Walking Wounded: Cut by Toko Kawai
Chiaki Sakaguchi appears to be a cheerful, popular student at school with a carefree life, but that is the image he wishes to project. The truth about Chiaki is one of a much darker reality, and it is a secret he wanted no one to know. Or so he thought until the night his secret is observed at a local park by none other than Eiji Yukimura, a fellow student at his school. Eiji has his own inner demons that lead him to stay deep into the night at the local park, and seems disinterested in Chiaki’s business, but when the two keep happening upon the other, a sort of uneasy, quiet camaraderie begins. As thee two wary boys become accustomed to each other, and two begin to trust one another, they each realise they have found someone who can understand the other’s inner pain. They begin to explore avenues of pleasure with each other, to escape the daily pain of their own existence. Can Chiaki and Eiji give each other the emotional support they so desperately need, and can two break free of the bonds that hold them in their dark place, and find a bright future together?
Toko Kawai’s Cut is not one of those Boy’s Love stories where everything is fluffy, funny and light, nor is it one that has drama punctuated by lighter moments of comedy. It tackles several serious issues, ranging from survivor guilt, child abuse, mental unbalance, self harming, and incest, and paints a portrait of two young men on the cusp of adulthood with them. It makes for a dramatic read that escapes from being mere melodrama thanks to the fine degrees of emotion her characters portray. Often BL stories of this sort layer on the trauma thickly, with one bad thing after another traumatising our already fragile leads, but she holds back from that and lets the mental and physical scars of the past do their job. It was quite refreshing to see the network of people who actually did care about the two boys hover about, but unable to connect as they wished thanks to the emotional barrier each boy has placed up: they and the outside “normal world” are simply too bright from where they sit in darkness. The two boys wish to escape reality, not rush towards it, and so they reject these kind hands, grasping only at each other. The sky imagery is a subtle analogy, but a powerful one, as the story begins speaking about how the sky is too bright, too blue, with references to the sun and sky afterwards popping up throughout the tale.
It is a one shot so the whole storyline moves at a deceptively slow pace in only 181 pages, though when the climax of the story occurs, the resolution seems to come fast upon its heels. Only, Kawai gives us an epilogue, and I’m quite glad she did. You see, mental scars don’t really have a final resolution, as her epilogue demonstrates. You can reach a place where you can handle life, but deep psychological scars never truly fade. So, be forewarned, it’s angsty, it’s violent, and very disturbing to read, but it is also one of the sweetest love stories I have ever read. It is that all to often unseen BL story, the one where the relationship itself is of prime importance, and where each one of the pair looks to his partner’s needs before his own. It’s deeply meaningful, touching, and one where if you can handle the dark subject matter, will earn a special place within your heart.
Rating: 
I would like to thank Digital Manga for providing the review copy.
Life in Blue : An Age Called Blue by Est Em
I was really looking forward to reading this, and I was really glad when I was given the opportunity to do so as I really enjoyed Est Em’s Seduce Me After the Show of which this is a sort of spin off of, and Red Blinds the Foolish. So how much did I enjoy the collection of stories? Well…
Lost in the Supermarket, Party Like You’re All Alone, I Was Your Mother, Noises of Silence, and Do or Die are all inter-related shorts telling the tale of Billy and Nick, Nick’s musical heroes The Rebels, and to some extent, Billy and Nick’s actual band (and yes, this is THE Billy and Nick we first meet in Seduce Me After the Show, but you don’t need to have read that one first). Billy and Nick have been best friends since forever. Billy has deep feelings regarding Nick, but Nick seems to feel breezy about the his entire life, including Billy and the band. His life is a train wreck, with drinking and partying to excess, casual sexual flings with random men, and stealing to cover his debts. When the band comes to the notice of a producer who happens to be a former member of Nick’s favourite band and get signed, disaster nearly strikes a fatal blow when Nick fails to show. The band want Nick out, so what is Billy to do? His lifelong dream has always been to be a professional musician, but can he just abandon the one who stole his heart?
