As in her excellent Dining Bar Akira, Tomoko Yamashita has created in Black-Winged Love a set of boys’ love stories focusing more on a universal aspect of human relationships rather than what goes on between guys in the bedroom. Each story relates in some way to the difficulties of communication, be it the crippling fear that keeps gay men from confessing their orientation or … [Read more...] about Black-Winged Love by Tomoko Yamashita: A
Comics
Happy Cafe 1 by Kou Matsuzuki: B
From the back cover: Meet Uru: she's a little short, a bit disorganized, often is mistaken for an elementary school kid, and lives by herself after her mother gets remarried. When she decides to pay the bills by working part-time at the Happy Cafe, she meets Ichiro and Shindo, two of the most unsociable guys she's ever had to contend with! And to make matters worse, it turns … [Read more...] about Happy Cafe 1 by Kou Matsuzuki: B
Itazura Na Kiss 1 by Kaoru Tada: B+
Kotoko Aihara has loved the brilliant and handsome Naoki Irie from afar ever since she saw him give a speech at their high school entrance ceremony two years ago. Because their school groups students by academic performance, however, the not-so-bright Kotoko has never had the opportunity to actually talk to Naoki. Even though she realizes it’s probably a lost cause, she … [Read more...] about Itazura Na Kiss 1 by Kaoru Tada: B+
Angel Diary 10 by Lee YunHee and Kara: C+
It’s been two years since the Princess of Heaven fled an arranged marriage with the King of Hell to live in disguise as a human schoolboy called Dong-Young. In the meantime, four Guardians have assembled themselves around her and Dong-Young has fallen in love with her classmate, Bi-Wal, who, you guessed it, just so happens to be the King of Hell. Volume ten begins with one of … [Read more...] about Angel Diary 10 by Lee YunHee and Kara: C+
Millennium Prime Minister 2 by Eiki Eiki: C
The tenor of Millennium Prime Minister is best summed up by a line on the back cover that reads, “A confused love triangle is messing up the politics of Japan!” High school student Minori Nagashima is living with Japan’s young Prime Minister, Kanata Okazaki, who wants her to be his bride. Everyone’s in a tizzy because Sai, Kanata’s 18-year-old senior aide who happens to be in … [Read more...] about Millennium Prime Minister 2 by Eiki Eiki: C