You Will Drown in Love

Story and Art by Hinako Takanaga
Published in the US by TokyoPop Blu


Slugline: Emotional stunted guys are apparently irresistible.

Jinnai has been working in a fabric shop for years so when the manager retires, he thinks he is a shoe-in for the position. Unfortunately the owner's son takes over as the manager instead of him Reiichiro gladly admits that he has a lot of learn from him. As Reiichiro relies on Jinnai to guide him in running the store they grow closer together and become friends. Reiichiro asks Jinnai for advice for all sorts of issues including his emotional life, making Jinnai to realize his jealousy of Reiichiro's romantic entanglements. When the opportunity arises, Jinnai makes his move to awaken Reiichiro to his own and Jinnai's feelings.

While the back cover text says that this is a sequel to You Will Fall in Love it is more of an intersecting story, with characters from that manga as supporting and background characters in this one. But other than connection, there is not much here that is any different from every otheryaoi manga. There is a very masculine lead who is aggressive in the relationship and a more passive character that lets the other declare his love first and even initiate physical intimacy over their own initial objections. If this was a traditional heterosexual relationship very few people would say that it was healthy or even attractive. The only attractive aspect of the manga is the art.



You Will Drown in Love is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

The Loudest Whisper, vol. 1

By Temari Matsumoto
Published in the US by Blu


Slugline: Not much whispering or meaningful conversations here.

This is an anthology of yaoi romances that focuses on their start. There are two multipart stories, the first one showing two friends in school that are so close that rumors begin that they are dating. Apparently that is that is need to date and then quickly move into a physical relationship. The other story, which ends the volume, concerns with a young heir of a vast fortune and the bodyguard that has protected him since he was a boy, and their bond that turns into something more. In addition there are several single chapter stories sandwiched between the two longer stories in the volume.

In the first story of the manga there is about as much passion as one could find in a church bake sale. The characters begin a relationship simply because other people suggest it there is no drive on the part of the characters that suggest they find it good for anything other physical release. The final story has an unbalanced power relationships that just scream wrongness and exploitation to me. The relationships that seem somewhat balanced between the partners and have some emotion attached are the stand alone stories but it is not enough to overcome the damage that the two longer stories inflict on the volume.



The Loudest Whisper, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Gravitation Collection, vols. 1 & 2

By Maki Murakami
Published in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: Is love without meaning still love?

Shuichi wants to avoid school as much as possible and sing his songs but his life insists on throwing complications his way. After meeting Eiri and being insulted for his lack of song-making ability, Shuichi falls in love with the older man, despite the apparent disinterest. Shuichi's best friend wants to leave the band out of the desire to get a real life and stop disappointing his parents. Eiri has his own complicated life, with a sister who tries to manipulate him through Shuichi and a younger brother that is everything that their father wanted, never mind the betrothal that Eiri has been dodging. Through it all, Shuichi works harder to become a professional musician and keep Eiri's attention.

Is it too much to ask for romances, even the shonen-ai variety, to have some actual romancing going on? Shuichi sees Eiri and falls in love immediately and Eiri does little to return or even deserve it in this collection of the first two volumes. Yes, Gravitation is considered a classic of the genre, and quite frankly everything around Shuichi and Eiri's pairing is done well, but the actual relationship of the two is pretty unrealistic even by the loose standards of the genre. If you just skip a few pages, there is a half decent rock and roll story in here, but the romance at its center just seems unreal and more than a little creepy.

The sequel for this series, Gravitation EX, has been reviewed on Prospero's Manga here. Frankly, it sounds that it takes the silly aspects of this series and pushes further to be really funny.



Gravitation Collection, vols. 1 & 2 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Anima

Story, Art and Letters by Dany & Dany
Published by Yaoi Press


Slugline: A setting that has nothing to do with the story

Patrick Owens is a burned out political reporter that has seen nothing but the worst of humanity with his one weakness being an appreciation for the ballet star Danya. Of course, Dany has secrets of his own as an illegally modified android masquerading as a human. But despite Patrick's own despair and Danya's secrets they are drawn to each other. Danya's 'teacher,' the former ballet star Nikolaj is using Danya to act out his dreams of greatness, becomes the main obstacle between the two lovers. To resolve this conflict will cost both Danya and Patrick part of their own sense of belonging.

