#IReadsYou Review: COYOTE Volume 2

COYOTE, VOL. 2
SUBLIME MANGA/Daria – @SuBLimeManga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Ranmaru Zariya
TRANSLATION: Christine Dashiell
LETTERS: Mara Coman
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0253-4; paperback (July 2019); Rated “M” for “Mature”
184pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S. (6.99 digital), $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Coyote is a yaoi manga from manga creator, Ranmaru Zariya.  Yaoi manga is a subset of boys' love (or BL) manga, which depicts amorous situations between male romantic leads.  Yaoi manga usually features explicit depictions of sex between those male leads.  Coyote follows a werewolf and the pianist who fall in love although their families are murderous rivals.

Coyote introduces a young man named “Coyote.”  In order to conceal that he is a werewolf, Coyote avoids getting too involved with humans, but he frequents a bar where a young man, who calls himself “Marleen,” is a pianist.  Marleen is interested in Coyote and just won’t take “No!” for an answer, but when Coyote goes into “heat,” he succumbs to the pianist.  Marleen, however, is really 28-year-old Josh Galland, the only heir of the Galland mafia family.  Although estranged from his family, Josh is being drawn into the Galland's long war against werewolves.

Coyote, Vol. 2 (Chapters 5 to 8) opens with Coyote in Marleen's bed.  When Coyote leaves, Marleen has him tracked to find out where the werewolves live in the city.  Coyote has a female werewolf associate named “Mimi,” and Marleen has an associate named Allen Brown, and each one has some news to report.  When Coyote discovers that Marleen is really Josh Galland, things fall apart.

Also, werewolf leader, Kiefer, has decreed that Coyote lead a killing raid against the Gallant family.  So what will Coyote and Marleen do?  Will they choose love or family?

[This volume includes the additional story, “Sweet Days 7, Scene 5: A Week at Marleen's Place.”]

As I wrote in my review of the first volume of the Coyote manga, I am a fan of werewolf fiction, although I don't often find much of it that I like.  That is why I treasure Stephen King's illustrated novella, “Cycle of the Werewolf,” and its film adaptation, Silver Bullet.  I am also a fan of the films, An American Werewolf in London and The Howling, and of the probably-forgotten novel, Tombley's Walk.  I am happy to have discovered the Coyote yaoi manga, thanks in part to a review copy from my VIZ Media rep.

Coyote Graphic Novel Volume 2 dives deep into the conspiracy and into the Romeo and Juliet-like feud at the center of this series.  Vol. 2 reads like urban fantasy more than it does as erotic fiction or yaoi manga.  Yes, there is an intense sex scene that opens this volume, and six pages of it are in vivid color.  Still, this volume is driven by conflict and dilemma and by character and plot.  I found myself really drawn into that, to the point that I could not stop reading.  If this were not a yaoi manga, it would still be a really good manga.

Ranmaru Zariya is a good storyteller, and the art in this series has a strong sense of realism, in addition to being some of the best that I have come across in yaoi manga.  Christine Dashiell's translation makes the conspiracies and mafia elements as captivating as the sex, while Mara Coman's lettering captures the many layers of this narrative.

Also, the additional story in Vol. 2, “Sweet Days 7, Scene 5: A Week at Marleen's Place,” is your booty-call after-drama mint.  If you need at least two hot sex scenes in your yaoi manga, this bonus at the back of the volume delivers.

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

For up-to-date news and release information, please visit the SuBLime website at SubBLimeManga.com, or follow SuBLime on Twitter at @SuBLimeManga, Facebook at facebook.com/SuBLimeManga, Tumblr at http://sublimemanga.tumblr.com/, and Instagram at @sublimemanga/.


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


------------------------------

#IReadsYou Review: ESCAPE JOURNEY Volume 3

ESCAPE JOURNEY, VOL. 3
SUBLIME MANGA/Libre Publishing – @SuBLimeManga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Ogeretsu Tanaka
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Mara Coman
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0647-1; paperback (June 2019); Rated “M” for “Mature”
170pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S. (6.99 digital), $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Escape Journey is a yaoi manga from manga creator, Ogeretsu Tanaka.  Yaoi manga is a subset of boys' love (or BL) manga, which depicts amorous situations between male characters.  Yaoi manga usually features explicit depictions of sex between those males.  Escape Journey focuses on two former high school lovers forced back together when they attend the same university.