The remaining two stories are unrelated to the others. I saw Blue introduces us to a young university student named Lucian, and an artist named Michel. They form a bond despite Lucian’s physical aversion to turpentine, and arrange their friendly meet ups using a blue book on located in a bookshop, popping messages to each other inside. Things heat up during a modelling session, and what follows is easily one of the lowest key, but incredibly sensual love making scene I have ever seen in a manga, yaoi or otherwise. The final story, Without Feather, Without Wings, is another tale that starts out deceptively low key, and then takes us on an emotional journey as an elderly gentleman out on a walk through a park with his dog, ends up recounting his dream of becoming a cosmonaut to a younger man he meets by chance. It is a dream he shared with his best friend, and they became test pilots, and trained hard. One made it, and the other kept reaching towards his friend and the stars they coveted together.
All of the stories deal with dreams and aspirations, dealt with in typical Est Em style, with gritty reality bites and ups and downs, often served with heartbreaking decisions and disappointments. Est Em doesn’t waste time using a lot of romantic dialogue with her men, and they definitely don’t whisper passionate “I love yous” in this manga. The passion is relayed through the drawings, with each look, gesture, each personal action speaking louder than words ever could. The art is as raw as the unfettered emotions, portraying very masculine adult males of a wide range of ages using bold strokes and a noticeable lack of shading or toning, but is nonetheless pleasing (and I speak as a woman who likes her pretty men in fully multi-toned glory). It simply fits perfectly with the overall feel given by the prose, exuding a naturalness for what she is trying to depict. Overall, it came together as a cohesive whole, imparting a gritty realism over the entire set of stories, and made them especially memorable long after I finished the volume. Admittedly, not a light easy read, but then that is fitting , as true to life, nothing came easy for these men either.
I’d like to thank Netcomics for making this review copy available to me. This is available both as a paperback to purchase from major manga outlets such as The Book Depository and Amazon, as well as to rent via Netcomics.com.
Rating:
Avoiding Mr Right by Keiko Okamoto, Sophie Weston
Avoiding Mr Right is a delightful romance story. Young Christina Howard docks into Athens port to find out she cant access any of her funds or anything, a terrible situation for a girl to be in. With only $20 to her name a handsome young man tryies to whisk her of her feet, however our heroine is not so easily sweapt! Headstrong and independent at 23, Christina had seen her mother go through life dependent on men for everything, and she is very determined she is not going to be the same!
The story, converted from a novel by Sophie Weston and then re translated back into English via this manga , has a smooth and linear story with the usual romantic twists and turns one usually expect of this genre. However, nothing has been lost in the translation to manga – the story is very smooth and seems delightfully more complete with the fantastic drawing of Keiko Okamoto who has done a spectacular job.
This is a easy read, virtually no sex (definately no actual sex – sex by inference) and would appeal to romance buffs everywhere. It would even be a interesting lead in to the genre for 14-16 year olds.
Fantastic read and great manga imagery.
I would like to thank Emanga.com, DMP and Harlequin for providing this delightful reading material
Blind Faith: Edu-Manga: Helen Adams Keller by Sozo Yanagawa and Rie Yagi
When she was 1 ½ years old Helen Keller became very ill and lost both her sight and hearing. Her mother taught her to make gestures to explain what she wanted, but when she was five her mother had another baby. Baby Mildred took up a lot of Mother’s time, and Helen became upset. With no way to communicate her thoughts, all she could do is tantrum. One day she almost hurt the baby in a fit of temper, and so her parents took her to a doctor they hoped could help her. He sent them to meet Alexander Graham Bell. Her parents were surprised, because he was known as the man who had recently invented the telephone. He invented it during part of his real work, which was helping people who could not hear by teaching them to speak. He suggested a tutor from a school from a school for the blind. With the help of Anne Sullivan she learned the finger-spell words, and later to speak. She used her words and visited many places. I liked the drawings and I would read it again. The story was a nice true story that everybody can enjoy and learn the lesson that you can do what you have your heart set on, as long as you try your best always and are willing to accept help from others who can show you the way.
