically forces Toru to have sex with him a couple of times and though Toru eventually relents, I doubt that Ryoji would’ve stopped even if he hadn’t. Though unpleasant in any format, these scenes are worse to read in the novel because it’s more clear how much discomfort and pain Toru is experiencing.

At this point, it may seem like the novel is at a complete disadvantage to the manga, but it has an ace up its sleeve: a second half comprised entirely of new material. It’s not much of an ace, though, as the continuation of Toru and Ryoji’s story relies heavily on misunderstandings and each boy doubting the other’s feelings for its plot. It also seems like all they ever do is have sex. They don’t hang out outside of school or go on dates or anything. They just boff, and when they aren’t boffing, they’re talking about boffing.

Ultimately, I must conclude that the novelization doesn’t add much to the original story. Completists might appreciate knowing what happened next, but really, it’s nothing to get excited about.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Books, LGBTQIA+, Light Novel Tagged With: ,

Desire by Maki Kazumi and Yukine Honami: A-

February 24, 2009 by 1 Comment

From the back cover:
A quiet and shy member of the school’s art club, Toru is quite a contrast to his best friend Ryoji, who is a handsome, loud and brash jock. Toru has harbored a crush on Ryoji for the longest time but hasn’t confessed his feelings for fear of rejection. But from out of the blue, Ryoji suddenly admits that he gets “aroused” whenever he looks at Toru. Curious about this feeling, Ryoji proposes that he and Toru sleep together. Though appalled at the thought of having just casual sex, Toru’s attraction towards Ryoji makes the proposition enticing nevertheless.

Review:
Desire, published by DMP in 2004, was one of the first boys’ love manga I ever read. I liked it very much, but I’ve been a little hesitant to reread it for fear it wouldn’t live up to my initial impression. Happily, I needn’t have worried. Even after a reread with more worldly manga eyes, I still think it’s one of the best around, even though there are certain elements I’m not thrilled with.

It’s the story of Toru Maiki, who’s harbored feelings for his friend Ryoji for a long time. When Ryoji suggests they sleep together as an experiment, Toru goes along with it with the idea that it’ll help him get over Ryoji to see how “wrong” it is. Things don’t go as planned, however, and it becomes a regular thing between them. Toru can’t say no to Ryoji, but his heart is breaking at having a physical relationship with the one he loves without his feelings being reciprocated.

There are many things I like about the story. I like that Toru and Ryoji were friends for a long time even before the story starts. I like the strong characterization—instead of merely supplying eye candy of two pretty boys smooching, the writing helps one to see Toru and Ryoji as well-developed individuals. I like that Toru and Ryoji’s friend plays a big role in the series. The expressive art fits the emotional material well. And I like how Toru suffers and really thinks things through. It’s a very painful situation he’s in, but his eventual acceptance of his feelings for Ryoji is all the better for being hard-won.

I don’t like how pushy Ryoji is, though. Several scenes border on non-consensual when Toru is protesting and Ryoji is insistent. That’s definitely part of Ryoji’s character, as is the very frank and open way in which he discusses his fixation on Toru, but it’s still bothersome. I’m not sure he would’ve stopped even if Toru hadn’t eventually relented.

All in all, Desire is far more thoughtful than the usual boys’ love fare. One grows to care about the characters and empathize with Toru’s plight. Those who are tired of silly or over-the-top boys’ love stories ought to give it a try.

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Manga Tagged With: ,

Romantic Illusions by Reiichi Hiiro: C

February 23, 2009 by Leave a Comment

When Yu Igarashi was a child, his mother told him no one would ever love him. In response to this traumatic event, Yu’s mind created two additional personalities who would love him instead. Now an adult, Yu works part-time in a florist’s shop while one personality, Kaname, is a high-powered attorney and the other, Ryo, is a nocturnal playboy. All of the personalities can talk to each other and the fact that Kaname and Ryo occupy the left side of Yu’s brain means that they can use his right hand to ravish him whenever they like, even when he’s the one in charge of his body. When Yu begins to fall in love with Sugo, a flower shop patron and psychiatrist interested in Yu’s case, his other personalities object and refuse to approve of the relationship.

