Yaoi Manga Review: LOVE STAGE Volume 1

LOVE STAGE!!, VOL. 1
SUBLIME MANGA– @SuBLimeManga

STORY: Eiki Eiki
ART: Taishi Zaou
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Wally
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7991-7; paperback (May 2015); Rated “M” for “Mature”
186pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Love Stage!! is a boys' love (BL) manga from the creative team of writer Eiki Eiki and artist Taishi Zaou that was serialized in Asuka Ciel magazine beginning in July 2010.  SuBLime Manga began publishing Love Stage!! in an English-language edition in graphic novel form back in May.

Boys' love manga depicts amorous situations between male romantic leads, with its subset, yaoi (which Love Stage!! is), being more explicit.   Love Stage!! is about an average guy from a family of celebrities who becomes romantically entangled with one of Japan's most popular young male celebrities and idols.

Love Stage!!, Vol. 1 (Chapter 1 to 5) opens in the past.  A small boy is dressed as a girl for a commercial shoot.  His costar believes that the girl is really a girl, and he never forgets her... him.  Ten years later, the boy who dressed like a girl is Izumi Sena, now a beginning college student.  He is an unrepentant otaku (fanboy) and wants to be a mangaka (a creator of manga).  The rest of his family is in show business, and they want Izumi to join the family business.

Meanwhile, Izumi's costar in that long-ago commercial is Ryoma Ichijo, a hot young actor and idol.  The commercial in which he starred 10 years ago is going to get an anniversary sequel, but Ryoma will not return unless that “girl” from the original reprises her role.  What will he do when he finds out that she is really a he?

While the Love Stage!! manga is a romantic comedy, the early chapters are more comedy than romance.  Love Stage!! Volume 1 is not just funny; it's delightfully funny.  In fact, it is so comedy oriented that when some... heaving petting suddenly occurs, the change in tone is quite jarring.

Writer Eiki Eiki is a master of BL and similar genres, as well as shojo manga.  Artist Taishi Zaou has a beautiful drawing style that is perfect for shojo manga and makes her boys' love manga exceptionally pretty.  Together, they create something unique, manga that transcends genre.  That is Love Stage!!, cute and funny and popping with energy and I think the best is yet to come.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Food Wars: The Dancing Chef

I read Food Wars!, Vol. 5

I posted a review at ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Patreon or Twitter or at Grumble.

Food Wars: Resemblances

I read Food Wars!, Vol. 4: Shokugeki no Soma

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Food Wars: The Perfect Recette

I read Food Wars!, Vol. 3: Shokugeki no Soma

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Seraph of the End: Operation Shinjuku

I read Seraph of the End, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Food Wars: The Ice Queen and the Spring Storm

I read Food Wars!, Vol. 2: Shokugeki no Soma

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter.

Seraph of the End: Black Asura

I read Seraph of the End, Vol. 2

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter.

Review: FOOD WARS!, Shokugeki no Soma Volume 1

FOOD WARS!, Shokugeki no Soma VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY: Yuto Tsukuda
ART: Shun Saeki
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: NRP Studios
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7254-3; paperback (March 2014); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
208pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN

Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma is a shonen culinary arts manga from writer Yuto Tsukuda and artist Shun Saeki.  The series focuses on Soma Yukihira, a 15-year-old boy forced to attend an elite culinary arts school.

Soma’s father, Joshiro Yukihira, runs a small family restaurant in the less savory end of town.  Soma aims to one day surpass his father’s culinary prowess, so the teen hones his skills day in and day out.  However, one day, his father suddenly decides to enroll Soma in a classy culinary school.  Soma does not believe he needs to go to culinary school, so can he really succeed in a place that prides itself on a 10 percent graduation rate?

Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma, Vol. 1 (Endless Wilderness; Chapters 1 to 5) opens with Soma trying out some horrifying recipes on the customers at Yukihira Family Restaurant.  Soma’ father, Joshiro, challenges his talented son to a cooking duel, which he wins.  The son still has a lot to learn, but Soma believes that he is ready to take over the family business.