The drawings were very detailed, and it was very easy to see the way people lived back when Helen Keller was alive. It was a bit different from now, as things like the telephone were brand new and they did not have computers so to talk to people far away, so you often had to take very long trips, sometimes around the world. This did not stop Helen from going, and she even went to Japan just like I want to someday. It has inspired me to keep working hard to make my own dreams come true. If Helen Keller, who was blind, deaf, and at first could not even speak, could write books, graduate from university, and travel the world to give speeches and talks to people about her life and what she learned from her struggles, then I can surely reach my own goals too. It also taught me the value of true friendship, as Anne and Helen remained friends until the day they died, helping each other and sharing good times and bad. It was also fun to read as we visit Helen with Astroboy, and his sister, who ask questions that get answered in side notes, so anything hard is explained in a way that is simple to understand. I think everyone should read this book, and I would like to thank Yoko at Digital Manga Publishing for helping my mother find this book for me to read.
Rating: 
The Starry Night (Manhwa Novella Collection vol 3) Art / Story by Kimjin
http://www.netcomics.com/comic/thestarrynight.htm
Rather than a single story, The Starry Night is a collection of 4 stories written and drawn by Kimjin. Billed as fantasy for “all ages” manwah, I have to admit I wouldnt let my younger children read this due to the proliferation of the word “bastard” – although this is the only bad word in the whole book. It would, however, suit my preteen step daughter.
As I mentioned before this is not a single story but more a collective of works comprising of 4 stories – The Starry Night; Toy Soldier; A Autumn Parting; and Shine like a Star.
The Starry Night is a lovely 2 chapter piece about a young astronomer and her struggles at school. Its very relateable for younger readers as they follow the young ladies day to day life and her love tribulations. Unfortunately, some of the writing was placed on odd backgrounds, sometimes making it very un easy to read and sometimes totally illegible. This would have been remedied by being able to zoom in or looking closer at the page, however this function was not available from the Netcomics viewer – marring my enjoyment of what was probably the best story in the book.
Toy Soldier was more complex and I had to read it through a few times before I really understood the story properly. The story is based on a young girl and her toys coming to life. This time it wasnt the disguised writing that was the problem, it was my personal grasping of the story as it shot from one “life” to the other. That said however it was spectacularly drawn and was a joy to read on the second time through.
An Autumn parting showed yet another feature of the genre – comedic tragedy. The story followed a heavenly messenger as it was to pick up a soul from earth. Some of the situations he ended up in were hilarious (he was shot by a BB gun for example) however the poignant sadness of the dying girl was not overwelmed by the comedy, making this short manwha my actual favourite in the book as a whole.
Shine like a Star – A poignant story about a young man trying to make ends meet when he is adopted by a orphan. Well drawn but hardly fantasy this short story seemed a little out of place with the others, but still interesting to read.
I would probably have prefered to actually read this in actual paperback copy – infact I am looking forward to buying this for my stepdaughter for christmas as I firmly believe she will enjoy this.
This book can be viewed chapter by chapter at the above address (Netcomics) and from Amazon UK at paperback.
I want to thank Netcomics for making this title open for me to view and enjoy
Decadent Bouquet: The Lily and the Rose by Dany & Dany
Alain and Christophe are two young orphans raised by a loving priest at the school he works at. One day, they are caught sharing a kiss by one of the higher clergy, and find themselves torn apart. Seven years passes, and Christophe has completed seminary and takes up a post as a young nobleman’s tutor. Unfortunately, this is not before his beautiful face has caught the attention of a Cardinal, who schemes to have Christophe bound to him. Alain too, has come to this country manor, and is shocked to discover that the new tutor is his childhood friend and first love, Christophe. But Alain is pretending to be a marquis, seeking the identity of the man who murdered his mother, making him an orphan. Confusion reigns in two hearts, while the never forgotten passion once more rears its forbidden head as the young priest and the imposter struggle against the tides of high society and its politics. It is the eve of the Revolutionary War in France, and with decadence and intrigue layered one upon the other over and over again, will these two find truth and safety?