I am a big fan of steampunk, which is why I pulled this out volume out of the review stack. Imagine my disappointment as I read it to find that there was a very few steampunk aspects. What little advanced technology that was in story was not especially steampunk inspired, and the clothing seemed to be draw more from French fashions than Victorian. Patrick's occupation as a reporter did not figure much into the plot, and Nikolaj's connections to the mafia and corrupt politicians remained in the background. Whole swathes of the setting could have been changed without affecting the story. I usually prefer the characters and the setting/environment to interact more, so that the characters are part of the world rather than existing apart of it. Separate from that, the back cover text is especially important with Anima since it is shrinkwrapped, but it gives an impression of a far more nuanced and dark story that what the title really is. But for yaoi fans, the title delivers on its promises, barely avoiding being pornography but showing everything else.



Anima is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

Martin & John, vol. 1

By Hee-Jung Park
Released in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: Why is it in a yaoi book the most fully fleshed out relationships are between men and women?

Martin & John is an anthology about the relationships between two men named Martin and John, set at different times and settings. The names alone seem to the linkage between the stories, with the characters behaving differently, so it you can't necessarily say that these are the same 'souls' finding each other. That was part of the theme of Deja-Vu, another manwha we recently reviewed, but the first story here (which is very short) is set in some future so it is not being told chronologically. Two other stories are in this volume, but the last story is not completed. While the first story can be seen as about the redemptive power of love the second seems to be more about it's destructive power, and the characters, while active participants in the story, are in some ways helpless in the face of their own emotions. I am still waiting for the yaoi aspects for the last story in the volume to come into play, with the relationship with the Martin character to John being actually split over two different characters named Martin, John's best friend that apparently is not aware he himself is gay and a small child that has been placed into John's care.

The first story is not really more than a scene between the title characters, but in the other stories it seems that the most honest examination of the characters feelings occur when one of them is speaking with a woman. I understand that yaoi are actually written with women as the intended audience, but I still sort of feel offended on the behalf of the male characters that they need a female in order to work out their feelings. Of course, there are exceptions, but these male/female conversations are the most interesting in the book. I don't see this as a deep romance title, and there are the typical overwrought teenage emotional displays, but these conversations, how they are artistically presented and how they also can emotionally draw back are among the best parts of this title.



Martin & John, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

Winter Demon, vol. 3

Story by Yamila Abraham with Art and Letters by Le Peruggine
Published by Yaoi Press


Slugline: Oh, those sensitive, tortured gay demon boys…

I have not read the first two volumes and I’m glad to say it’s not necessary to if you can’t find them. For a porn series, this is both well written and well drawn. Life does not revolve solely around sex, for these characters, though there isn’t any skimping on that part either. Everyone is terribly sensitive and considerate and nice, but the story manages to not get bogged down in metaphysical hand-wringing. Nothing too surprising happens, but it’s well presented and the visual storytelling is both clear and nice. That has been a problem with some of the OEL books I have read lately. I’m curious to see what else this creative team has done, and what they will do in the future.

-Miranda

Despite Miranda calling it a porn title, I went through the title to make sure after the problems the blog had earlier, and the title is not explicit. I wouldn't give it to a five year old, but it is R rather than NC-17

-Ferdinand

Winter Demon, vol. 3 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

Devil's Bride, vol. 1

By Se-Young Kim
Released in the US


Slugline: A devil is always ready to make a deal for his yaoi love.

