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 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 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:
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. If you are unsure if this is for you, all eleven volumes are available for reading over at Mangafox.com, though holding the actual book and seeing the art on real paper is a much more pleasing reading experience. And 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.
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