Naoto Hisami and Taichi Hase were high school lovers.  Naoto thought they were dating, but during a heated argument, Taichi tells Naoto, “You're nothing but a fuck buddy I blow off steam with sometimes.”  That leads Naoto to dump Taichi's ass.  A year later, Naoto is a student at S University, a liberal arts college.  Still angry about what Taichi said to him, Naoto is shocked to see him on campus.  The two soon find themselves forced together, again, with Taichi being an aggressive seme (top) to Naoto's submissive uke (bottom).

As Escape Journey, Vol. 3 (Chapters 13 to 15 to Final Chapter) opens, the rift that had opened between Naoto and Taichi closes.  Once again, they are back in each other's arms and having the best (and most graphic) make-up sex.  Now, determined to be together forever, they must face their family and friends and reveal that they are a couple, even as they prepare to graduate from college.

For Taichi that means dealing with his estranged mother, who abandoned Taichi and his father (and her husband) to make a new family.  How his mother handles what he has to tell her will determine if Taichi will ever have a relationship with her.  For Naota, he has to tell his parents and his three siblings, but how will they react to his “adult adoption” idea?

Meanwhile, Naoto's best-friend-forever, Mika Yuki, is furious that she cannot get in touch with him.  How will she react when she learns that Naoto has a boyfriend and he never told her?!

[This volume includes a bonus story, “Special Escape” and “Afterword.”]

Yaoi manga is not pornography, but it can feature explicit and even highly graphic depictions of two males engaged in sexual intercourse.  Explicit depictions of sexual intercourse may be inevitable in this genre, but yaoi mangaka delivers boys' love stories that are about drama, character, and romance.  In the best of the genre, the creators also take their characters' careers, professions, jobs, and/or social status seriously.

Escape Journey Graphic Novel Volume 3 is the final volume of the Escape Journey series, and it features as much explicit gay sex as the previous two volumes.  In fact, the “Special Escape” episode of Vol. 3 is essentially an extra dose of sexual intercourse for readers.

However, Escape Journey is more about the drama and the characters – their lives, personalities, hopes, and conflicts.  Creator Ogeretsu Tanaka went into as much detail in drama and character as she did in drawing hot, sweaty, and fluids-heavy sex.  By focusing so much on drama and character, Tanaka made the graphic sex scenes become beautifully composed sequences of intimacy and lovemaking.  By the end of the final chapter of Vol. 3, readers may not know what the future holds for this young couple, but we believe that they are truly, madly, deeply in love.

Dear readers, I cannot escape the fact that Escape Journey is one of the best yaoi manga and romance comics that I have ever read, and I will insist that it is a must-read for fans of boys' love manga.  Escape Journey Vol. 3 practically demands an encore series.

9 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

For up-to-date news and release information, please visit the SuBLime website at SubBLimeManga.com, or follow SuBLime on Twitter at @SuBLimeManga, Facebook at facebook.com/SuBLimeManga, Tumblr at http://sublimemanga.tumblr.com/, and Instagram at @sublimemanga/.


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


------------------------

Review: THE WAY OF THE HOUSEHUSBAND Volume 1

THE WAY OF THE HOUSEHUSBAND, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Kousuke Oono
TRANSLATION: Sheldon Drzka
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Jennifer LeBlanc
LETTERS: Bianco Pistillo
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0940-3; paperback (September 2019); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
168pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Gokushufudou is the debut manga from creator, Kousuke Oono.  It was serialized in the magazine, Kurage Bunch.  VIZ Media is publishing the manga in English as a series of graphic novels, entitled The Way of the Househusband, under its “VIZ Signature” imprint.

The Way of the Househusband, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 9) introduces Tacchan Tatsu.  Once upon a time, Tatsu was a Yakuza boss, a man so feared that he was known as “The Immortal Dragon.”  Now, Tatsu is married to Miku, a career woman.  Now, the Immortal Dragon is a “househusband!”  But when he is reunited with Masa, a former underling, Tatsu realizes that the world of the Yakuza is not quite ready to let him go.

[This volume includes three bonus manga stories: “Gin's Walk,” “This is Masa Style,” and “Let's Have a Fair Fight.”]

I found The Way of the Househusband manga to be a delightful read.  It is so odd, but that can be a good thing, which it is in this instance.