Devils are more like a powerful spirits, vampire and low level god all wrapped in one. The unnamed devil of the story is trying to live more like humans, because his nature is destructive and he wants to be creative. He lives near some human villages and thinks that by having a bride, he will become more human. A poor family basically sells off one of their children to him, and takes off before he discovers that the child is a boy, not a girl. Not that it really matters that much to him. Now, that I cansorta buy, because he isn't really human, so I get he can be omnisexual rather than being an yaoi pretty boy. Ley , the boy, dies, not sure if it accidental or deliberate, but the devil decides to keep him alive, but in order to do so he need human parts to returnLey to humanity. As a devil, he has decided to offer his serves to mortals, not for souls which is normal payment, but in body parts. Meanwhile a blind heir elsewhere in the world has been forced to prostitute himself to soldiers to save his kingdom, and his boyhood companion has to be take some harsh actions.

It is an interesting set-up for an anthology story, with the ability for their to be one-off stories to that tie in devil's search for parts to help Ley recover from being a little bit dead, but it is the framing device is far more meaningful and involved that the usual ones. So the setup for the anthology structure takes up enough time that the first anthology story is not finished in this volume, though we do seem to have hit the first turning point on the last page. Of course, it is has a yaoi focus, with a tall lanky pretty boy and the younger, more effeminate looking 'junior' member of the partnership. Which is one of my major icks here, in that it seems that one half of the pairings are inherently in the inferior position. Yeah, it may be typical how yaoi is arranged but that doesn't make me feel any better. But the story is well structured, the characters have some depth and the art is 100% pretty boy, so that assuages my other concerns.

Devil's Bride, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

SERIES UPDATE: Saihoshi the Guardian: Omnibus ed.

Please check out our review for Saihoshi the Guardian, vol. 1.

If you missed picking up Saihoshi before it sold out, there’s good news – Yaoi Press is reprinting both volumes in one book, with the addition of some chibi strips and sketchbook art. I didn’t get to volume 2, so I’m glad I got a review copy of the combined volume. Despite Saihoshi’s silly giant scissors, this is easily one of the most entertaining yaoi stories I’ve read. I’m not saying it’s great literature, but considering the genre standard, it’s not to be missed.

Saihoshi will be available November 26 (2007) and it ought to sell briskly, so if you’re a yaoi fan keep your eyes peeled for it.

-Miranda

Just My Luck

By Temari Matsumoto
Published in the U.S. by Blu


Slugline: More yaoi about confused, lonely boys falling prey… um, I mean, finding true love.

“Just My Luck” is a three-part story and the remainder of the volume is shorter yaoi stories. The main story has its interesting elements, involving Asahi’s bad luck and an anti-jinxing kiss, but does not have time to do much with them while filling out a standard-issue series of events involving a mildly competitive friend and a few past mysteries. “Mechanism of Love”, one of the short stories, also has some interesting elements and gets in more character work even though it’s shorter.

But on the whole there’s nothing exceptional about this volume. All the tops have gigantic shoulders and creepily long fingers. All the bottoms are waifish, lonely, and some have memory problems.



Just My Luck is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Miranda

Truly Kindly

by Fumi Yoshinaga
Published in the U.S. by Blu



Slugline: What I said before about short yaoi stories feeling rushed or contrived? Here's and exception that proves the rule.

Can't brain much today, I have the dumb. Luckily, this author puts out consistently decent stuff, so I can easily recommend it even though one of the short stories also appears in Lovers in the Night.



Truly Kindly is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda

June Pride, Takumi-kun Series v.1

Story by Shinobu Gotoh, art by Kazumi Ohya
Published in the U.S. by Blu



Slugline: A complete yaoi romance in one volume, not too long, not too short. It's just right...

...because short stories end up feeling either contrived or rushed, and the usual multi-volume manga romance drags on and on. This is a fairly gentle pursuit romance where the pursue-ee is hiding a past trauma -- but since this is a complete story, the trauma is actually admitted to, accepted and the victim begins the healing process. It's nice to see that done in a way that doesn't generate further trauma for purposes of extending the series.

If this format continues in later volumes, it could make for a solid series in the boy-romance world. The sex is softcore and there are some mild twists but no large deviations from the genre template. Anyone wanting to corrupt a friend into the yaoi world could certainly use this as a good example -- if they don't like this, they won't like any of it.



