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:

The Amalfi Bride by Ann Major, Marito Ai

Regina, a high flying, high achieving American lawyer has endured so many disappointments in her family and love life that she embarks on one final solo trip to Italy to try purge herself of all negativity before returning home and having a baby by sperm donor.

Upon arriving at Amalfi Regina finds a beautiful dress shop and finds herself undenibly attracted to a young gentlman she presumes is a gigolo – a male prostitute. Thinking that a holiday romance, free or paid for, wouldn’t hurt, she embarks on a 3 day affair with the man, who turns out to be a lot more than she thought.

A nice sweet story of holiday romance that certainly pulls at the heart strings, “The Amalfi Bride” comes across realisticly plausable in plot for the most part. I fount the art work absolutely exquisite, however in some places slightly minimalistic as there has been no real back ground detail added except on  prominent pages. Any sex scenes are infered rather than full on drawn.

The delicate yet sexually driven story would appeal to those who love light romance, or in need of something light to read on a plane or on the beach. It was a delight to read even if I am not usually into these types of stories, and definately recommendable.

*quick note* Dont worry about the misspelling on the cover – the translation of this manga is actually really very good!

This particular title is available from Emanga.com or from Amazon as a kindle edition. I would like to thank Digital Manga Publishing for furnishing me with this delightful read.

Ghost Town: Roureville Volume 1- E. Hae

Having read and enjoyed E. Hae’s Not So Bad, so I decided to have a look over at her other Netcomics offering, Roureville. Rourevilee was an entirely different sort of tale, though still labelled as being a dramatic Boy’s Love title. The premise and setting are pretty interesting idea wise, neither being standard fare for the genre, with not only American characters, but a completely American setting.

Evan Pryce is a long tenured reporter with the New York Times, and after much hard work, has just published a Mafia expose piece that could well make him a contender for the Pulitzer Prize. Needless to say, the Mafia aren’t too thrilled with him, so he begins tog et death threats that require him to hole up for awhile. He decides to hide in plain sight, figuring that the Mob would never think to look for him at the actual newspaper offices. This makes problems for his editors and co-workers however, as the idea that the Mob might target their workplace with him there sets them all on edge, not to mention his hovering presence is distracting as he wanders about with nothing to do. Desperate to save the sanity of the staff as well as protect his star journalist, Pryce’s editor decides to to accept a tip from a phone in that normally would have gone on the crack pot list. The anonymous caller has rung in, saying there is a ghost that walks amongst the townspeople of Roureville.

Telling Pryce that he can find out where this place is, and ferret out the truth about the town’s ghost, it is obvious to all that he is simply sending Pryce away on a wild goose chase just to get him out of the office and wandering about the highways where it will be difficult for the Mafia to find him. Pryce is bored just hanging about, so agrees to go. Ten days later, he is wandering about the dusty field lined rural highway still asking for directions, when at last, he discovers a broken signpost to the place. Just as well, as he has run out of petrol and can’t go any further. Normally, seeing such a piece of Americana that practically screams banal normality would have sent him packing once he had a night’s sleep and a tank of petrol, but something about the place piques his interest. For starters, the way absolutely everyone is uneasy at his presence and seems to simply want to get him out of town without a moment’s delay. Secondly, his host. With no motel, a young man named Jayce offered him a room at his home. But what’s this? Jayce’s house looks abandoned, with a leaky roof, tattered curtains, and cobwebs everywhere! There is definitely something weird going on, and having tickled Evan’s snooping journalist’s nose, he decides to take a working vacation to find out just what it is. But is he prepared for the truth behind Roureville and more importantly, will the locals allow him to live to tell the tale?

Filled with a mixture of quirky characters and filled with suspense, it certainly is a page turner. It is both dramatic as well as darkly funny in places with character development being unveiled with each escapade. From the decidedly oddball cos-playing preacher, the antagonistic jack of all trades who never seems to get the required job done and his friendly, puppy-like apprentice, to the sweet but somewhat vague Jayce, the town definitely has its share of unique characters to provide fodder for the fictional novel Evan decides tow rite while puzzling out whatever the mystery about Roureville is. The build up of romance between Jayce and Evan is slow and sweet, starting with a mere remotely friendly host and his impromptu guest relationship and building up to more than mere camaraderie as time passes. Volume one ends on an appropriately suspenseful note as the mystery unfolds bit by bit, taking twists and turns that both confound and amuse.