This piece is Dany & Dany’s first offering directly to the American market, originally published in 2008, and as usual the art and story are well polished, with a sumptuous elegance to both art and prose. The costumes are lavish, the backgrounds detailed , at times almost photographic, and the male leads have the signature androgynous doll-like faces. The only fault I can actually find with this title is that once it reaches the climax, the story suddenly jumps without explanation not once, but twice. Going from a scene where one is arrested and the other in a state of panic, to where the arrested one is peering into a destroyed building helping the other out is slightly bewildering, and I actually flicked back and forth a couple of times wondering if I had missed something. The second jump is not so inexplicable, but still quite abrupt, given that it falls so fast on the heels of the first time-skip. A few frames showing just how the two got to the point of the ruined building would have solved this nicely, but as it is, it is a relatively minor annoyance.
The book is rated an 18+ and I must tell you that it contains scenes of uncensored sex, violence, and death. It’s not gory and the violence and deaths shown are necessary to the plot-line, as is the sex. In fact, given the Cardinal’s plans and the decadence of the era, the sexual situations are critical elements that the story hinges upon. As always the sex scenes are drawn with great care, and are quite passionate and actually very romantic. You do, however, see body parts in detail, so if you blush easily or feel shy about these things, you might wish to look elsewhere. Given the fully realised plot and the gorgeously rendered art, you’d be missing a real treat if you do, even given the minor flaws.
Available both as a standard paperback from manga outlets such as Amazon, the Book Depository,and Everything Yaoi, as well as an edition for the Kindle via Amazon. The Kindle edition is especially good value as it is less than half the cost of the paperback, and can be read either using the Kindle e-reader, or by using the free applications for the Blackberry, I-phone and I-pad, and/or the PC. It can also be rented by chapter over at Netcomics.com along with several other titles by Yaoi Press, including more works by Dany & Dany, for only $0.25 a chapter, making it an excellent choice for reading before you buy if you so choose.
I’d like to thank both Yaoi Press and NetComics for making this review copy available to me.
Rating: 
Gorgeous Love: Anima- by Dany&Dany
Patrick Owens is a Pulitzer prize winning journalist whose life work is exposing corrupt officials and big businessman. Despite the cynical world he lives in, he still maintains a love for the ordinary things in life and looks for good in others. One such indulgence is his love of the ballet, especially for the bewitchingly innocent yet passionate dancing of the newcomer star, Danya. Attending a cruise with his android companion, Ed, Patrick is thrilled to catch Danya in a live performance. This is overshadowed however, when a chance encounter leads Ed and Patrick to encounter Danya in person. Patrick and Danya feel an instant, deep mutual attraction. But Danya’s mentor, the now retired ballet star Nicolaj Zaharov, is dead set against the affair. Just how far will he go, and why is he so against their love? And just why did Zaharov’s name crop up during Owens’ latest investigations for his current news piece?
Set in a steam punk near future, we get a modern spin on the tale of Pinnochio, BL style. The art of Dany and Dany is luscious, with richly detailed backgrounds, delicate use of layered screen tones, and characters with an almost fragile beauty gazing at us with doll like eyes. It is a signature style that is instantly recognisable as belonging to this pair of mangaka hailing from Italy. Being global manga, it is read left to right, with panel use cleverly guiding the readers eyes so that they flow from panel to panel in the correct sequence without fail. I quite appreciate this, as manga normally reads the other way round, and I quite often find myself trying to read a page backwards when it is in this format out of sheer habit.
While this is apiece of science fiction, the story itself uses this as a plot device to explore that which makes us human instead of dazzling us with lots and lots of gadgets to golly gee whiz the story up. Most of the machinery is instantly recognisable from our current time, and even the steam punk neo-Victorian fashions are items that can be found in larger city shops or sewn from readily available patterns without post modern mechanical adornment. The prose flows pretty well despite being translated from Italian, though I did note one small typographical error. The error was very minor however, and did not detract from my overall reading pleasure. One nice surprise was the reversible nature of the couple,; it was a nice departure from the usual seme/uke dynamic usually found in yaoi manga.
