“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 … [Read more...] about CUT by Toko Kawai: A
Digital Manga Publishing
ZE 1-2 by Yuki Shimizu: B-
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 … [Read more...] about ZE 1-2 by Yuki Shimizu: B-
S 4: Afterglow by Saki Aida and Chiharu Nara: B-
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 … [Read more...] about S 4: Afterglow by Saki Aida and Chiharu Nara: B-
Double Trouble by Takashi Kanzaki: C-
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 … [Read more...] about Double Trouble by Takashi Kanzaki: C-
Desire: Dangerous Feelings by Maki Kazumi and Yukine Honami: C+
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 … [Read more...] about Desire: Dangerous Feelings by Maki Kazumi and Yukine Honami: C+