The Way of the Househusband Graphic Novel Volume 1 introduces readers to the simple, everyday world of Tatsu, the one fashioned by creator Kousuke Oono.  That world is about cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and eventually DIY crafts for the housewife.  Sheldon Drzka's translation and Jennifer LeBlanc's English adaptation capture the straight-forward dialogue and also this story's undercurrent of sly wit and slight goofiness.

Oono's art is offbeat compared to most manga art; the illustrations seem like something out of a Western alternative comics title.  However, Oono captures the interior and exterior world of Japan in excellent detail.  Tatsu and Miku's apartment looks like a real living space, and the grocery stores and shopping mall spaces... well, they make me feel like I am in some place where actually people shop and consume more than they need.

Of course, this is only Vol. 1.  Still, I find myself drawn into this “VIZ Signature” title, The Way of the Househusband, and I am always up for an interesting spin on the domestic comedy.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.


--------------------------------------

Yaoi Review: DON'T BE CRUEL 2-IN-1 Volume 1

DON'T BE CRUEL 2-IN-1, VOL. 1
SUBLIME MANGA (Libre) – @SuBLimeManga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Yonezou Nekota – @yonekozoh
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: NRP Studios
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8697-7; paperback (June 2016); Rated “M” for “Mature”
308pp, B&W, $16.99 U.S., $19.99 CAN, £10.99 UK

Don't Be Cruel is a yaoi manga from popular mangaka, Yonezou Nekota.  Yaoi manga is a subset of boys' love (or BL) manga, which depicts amorous situations between male romantic leads.  Yaoi manga usually features explicit depictions of sex between those male leads.  Don't Be Cruel focuses on a playboy who forces a studious classmate into a sexual relationship.

SuBLime Manga is making Don't Be Cruel available in a 2-in-1 omnibus edition in both print and digital formats.  2-in-1 editions combine two graphic novels in a single paperback volume.

Don't Be Cruel 2-in-1 Edition, Vol. 1 finds Takahashi Nemugasa forced against a fence.  Who has backed Nemugasa into a corner?  It's Hideyuki Maya, the tall, dark, and handsome school playboy.  Why has Maya put Nemugasa in such a vulnerable position?

Nemugasa attends school on a scholarship, and while his grades are generally good, a recent academic setback has put him in danger of loosing that scholarship.  In an act of desperation, Nemugasa cheats, but Maya catches him.  Now, Maya wants Nemugasa to report to his apartment twice a week for sex.  Nemugasa submits, but Maya never seems to get enough.  The real problem is this:  can a sexual relationship built on blackmail be something more?

[This volume includes the bonus story, “The Morning After They Became Lovers,” and some bonus illustrations.]

In its first chapter, the Don't Be Cruel yaoi manga comes across as nothing more than a pornographic comic book.  It is neither erotic nor romantic, offering a parade of oral and anal penetration shots and also depictions of the penis in various stages of erection.

This changes when author Yonezou Nekota introduces two characters into the story, both are cousins of Hideyuki Maya.  There is Akira, a tutor and graduate student at K University.  Next is Jutta, who is also Akira's brother.  Akira acts as a dark and handsome, wise sage counterpoint to the tom-catting Maya.  Jutta is the uke comic relief who openly flirts with Nemugasa and obviously wants to be in a relationship with him.

The addition of these two characters creates romantic entanglements such as the love triangle and jealousy.  Nekota starts forcing her leads, Nemugasa and Maya, to work on their relationship and to even fight for their love.  Suddenly, the recreational sex fades and romance takes center stage, as Nekota offers her readers a front row seat to the evolution of a BL couple from sexual coercion to struggling young love.

Don't Be Cruel is thoroughly enjoyable, especially as one goes deeper into the narrative.  Personally, I reached a point where it was hard for me to stop reading.  I am assuming that there is more of this series coming, and there should be.  Don't be cruel, Nekota-san.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

------------------------

Review: THE WORLD'S GREATEST FIRST LOVE Volume 4

THE WORLD'S GREATEST FIRST LOVE, VOL. 4
SUBLIME MANGA – @SuBLimeManga

MANGAKA: Shungiku Nakamura
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: NRP Studios
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8869-8; paperback (March 2016); Rated “M” for “Mature”
180pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

The World's Greatest First Love is a yaoi manga from creator Shungiku Nakamura (Junjo Romantica).  According to SuBLime Manga, it is one of the titles that their readers have most requested for an English release.  Yaoi manga is a subset of boys' love (or BL) manga, which depicts amorous situations between male romantic leads.  Yaoi features explicit depictions of sex between those leads.

Looking for a fresh start, 25-year-old Ritsu Onodera changes jobs and lands at Marukawa Publishing.  He becomes an editor for the shojo manga magazine, “Emerald” (which is also an actual manga magazine).  Things should be looking up, but Ritsu's new boss is Masamune Takano.  When he was 15, Ritsu was madly in love with Takano, but now he wants to leave that all in the past, although Takano seems determined that they have a future.

As The World's Greatest First Love: The Case of Ritsu Onodera, Vol. 4 (Chapter 6 to 7.5) opens, the editorial staff of Emerald races to finish the next issue.  The looming Christmas holidays have pushed up the normal deadlines, and Ritsu is having trouble with a tardy mangaka.  Ritsu also cannot wait to get away from his boss and former lover, Takano, to whom he recently gave up the booty.  It just so happens that Takano's birthday is soon, and Ritsu frets over whether or not he should acknowledge it.  Takano however has plans for a romantic drive... with Ritsu.

[This volume includes Chapter 7.5 and “The Case of Shota Kisa.”]

I have to admit that The World's Greatest First Love manga has an advantage with me.  I automatically give at least a little favor to manga that are about making manga or are set in the world of manga publishing.  The World's Greatest First Love has one more advantage, and that is the fact that its workplace setting is a shojo manga editorial office.  I do like my shojo manga (comics for teen girls).

The World's Greatest First Love: The Case of Ritsu Onodera Volume 4 is the first volume of this series that I have read (thanks to a review copy from SuBLime).  That was not a problem for me, as I did not have trouble figuring out the rather straight-forward central plot and obvious obstacle facing the leads.  This is not one of those moody romantic drama yaoi manga .

This is a romantic comedy in which the lead (Ritsu Onodera) is a screwy blonde, and the pursuer (Masamune Takano) is tall, dark, and handsome.  Takano is the seme (top) who is determined to get what he wants, which is Ritsu, the uke (bottom) who eventually submits to his lover.  I don't know where this series is going; the star couple does have some issues to resolve.  Creator Shungiku Nakamura makes you want to keep reading.

B+

www.SuBLimeManga.com
facebook.com/SuBLimeManga.

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Review: LOVE STAGE!! Volume 2

LOVE STAGE!!, VOL. 2
SUBLIME MANGA– @SuBLimeManga / (Asuka Comics CLDX)

STORY: Eiki Eiki
ART: Taishi Zaou
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Wally
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7992-4; paperback (July 2015); Rated “M” for “Mature”
192pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Written by Eiki Eiki and drawn by Taishi Zaou, Love Stage!! is a boys' love manga.  Boys' love (or BL) manga depicts amorous situations between male romantic leads.  Love Stage!! focuses on college student, Izumi Sena, an average, but cute guy from a family of celebrities.  He becomes romantically entangled with Ryoma Ichijo, one of Japan's most popular young male celebrities.

When Love Stage!!, Vol. 2 (Chapter 6 to 10) opens, Izumi runs into Ryoma, although he had been avoiding the popular young star ever since their misguided moments of foreplay play.  And they keep running into each other.  Ryoma is finding it harder and harder to deny himself; he totally has the hots for him, but this is also true love...

Meanwhile, Izumi, an unrepentant otaku (fanboy), wants to be a mangaka (a creator of manga).  He has no time for romance, and he certainly does not want to love another guy.  Izumi is focusing all his efforts on being a published manga creator.  Rei Sagara, who manages the Sena family's celebrity endeavors, wants to make Izumi an idol.  Sagara makes a deal with Izumi regarding his future, and when things go bad, Izumi runs not to Sagara, but into the arms of Ryoma?!

[This volume includes two bonus chapters.]

The Love Stage!! manga is a delightful romantic comedy.  Its sense of humor is thoroughly well-developed, which helps sell the romance.  When comedy is working, love has such an easier time blooming.

Love Stage!! Volume 2 reveals Ryoma to be a true romantic.  Yeah, he wants to do some X-rated things to Izumi, which he does; believe me when I say that Love Stage!! earns its “Mature” rating.  Still, readers buy the notion that what Ryoma wants is real love.  Ryoma's feelings and Izumi's oblivious uke routine create a push-pull rhythm that helps to keep the narrative tight; there is virtually no extraneous or filler material here.  Real funny, really sexy, and true love: this is a excellent series.

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.

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.

Yaoi Review: THE MAN OF TANGO

THE MAN OF TANGO
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga

CARTOONIST: Tetuzoh Okadaya
TRANSLATION: Ivana Bloom
LETTERS: WOWMAX Media
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6011-3; paperback (September 2013) Rated “M” for “Mature”
266pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Mangaka (artist) Tetuzoh Okadaya made The Man of Tango, a boys’ love graphic novel, her debut manga in 2007.  SuBLime Manga recently released a “revised special edition” of The Man of Tango.  This SuBLime Manga Edition of the book collects the prologue and five chapters that compose The Man of Tango, and also two additional tales, one an early and alternate version of the story (“El hombre del tango”) and the other an epilogue story (“Libertango”) that revisits the lead characters.

As some of you know, boys’ love (BL) is manga that depicts romantic relationships between men.  Yaoi manga is a subset of BL and features explicit depictions of sex between men, which The Man from Tango does (and boy, does it ever!).

The Man from Tango introduces Angel “Angie” Almódovar, a Latin American living in Japan.  Hailed as “the Man of Tango” because of his skills as a dancer, Angie believes that he has never truly felt the deep, fiery passion of the dance known as “tango.”  Then, Angie meets office worker, Hiromasa “Hiro” Koga, a half-Japanese, half-Latino who was born in Columbia, South America.

Angie is immediately attracted to Hiro; in fact, Angie feels seething lust for him.  Hiro tells himself that he is in no way interested in men, but what will he do when he wakes up in Angie’s bed?  What will Hiro make of those memories of physical contact and passion that crowd his hung-over addled mind?  Will he open his heart and his body to the persuasive dancer?

Perhaps, it’s just me, but I find The Man of Tango manga to be a little on the melancholy side.  There is plenty of humor, and the story occasionally brings friends of Angie and Hiro’s into the narrative mix, such as Angie’s dance partner, Benedict “Bene” Maria Cruz.  That gives the story a feeling of camaraderie and fun.

There are sex scenes in the story, and they can run for several pages.  They put the “yowza” in yaoi.  In fact, The Man of Tango does not come across as boys’ love, so much as it seems to be a gay comic.  Angie and Hiro are both so fit, so buff, and so butch that their physical intimacy has a pound-your-ass quality to it.  You can call it lovemaking, but it may be more accurate to use that “F” word for sex to describe it.

I think the melancholy comes from the darkness of Hiro’s past and the tragic fate of one of Angie and Hiro’s friends.  Plus, there is a flash-forward short story that looks at the characters a little too far into the future for my tastes.  Still, in the world of yaoi manga, The Man of Tango is definitely something different simply because there seems to be a realness about Angie and Hiro’s relationship that much of BL does not have.

B+

www.SuBLimeManga.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Yaoi Review: SLEEPING MOON Volume 2

SLEEPING MOON, VOL. 2
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga

CARTOONIST: Kano Miyamoto
TRANSLATION: Christine Dashiell
LETTERS: NRP Studios
COVER: Kano Miyamoto and Courtney Utt
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5551-5; paperback (October 2013) Rated “M” for “Mature”
234pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Sometimes I encounter a situation in which the second volume of a manga series is so much better than the first volume, even when that debut volume is itself good.  That recently happened again, and I am totally wowed by Sleeping Moon Volume 2.

Sleeping Moon is a yaoi manga graphic novel from creator Kano Miyamoto.  Yaoi manga is a subset of boys’ love manga (BL) and features explicit depictions of sex between male characters.  SuBLime Manga is publishing Sleeping Moon, which follows a young man trying to unravel a family curse, as a two-volume graphic novel series.

Sleeping Moon introduces 27-year-old college student-teacher, Akihiko Odagawa.  He returns to his family’s ancestral home in order to solve the mystery of a rumored curse that brings early death to the male descendants in his lineage, the Sakaki Family.  There, he meets his Aunt Akiko and her two children, twin brother and sister, Ren and Eri. While in the home, Akihiko experiences a time slip that takes him back 100 years in the past to Japan’s Meiji Period, where he meets student, Eitarou Shinjou.  The two men form a deep emotional bond as they bridge time to unravel a family curse?

As Sleeping Moon, Vol. 2 (Chapters 6 to 9) opens, Akihiko surrenders to his cousin Ren.  Their relationship, which has already turned sexual, grows more personal and intimate.  Akihiko, however, cannot stop thinking about Eitarou, the relative that he visits when he can time travel at night.

Eitarou and Akihiko grow closer, and together seek the truth behind the curse on their family.  Its origins are buried in an incident involving the Shinjou Family, which was tied to the Sakakis.  What went wrong or what happened?  But the nearer the two men from different eras get to the truth, the more Akihiko’s body seems to fade away.

No wonder so many readers seem to love these love stories that involve time travel.  They can make for great reading, and the Sleeping Moon manga is a terrific read.  Correction:  Sleeping Moon Volume 2 is a great read.

After reading Vol. 1, I thought that Sleeping Moon had potential.  Its supernatural elements were creepy, and the romance was strong; however, as I read it, I thought that creator Kano Miyamoto was being cool and deliberate about passions and revelations.  With the four chapters that make up the second half of the story, Miyamoto seems to unleash a torrent of passion, longing, and rage.

OMG!  The revenge-ghost story part of Sleeping Moon suddenly becomes spine-tingling J-Horror.  There were times when I thought the bad spirits would emerge from the page and contaminate me.  I really invested myself in wanting a resolution to the curse.

Akihiko, Ren, and Eitarou form one of the best love triangles that I have ever found in a comic book from any country.  That is another element of Sleeping Moon in which I heavily invested my emotions.  I wanted Akihiko to be with Eitarou, but at the same time, I saw that Akihiko and Ren made a great couple – regardless of the incestuous nature of their love.  This is one of those examples in which the reader will be happy about the outcome, but still yearn for the other outcome.

This is one of my favorite manga and comic books of the year.  There is a nice epilogue, entitled “Waning Moon,” and it is a near perfect ending, but it just reminds you that the good time you had reading Sleeping Moon is about to end.

A+

www.SuBLimeManga.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Yaoi Manga Review: HIDE AND SEEK Volume 1

HIDE AND SEEK, VOL. 1
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga (Asuka Comics CL DX)

CARTOONIST: Yaya Sakuragi
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
LETTERING: Annaliese Christman
COVER: Yaya Sakuragi with Courtney Utt
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5572-0; paperback (July 2013); Rated “M” for “Mature”
186pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Yaya Sakuragi is a creator known for such manga as Hey, Sensei?, Tea for Two, and Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love.  One of her more recent series is Hide and Seek, a yaoi manga.  Yaoi manga is a subset of boys’ love manga (BL) and features explicit depictions of sex between male characters.

Hide and Seek, Vol. 1 (Acts 1 to 5) introduces Shuji Tanihara, a divorced single father who runs a modest corner candy shop, called Tanihara Store.  His young daughter, Chisuzu, is somewhat independent, so Tanihara is always looking for something to break the boredom.  Into the store walks a handsome pediatrician.  Takafumi Saji of the Saji Clinic is serious and reserved, but he has another side.  He is gay, and he’s about to put a romantic move of Shuji.

Although it has sex scenes, Hide and Seek Volume 1 is a gentle love story about star-crossed lovers.  It is a tale of two people who have different personalities, but can somehow become intimately tangled.  The dramatic tension comes from the fact that the leads may be star-crossed sex partners and star-crossed best pals, but they may not be able to have a long term relationship because of personalities and intentions.

Yaya Sakuragi slyly inserts the idea into readers’ heads that Shuji and Saji may not really be compatible.  Perhaps, there is a streak of independence or perhaps they are two alpha males.  Whatever it is, it made me think that every time I turned a page, there would be scene that would depict an end of the affair.  Anticipation is a good thing.  The best praise that I can give Hide and Seek Volume 1 is that I did not want the fun to end.

Fans of Yaya Sakuragi will be glad to know that Hide and Seek is a spin-off of her previous series, Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love.  Ryomei, the priest and patissier of the earlier series, turns out to be a friend of Shuji’s.

A-

www.SuBLimeManga.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Yaoi Review: Sleeping Moon Volume 1

SLEEPING MOON, VOL. 1
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga

CARTOONIST: Kano Miyamoto
TRANSLATION: Christine Dashiell
LETTERS: NRP Studios
COVER: Kono Miyamoto and Courtney Utt
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5550-8; Rated “M” for “Mature”
186pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Kano Miyamoto is a prolific creator of boys’ love manga and of independent or amateur comics (doujinshi). Sleeping Moon is a yaoi manga graphic novel series from Miyamoto. Yaoi manga is a subset of boys’ love manga (BL) and features explicit depictions of sex between male characters. The series follows a college student trying to unravel a family curse.

Sleeping Moon, Vol. 1 introduces 27-year-old college student, Akihiko Odagawa. He returns to his family’s ancestral home in order to solve the mystery of a rumored curse that brings early death to the male descendants in his lineage, the Sakaki Family. There, he meets his Aunt Akiko and her two children, twin brother and sister, Ren and Eri.

Eri remains mostly unseen because she has some kind of illness, and though he is distant at first, Ren begins to make moves on Akihiko. That isn’t the most shocking thing. While in the home, Akihiko experiences a time slip that takes him back 100 years in the past. There, he meets student, Eitarou Shinjou, who looks strikingly like Ren. Can the two men bridge time to unravel a family curse?

Not really sexual in terms of content, Sleeping Moon, Volume 1 is a supernatural mystery. There really is not a strong current of romance, for that matter. Instead, it is ghosts plus time travel; that can be an interesting combination, and it is here. The ghosts and spirits are especially creepy and menacing, and, in the early chapters, Kano Miyamoto teases them just enough to string the reader along with sightings and dark auras to stir the echoes of fear.

There is something oddly sweet about the time travel angle. This is a mysterious and less sci-fi kind of time travel. It is impressionistic and spiritual; therefore, this kind of “time slip” seems earthier than the usual future-tech histrionics. Yes, I do want more sex scenes in the next volume, but I also want to solve the mysteries of this engaging manga. Readers looking for romance, mystery, and the supernatural will want to try Sleeping Moon.

B+

www.SuBLimeManga.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Yaoi Review: BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE Volume 4

BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE, VOL. 4
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga (Asuka Comics CL DX)

CARTOONIST: Yaya Sakuragi
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
LETTERING: Annaliese Christman
COVER: Yaya Sakuragi with JAY
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5235-4; paperback (May 2013); Rated “M” for “Mature”
186pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Yaya Sakuragi is a creator of yaoi manga and has produced such series as Hey, Sensei? and Tea for Two. Yaoi manga is a subset of boys’ love manga (BL) and features depictions of explicit sex between male characters.

One of Sakuragi’s recent yaoi manga series is Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love, which SuBLime Manga is publishing in a four-volume graphic novel series. The series focuses on Ao, a high school student who falls in love with Ryomei, whom Ao has known since he was a child. Ryomei, who is several years older than Ao, ignores the younger man’s advances.

As Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love, Vol. 4 (Acts 14 to 18) opens, Ryomei and Ao finally become intimate. Ao should be happy, but he starts to believe that their first time was merely pity sex. Ao has also been living with his Grandma Teruko, but now, she finally insists that Ao move in with his estranged mother. Moving also means being farther away from Ryomei. What can Ao do? Can he accept Ryomei’s newfound affection as real? Can Ryomei help Ao and finally express his love for him? The drama of not-so-unrequited love must finally reach a conclusion – happy or sad.

The Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love manga is the epitome of the seme (guy on top)-uke (guy on bottom) dynamic in yaoi manga. Ryomei is tall, dark, and handsome, and when he wears his priestly vestments (as he is a shrine priest), he looks like a dashing samurai. With his small frame, tousled hair, and large, expressive eyes, Ao is the quintessential, smitten, BL girlish teen boy – ready to stand by and to love his man.

Jokes aside, Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love Volume 4 is deeply romantic. I have not read the prior three volumes, and had not heard of the series until my SuBLime media rep sent me a copy of Vol. 4. I’m glad I read this. It is the comfort food version of yaoi manga reading material; the depictions of sex are more about lovemaking and being sweet than being raunchy, erotic, or even funny. There are two lovey-dovey side stories to spike your blood sugar even higher, but this volume is a good way to end a series.

Readers looking for sugary yaoi manga from the dessert cart will want Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

www.SuBLimeManga.com