This one shot is available from Yaoi Press and can be purchased as either a paperback or a Kindle download (the Kindle edition is half the price of the printed book, so not a bad deal at all). It can also be rented from Netcomics.com for $0.25 a chapter, and the book runs six chapters long. It is a sweetly romantic tale of true love between two pure hearted souls, filled with suspense, intrigue, and gorgeously rendered characters making this a near perfect read for the readers of BL. It is rated at 18+ due to sexually explicit content. I’d like to thank Netcomics and Yaoi Press for making this copy available for me to read for review.
Rating:
Love Bites: How to Seduce a Vampire by Nimosaku Shimada
The title story starts out wonderfully set in feudal Japan. A woman asks a samurai for assistance as she is alone, out after dark. He does the chivalrous thing, not seeing what we do: the claws on her hands peeking out from her cloak. It then fast forwards to the modern day where Watanabe happens upon a bloodied man who appears to have been beaten. The man requests he be taken to a certain address, which turns out to be a hair salon much to Watanabe’s confusion. Even more surprising, though, is what happens next. Watanabe is bitten. Neither dying nor becoming a vampire, he nonetheless finds himself stuck in an incredible situation that doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. Having lost his job due to the encounter with Mizuo the vampire and having strange encounters with other similar persons who regard him as “Mizuo’s”, he finds himself having to accept employment and lodging from him. That might be strange enough, but throw in a long lost love, a demon suit of armour, and a turn of the wheel of fate, and it is pretty obvious that Mizuo and Watanabe are involved in a way that nothing can tear apart.
The remaining stories are shorts that reflect on the past and the mysterious demon killing sword, either its forging or the courier tasked to take it to its intended recipient, and are just as well done. In fact, the only real sticking point I have is the last story, which weirdly is about a group of cos-players! It is not that it is a bad story, but it makes for a seemingly odd choice to stick a one shot in about two guys who sew costumes and wear them to events in amnaga about vampoires and demonns. The ONLY thing the two main characters have with the previous stories is that they are both men, get involved with a (sort of) suit of armour, and fall in love/have sex. The whole rest of the story is about visiting cons and wearing/making costumes and encountering their main rival who thinks he is hot stuff in his costume.
Art wise, the book is very nice to look at, what I could see of it. There is a lot of text and because the individual panels are not overly large, the art is overshadowed in many places by the text. I would have much preferred the last story to have been removed, and the panels rearranged so that they were bigger in order to actually get a full appreciation of what appears to be finely executed drawings, though admittedly in the sex scenes, this was not a hindrance. It is this fact that makes me remove a star, sadly, as I expect to actually get to SEE the pictures done by the mangaka, and not have it competing with gargantuan by comparison speech bubbles. The prose is very well done, and none of it superfluous so this in itself is not an issue. Translation wise, it reads very smoothly and with a natural rhythm.
With a mix of historical drama and supernatural romance this is sure to please fans of the genre who love their vampires sexy, bloodthirsty, but also gently but passionately loving. The sex scenes are not graphic enough to warrant an 18+ rating, being marked 16 and up, but it doesn’t make it any less satisfying romantically. It definitely caught my interest and the ending was such that a sequel to the main story would not be remiss.
I’d like to thank Digital Manga for providing me with my review copy.
Rating:
Crossing the River Styx: Yokan – Premonition vol.1 by Makoto Tateno
The group Charon is currently riding on a high, with sold out concerts, hit cds and numerous TV and magazine appearances. The time has come for them to release some new music, but Charon seems to be at a bit of an impasse. Vocalist Akira won’t sing anyone’s lyrics but his own, and he has not had anything written of late that appeals to himself. After an interview one day, he goes off for a break on the building’s roof, where he hears a haunting voice singing a song that grabs his heart and mind. Shockingly, the voice belongs to a popular actor whose laissez faire style of acting and singing have made him popular amongst ladies, but somewhat of a joke amongst serious artists. Who knew he could sing like that? Discovering the song belongs to Sunaga, he is even more astonished. This turns into rage however as Sunaga tells him that if he gives him his body in exchange, Akira can have the song. As the song winds itself into Akira’s soul, he relaises he simply MUST have it. But is Sunaga sincere in what he has said, and what secrets lie behind the hiding of his true talents?