Before he leaves the country, however, Joshiro registers Soma at Totsuki Saryo Culinary Institute, the premiere culinary school in Japan.  First, Soma has to win his admission.  Standing in his way is Erina Nakiri, the beautiful, domineering heiress of the school, of which her grandfather, Senzaemon Nakiri, is the dean.  She immediately scares away all of the new student seeking entrance into the school… except Soma.  Can he convince her that he belongs there at all?!

[This story contains two bonus stories, the “special short,” Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma” and a side story, “Kurase’s Diary.”]

VIZ Media sent me a copy of the Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma Volume 1 for review.  The publisher first released Vol. 1 for its digital manga app (March 2014).  The print release is due this month (August 2014).

I didn’t think much Food Wars! after giving it a cursory glance, although I am a fan of “foodie manga” like Yakitate!! Japan and Oishinbo (as well as Toriko, which focuses on imaginary food stuffs and ingredients).  After reading Food Wars! Vol. 1, I love it!  I have another item for my full-course manga menu.

Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma mixes elements of samurai fiction, the culinary arts, and high school shonen comedy, and it certainly is funny.  In Soma, the series has a brash, but likeable young male lead.  His adversaries are culinary, cooking, and foodie snobs like Erina Nakiri and his fellow Totsuki Saryo students.  I don’t want to spoil much more, but Soma’s cooking talents do something both outrageous and funny to people who doubt him and then, taste his cooking.  Soma also has a mad scientist like tendency that gives the series another layer of humor.

The first volume of Food Wars! is a fantastic start to this series.  I hope the second volume proves that this start is not a fluke.  Fans of foodie manga and of shonen comedies aimed at older male teens will like Food Wars!: Shokugeki No Soma.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: SERAPH OF THE END: VAMPIRE REIGN Volume 1

SERAPH OF THE END: VAMPIRE REIGN, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY: Takaya Kagami
ART: Yamato Yamamoto
STORYBOARDS: Daisuke Furuya
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Sabrina Heep
EDITOR: Hope Donovan
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7150-8; paperback (June 2014), Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S. $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign is the latest VIZ Media release under its “Shonen Jump Advanced” imprint.  The series focuses on a teen orphan who borrows demonic power so that he can battle the vampires that rule over the Earth.  The series is illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto with story by Takaya Kagami and storyboards by Daisuke Furuya.

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign is set on an Earth ruled by vampires.  The vampire reign began in 2012 after the trumpets of the apocalypse proclaimed the fall of humanity.  A mysterious virus kills almost all adult humans, sparing those younger than 13 years of age.  Vampires arise from the shadows to rule the earth and to enslave the children as livestock for food.  In 2016, the orphan Yuichiro “Yu” Hyakuya steps forward, determined to kill all vampires.

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 3) opens in 2016.  It finds Yuichiro unhappy with his circumstances as an orphan, but his foster “brother,” Mikaela “Mika” Hyakuya, won’t let Yu be alone.  Together, Mika believes, the orphans will survive their world.

Four years later, Yu is a student at Shibuya High School #2, but he doesn’t want to be a student.  He wants to be a member of humanity’s most elite Vampire Extermination Unit, the Moon Demon Company.  But he will have to prove that he is willing to work in a team, which is the last thing he wants.

I am a big fan of vampire manga (although I generally have not really cared for American comic books featuring vampires).  The Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign manga is a thoroughly enjoyable read, although I did not think much of it when I received a review copy of the first volume from VIZ Media.

From what I can tell, it seems as if the vast majority of the series’ internal mythology is still unrevealed by the end of Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Volume 1.  Apparently, “Seraph of the End” is an actual thing or entity that may not be revealed for several chapters (or volumes).

