I reviewed this collection of short stories, some BL and some not, for the inaugural edition of a new feature at Manga Bookshelf called BL Bookrack. A couple of the stories are really quite weird, but I truly loved the final story, "The Pianist," about an aging musician who has convinced himself he's a "debauched fallen genius" rather than someone who simply didn't have the … [Read more...] about Don’t Say Any More, Darling by Fumi Yoshinaga: B
Digital Manga Publishing
Maiden Rose 1 by Fusanosuke Inariya: B
Taki Reizen and Claus von Wolfstadt should be enemies since their countries are at war. But a bond forged at school abroad leads Taki, a nobleman, to make Claus his knight, fighting by his side while Taki takes the role of division commander, marshalling his humble subjects as they seek to defend against the enemy’s advances. Many view Claus with suspicion, despite his apparent … [Read more...] about Maiden Rose 1 by Fusanosuke Inariya: B
Yokan 1: Premonition by Makoto Tateno: B-
Akira is the lead singer of a visual kei band and has somewhat of an attitude. He doesn’t care about the fans’ enjoyment, only his own, and refuses to sing anything he didn’t write himself. That is, until he overhears mainstream entertainer Hiroya Sunaga singing one of his own compositions. For the first time, Akira’s obsessed by someone else’s music and makes it his mission to … [Read more...] about Yokan 1: Premonition by Makoto Tateno: B-
How to Control a Sidecar by Makoto Tateno: B-
In this spin-off of How to Capture a Martini, stoic bartender Kiyohito Kousaka is pursued by a pair of guys looking to recruit him for a three-way relationship. He initially wants nothing to do with them, but when one of them goes missing, he cares enough to want to get to the bottom of the mystery. There are definitely some good things about How to Control a Sidecar. The … [Read more...] about How to Control a Sidecar by Makoto Tateno: B-
Itazura Na Kiss 2 by Kaoru Tada: B+
One could easily expend five hundred words or more relaying all the ups and downs contained in this double-sized volume of Itazura Na Kiss, but the most important facts are these: Kotoko and Naoki graduate from high school and move on to attend the same college, where Kotoko’s attempts to fit into Naoki’s world generally meet with embarrassing results. They also share a single, … [Read more...] about Itazura Na Kiss 2 by Kaoru Tada: B+