Hae’s art is as raw and delicate as the emotions of the characters she depicts, and for someone who lives in Korea, her knowledge and attention to small town America’s traditional architecture is impressive. I had to smile as the houses and buildings could have waltzed out of an episode of Andy Griffith with no trouble at all. The juxtaposition of the quaintness of the town contrasts greatly with Evan Pryce’s modern urban sensibilities, adding a touch of wry humour to an otherwise dark story. The translation flows smoothly once more so that one is not suddenly jarred loose from the flow of the tale, and to be honest, it is altogether a fine piece that I would not mind having on my bookshelf.

The only reason I see NOT to buy as a print copy is simply because of the issue with the print run being incomplete: Netcomics released volume 3, the final volume, as a web only edition, so the collection would be left one volume short. Having said that, it is a cracking read well worth renting, and at 7 chapters, one can read this volume in its entirety for only $1.50 as the first chapter, as always, is free. You’ll find it at Netcomic’s own e-reading service here. Should Netcomics decide to finish releasing the series  by putting volume three in print as a paperback, I’ll be amongst the first to pay up for all three.

In the Mode for Love: Love Mode vol 1-Yuki Shimizu

First impressions are usually not quite the entire story. This is certainly the case for our couple in Love Mode, and it is also true for the reader in that this is our first impression of the series, and first impressions can be quite deceiving. First impressions say this is a frothy piece of work, dealing somewhat breezily with the issues of prostitution, sexual consent, and sexuality. Like many first impressions, this would be wrong. The tone is somewhat light, but bear in mind it is told from the point of view of two very young men, whose lives intertwine unexpectedly and set forth a chain of events that topples over barriers and heals old wounds a few years in the making, in a story that actually takes eleven volumes to fully unfold. This is merely the catalyst for change; with the effect it has touching first one, then another, and another, much like the beat of a butterfly’s wings triggering a typhoon somewhere far off.

Like a butterfly, the beginning seems innocuous enough. Izumi is a typical high school student who dreams of the hot hook up. He thinks he is in luck one evening when his good buddy Konno rings him up. It seems some older friend of Konno’s has had her eye on him and convinces Konno to approach Izumi in order to set up a blind date. Izumi is of course excited. Older, hot, probably ready for action, his musings take him to places that those of us familiar with young adult males are well familiar with, so throwing caution to the wind, he agrees. The hook up is supposed to occur at a landmark in the local park, and Izumi is left sitting there waiting. He realises he knows absolutely no details about the person he is to meet; bar the fact they are hot and older. Pondering this lack of foresight, he is interrupted by the screech of tyres just outside the park, followed by a young man stumbling into the park, and falling against him. The young man drops a rose, stumbles off again, and moments later, the sound of an ambulance is heard. What on Earth? Shrugging it off, Izumi picks up the rose, his thoughts returning to his pending encounter with the now late date.

Beginning to wonder if he has been stood up, Izumi is startled when a rather good looking older man stands before him, and asks, “Are you Izumi?” Oh crap, that Konno…What to do…Such an awkward situation, but he has just automatically replied in the affirmative. Nothing for it, he decides to accept the older man’s invitation to go horseback riding and then to dinner, thinking he can decline later dates and save face for both of them. Sadly for him, he is not used to fine wine, and he drinks rather more than he should. Hmm…Something feels good… Rather suddenly startled by this realisation, , Izumi finds himself in bed with the suave Takamiya, who chuckles at his sudden half hearted drunken refusals, given that they occur midway through the deed, don’t last but a moment, and are followed by a seemingly full act of co-operation. Izumi feels humiliated once he sobers up after, and it gets worse when Takamiya goes to leave money by the bedside. WHAT?!