That aside, Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign is like the television series, “The Walking Dead,” a post-apocalyptic character drama and soap opera set in a horror-fantasy scenario.  Both are filled with genre trappings or, to use new terminology, full of stuff from the horror-fantasy wheelhouse.  However, Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign works best when seen through the characters’ hopes, dreams, desires, motivations, and conflicts.  So far, all of that seems genuine and honest – in a fantasy context, of course.  Judging by this first volume, I would call Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign a success.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Yaoi Manga Review: CRIMSON SPELL Volume 3

CRIMSON SPELL, VOL. 3
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga

CARTOONIST: Ayano Yamane – @yamaneayano
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: NRP Studios
COVER: Ayano Yamane with Yukiko Whitley
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6423-4; paperback (April 2014) Rated “M” for “Mature”
178pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Tongues a waggin!  That’s for sure, in the latest volume of Crimson Spell.

Crimson Spell, created by Ayano Yamane, is a yaoi manga graphic novel series.  Yaoi manga are romance comics that depict relationships in which the romantic leads are male.  A subset of boys’ love (BL) manga, yaoi can also feature depictions of explicit sex between males.  A fantasy tale, Crimson Spell focuses on a handsome prince beset by a demon’s curse and the sorcerer who helps him fight that curse.

Crimson Spell revolves around 18-year-old Prince Valdrigr Alsvieth a/k/a Prince Vald, the eldest prince of the Alsvieth Kingdom.  An excellent and accomplished swordsman, Vald has been possessed by the sword, Yug Verlind, which has a curse that transforms Vald into a demon at night.  Halvir Hroptr a/k/a “Havi” is a sorcerer living in exile.  Because Havi is adept at breaking curses, Vald approaches him for help.  Havi discovers that intense physical intimacy helps tame the demon Vald becomes at night.

As Crimson Spell, Vol. 3 (Chapters 14 to 19) opens, Gileh, an ally and manipulator of demons, holds Havi captive.  Gileh wants to possess Yug Verlind, and now, he wants Vald to fight Havi to the death.  As incentive, Gileh threatens to kill Vald’s younger brother, Anri, whom he also apparently holds captive.

Forced to fight Havi, who is under an enchantment placed on him by Gileh, Vald transforms into full demon mode.  Halrein, a former friend of Havi’s, and Mars, a traveling swordsman who has pledged loyalty to Vald, want to help, but they are actually helpless to save Vald and Havi from death and destruction.

[This volume contains the bonus story, “The Fairy’s Cocoon.”]

As I wrote in a previous review of the Crimson Spell manga, the series seems serious about being fantasy fiction.  In some ways, it resembles sword and sorcery comic book adaptations of Robert E. Howard Conan the Cimmerian (or Barbarian) and is also visually similar to the various comics and OEL manga based on World of Warcraft.

Crimson Spell Volume 3 is filled with explosive fight scenes and raging displays of magic, and creator Ayano Yamane thrills her readers by placing her characters in peril that reads as being genuine.  Yamane also shows her serious-about-yaoi side with an entire chapter devoted to human sorcerer/human-demon hybrid sexual intercourse.  Apparently, Yamane thinks that boys’ love lovin’ should involve at least one guy being especially and exceedingly orally attentive to the penis.  Fun for all, for sure.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

www.SuBLimeManga.com
www.yamaneayano.com

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Yaoi Manga Review: CRIMSON SPELL Volume 2

CRIMSON SPELL, VOL. 2
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga (Chara Comics)

CARTOONIST: Ayano Yamane
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: WOWMAX Media
COVER: Ayano Yamane with Yukiko Whitley
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6422-7; paperback (February 2014) Rated “M” for “Mature”
162pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Ayano Yamane is an international bestselling mangaka (manga creator) of such yaoi manga as A Foreign Love Affair and the Finder series.  SuBLime Manga is currently publishing an English-language edition of her yaoi manga series, Crimson Spell.

Yaoi manga are romance comics that depict relationships in which the romantic leads are male.  This subset of boys’ love (BL) manga can also feature depictions of explicit sex between male characters.

A fantasy tale, Crimson Spell focuses on a handsome prince beset by a demon’s curse and the sorcerer who helps him fight that curse.  Eighteen-year-old Prince Valdrigr Alsvieth a/k/a Prince Vald is the eldest prince of the Alsvieth Kingdom.  He is an excellent and accomplished swordsman, but when he first holds the sword, Yug Verlind, he takes on a curse that transforms him into a demon at night.  Halvir Hroptr a/k/a “Havi” is a sorcerer living in exile.  Because Havi is adept at breaking curses, Vald approaches him for help.  Havi discovers that intense physical intimacy helps tame the demon Vald becomes at night.

As Crimson Spell, Vol. 2 (Chapters 8 to 13) opens, Havi learns the origin of the curse on Yug Verlind that transforms Prince Vald.  Meanwhile, Havi’s former friend, Halrein, is ordered to retrieve the numerous magic tomes that Havi stole.

Vald and Havi meet Mars, a wandering swordsman, an encounter that leads them to a village in the midst of an invasion by demons.  There, unknown enemies plot to control both Vald and Havi.

The Crimson Spell manga is serious about being fantasy fiction, but is not high fantasy of the Tolkien variety.  Crimson Spell is closer to sword and sorcery, bearing a slight resemblance to some elements in the work of Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Cimmerian (or Barbarian).  Some readers may find it a little similar to various comics and OEL manga based on World of Warcraft.

Crimson Spell is also serious about being yaoi manga, featuring oral sex and saliva-infused foreplay.  Creator Ayano Yamane takes advantage of what the fantasy genre offers, so she is quite imaginative in depicting who can have sex with whom… or what.  Those depictions of sex are bizarre, shocking, funny, and sometimes delightful.

Of course, everything is drawn in Yamane’s painterly art style.  Lovely renderings and lush compositions will dazzle the eye and is also good storytelling.  Everything about the characters, from their pasts and secrets to their goals and desires, makes them attractive to readers.  I look forward to future volumes of Crimson Spell.


A-

www.SuBLimeManga.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Yaoi Review: PUNCH UP! Volume 4

PUNCH UP!, VOL. 4
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga

CARTOONIST: Shiuko Kano
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERING: NRP Studios
COVER: Shiuko Kano with Shawn Carrico
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4355-0; paperback (April 2013); Rated “M” for “Mature”
194pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

The final Punch Up! lands in your face!

Punch Up!, the yaoi manga series from creator, Shiuko Kano (the creator of Play Boy Blues), comes to an end. The series focuses on Maki Motoharu, an unpredictable architect, and his boyfriend, Kouta Ohki, a 19-year-old, foul-mouthed, young ironworker who has fashion model looks. Yaoi manga is a subset of boys’ love manga (BL) and features explicit depictions of sex between male characters.

At the beginning of Punch Up! Volume 4 (Acts 10 to 12), a coworker finds Motoharu sleeping on a couch in his office. Why is Motoharu sleeping in his office rather than in his own bedroom?

Kouta is currently suffering amnesia because of a construction accident, and now, he has somehow regressed mentally to the person he was as a 15-year-old. Kouta moves in with Motoharu again, and, after some difficult going, the two grow closer. Motoharu avoids sleeping at home, lest he have sex with Kouta. Does Kouta even want to be intimate with Motoharu? The (former?) lovers will have to learn to understand each other again before they can have some hot sex, again.

If Brian Michael Bendis wrote yaoi manga, perhaps, he could write more dialogue – from introspective soliloquies to elongated conversations – than Shiuko Kano does in the three chapters that make up this final volume of the Punch Up! yaoi manga series. Bendis wouldn’t pass Kano by much, though.

However, this isn’t empty talk. After little more than 150 pages, it leads to a happy ending, but does so in the most interestingly round-about way. Honestly, I could read another volume of these laser-focused conversations between two characters. Don’t worry, there are sex scenes. Three short, bonus stories are not only explicit, but they are also pure, scatological humor. Some of it might make even veteran yaoi readers blush.

A-

www.SuBLimeManga.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Yaoi Review: THREE WOLVES MOUNTAIN

THREE WOLVES MOUNTAIN
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga

CARTOONIST: Bohra Naono
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERING: Annaliese Christman
COVER: Bohra Naono and Fawn Lau
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4346-8; paperback (June 2012); Rated “M” for “Mature”
218pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Although she is a prolific creator of manga, Bohra Naono has not had many of her manga published in English. One of her English-language releases is Three Wolves Mountain.

Three Wolves Mountain is a collection of interconnected yaoi manga short stories from Naono. “Yaoi manga” is a subset of boy’s love manga (BL) and it usually depicts romance and explicit sex between male characters. The four stories that make up Three Wolves Mountain center on a human and the two werewolf brothers he takes into his home.

In the opening story, “Three Wolves Mountain,” we meet Kaya Susugi, a young man who runs a small café by day and guards a nearby haunted cemetery by night. One night, he encounters two werewolf brothers. There is the older Tarou Tsukihara, who is gruff and is fully in control of his powers to transform. Then, there is Tarou’s cheerful and klutzy younger brother, Jiro. The pupils of Jiro’s eyes don’t match in color, and he is not fully capable of transforming. He sports a long, bushy tail and wolf ears, but is otherwise human. The Tsukihara brothers need a home, but will Kaya, a loner, give them one? And how will Kaya handle Jiro’s romantic feelings for him.

In “Moonlit Forest,” Jiro meets Kaya’s older brother, Kai Susugi, a meeting which spills the secrets of the Susugi brothers’ dark and troubled past. In “Baby, You Are My Home,” Kaya meets Erika and Jin Tsukihara, the parents of Jiro and Tarou. In “Dark Matter,” grave-robbing ghouls attack the cemetery, and also, Kaya takes in Akihi, another troubled werewolf and a distant relative of the Tsukihara’s.

Three Wolves Mountain was actually published in the U.S. last summer (specifically in June of 2012). Somehow, it disappeared down the memory hole that is a giant pile of review copies in my home. I wish I’d told you, dear readers, how good Three Wolves Mountain is when the book was still fresh on the market.

Loving, touching, sucking, fingering, tea-bagging, salad-tossing, and screwing: yes sirree, the explicit sex is quite present in Three Wolves Mountain. You’ll get high value for your yaoi dollars. However, Three Wolves Mountain is also deeply romantic and surprisingly poignant. In a way, the sex scenes distract from the emotional engagement that the characters have with one another.

The dominant theme of Three Wolves Mountain is family, but creator Bohra Naono does not spend much time worrying about the differences between traditional and non-traditional families. This story depicts bonds people form when they become family by being related, uniting as a couple, living together, or connecting in profound friendship.

In this series of stories, characters actually talk to each other – as in conversation, which allows the reader to get to know them. Dare I say we can see through the window into their souls? Yes, the characters do reveal so much; they’re naked and vulnerable… and not just for sex.

Three Wolves Mountain is certainly a special yaoi manga volume. When I came to the last pages of the story, I was sad to see it end.

A+

www.SuBLimeManga.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Yaoi Review: PUNCH UP! Volume 3

PUNCH UP!, VOL. 3
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga

CARTOONIST: Shiuko Kano
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERING: Joanna Estep
COVER: Shiuko Kano with Shawn Carrico
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4354-3; paperback (January 2013); Rated “M” for “Mature”
202pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

A prolific, female Japanese manga creator, Shiuko Kano is known for her boys’ love and yaoi titles, such as the “Steppin’ Stone” series and Play Boy Blues. Punch Up! is a yaoi manga series from Shiuko Kano. The series focuses on Maki Motoharu, an unpredictable architect, and his boyfriend, Kouta Ohki, a 19-year-old, foul-mouthed, young ironworker who has fashion model looks. Yaoi manga is a subset of boys’ love manga (BL) and features explicit depictions of sex between male characters.