Filled with Tateno’s signature urban setting filled with pointy faced , well built bishounen, we get taken for a ride through the entertainment world’s darker sides. This is definitely one of Tateno’s grittier pieces, filled with nakedly selfish motivations, deep psychological scars, and even dealing with suicide. It is far from a tragedy however, as Tateno’s men emerge from their darkened pasts and move forward though even that is fraught with anxiety and risk. It is just as well then that is only volume one, because if it all wrapped up neat and tidy with a happy ever after already, the story would be done and we would not be privy to more yet to come. It does end in a logical place, albeit open to continuation, so one is not left hanging about wondering quite what is going on.
It is rated with an advisory that it is for ages 18+, and with the sexual situations, references to drug use and suicide, is well considered. It has a fairly meaty plot that is bound to satisfy mature readers. This is of a slice of life BL drama set in the entertainment world’s underbelly, giving much more of a feel for reality than many run of the mill titles in similar settings, so don’t approach this if seeking a mere light read. Taking the time to read it read carefully through and savour the emotional undercurrents, and you’ll walk away satisfied from a full meal.
I’d like to thank Digital Manga for providing me with this review copy.
Rating:
Monday, Monday… : Seven Days: Monday-Thursday by Rihito Takarai, Venio Tachibana
It is Monday morning before the first bell and the school is abuzz. Today is the day that popular freshman Touji Seryou will accept the request to date the first girl who asks him, even though she knows that come Friday, it will all be over. They don’t mind, as he is a thoughtful, kind boy who doesn’t put any moves on, but secretly of course, they all hope to be the one who maybe doesn’t get dumped, but know full well the odds and so when he courteously thanks them for their company and parts ways, are left without any hard feelings. Seryou is a member of the archery club, though he is infamous for skipping practice. Senior Yuzuru Shino is in the last half of his senior year, and with exams looming, has already retired from the archery club. But sat outside the school gate having a last minute break, he suddenly realises he is the first person to encounter Touji on this auspicious day. Deciding to tease his kouhai, he jokingly asks Touji out for the week and is astonished when Touji accepts. Making Touji show up for archery practice and just hanging out together, the boys are having a great time. But why does Touji always break up on a Friday, and why does Shino begin to feel regret at thought of it all ending? Is Touji going to end it as he has with all the others, or has he found something he has been looking for?
Covering the first four days of the week, this volume introduces us to the cast of characters and fills the reader in with a bit of the background relating to Touji’s famous one week dating routine. It is refreshingly different from most school boy romance tales, with some angst that is maturely handled, and filled with much of the same sweetness that made BL titles such as Only the Ring Finger so popular. Ending as it does on a Thursday, we get to see the boys begin their dating odyssey and personally assess their emotions towards the end of the week, but the fall out from this is left until the next volume, which begins on the Friday. The art and prose are well married together, making the story flow seamlessly and imparting the gentle sense of pathos of young love awakening. The almost waifish faces and mops of hair impart the youth of the characters, while the prose balances this with their tentative emotions, thoughts, along with their increasingly mature outlook on life.
It is a mature title, aimed at ages 16 and up, and while there are some sexually charged situations, it sits well within this age category bracket, not being explicit. This doesn’t lessen it as a read suitable for more mature readers however, as the story of two people searching for love, understanding, and acceptance is one that appeals across all age groups and the mature personalities of the young people involved make the setting superfluous bar the need for social acceptance within their peer group. Focusing as it does on the personal growth and interpersonal relationship development rather than mere sexual gratification, this makes an excellent introduction to persons new to the genre, as well as an emotionally satisfying read to the long time fan.
I’d like to thank Digital Manga for proving me with this review copy.
Rating:
