From the back cover: Yasuie runs the Kiryuuin Detective Agency in Tokyo's Shinjuku Nichome neighborhood. With no clients and no money, it's a constant struggle just to live and pay the rent. For the past seven years, Yasuie's assistant and partner Yoshiyuki has been willing to suffer through all the good and bad times with him—even considering Yasuie's playful advances, which … [Read more...] about Live for Love by Itsuki Sato and Jun Mayama: B+
Boys' Love
Steal Moon 1-2 by Makoto Tateno: C
As in the related series Blue Sheep Reverie, Makoto Tateno has gone beyond the call of BL duty to craft a science fiction plot of some complexity. One hundred years in the past, a computer on the moon called “Isis” was created to protect the president then in office. Now it’s rumored to be spying on the populace and seasoned street fighter Nozomi is recruited to help put it out … [Read more...] about Steal Moon 1-2 by Makoto Tateno: C
Blue Sheep Reverie 1-2 by Makoto Tateno: B-
When Kai’s lover, Maria, is murdered, he sets out to find her killer. His one clue is that the ring Maria always wore—a man-made blue jewel resembling the eye of a sheep—is missing, and he thinks he’s found it on the hand of Lahti Bara, a bigwig in Sarte, one of the gangs ruling the gritty city of Akatsuki. To get close to Lahti and check out his ring, Kai makes a bid to be his … [Read more...] about Blue Sheep Reverie 1-2 by Makoto Tateno: B-
Love Hurts: Aishiatteru Futari by Suzuki Tanaka: A-
From the creator of Menkui! comes this collection of intriguing (and chaste!) boys’ love stories. “The Fate of a Crime Fighter’s Love” features childhood friends Seigo and Touma, who hail from a village where everyone has super powers. Some seek to do evil with their abilities, while others work to stop them. This story has a fairly comedic tone, but the characters are … [Read more...] about Love Hurts: Aishiatteru Futari by Suzuki Tanaka: A-
Ciao Ciao Bambino by Momoko Tenzen: B
I think I must be a Momoko Tenzen fan, because this is the second time I’ve been impressed by her ability to create compelling characters in a short story format (the first being Unsophisticated and Rude). Not only that, she’s able to write stories about romance between middle schoolers and teachers that aren’t completely icky (only mildly icky). There are five stories in this … [Read more...] about Ciao Ciao Bambino by Momoko Tenzen: B