Creator: Riyu Yamakami (cartoonist); Sachiko Sato (translation)
Publishing Information: June Manga/DMP, paperback, 200 pages, $12.95 (US)
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-56970-755-5 (ISBN-13); 1-56970-755-3 (ISBN-10)
Drama/Romance; Rated “M” for “Mature 18+”
Originally published in Japan in the late 1990s, Vanilla is a yaoi graphic novel from creator Riyu Yamakami. Under its Juné Manga imprint, Digital Manga Publishing released Vanilla in two trade paperbacks a few years ago. Vanilla is the story of a high school student, 17-year-old Ichiro Morio, who falls deeply in love with a new teacher, Yoshitaka Saeki, who doesn’t believe in declarations of love.
As Vanilla, Vol. 2 opens, Morio has broken past Mr. Saeki’s rough exterior, or has he? They knocked boots, but afterwards, Mr. Saeki is as callous as ever. Now, Kazuki Nakajima, a former lover of Saeki’s, has decided to make things even more difficult between Morio and Saeki by hitting on Morio!
This volume also includes a Vanilla Extra Episode, entitled “Pink Diamond.” This story takes place after Vanilla and tells the tale of how Kazuki Nakajima and Saeki’s butler, Yajima, became the pair known as the “Jima Duo.” Both discover that two people who seem to be very different are actually quite similar.
After a strong start, Vanilla doesn’t race to a passionate conclusion. It skips to a soft happily-ever-after ending. It’s still fun to read about the lovesick student pining away for his aloof, lover boy teacher, but as I read this, I got the idea that it was too short and that something was missing. What? I don’t know, perhaps, some heat. The chapter that leads off Vol. 2, “Scene 5” starts off with some passion, but the narrative quickly cools. The “Pink Diamond” novella is a bit livelier, mainly because Nakajima is so petulant and stubborn – in a charming way.
Vanilla isn’t exactly vanilla. In some ways it works like a romance novel, but there is just enough nuttiness and crunchiness to make Vanilla a bit different from everything else.
B+
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