It seems Takamiya was expecting to meet a different Izumi, a high class male escort working for a place nicknamed the B and B (short for Blue Boy). The same young man in fact, who stumbled into the park after a traffic accident, and dropped a rose. Horrified, Takamiya does not know what to do. He thinks he has actually fallen for THIS Izumi, yet he has done something pretty unforgivable. He wants to make it up to this Izumi, and well, Izumi is understandably angry, but once he clears his head a bit, he can see how events played out from the other point of view. And Takamiya-san is pretty cool, doing nice things and despite constant embarrassing declarations of love, has not tried to lay a hand on him since. Confusingly, Izumi realises he has mixed thoughts not just about what happened that night, but about the emotional and physical responses that welled up afterwards. It all gets pretty confusing for Izumi when he gets to meet Takamiya’s friend Aoe (whose surname means blue), owner of the Blue Boy. He instantly dislikes this seemingly cold and arrogant man who somehow can see straight through him, though not enough to completely disassociate himself from the pair.

Sadly for him, this leads to another bad situation when he attends a formal party, unaware that many of the prominent guests are private members of Aoe’s “dating club” and one has been wanting to taste the B and B’s legendary number one, Izumi. Hearing our Izumi addressed by his name, Mr Rich Horny Idiot arrives at the wrong conclusion, and Izumi once again gets exposed to the seamier side of the sex trade. It may seem glamorous at first glance, but there is nothing glittering and bright about a guy dragging you off to sample what the manager told him he can’t have. That’s bad enough, but Izumi then gets hurt over a kiss Takamiya has with a strange man from the party, in their suite. If Takamiya loves him, why did he do that, and where was he, to let this thing happen to him? Will Izumi come out of this with his mind and heart intact? Does Takamiya truly love Izumi, and if so, how does Izumi truly feel?

Overall, I quite liked this story, but my first impression of it was that it was a rather lightweight piece. This was an opinion I revised after reading the succeeding volumes, and came back to this one to have another look because the remembered overall feel of this piece felt different from all the rest. Takamiya is at first glance a man with dubious friends and his involvement with prostitutes seems at odds with the persona he shows. We only get glimpses of who he really is, as we only get to see him through Izumi’s eyes, and Izumi is only just getting to know him. Izumi’s assumptions about love, life, and just who he himself is are all sorely tested as he learns that despite being 17, he is not nearly as wise about the world as he imagined himself to be. There are elements of pathos in the form of the other Izumi, who harbours an unrequited love and lives the life of a high end call boy, and humour in the form of Aoe Reiji and a box of chocolates. I have to admit that the scene with the chocolates was one of the funniest I have ever seen. Children, don’t be greedy when a man from the underworld offers you complimentary chocolates from his brothel. And if you DO take them, carefully read the print. That word aphrodisiac before the word chocolate does NOT refer to how high quality the chocolate is, but rather what is inside them! I don’t know which was funnier, Izumi’s reactions after blindly eating them all, Aoe’s own surprising naiveté at giving them to Izumi as an apology, or Takamiya’s response.

If the storyline doesn’t seem unusual enough, let’s get to the art. This was first serialised back in 1995 within the pages of be x boy manga magazine, which surprise, surprise, targets the grown up female market and features boys love stories exclusively. Now, 1995 may not seem that far in the past to you, but in terms of fashions, it can be an age, and that applies to manga art as well. Shimizu’s characters are well drawn, but definitely do not fall into the beautiful “pretty boy” style of art currently popular across much of the manga world. This is just as well, because the characters within the story are not suited for it. Izumi is very much the boy next door. He is horny, a bit cocky, and can be a bit prone to jumping to conclusions and flying off the handle. Takamiya is charming and suave, but by no means a guy so model perfect that people fall all over him, and there is a hint of deep sadness in his gentle eyes and face. These are ordinary people, looks and personality wise. What is not so ordinary, is the friends they fall in with, and what happens because of it. We all know someone like that, and it could even be ourselves (though not necessarily THIS situation!). The body proportions are realistic, the clothing lines flow naturally, and the attention to small detail, right down to the way their eyes glint are all handled with great skill and precision.

Even the panel work here is exemplerary. Each page is full, but not too busy, nor filled with excess “space” in the frames. It’s fun to look at as well, as each frame is not merely stock rectangle after stock rectangle with the occasional long rectangle overlay, but cut up into triangles and other shapes, so that the frame itself complements the action going on within, and laid out so well that the eye experiences no confusion as to where to look next. Nor are the panels squeezed in for side bar chats with the author. There are little messages from the mangaka, don’t get me wrong, but she has thoughtfully placed these between chapters and kept them brief. We don’t get to hear about any pets or neighbours, or what she had for breakfast, but we do get treated to thanks for any letters that were sent to her (they love fan mail, so write one, stamps to Japan are NOT that dear!) and other things relevant to the actual manga. These little notes are accompanied by mini character profiles, adding that “little bit more” dimension to our characters.