Romantic Illusions is described by the author as “a very light multiple personality comedy,” which is a fairly apt description, aside from the comedy part. I personally didn’t find it funny, but can’t deny that it’s full of wacky complications, especially when each of Yu’s personalities finds a lover of his own. The only time I laughed was when Sugo declared his love for Yu by saying, “I love you. Will you be my boyfriend?” I don’t think I was supposed to be amused by that, but he sounded so like an 8th grade girl that I couldn’t help it. There’s also one bit in one of the chapters that might be disturbing to some, as we’re introduced to a character with multiple personalities that originated as a result of childhood sexual abuse.

While Romantic Illusions may gain some points for having a unique premise, overall the best that can be said about it is that it’s mildly diverting.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Manga Tagged With: ,

Lost Boys by Kaname Itsuki: B

April 3, 2007 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Sent by the Lost Boys to find them a father, the impish Air settles upon the first open window he could find. The window happens to be Mizuki’s, who is forcibly whisked away to Neverland. Finding out that he is now supposed to play “father” to the Lost Boys, Mizuki is incensed. However, forced to stay put, he gets to know the Lost Boys—and Air—a little better. Perhaps a little too well, as Mizuki finds that he is helplessly falling in love with the boy.

Staying true to the boys’ love genre, readers will find Lost Boys‘ soft and sensitive storyline to be quite a delightful surprise.

Review:
Things I liked: Reux, the bishounen fairy in his off-the-shoulder gown. Pirates! Pretty art. The ending.

The rest is lots of cute, smidge of substance. This is not necessarily a criticism; sometimes one just wants a bit of fluff! It’s definitely entertaining, though I never felt that I understood where Mizuki’s feelings suddenly sprang from. Some of the transitions near the end were choppy and made me wonder if I’d missed a page somehow.

Though the age difference between the leads might be disturbing to some, their interactions really are quite innocent. The pirates on the other hand…

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Fantasy, Manga Tagged With: ,

Our Everlasting 2 by Toko Kawai: B+

April 24, 2006 by Leave a Comment

From the back cover:
Surfer dude Horyu and shy intellectual Shouin are very much in love. Their days together are filled with happiness, but when Shouin’s French tutor, a handsome and openly gay man named Nanami, makes his affection for Shouin known, doubts begin to surface between the couple.

Horyu begins to suspect the relationship between Shouin and Nanami, while Shouin begins to believe Nanami’s theory that Horyu is at heart a straight man and will turn to a woman when his experimentation period with Shouin is over.

Review:
The description above concerns only one or two of the stories collected in this volume. Left out is a chapter where Horyu has the opportunity to become a pro surfer, but it would mean sacrificing his relationship with Shouin and a chapter where Shouin’s cousin has dumped off her baby while going off on a trip.

The story with Nanami is okay, but nothing terribly exciting. Standard jealousy and insecurity angst.

I most liked the story about Horyu’s opportunity to turn pro, as it caused Shouin to consider whether he could continue to follow along contentedly at Horyu’s side, or if he needed to branch out and do something for himself. He realizes that being a couple does not necessarily mean that you share the same dreams, as convenient as that would be.

At the end, there’s a short little story where the boys take care of Shouin’s cousin’s baby. This chapter could’ve been totally stupid, but it ended up being cute. I guess this is a good thing, because it’s the last chapter we get of the boys before going to a couple of side-story chapters that are somewhat steamier than the main story.

Even though the volume occasionally employs tried and true angst tactics, and even though Shouin’s a bit weepy and frequently has to call Horyu for help (Horyu calls him The Princess in these situations), there’s enough originality in some of the stories and characters to make this a distinctive title amongst all the Boys’ Love that DMP is producing these days.

Filed Under: Boys' Love, Manga Tagged With: ,
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