Il Gatto Sul G. 2 by Tooko Miyagi: B

July 19, 2009 by 3 Comments

From the back cover:
The crescendo builds as “Black” Riya becomes more dominant and, if he has his way, would erase “White” Riya from existence. But whichever personality surfaces, kind and compassionate Atsushi is ready to burst into a torch song for Riya, after realizing that he is in love with the confused young man. Upperclassman Kousaka, however, is set on derailing the symphony that is Atsushi’s and Riya’s relationship. Kousaka, you see, has feelings for Riya as well.

Review:
Seriously, you guys. Enough with the musical terms.

This volume suffers a bit from middle book syndrome. Some important things occur, but there are also some slow passages and I think it’d be pretty impossible to jump into the series with this volume and enjoy it. Essentially, Riya gives a concert and performs admirably, then promptly switches into “Black” mode and spends the next ten days at home, where Atsushi has been hired by a family member to be a live-in housekeeper and submit status reports on Riya’s condition.

One of Riya’s schoolmates overhears the details about his other personality and history of childhood abuse, and shares this information with the upperclassman (Kousaka) who has been tormenting Riya. When Kousaka runs into Riya’s Black personality, the Black personality tells him off (calling him a loser because of his nonconsensual desires!) and then promptly asks Atsushi to sleep with him. Atsushi nearly does, but doesn’t want it to happen that way, telling Riya he loves him. Next morning? Riya’s back to his White personality with no memory of the incident.

There are some things about this series I like and some I just don’t get. For example, I like that Riya’s two personalities, despite being called Black and White, are not really complete opposites wherein one is weak and one is strong. Black, while more willful, has a special attachment to Atsushi and gets really upset when people talk about White in front of him. White, while more obedient, has a lot of pride and doesn’t want to allow himself to rely on anyone. Also, I like how the intimate scene between Atsushi and Riya is entirely about the characters. That makes it all the more sexy, in my opinion.

On the negative side, I’m confused about Riya’s relationship with his pushy upperclassman, Kousaka. In volume one, it seemed that Riya didn’t enjoy Kousaka’s attentions even though he didn’t fend them off. Here, we see that he supposedly has admired Kousaka all this time and might be a bit interested in him. Is this just filling in backstory or is it retcon? I can’t tell. Also, both Riya (in “Black” mode) and Kousaka claim that they slept together, but honestly, after much careful perusal of volume one, I can’t see it. While Riya’s pants do suffer a hull breach, they’re never jettisoned that I can tell. Yes, I totally just made a Star Trek reference.

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

Il Gatto Sul G. 1 by Tooko Miyagi: B+

July 19, 2009 by 2 Comments

From the back cover:
Atsushi Ikeda is your typical “nice guy.” He’s so nice, he even has this habit of bringing stray cats home. But even he is quite unprepared for what turns up at his doorstep one day… a cut and bloodied young man. The injured boy turns out to be famous violinist, Riya Narukawa.

Seeing the frail Riya arouses Atsushi’s compassion for wounded creatures. He decides to look after the young musician, even giving him a key to his apartment in case Riya needs a place of refuge. But Riya has been on his own most of his life and is quite unsure as to how to react to Atsushi’s acts of kindness. Worse, Riya actually has another personality within him that is not so frail and timid as his other self.

Review:
I omitted the final paragraph of the back cover blurb which was full of cheesy musical references. You’re welcome.

This is the story of Atsushi Ikeda, who takes in a wounded young violinist named Rika Narukawa. The boy seems disturbed and, after claiming that the spirit of his dead brother resides within him, runs off, leaving his violin behind. With the help of a friend, Atsushi tracks down Riya at school (to return the violin) and there hears the story from a teacher: Riya suffers from multiple personalities and the person Atsushi has come to know is considered an imposter. Everyone wants the “real” Riya to come back and pursue his musical studies. Atsushi defends Riya, declaring that both are equally real, and gives him the key to his place to use as a refuge, if needed.