This is published under Tokyopop’s BLU manga imprint, which is their Boy’s Love division, and like most of these titles, it comes with a Mature rating on the reverse, and is usually actually shrink-wrapped in clear plastic. Mine wasn’t, but I got it from the publisher and not their distributor. The reason for the age rating and the plastic wrap should be clear, as this has overt sexual scenes, and being manga aka graphic novel, it has pictures which can be fairly explicit though it is far from being gratuitous. This is one for the top shelf, back row in a house with minors, folks, and if you are shy about watching nudity in your films, this is not for you either. Thi s would be a shame though as  pleasing it is indeed, as one journeys with Izumi into young adulthood as he discovers the nature of his own personal sexuality, while one gets to meet the rest of the characters whose stories follow in the subsequent volumes, as this encounter becomes the butterfly’s wingbeat that stirs up a storm that blows the clouds away for so many.

Rating:

Really Good, Actually: Not So Bad- E. Hae

Eunhee is at last living the life he worked so hard for. Finally having reached the height of his acting career, he has money, fame, women, and a nice place to live. What he doesn’t have is a special someone, but as he can’t stand sharing his personal space, especially his bed, with another person he simply deals with his loneliness by hanging out and bedding a sex friend and then returning to his own place. Things change though the day he meets Gain collapsed against his front door, badly beaten from a mugging. He takes the young man in, and before he knows it, this free spirited stray cat has moved into his house and crept into his bed. Eunhee is flabbergasted at the young man climbing into his bed to sleep, claiming the sofa is too cold, but strangely, he too is able to sleep with this person beside him. Soon, he finds himself looking forward to returning home to spend his time with Gain and begins to fear the day this free spirit decides to move on. Why is that, and what will happen to him should Gain suddenly disappear from his life?

I have to admit that while I enjoy a good BL title, I was a little worried about reading one that happened to be manwha. In the past I’ve read some truly great offerings, such as Let Dai, but further exploration of the manwha field often showed me great disappointments in the genre, such as the protagonist “rightly” choosing a girl over the man he actually loved for purely publicly held moral values, gay men suddenly realising they were mistaken and were actually straight after going to marriage interviews, and other such things that brought the whole purpose of reading a BL to a moot point (and one wonders why they penned such a beautiful romance only to destroy it preachingly). I went half expecting this to end up the same way. I must say, this title revived my faith in Korea’s BL market, as what I got was a sweet tale of gentle love where the main character indeed wrestles with the fact that the “one” who completes his life for him is male, but comes to understand that love knows no such distinctions. Even better, the cast of side characters hold more modern attitudes towards love, sex, and relationships, so the whole moralistic pariah issue doesn’t really come up.

Manwha creator E. Hae’s art is delicate, taking on aspects of the Japanese bishounen style yet maintaining trademarks generally found only with manwha, with even the “manly” men sporting beautifully detailed eyes with sweeping lashes seen on close up. Her panels are uncluttered, and well ordered, with anon confusing lay out that drew the eye naturally left to right which is a real bonus because as a manga reader, I often find myself trying to read non manga comics backwards out of habit. To be able to grab the eye and have such a reversal to normal reading order without thought is actually quite the gift so I heap my kudos on for the accomplishment. Likewise, her dialogue and thought prose are well conceived, and the translation flows smoothly without any odd phrasing or stilting. If one did not know better, one might assume it was originally penned in English, such is the translation quality.

Being manwha, there are of course a few different conventions to manga that fans of K-drama will be familiar with. That is, if things are going well, disaster must strike the protagonist in the most severe way possible and cause the most gut wrenching angst. Now, done right, it provides a great plot catalyst, but done wrong, one ends up with a ridiculous soap opera plot that leaves one staring in disbelief and perhaps resorting to derisive laughter. Luckily, Hae knows how far to travel down this road, and actually sticks to a statistically probable cause of conflict to propel her story forward in a meaningful fashion. Altogether, a highly entertaining story that finds itself on my to buy list for my bookshelf.

Available both as a paperback from major manga/manwha retailers such as Amazon and The Book Depository (non US buyers note BD has free shipping worldwide), as well as to rent online from Netcomics for $0.25 a chapter. The first chapter is always free, and the site is open to non US readers worldwide. Volume one has five chapters, so represents good value at only $1 , making it ideal as a complete read before you decide to buy if reading the free first sample chapter is not enough to make a decision. I’d like to thank Netcomics for providing me with my review copy.

Rating: 

Sexy Supernatural Love: Incubus vol 2-Yayoi Neko

Lenniel’s troubles have only just truly begun. Facing the iffrit in the lonely warehouse that appeared at the end of volume one, they do battle. Losing means Judas’ soul will be taken. Needless to say, that will kill him, and put paid to Lenniel’s attempts to help Judas recollect his lost memories of the time five years ago when they were lovers. The iffrit has his own issues, with his own human seemingly lost to him. Locked into a coma, the human lover of the iffrit is alive, but his soul seems to have fled. But has it? Having to gracefully accept defeat at Lenniel’s hands, he knows he must find another way. Like Lenniel, he must face up to the truth and never give up, reaching out to that which is buried deep within the one he loves.

In the meantime Judas is trying desperately to process the strange goings on. Barely having come to grips with the incubus from his dreams showing up in the flesh, he faces the battle between incubus Lenniel and the strange iffrit with seeming indifference tinged with fear and more than a little despair. Why is he this way? What wound lies within him that not only submerged his memories of the happy times spent with his lover in the demon world, but refuses to allow him to connect with people in this one?Why is he so ready to just give up on himself? The answer lies in childhood memories that come flooding back as he faces what he thinks may be his last moments, memories that imprinted his own ideas of his self worth. Indeed, one gets the impression that his refusal to reach towards the memories of love and happiness may be a form of punishment to himself. As the memories tickle and lead him towards acceptance of Lenniel, he not only struggles internally with reasons why he should deny himself and push Lenniel awy, but cause him to act out.

Lenniel

But pushing Lenniel away may not be as simple as he thinks. For once home, another demon comes calling. Is it another come to take his soul? No, it is Lenniel’s older sister Aleka, come to find her brother. She seems to know quite a lot about the pair, and fills in some missing gaps. Gaps which threaten to overwhelm Judas as he discovers that he cannot ever renounce Lenniel for one very important reason: they share the same soul so can never truly be parted. But what does this mean precisely? Will he merely have to put up with the incubus hanging about in his life, or does he truly have to accept that while he thinks he loves his professor, he truly is one heart and soul with Lenny?Regardless of the answer, it is obvious that the true enemy is not those who wish to merely steal Judas’ soul in their quest to restore life to a loved one or in order to make a grab at being human, but the self loathing and despair that clouds Judas’ heart and mind. Is this an enemy that Lenniel can defeat? And will he even be given the opportunity to after Judas discovers a startling truth about Lenniel and the grievous wound upon Judas’ own shoulder?

Volume two of American mangaka Yayoi Neko sensei’s Incubus series picks up from the very instant that the last book left us at. It gives a serial type effect that works quite well and allows the reader to dive back in to the plot without feeling that they missed something. This volume deals with memories, both remembered and forgotten, not only providing some needed back story but also greatly adding to the character development. The introduction of Kent, the iffrit come butler out to grab a soul for his comatose human lover, is a welcome one. Rather than some random monster of the day introduced to merely add a bit of action, he provides us with a sub-plot that runs in parallel. It adds dimension to the world our characters live in, as we see beyond the few places that our two protagonists inhabit.

Lenniel’s sister Aleka is interesting in that she is not only the first female character introduced in the series, but one that sees Judas as a rival somewhat. Her love for her brother is absolute; she tolerates and accepts Judas because she must, but should he hurt Lenniel, the strong impression is given that he will more than live to regret it, suffering as much as possible with harming Lenniel in the process. She adds texture to the woven tapestry that is appearing in the form of the story, with the human world and the demon world side by side yet separate and adds needed context to the maelstrom of emotions being felt by all. I quite like how Neko has avoided the typical BL cliché of having her be whiny or obnoxious and unlikeable while still maintaining her strong confrontational personality.