At the beginning of Punch Up! Volume 3 (Acts 7 to 9), Motoharu’s career as an architect is soaring. But he isn’t completely happy because he is jealous of Kouta. Yuya Fukazu, the man who took Kouta’s virginity, is back in the picture. Motoharu thinks that he is finding Fukazu in Kouta’s presence too often. Motoharu’s suspicions create hard feelings between him and Kouta, as well as making Kouta unsure about himself and also depressed. Kouta finds himself desperate to prove his love.

Then, a terrible accident occurs. A 15-year-old close to them returns. And Kiyoto Ohki, Kouta’s transgender brother, arrives.

The Punch Up! yaoi manga is a conflict-driven narrative. The love is real. The sex is hot. However, love and sex come with conflicts between lovers; even friends and colleagues squabble. I don’t want to give away the big turn-of-events that happens in this volume, but conflict and love become entwined more than ever. It’s good character drama, although it also seems a bit stretched too far in some places.

The best sex scenes happen in a bonus story, “Maki Motoharu’s Recreation Special.” The story starts off as a hand-made, drawn-in-a-tablet comic created by Kouta. Talk about explicit – male genitalia and orifices don’t get the shadowy-blurry art treatment. This is definitely a behind-the-counter / backroom edition. Readers looking for intense romance and explicit depictions of gay sex will want to Punch Up! Enjoy!

B+

www.SuBLimeManga.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Yaoi Review: PUNCH UP! Volume 1

PUNCH UP!, VOL. 1
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga

CARTOONIST: Shiuko Kano
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERING: Joanna Estep
COVER: Shiuko Kano with Florence Yuen
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5002-2; paperback; Rated “M” for “Mature”
178pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Shiuko Kano is a prolific, female Japanese manga creator. Known for her boys’ love and yaoi titles, she has produced such comics as the “Steppin’ Stone” series and Play Boy Blues. Punch Up! is a yaoi manga series from Kano. The first volume focuses on an unpredictable architect and a construction worker with a fashion model’s looks. Yaoi manga is a subset of boys’ love manga, which features explicit depictions of sex between male characters, and Punch Up! definitely features explicit sex.

At the beginning of Punch Up! Volume 1, architect Maki Motoharu breaks up a fight at a construction site. One of the combatants is a 19-year-old, foul-mouthed, young ironworker named Ohki Kouta. Motoharu takes notice of the hunky, well-toned young hothead. He gets a big surprise when he discovers that Kouta found his lost cat, Shinobu, whom Kouta has named “Nyanta.”

When Motoharu learns that Kouta’s kind act of saving his cat caused Kouta to be evicted, Motoharu offers to let Kouta live with him for until he finds another place. Before long, the new roomies are playing grab-ass, but Motoharu’s fickle ways confuse Kouta. Add old boyfriends and rivals like Ryoji Misonoh, Junsuke Aki, and Shinobu Hishiya, to the mix, and love cannot blossom. Can Kouta the stray cat find love in a relationship with a tomcat like Motoharu? Plus, the bonus short story, “Sweet Train,” finds Aki and Hishiya trying to enjoy a love train.

Punch Up! Volume 1 is a conflict-driven narrative. Both Motoharu and Kouta have past affiliations that cause stress and strife in their relationship. As I read this story, I was sure that at any time I turned the page, I would come upon a break-up scene. The tension that the conflicts and old boyfriends create, however, does lose its starch towards the end of the story, but that is mitigated by the sex scenes.

