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.

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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.


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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.