As full on as the the emotions are, so is the art. The first volume was well executed, doing great credit as a début piece. By this time, however, the work has become more refined. The hallmarks are all still there proclaiming Neko sensei’s unique sense of style: bold strokes, buff men, and a sense of vivid movement. The shading work is done well, used to great effect to add a sense of overshadowing darkness even in the comedic panels that pop up to help lighten the piece. The sex scenes are passionate and I particularly found the facial expressions during these excellently done. Not a single carefully poised expression worthy of an alluring porn mag shot to be found here. From the salacious leer of one who has pinned his prey where he wants it, to the adoring concentration of one carefully attending to his lover’s needs, to the look of sheer abandonment to the ecstasy of sensation, they are all meticulously rendered with great effect.

As you might surmise given the content, this is not a graphic novel aimed at the young adult market, but one that carries a parental advisory and an 18+ rating. Because of this, don’t expect to find it stocked at your local corner bookshop or to sat idly waiting on the shelves at your local Waterstones (though if you have the ISBN, they can order it in for you). Forbidden Planet is a good bet, as their US online store stocks it, and it can also be found quite easily at Amazon. Wherever you source it, if you like angsty love stories featuring demons and other supernatural beings, laced with a healthy dose of humour, then this will definitely appeal and be well worth the effort. Just be sure to get the first volume as well, as this runs serial style and without it, this volume will leave you a bit lost.

***I would like to thank Yayoi Neko and Media Blasters for being so kind as to provide me a review copy.”

Come and Play: Games With Me vol 1 -Tina Anderson and Lynsley Brito

Set just after the US Civil War in the San Francisco, Games With Me follows Dr George Callahan and his search for a Chinese woman who once worked at his childhood home and who fled with her young son one night, never to be seen again. The horrors of war sit heavily on the young surgeon’s mind, and haunted by the ghosts of his childhood past, he finds solace within the opium dens of Chinatown, where he searches for clues to his lost maternal figure. His use of opium, Irish descent, and frequenting of the Chinese Quarter in general has come at a high cost to himself, as no one of any social standing wishes to openly associate with him, and so he is reduced to using his skills to give illegal termination procedures to women, rich and poor.

One day, his contacts give him information that leads him to a brothel, where he discovers the woman he searches for had worked as a laundress after fleeing the Callahan mansion. She has long since died, and he is sorrowed to discover that the child he considered his beloved little little brother is working as rent boy there. To make matters worse, Jun is o the slow side, which along with his slender figure and lovely face means he is an easy target for bullies. Bullies such as Roan Baxter, an overly aggressive bouncer who works for the establishment, and who has developed a fixation for the boy. Never allowed out of the confines of the brothel and unable to understand any relationship beyond playing games with toy trains or those the other workers and staff tell him are love games. Jun is perplexed by Callahan’s kindness and wishing to pay for his time just to talk. He does understand one thing though, Georgie is kind, and doesn’t hurt him. He longs to see Georgie again, and when Baxter discovers this, trouble begins. Can George save himself and Georgie from their mental and physical imprisonments, and can he answer Jun’s innocent, pure love?

Volume one introduces us to the character and plot and it is one with an interesting setting. The art is well done and the characters refreshingly different from those normally encountered in Boy’s Love. The art style is a unique mix of pointy faced bishounen Chinese and unidealised Western types, with well detailed backgrounds whose shadings perfectly impart the sordidness the shining, innocent Jun and fallen Callahan find themselves in. The angst is adult in nature, with the mature Callahan and his associates worldliness and experience providing a stark contrast to the youthful, poignantly twisted innocent existence that is Jun.

Originally seen in print in the German language magazine, The Wild Side, this is quite simply one of the best original pieces of Boy’s Love I have read lately. It is admittedly not the fluffiest read, with realistic settings, drug addiction, prostitution, violence, bigotry, and the sexual abuse of a vulnerable person. It is instead a story of substance depicting people who very well COULD have been, perhaps in an alternative time and place, real, making this a tale filled with meaning, and well worth the reading. It should be noted that the English edition is only available electronically, either rented at Emanga.com or purchased in Kindle format from Amazon. Seeing as it is the first volume and the story is not yet over, I sincerely hope that mangaka Tina Anderson and LynsleyBrito put out the second volume quite soon, as I am dying to find out what happens next.