The characters seem to live by the creed, “Let’s have sex, even if you did just hear me propositioning an old lover.” The depictions of sex are hardcore, but that fits with the story perfectly. The young men in Punch Up! Volume 1 are pretty, but their rough personalities fit the story’s hard hat setting.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

http://sublimemanga.com/

Yaoi Review: STARTING WITH A KISS Volume 1

"Island of Lust Souls"

STARTING WITH A KISS VOLUME 1
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga

CARTOONIST: Youka Nitta
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERING: NRP Studios
COVER: Youka Nitta with Chii Maene
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5002-2; paperback; Rated “M” for “Mature”
186pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Born in Japan, Youka Nitta is a female mangaka (creator) known for her works in the boys’ love genre, especially the series, Embracing Love. Starting with a Kiss is a yaoi manga series from Nitta. The series focuses on two up-and-coming crime bosses who enter into a sexual relationship. Yaoi manga is a subset of boys’ love manga which features explicit depictions of sex between male characters.

Starting with a Kiss Volume 1 introduces readers to two characters. First, there is Tohru Suki, son of yakuza boss, Shinya Suki. Then, there is Mutsumi, the son of Itsuki Kiria, Shinya’s second-in-command. Shinya sends Mutsumi into exile on a deserted island in order to keep him out of harm’s way during a gang feud. Itsuki also sends Mutsumi with Tohru, hoping that his studious son will take a liking to the family business. Mutsumi doesn’t like the family business, but in Tohru, he does see something he likes – something he likes quite a lot.

I have read a fair bit of yaoi manga, but I don’t think I’ve seen as many penis silhouettes as I saw in this first volume of Starting with a Kiss. Like illustrated depictions of sex? Well, Starting with a Kiss Volume 1 is hip-thrusts ahoy. If you want sex in your yaoi manga, this volume will certainly give that to you. One young man is often on top of another, grunting and sweating as he pounds out a message of love on the fleshy typewriter that is his partner’s firm body.

However, this isn’t just some humping around. Starting with a Kiss has a sense of humor, and the fathers, Shinya and Itsuki, are a riot. Part of this first volume has some back story on them, but they deserve their own graphic novel. Leering yakuza soldiers and an over-protective fixer add to the comedy. Starting with a Kiss starts off just right.

A-

[This volume includes the short story, “LOL Theatre.”]

http://www.SuBLimeManga.com

I Reads You Review: RATMAN, VOL. 1

Creators: Sekihiko Inui with Bryce P. Coleman (English adaptation) and Adrienne Beck (translation)
Publishing Information: TOKYOPOP, B&W, paperback, 208 pages, $10.99 (US), $13.99 CAN
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-1745-7 (ISBN-13)

Ratman is a shonen manga (comics for teen boys) from Sekihiko Inui. To date, Ratman is the manga that is most like an American superhero comic book that I’ve read.

The protagonist of Ratman is a teenaged boy named Shuto Katsuragi. Shuto is a superhero otaku (fanboy), and it is his fervent desire to grow up to be a superhero. Superheroes do exist in Shuto’s world, and it is possible for someone to become a superhero (through various means). That dream seems impossible for Shuto, a short of stature boy who is a joke to many people.

However, a meeting with an apparent criminal syndicate, the Jackal Organization, changes Shuto’s life when they give him the suit that turns him into Ratman. Shuto sees the suit as his chance to be a superhero, but can he be a hero when he works for the bad guys and steals from the good guys, the Hero Association?

Like Animal Academy, TOKYOPOP has a young readers’ winner in Ratman. As a superhero comic, it reads just as well as any of the superhero titles that Marvel Comics (their “First Class” and “Marvel Adventures” lines) and DC Comics (Johnny DC) aim at young readers. I also think that Ratman, while it does have the missteps and misfires one would expect early in a series, has much potential.

As of right now, the series has a winning character in Shuto Katsuragi. He is the underdog, that everyman (or boy) with which readers can identify and for whom they will certainly root. Shuto is the main reason that this is an energetic series, and his adventures promise to keep readers interested. Combining superhero comics with a strong shonen manga and anime flavor, Ratman certainly puts fun into teen superheroes.

B+


Ratman Volume 1