June Pride, Takumi-kun Series, v.1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda

Only Words

Written by Tina Anderson, art by Caroline Monaco
Published by Iris



Slugline: Yaoi of a Nazi and a Catholic seminarian. Turn back now or forever hold your peace.

A short review for a short, intense study on the powerful lure of the forbidden. And with the multiple layers of wrongness come stronger desire and more serious fallout -- political, religious, and ethnic on top of the usual homosexuality taboo... potent stuff. There's sex, yes, but it's part and parcel of these characters' trajectories. Kudos all around.



- Miranda

Love Pistols, v.1

By Tarako Kotobuki
Published in the U.S. by Blu



Slugline: Monkeys and leopards and bears, oh my! Let's get it on!

Norio turns out to be a special critter in a previously unknown world of spirit-critters and he spends most of his time freaking out amusingly while various giant-shouldered guys hit on him. It comes down to two guys, quickly, and my one complaint is that the guy who's trying to be nice about seducing Norio is obviously losing out to the one who's being an ass about it. I've never bought the whole "jerks are sexier than nice guys" thing, personally.

But for a yaoi, this story contains an unusual amount of world-building to explain these alternatively evolved human-animal-spirit beings amung us -- which I like, because porn deserves just as much effort as any other story, in my opinion. It goes a long way toward making the "must breed! don't care if it's male!" situation feel less contrived. Plus, it's a good excuse for people to turn into animals.

There's a parallel story about another romance in development, one that will take more work and may be more interesting in the long run. In the meantime, everyone's fantasizing about hot, non-explicit monkey sex (kinda literally) and I'm sure we'll get around to the real thing eventually.



Love Pistols, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda

Lovers in the Night

by Fumi Yoshinaga
Published in the U.S. by Blu



Slugline: There's just something about frilly shirts and yaoi, isn't there...

Like Yoshinaga's Gerard & Jaques, this collection of short stories is set in Revolution-era France and involves a master and butler relationship. Of the two, I would say Lovers in the Night is more developed and rings true -- the repartee is wittier, there's good back story, and even if Antoine is sometimes clueless as only a pampered aristocrat can be, he isn't nasty.

Set partly in Versaille and partly in German exile, there is a slight attempt at tension over Antoine and Claude's feelings for each other, but it's not like there's any real doubt. As a slice of "upstairs-downstairs" life, it never really addresses the differences between server and served. The story glides mainly on dialog, character, and a bit of porn (which is much better integrated into the story here than it was in Gerard & Jaques.)



Lovers in the Night is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda

Paintings of You

By Mia Paluzzi and Chris Delk
Published by Iris Print (Release date: June 6, 2007)



Slugline: Claude likes Ben likes Beatrice likes Hero likes John likes Honey who is actually a bizarre rag doll... okay, that part's a little strange...

Everybody knows the standard relationship-misunderstanding trope: our overwrought hero/ine overhears and/or misunderstands something the Lust Object says, mentally blows it all out of proportion and silently flagellates him/herself for dozens or hundreds of pages because they can't possibly say anything to anybody.

Imagine my shock when not only was the relationship misunderstanding extended to every member of the cast, but our hero (Claude) actually gathers information from Ben's friends (but since they misunderstand too, it's the wrong information) and realizes there's been a misunderstanding.

All this plus good art, snappy dialog and some insightful, honest portrayal of the inner agony of artists (someone is speaking from experience, methinks.) I'm giving this four stars and I don't even like straight-up romances, as a rule, since they all end the same.

Porn content: two boy-on-boy kisses, both well earned. There's no rating on this promo copy, so I'm basing the rating tag on the fact that there's nothing remotely nasty in this book unless you're violently homophobic.



- Miranda

Pleasure Dome

by Megumu Minami
Published in the U.S. by Kitty Media



Dishonorable Mention

This dishonorable mention has little to do with the yaoi rape and torture in this volume of short stories. I'm not into that sort of thing, but I'm sure there's someone out there who is. And it's not the art, because the art is good except for the complete lack of genitals on anybody.