Rating:

Girls, Boys, Demons, Love, Betrayal: Hotaru Odagiri’s Uraboku, the Anime

So, when is a shoujo not quite a shoujo? Well, when its BL, more or less. In the case of Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru or Uraboku (English title: Betrayal Knows My Name), the line is definitely blurred. Admittedly the manga is serialised by Kodakawa’s shoujo magazine, Monthly Asuka, but fans of the genre will not be surprised at the BL overtones given that the author is Hotaru Odagiri (Only the Ring Finger Knows, Invisible Boy). The manga first came out in Japan in 2005, and currently stands at 7 volumes and is still ongoing. The manga has recently been licensed by Yen Press for English language distribution, and according to their Twitter chatter, we can expect volume one in January 2011. With it popular enough to continue in print for so long and nab itself a foreign licensing deal, it’s probably no surprise that Kodakawa’s animé producing arm recently released this as an animé, nor that said animé would find itself simulcast with English subtitles on Crunchyroll. Happily, the simulcast distribution included it NOT being region blocked for viewing not only in North America, but also for South America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Middle East, and Africa, so when this UK fan discovered it on her available animé list, she grabbed at it with both hands.

So what’s it about? The Giou Clan have long been guardians who kept demons at bay and protected Japan. They are born again and again, reincarnated with their memories in order to continue to do battle. Each have their own gifts, and typically are paired up with life partners as in order to fight as one, they must be joined body and soul, and trust each other implicitly. These pairs are known as Zweilts, and through the ages they have sworn their love to a woman of the clan known as Yuki. Yuki possesses the gift of spiritual and physical healing, and it is he that heals their wounds, even as it inflicts physical and mental pain upon herself. Yuki’s existence is much more than that, seemingly, as demons seek to kill her. Long ago, during one of Yuki’s incarnations, the demon king sent his most powerful general to kill Yuki, but things did not go according to plan. For Zess fell in love with Yuki, and swore to love her for all eternity, never to betray her being, and Yuki to cherish Zess for all eternity. Yuki died, and was born again, and again, with Zess waiting for his love, his eternal devotion never wavering. Then the current incarnation occurred, and Yuki was born again, but as a boy and one whose mother ran from the Giou and left him at an orphanage as an infant. Even worse, his memories are not intact, so he knows nothing f the Giou Clan, its mission, nor of his relationship with Zess. But something draws him to towards Zess nonetheless, and in his dreams, the female Yuki speaks…

To call this a BL story would be accurate, but to say it is MERELY a BL story would be a great disservice. First and foremost the story DOES revolve around the tie between Yuki and Zess aka Luka, but truthfully, this is only because the entire plot hinges upon Yuki’s role in the age long battle, and Zess’ position within it. The other characters get fairly equal screen time, and each episode actually does have us follow along as Yuki discovers ancient secrets and the current battle unfolds. It is a story filled with action packed magical battles that play out beautifully across the screen, as well as deep emotion, as strong willed characters struggle with their inner turmoil, acts of betrayal by those they loved and trusted, and the growing awareness of just what loving someone actually means. Fans of the gothic fantasy will love the intro, with it eerily beautiful sequence featuring a voice over by Zess/Luka as he swears his eternal devotion to the Yuki that was, as well as the settings of many of the battle scenes and the costumes of the demons.

Like Odagiri’s previous works, the emphasis is on self discovery and awakening, so don’t expect Yuki and Zess to suddenly lock lips and get it on. This is definitely on the shonen ai side of the yaoi market, softly entwined with the the gothic shoujo romance of the Yuki that was, enough so that this makes an excellent gateway title that will appeal to fans of shoujo, dark fantasy, and/or BL. The art within the animé reflects her artistic style well, with the long, lean bodies and elegantly beautiful male and female characters with their pointed chins and flowing locks. The animation is smooth; the colouring as rich and evocative as the plot. The voice over work is also top-notch, and fans who follow seiyuu will find some familiar names here as they have worked on projects such as Gakuen Heaven, Kuroshitshuji, House of Five Leaves, Bleach, and many other popular animé titles. Altogether, an exceptionally fine port from print edition to animé, and one I hope that sees a subtitles DVD release.

Currently at episode 19 out of 24, you can watch this over at Crunchyroll until 30 days after the last episode becomes available to  the free subscriber group.

Rating:  

Crimson Cross by Kyoko Negishi, Sakae Maeda

Death Comes to Town: Vampire Hunter D manga vol 4-Hideyuki Kikuchi and Saiko Takaki

It seems pretty business as usual as the story opens, with D riding his horse across the desolate wasteland. Of course, if he just went wandering and never met anybody, there’d never be any stories. This time around, he encounters an odd looking motor home whose inhabitants are being slaughtered by a sand worm/dragon of epic proportions. Let me tell you, forget those things from back in the day when you watched Beetlejuice. Those things look like merely annoying garden slugs compared to this fearsome creature. D leaps in tor ender assistance, joined by a fellow traveller who happens along, one very brash biker dude with handle John M. Braselli Pluto VIII  (yes, really).The family’s daughter, Lori is the sole survivor, and she is very ill from radiation poisoning thanks to a leak in the family’s motor home from rather dicey equipment. Lori and her family had only just taken leave from the travelling city where they had lived all their lives, and it is to this place that Pluto and D take the ill Lori for treatment. While there, the mayor hires D, as it seems a vampire is hidden somewhere in the city, making the idyllically bucolic small town a place filled with fear.

But as usual, things are not quite what they seem. For when D kills the one vampire, he becomes aware that there are more. Only these don’t seem to be “normal” turned humans, nor are they Nobles. Added to this conundrum is the laboratory and its contents that D comes across in Lori’s former family home in the town. Seems daddy was trying to create something probably best left uninvented. If that’s not enough trouble, the floating city’s computers seem to have been hacked, sending the floating island city-state off its safely plotted course, directly towards some Noble ruins and what appears to be a graveyard of other former floating colonies. Just who is doing all this, and just what is awaiting the denizens of the city once they arrive at their unwanted destination? D struggles to solve the riddle, while townspeople turn against him and Pluto shows a rather surprising side to himself.

This edition is the manga adaptation of the light novel original, seen here.

It’s non-stop action and adventure in this instalment of D, and Kikuchi certainly has pulled out all the stops. We get vampires, zombies, mutant sand dwelling dragons, mad scientists, and a city of the evil dead all in one volume. It could so easily have become a disjointed, rambling mess, but Kikuchi is in top form here, weaving a complex tale that utilises many of the elements previously encountered in this twilight world. The narrative flows gracefully, unveiling suspenseful clues to the mystery that D must solve while maintaining the brooding, hunting atmosphere that fully realises the horror aspect of the tale. As always, we are reminded of both the beauty that is found in humanity, always marred by that which is ugly inside, most notably as we watch D deal with unwarranted bigotry and ignorance while he struggles to save the very oppressors from a certain living death of the worst kind. With unexpected twists and turns and the Catch-22 situation D finds himself in within the pressure cooker environment, the reader is hurled head first into an adventure that keeps the adrenalin pumping until the very last page.

Saiko Takaki’s artwork fairly bursts with raw vitality, with attention grabbing anatomical detail of monsters and human/dhampir beings alike. The lines and shadings lend atmosphere and a portray a sense of natural movement during action scenes, while maintaining an ethereal stillness that reflects the outer calm beauty that is D. Her renderings of an outwardly picture postcard perfect society in a world filled with decay are filled with realism, and display naturally the facial expressions and stances and gestures of the characters, revealing at a glance their outer appearance of almost pleasant normality as well as their soon to be exposed rotten inner selves. This matches up beautifully with Kikuchi’s prose, as we watch D and his companions struggle to salvage what they can of a peaceful utopian society whose own selfish machinations have led towards their own imminent destruction.

With a strong emphasis on morality and personal character, strong world building, and a tightly plotted action filled plot, Vampire Hunter D volume 4 delivers a tale filled with indelibly vivid imagery that is sure to please fans of dark gothic fantasy.

Rating:

I’d like to thank Digital Manga for providing me with this review copy. Please note that this manga is rated 16+ due to violence and mature themes. While volumes 1 and 2 of this manga series are available as Kindle editions or to rent via Emanga and  to purchase via other digital platforms, currently volumes 3 and 4 are only available as paperback editions.