The focus then shifts to the “real” Riya, who is determined not to rely on Atsushi, but who faces pressures at his music school. He’s not playing the violin because he loves it but rather because it’s “all that makes [him] worth anything.” On top of that, an aggressive upperclassman keeps harassing him, saying things like “I just want to see you cry” and “When I see you I can’t help torment you.” Guess who’s my least favorite character?

I’ve read some boys’ love manga dealing with multiple personalities before, but Il Gatto Sul G. is loads better. Rather than play it up for lusty shenanigans, the story focuses on how confusing and disorienting these losses of memory are for Riya and makes clear there’s nothing sexy about his situation. I also was expecting that we’d meet a timid Riya first, only to have him go all assertive and raunchy, but that is happily far, far from being the case. Instead, we meet the “imposter” first and only gradually realize that he is the one who’s supposed to be the product of mental illness.

I like, too, that the more timid Riya isn’t as wilting as he could be. Yes, he stupidly goes to the home of the upperclassman to retrieve his precious key and winds up submitting to some nonconsensual groping, but he shows unexpected resilience at times which makes me think he’s not as different from his other personality as everyone may believe.

If you’re looking for a BL manga with lots of plot—it actually feels more like a mystery than a romance at times, at Atsushi struggles to figure out what is going on with his houseguest—then this might be the one for you. Its third and final volume also just came out, so you can read the whole series at once!

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

Eat or Be Eaten by Jinko Fuyuno and Yamimaru Enjin: B-

May 27, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Masaki Ashizawa is employed by a management consulting firm and is renowned for rehabilitating struggling restaurants and persuading his clients to his way of thinking. His current project involves finding the perfect chef for a new French restaurant being secretly opened by Chef Yanaginuma, a big name in the business, and when Ashizawa tastes the cooking of Chef Tsubaki, he knows he’s found his man. Unfortunately, when he first mentions the proposal to Chef Tsubaki, he manages to insult the man and must resort to rather drastic measures—volunteering to work as a waiter in Tsubaki’s restaurant for a month—to learn what makes the restaurant a success and simultaneously show that he can be trusted. Gradually, Ashizawa’s attempt to secure Tsubaki as a business partner becomes a quest to better know and understand the man, culminating in Ashizawa’s realization that he wants more than a purely professional relationship.

There are several major things to like about Eat or Be Eaten. For one thing, it has an actual plot and takes the time to educate the reader on various facts about French cuisine. For another, the scenes where Ashizawa is learning the tasks that need doing around the restaurant—like tablecloth wrangling, for example—are a lot of fun. The biggest factor in its favor for me, however, is the age of the protagonists. Both Ashizawa and Tsubaki are grown men in their thirties with professional goals and Tsubaki, at least, is openly gay. Though Ashizawa sometimes acts like a self-proclaimed high school girl as his feelings for Tsubaki manifest—there’s a lot of clutching at his palpitating heart—the fact that the protagonists in a yaoi novel are preoccupied with something besides their romance is a refreshing change.

Of course, it has its flaws, too. Like most light novels, the language is simplistic and features some cheesy lines. Here’s my favorite:

Bright red blood dripped from Tsubaki’s hand. It looked like his heart was crying.

Ashizawa’s characterization is inconsistent; he’s initially described as being “flinty,” but that would be the last word I’d choose for someone who gets flustered as often as he does. The explicit scenes are also a bit odd, as Fuyuno uses the adjective “disgusting” a number of times to describe those excessively slobbery kisses that seem prevalent in this genre. Not that I disagree, but it’s an unexpected word choice. Lastly, the first sexual encounter between Ashizawa and Tsubaki is possibly nonconsensual; it’s one of those times when “no” seems to mean “yes”; given our access to Ashizawa’s thoughts at the time, it seems he’s merely ashamed of his own desires.

There are also some issues with the production of the physical book itself. On many pages, the margins seem to be off, resulting in excess blank space near the spine of the book and text that comes perilously close to being cut off by the edge of the page. Also, while I was doing nothing more than simply holding the book open a pair of pages popped free from the binding.

Ultimately, Eat or Be Eaten is fun fluff. To indulge in a bit of culinary metaphor, think of it as the literary equivalent of meringue.

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

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

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: , ,

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: ,
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