(So actually it's a bunch of well-dressed Ken dolls raping each other.)

The stories are rushed, disjointed, and juxtapose surprisingly dull dialog with images of coerced sex. Good art can carry a mediocre story -- but it can't carry this mess.



Pleasure Dome is available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda

Love Circles

by Laura Carboni
Published in the U.S. by Yaoi Press (on sale May 28, 2007)



Slugline: Nerdy boy is transformed into a hottie by the meathead who's secretly nice, and then they fall in love.

Oddly, this has to be the most Western-style title we have reviewed here on Prospero's Manga (short of Making Comics) and it's another Italian import (like Wishing for the Moon). This sort of "ugly duckling to swan" story is not anything new and there are no surprising twists, but it is solidly written and stocked with characters within the confines of its template.

I'm not entirely sure why, but the art just does not appeal to me in this story. I'm a long-time reader of Marvel and DC so I'm no stranger to uber-muscular men, but these guys have such well defined butts that they could lose TV remotes in there. And really, guys whose necks are as wide as their heads have never been my type. Despite the explicit muscles, this is not a hardcore porn and there is no full-frontal nudity.

In its defense against myself, the use of chibi is frequent, effective and generally cute -- and you know, I could have enjoyed the whole story with the chibi versions of these guys.



- Miranda

Poison Cherry Drive

by Motoni Modoru
Published in the U.S. by Kitty Media



Slugline: Some guys of flexible sanity run an internet revenge site for victims of gay rape. Naturally, wackiness ensues.

Needless to say, this is an odd single-volume manga. Some of it succeeds at being funny, but some just comes across as confused and strange. Mamezo and Ai, who run the revenge service, claim to be gay and this manga seems to claim to be yaoi, but there isn't much going on in that department. There's no romance to speak of, very little sex, and in the full-frontal shots there's... nothing there. At all. So this is more of a very adult comedy than a yaoi romance or porn.

The comedy derives from outrageous claims and non sequitors, with some success... and some not so much. (What's funny about OPEC? I don't know either.) Character development is slight and the dialog is sometimes clunky, so it's not exactly a big recommendation but it's mildly amusing.



Poison Cherry Drive is available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda

Wishing for the Moon

by Dany & Dany
Published by Yaoi Press



Slugline: Those silly Italian theater boys! Don't they know they're in love?

Well, it's not explicitly said that they're in Italy, but it's implied. This is a single-volume romance with exactly one explicit scene, which is a bit conspicuous for being the only scene with bare butts (no full frontal) despite other opportunities.

But it's pretty well written, otherwise -- maybe a bit heavy on the narrative boxes, which is unusual for a manga and even a bit odd for current American comics. It's right-to-left reading and obviously manga-influenced, but the authors come from the European school of graphic novels and that makes for a slightly different flavor of yaoi.

From what is on their web page, it looks like there will be plenty more from Dany & Dany in the future. Maybe it's time to renew that Heavy Metal subscription and get myself back into the European fantasy/scifi/erotic side of graphic novels...



- Miranda

p.s. I wanted yaoi boys willing to take turns and boom! Here they are! Bonus points to the writers for not treating gay men like a heterosexual couple.

Thunderbolt Boys Excite, v.1

By Asami Tojo
Published in the U.S. by Kitty Media



Slugline: Four guys in the modeling business are busy seducing each other.

This story is set in that manga universe where all men are gay, even the would-be rapists. These four guys spend the volume pairing up and agonizing over each other -- some more than others, and some more convicingly than others.

There's a modest amount of character development and slightly different story trajectories, but on the whole it's a fairly standard set of two romances driven by insecurity and hurt/comfort. There's some not-quite-hardcore porn which is well placed in the context of both fantasies and reality. No surprises about who's on top, either. I think it would be refreshing for the smaller guy to be the dominant one or, even wilder, that they could take turns. I mean hey, it's a lot easier for two guys to switch off than for a hetero couple -- what, these semes can dish it out, but they can't take it?



Thunderbold Boys Excite vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda