#IReadsYou Review: BLUE FLAG Volume 2

BLUE FLAG, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Kaito
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Annaliese Christman
EDITOR: Marlene First
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1302-8; paperback (June 2020); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
224pp, B&W, $12.99 US, $17.99 CAN, £9.99 UK

Ao no Flag is a high school romance manga written and drawn by Kaito.  The manga was serialized on the online manga magazine, Shonen Jump+, from February 2017 to April 2020.  VIZ Media is publishing Ao no Flag as a paperback graphic novel series, entitled Blue Flag, under its “VIZ Signature” imprint.

Blue Flag focuses on an unassuming high school student named Taichi Ichinose.  It is his senior year at Aohama High School, and he finds himself in the same class as shy Futaba Kuze, of whom he has conflicted feelings.  Taichi and Futaba begin to fall in love, but each has a same-sex best friend – Taichi's Toma Mita and Futaba's Masumi Itachi – who are in love with them.

As Blue Flag, Vol. 2 (Chapters 6 to 12) opens, it is time for Aohama High's school festival.  Toma accepts the position of cheer squad captain on the condition that Taichi and Futaba participate.  The problems are that Taichi does not want to participate, and that Futaba is deathly afraid of performing a cheer in front of the student body.  Later, Masumi makes a series of surprising confessions to Taichi about her “boyfriend.”  Plus, Toma, the captain of the school's baseball team, looks for success at the high school summer tournament

[This volume includes the bonus story, “After the Festival.”]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Blue Flag manga is not any one thing.  It is a mixture of genres and themes:  romance, high school drama, coming-of-age, shonen, LGBTQ, and light comedy.

Blue Flag Graphic Novel Volume 2 is my first experience with the series.  The series is so easy to read that readers do not have to read the first volume to understand the story.  I would, however, recommend that due to the ending of Vol. 2 readers at least start the series with the second volume and not start with the third volume.

Kaito presents characters that are likable, even lovable, simply because the four leads have genuinely different personalities.  That makes the desire, yearning, self-doubt, and internal and external conflict feel real because the characters are truly seeing things from their own different points of view.  This is a high school romance that has dramatic heft.  As usual, readers get a superb English translation from Adrienne Beck that makes every thing resonate with the reader.  Also as usual, Annaliese Christman's lettering sets the tone for individual moments as well as for larger scenes.

I am utterly shocked by how much I like this second volume of Blue Flag.  Honestly, I didn't expect much because of the title and Vol. 2's cover illustration.  Neither hints at how powerful the story is.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of coming-of-age stories and of LGBTQ-themed manga will want to read the “VIZ Signature” title Blue Flag.

10 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: TEACH ME, TUTOR

TEACH ME, TUTOR
DMP BOOKS/Juné Manga – @junemanga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Sakira
TRANSLATION: Valeria Paolini
LETTERING: JF
EDITOR: Lindsay M
ISBN: 978-1-56970-834-7; paperback, (April 2020)
194pp, B&W, $16.95 US

Yaoi/Drama/Romance/Manga; Rated “18+”/Mature

Teach Me, Tutor is a yaoi manga anthology collection from manga creator, Sakira (the creator of Sailor Men).  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.  The main feature of Teach Me, Tutor, a five-chapter serial that finds two old friends in a master-pupil... sexual situation.

Teach Me, Tutor opens with the title story, “Teach Me, Tutor.”  Mitsuhashi Minami needs a tutor to improve his grades in college.  Along comes his old neighbor, Arakawa Uta, whom Minami once called “Uta-kun.”  It isn't long before Uta's tutelage leads to improved grades for Minami, and then, Uta-kun is demanding that Minami call him “Sensei.”  Next, Uta it tearing Minami's clothes off and tying him up.  It seems as if it is time for the tutor (Uta) to teach his pupil (Minami) about the joys of rough sex.  But does Minami hate... or love this new direction in his education?

Later, in “Stalking Love,” Minami and Uta are a couple living together, and Uta's jealous side often rears its ugly head.  When a friend of Minami's, a straight student named Irie Tadakuni, starts asking Minami for relationship advice, Uta is suspicious.  Minami thinks his lover is just being jealous as usual, but is there something to Uta's concerns about Takakuni...?

In “My Dear Teddy Bear,” 27-year-old Asari Soushi, a beautician, finds a small apartment.  Much to his surprise, however, he gets an unexpected roommate, 36-year-old Momoi Atsumu, an office worker.  Soushi can't help but wonder if his landlords aren't pulling a “double contract scam.”

Soushi soon finds out that this tall, dark, and handsome older man is hugely muscular... romantic... horny... and apparently shy and embarrassed about that.  With the help of some choice root vegetables, can Soushi be the aggressive “seme” (top) that Atsumu's uke (bottom) needs?  Plus, what happens when Atsumu's young daughter(!), Umika, moves in?!

[This volume includes an “Afterword” and a bonus comic, “Manga Report of L.A.'s Autograph Session!!”]

THE LOWDOWN:  The “Teach Me, Tutor,” serial is not the best that this Teach Me, Tutor collection has to offer.  Arakawa's Jekyll and Hyde personality is more Hyde... if Hyde were a sexually sadistic, bondage maven... and rapist.  “Teach Me, Tutor” is a bit odd even for my odd tastes, but it does have its humorous moments.  I do like that the fact that Sakira fills her illustrations with the depictions of copious amounts of flowing bodily fluids.

The two-part “My Dear Teddy Bear” story is the best of this volume.  It is sweet, romantic, cute, silly, and ultimately heartwarming.  The Soushi-Atsumu dynamic is a winner, and it gets even better when Atsumu's bold and sassy daughter, Umika, is added to the mix.  I wish Sakira would have given us an entire volume featuring the “My Dear Teddy Bear” characters, who eventually form a family of endearing characters.

Teach Me, Tutor finishes off with a ridiculous, but mildly amusing story about two dudes who have been fightin' friends since childhood.  “Our Cowgirl/Riding Situation” is one of those “just-get-a-room” state of affairs.  I think that this single-chapter story would also make for an interesting stand-alone volume.

Sakira fills this volume will tall, brawny, muscular men, and she draws the muscles and muscularity in exacting detail.  The muscles bulge, and just about each big, muscly ass has an anus waiting to be penetrated by finger... or by one of those long, thick dicks that every male character seems to swing in this book.  In Teach Me, Tutor, yaoi means yowza!

Valeria Paolini, via her English-language translation, manages to find both drama and comedy in Sakira's script.  JF deftly letters around all the bulging muscles and... the bulges.  Teach Me, Tutor isn't the greatest yaoi manga, but it is great to see gay sex depicted in comics (or, in this case, manga) as big, sweaty, and sticky fun.  Also, I do have to give Sakira much credit for celebrating the rip-roaring joy of masturbation in these stories.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Yaoi manga fans and Sakira fans looking for big men with the big stuff will want to get the education of Teach Me, Tutor.

7.5 out of 10

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


https://junemanga.com/
https://twitter.com/junemanga
https://emanga.com/
https://twitter.com/digitalmanga


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for
reprint and syndication rights and fees.


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#Yaoi Review: ESCAPE JOURNEY Volume 1

ESCAPE JOURNEY, VOL. 1
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: 978-1-9747-0131-5; paperback (September 2018); Rated “M” for “Mature”
266pp, 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 romantic leads.  Yaoi manga usually features explicit depictions of sex between those male leads.  Escape Journey focuses on two former high school lovers forced back together when they attend the same university.

Escape Journey, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5 plus “Last Escape”) introduces Naoto Hisami and Taichi Hase.  In high school, they were 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.

One year later, Naoto is a student at a liberal arts college, and he is still angry about what Taichi said to him.  So Naoto is shocked to discover that Taichi, a science track student, is also a student at this liberal arts college.  The two soon find themselves forced together, again, with Taichi being an aggressive seme (top) to Naoto's submissive uke (bottom).  Taichi pounds Naoto's ass until it is raw, and all Naoto can do is howl and pant in pain and pleasure.

Taichi, however, is not verbal about his true feelings concerning Naoto.  Does he want them to be a “couple,” again?  Naoto begins to wonder about their future when he discovers that a young woman and fellow student, Fumi Matsuyama, has a crush on Taichi.  Will this discovery finally end the slowly mending relationship between Naoto and Taichi?

[This volume includes “Escape Journey Bonus Story” and “Afterword.”]

Yaoi manga is not pornography.  Explicit depictions of sexual intercourse may be inevitable in this genre, but yaoi mangaka deliver 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.

Still, Escape Journey Graphic Novel Volume 1 features some of the most explicit depictions of sexual intercourse between two men that I have ever seen in manga.  The artist includes full depictions of Taichi's penis penetrating Naoto's anus, but there is often a white stripe right at the point of penetration.  Sometimes, a series of three white stripes will cover portions of an erect penis in a pattern-like fashion.  Also, sometimes, the erect cock and balls are entirely in white silhouette.

The “bonus story” contains this volume's most explicit depictions of sex... by far.  That is saying a lot, because the main chapters have plenty of intense sex, including a scene that would probably qualify as rape in the real world.  The last three pages of the bonus story are... a riot.

That aside, there is a sweet and edgy side to the romance in Escape Journey.  It is the story of boys who don't quite understand the emotional side of their relationship, although the sexual side is quite prodigious.  This first volume is about the journey Naoto and Taichi take to understanding the inevitable relationship that they will share.  I have to say that this is a rich rewarding read, both as a romance and as a sex romp.

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.


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#IReadsYou Review: CASTE HEAVEN Volume 1

CASTE HEAVEN, VOL. 1
SUBLIME MANGA/Libre – @SuBLimeManga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Chise Ogawa – @ogawaccc
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Deborah Fisher
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1245-8; paperback (March 2020); Rated “M” for “Mature”
220pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Caste Heaven is a yaoi manga from mangaka, Chise Ogawa.  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.  Caste Heaven focuses on a group of high school students who play a cruel game that determines class rank... and who's on top.

Caste Heaven, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1-6) introduces Class 2-1.  The students in this class play a secret game called the “Caste Game.”  Students hunt the campus for playing cards that will determine the class' rigid hierarchy.  The highest value card is the “King” card, and the lowest card is the “Joker.”  The one who finds the “King” card becomes the king (or queen).  The one who finds the “Joker” card becomes “the target” or “the bullied one,” and is subject to extreme pain and humiliation from all the other students – especially from the king.

The past school year, Yuya Azusa, has been the king.  Ruthless and arrogant, he lorded his status over the other students.  This is a new school year, however, and it is time to play the Caste Game again.  Azusa plots to be king again, but after he is betrayed, he may have to accept a new position – the new king's bitch!

[This volume includes bonus story, “Behind the Game,” and an “Afterword.”]

The Caste Heaven yaoi manga tells a story in the spirit of many manga.  There is an implausible scenario, but if the author (or mangaka) can weave a captivating story from that implausible premise, the result can be a winning manga.

Caste Heaven Graphic Novel Volume 1 starts off from its first page with a ridiculous concept.  Honestly, I didn't think that I could finish this first volume, but then, I started to enjoy the struggle that creator Chise Ogawa depicts.  Azusa and the other characters in these first chapters struggle with what they really want, with what they really think, and with whom they really want.  There is a conflict between what they present to society at large (in this case, their high school class) and what they reveal in intimate settings when they are with the person they (might) love... or the person that makes them hot and horny.

Adrienne Beck's translation expertly captures the inconsistencies, the vagaries, the fickleness, and the angst.  Beck reveals how this series moves from raunchy lust to love and hot sex... that could end up being real love...”?

7 out of 10

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

SubBLimeManga.com


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: SEVEN DAYS: Sunday-Monday

SEVEN DAYS: SUNDAY–MONDAY
SUBLIME MANGA/Taiyoh Tosho Co., Ltd. – @SuBLimeManga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Venio Tachibana
ART: Rihito Takarai
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Deborah Fisher
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0927-4; paperback (December 2019); Rated “T” for “Teen”
372pp, B&W, $16.99 U.S., $22.99 CAN, £10.99 UK

Seven Days is a boys' love manga from writer Venio Tachibana and artist Rihito Takarai.  Boys' love (or BL) manga depicts amorous situations between male romantic leads.  There is a sub-set of boys' love manga known as “shounen-ai,” that usually does not feature graphic depictions of sexuality.  Seven Days is essentially shounen-ai.

Seven Days was serialized in the Japanese yaoi manga anthology magazine, Craft, from 2007 to 2009.  The story was released in two parts, Seven Days: Monday–Thursday and Seven Days: Friday–Sunday.  Seven Days was collected in two tankobon (graphic novels) under those titles, Seven Days: Monday–Thursday (published in Japan in 2007) and Seven Days: Friday–Sunday (2009).

Digital Manga Publishing's (DMP) imprint, Juné Manga, released an English-language edition of the first graphic novel in 2010, and the second in 2011.  In March 2019, VIZ Media took over English distribution rights.  In December 2019, VIZ published both Seven Days graphic novels in a single, English-language paperback omnibus edition (a “2-in-1 edition”), entitled Seven Days: Monday–Sunday, under its SuBLime Manga imprint.

Seven Days: Monday–Sunday introduces two male students attending Hoka Private Academy.  The first is Yuzuru Shino, a bored and disillusioned third-year high school student.  The second is Toji Seryo, a popular first-year student at school.  Yuzuru has heard the rumor that Toji will accept anyone who asks him out on a date at the beginning of the week (on Monday), and that he ends the relationship after seven days of dating (on Sunday).

On a lark, Yuzuru decides to ask Toji out as a half-hearted joke, but, to his surprise, Toji accepts the offer.  Over the course of seven days, Yuzuru's feelings for Toji grow, and although Toji seems sincere, Yuzuru does not quite trust this erstwhile playboy.  Still, Yuzuru begins to dread the impending day when Toji will inevitably end their relationship.

[This volume includes a bonus story, “Goodbye for Now,” and an “Afterword” and an “Author Note.”]

The Seven Days: Monday–Sunday manga may or may not be “shounen-ai” as I have labeled it.  However, it is such a gentle, puppy-love type, high school romance that I could also label it as quasi-shojo manga, which are essentially comics for teen girls.  The primary audience for BL manga is female readers.

The Seven Days: Monday–Sunday Graphic Novel is rated “T” (Teen), and although I have previously read BL manga with a “teen” rating, I have not read many.  Thus, it is jarring to see two teen males starring in a BL manga and not “getting it on.”  Talk about non-graphic depiction of a sexual relationships; Yuzuru and Toji do not engage in sexual intercourse.

Still, creators Venio Tachibana (writer) and Rihito Takarai (artist) present a story that is so oddly endearing.  Every time, I picked up the Seven Days: Monday–Sunday Graphic Novel, I felt an urgency to keep reading so that I could see where Yuzuru and Toji's relationship was going.  Obviously, I was hoping to eventually come across some good-old fashioned male-on-male action of the yaoi manga variety.  However, a part of me wanted to see if their love was real, or see who would dump whom.  Would Yuzuru break-up with Toji before he could break-up with him?  Or was Yuzuru simply going to wait for the inevitable and proverbial “shoe-to-drop?”  That is when Toji would say to Yuzuru, “I'm sorry. I couldn't fall for you. Let's break up.”

Well, there is a happy ending, so there... I have spoiled it for you, dear readers.  Seriously, Adrienne Beck's translation makes this cool story simmer by turning awkward dialogue into conversations full of longing, searching, and yearning.  Deborah Fisher's lettering gives this story a steady pace and keeps the dialogue from seeming too measured and too cool.  So, the English-language edition of Seven Days: Monday–Sunday is not the greatest boys' love story of all time.  Still, it finds a way to make a seven-day romance seem like the most important thing in the world – simply because readers will end up rooting for the romance to lunge past the seven-day mark.

7 out of 10

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

www.SubBLimeManga.com


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


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#IReadsYou Review: YARICHIN BITCH CLUB: Volume 1

YARICHIN BITCH CLUB, VOL. 1
SUBLIME MANGA/Gentosha Comics Inc. – @SuBLimeManga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Ogeretsu Tanaka
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
LETTERS: Mary Pass
EDITOR: Hope Donovan
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0832-1; paperback (November 2019); Rated “M” for “Mature”
266pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S., $19.99 CAN, £9.99 UK

Yarichin Bitch Club is a yaoi manga from popular mangaka, Ogeretsu Tanaka (Escape Journey).  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.  Yarichin Bitch Club is set at an all-boys school where a new student accidentally finds himself a member of a lascivious boys' club.

As Yarichin Bitch Club, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1-6) opens, hapless Takashi Tono transfers to “Mori Mori Academy,” an all-boys boarding school located deep in the mountains.  The first student Tono meets is Kyosuke “Yacchan” Yaguchi, a soccer player, who recommends to Tono a club he might like to join.  It is the “Photography Club.”

What Tono learns too late is that the Photography Club is also known as the “Yarichin Bitch Club” (or simply “Bitch Club”).  The club's main extracurricular activity is providing sexual services to the rest of the student body and also to some of the faculty.  Each member has to provide “sexual relief” to the student body five times a month.  If a member fails that quota, his fellow club members will “gang-bang” him at the end of the month.

Tono isn't interested in having sex with any male students, but he does find himself attracted to fellow transfer student, Yu Kashima.  Or maybe, Tono likes Yacchan...

[This volume includes bonus content:  an illustrated “Afterword,” four-panel comics, bonus manga, and illustrated “Character Introductions.”]

The Yarichin Bitch Club yaoi manga has a title that immediately forces you to pay attention to it, dear readers.  The back cover copy will also pique your interest, or maybe even make you aroused...

Yarichin Bitch Club Graphic Novel Volume 1, unfortunately, does not quite live up to its title.  Creator Ogeretsu Tanaka draws sex scenes that are way too busy and are filled with what I see as excessive line work and too many sound effects.  This art is the kind of distorted composition that creates static in the graphical storytelling.  Letterer Mary Pass does not do anything to alleviate the static interference.  It is not that her work is of low quality; it is that she adds to the sound and fury that sometimes results in overwrought and muddled storytelling.

Satsuki Yamashita's English translation finds some nuance in the characters and in the character drama and development.  Yamashita focuses on the potential of the characters, and this manga does indeed have an interesting cast.  This series does have potential, and quite frankly, at this point, I am more interested in the characters than in the jumbled sex scenes.

6 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 © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: CANDY COLOR PARADOX Volume 3

CANDY COLOR PARADOX, VOL. 3
SUBLIME MANGA/Shinshokane – @SuBLimeManga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Isaku Natsume
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Vanessa Satone
EDITOR: Marlene First
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0496-5; paperback (September 2019); Rated “M” for “Mature”
194pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Candy Color Paradox is a yaoi manga from manga creator, Isaku Natsume (Dash!).  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.

Candy Color Paradox follows two reporters:  investigative reporter, Satoshi Onoe, and photojournalist, Motoharu “Kabu” Kaburagi.  Their boss at the news agency, Shinkan News, forces them to work together.  Onoe and Kaburagi bicker, but eventually become colleagues... and lovers.

As Candy Color Paradox, Vol. 3 (Chapters 1 to 5) opens, Onoe and Kaburagi are on an undercover assignment... that goes wrong.  No problem:  their boss, Kiuchi, gives Kabu a new partner, a young reporter and new hire named Kasai, who comes over from a rival agency.  A little jealous, Onoe discovers that not only is Kasai talented, but he also has a score to settle with Onoe.  Kasai has decided that keeping Kabu's attention on him and away from Onoe is also goal.  He seems to be winning until his ambition puts his and Onoe's life in danger with the mysterious Kenyu Group.

[This volume includes the bonus stories, “Necktie A-Go-Go!,” and “A Bar by the Station, 8:00 PM,” “Happy Vacation,” and “Kaburagi's POV,”and it has an afterword.]

The Candy Color Paradox manga is a yaoi manga that is also a workplace comedy-drama.  However, this opposites-attract love story does give the readers scenes of boys' love lovemaking and yaoi-type sex.

Candy Color Paradox Graphic Novel Volume 3 focuses on workplace melodrama and rivalries, whereas the previous volumes focused on the characters' personalities and attitudes about their friends and loved ones.  I enjoy these characters, and I like that they are reporters.  However, I found this volume to be a bit dry at times.  Onoe vs. Kasai ain't as intense or as interesting as creator Isaku Natsume probably thought it would be.

Still, Chapter 5 (entitled “Drop. 05” here) is a nice ending.  The story closes with a nice sex scene, and the extra stories are comic vignettes focusing on the leads and their closest friends and associates.  That's nice, too,  Adrienne Beck's translation and Vanessa Satone's lettering are good.  So in the end, Candy Color Paradox, Vol. 3 is nice and good.  I'd like the next volume (which were recently published) to be very nice and very good.

7 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 © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: DON'T BE CRUEL Volume 8

DON'T BE CRUEL, VOL. 8
SUBLIME MANGA/Libre – @SuBLimeManga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Yonezou Nekota – @yonekozoh
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Vanessa Satone
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0832-1; paperback (October 2019); Rated “M” for “Mature”
188pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 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, Hideyuki Maya, who forces a studious classmate, Takahashi Nemugasa, into a sexual relationship.

As Don't Be Cruel, Vol. 8 opens, Maya awakens to find himself in a strange bedroom!  Oops, this is the apartment of his friend, Ruka, but nothing happened between Maya and Ruka... right?  So why does Maya later lie to Nemugasa about his whereabouts?  After Maya changes the subject, Nemugasa begins to wonder if his lover's playboy days are coming back.  When Maya agrees to help Ruka in planning a special event to promote a movie, Nemugasa becomes really suspicious and worried.  Can Nemugasa find out the truth, and what will he do when he does?

[This volume includes the bonus story, “Bath Oil is Slippery,” and an “Afterword.”]

It has been over three years since I last read the Don't Be Cruel yaoi manga.  It was in a 2-in1 edition that collected Don't Be Cruel Volumes 1 and 2 that I received from my SuBLime Manga media rep.

Don't Be Cruel Graphic Novel Volume 8 also arrived as a copy for review.  I did not have a difficult time catching up to the current status of the characters.  Nemugasa is still needy and insecure, and Maya is still handsome, a good lover, and attractive to other men and women.  I think that Don't Be Cruel is one of the longer running yaoi manga because creator Yonezou Nekota creates new problems for her star couple, even after she puts their old problems behind them.  Nemugasa and Maya's relationship makes good melodrama because Nekota treats them like a real-world couple experiencing the ups-and-downs and the ebb and flow of any relationship between two people, especially between those who happen to be lovers.

Nekota's pretty art depicts the emotional state of the characters through their emotive eyes and vivid facial expressions.  Adrienne Beck's translation captures the affection of romance, but also the edgy and sometimes combative nature of romantic relationships.  However, I have to say that I think Vanessa Satone's lettering is the most effective storytelling element in this English-language edition of Don't Be Cruel.  The lettering conveys the subtlety and the range of emotions, both in the dialogue and in the overall story.

7.5 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 syndication rights and fees.


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

#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.


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

Yaoi Review: FOURTH GENERATION HEAD: Tatsuyuki Oyamoto

FOURTH GENERATION HEAD: TATSUYUKI OYAMATO
SUBLIME MANGA (Shinshokan) – @SuBLimeManga

MANGAKA: Scarlet Beriko
TRANSLATION: Christine Dashiell
LETTERS: James Dashiell
EDITOR: Hope Donovan
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0710-2; paperback (August 2019); Rated “M” for “Mature”
232pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato is a yaoi manga from creator Scarlet Beriko (Jackass!).  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.  SuBLime Manga recently published Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato in English as a standalone graphic novel.

Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato (Chapters 1 to 8) introduces 24-year-old Tatsuyuki Oyamato.  He is the fourth generation heir of “the Oyamato Syndicate,” Japan's largest yakuza organization.  Tatsuyuki, however, is not interested in being a yakuza boss, but enjoys being a playboy.  After Tatsuyuki has an erotic encounter with a masseur, Oyamato Syndicate retainer, Asoda, decides to send the wayward heir on an “adventure” to the city of Fukuoka.

Not long after arriving, Tatsuyuki is practically kidnapped and raped by a man who claims to have a past with him.  But who is this Nozomi Koga?  If he did know Tatsuyuki in the past, was Nozomi different?  And just how connected to Tatsuyuki and Nozomi's pasts is the loan shark, Uichi Roga?

[Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato includes extra material, including an illustrated “Afterword;” the manga short story, “Personal Space,” and another manga, “Bonus.”]

One thing that I can say with utmost confidence is that the Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato manga is intense.  The second thing I can say confidently is that this manga depicts dirty, crazy lust.

Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato features sex – rough and passionate and consensual.  Sometimes, the story does present that kind of romance novel did-not-say-yes-but-did-not-say-no lovemaking.  I guess it's kind of rapey.  The truth is that Tatsuyuki and Koga have so much personal baggage from their respective childhoods that it would make sense that creator Scarlet Beriko would have her lead characters be a little troubled, both in personality and in attitude.  But they grope, thrust, hump, lick, and suck their way to happiness and happy-ever-after.

I have to be honest.  The yakuza angle and subplots don't really work.  It all seems forced and contrived, but translator Christine Dashiell makes the best of it in English.  Still, I cannot call this some kind of romance slash crime-drama.  It is a yaoi manga.

Beriko's compositions are loose and fluid, sometimes shifting and impressionistic.  Her art fits this story of mercurial personalities and conniving liars.  James Dashiell lettering perfectly conveys the secrets and lies and the cries and whispers... and the sounds of sex.  “Pant,” “thrust,” “slap,” and “Ha” make frequent appearances as sound effects.

Fans of truly explicit yaoi manga and of highly melodramatic boys' love with want to read Fourth Generation Head: Tatsuyuki Oyamato.

A
8 out of 10

https://www.sublimemanga.com/

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: CANDY COLOR PARADOX Volume 1

CANDY COLOR PARADOX, VOL. 1
SUBLIME MANGA – @SuBLimeManga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Isaku Natsume
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Vanessa Satone
EDITOR: Marlene First
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0493-4; paperback (March 2019); Rated “M” for “Mature”
218pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Candy Color Paradox is a yaoi manga from manga creator, Isaku Natsume (Dash!).  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.  Candy Color Paradox follows two reporters whose news agency forces them to work together and whose bickering eventually turns romantic.

Candy Color Paradox, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 4) opens at Shinkan News.  Satoshi Onoe has just learned from his bosses that he is to be paired with an old rival, Motoharu “Kabu” Kaburagi.  Onoe is known for his writing skills and ethical reporting.  Kaburagi is a photographer with a knack for stakeouts, for using informants, for assuming false identities, and for using sexual intercourse to get tips and leads for his assignments.

Onoe is irritated that he is now on stakeouts of high profile public figures and celebrities with Kaburagi.  He chafes at the notion that Kaburagi, who started his career about the same time he did, is some kind of quasi-tabloid journalism star.  But when Kaburagi suddenly kisses him...

[This volume includes the bonus story, “The Aftermath” and an “Afterword.”]

Yaoi manga is not pornography.  Explicit depictions of sexual intercourse may be inevitable in this genre, but yaoi mangaka deliver 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.

Candy Color Paradox Graphic Novel Volume 1 could be mistaken for a normal workplace drama and romantic comedy.  Isaku Natsume makes her readers earn the sex scenes by enjoying how she fully delves into the world of journalism that she has fashioned for Candy Color Paradox.  I am intrigued by the news stories Onoe and Kaburagi chase, and I look forward to more of that in future chapters.

I like the sharp line work of Natsume's art and her attention to detail in composition and in backgrounds.  I like that she suggests that one night of sexual romps won't change the fundamental conflicts between her two stars.  This is a series worth following.

8 out of 10

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/.

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 Manga Review: JACKASS! Volume 1

JACKASS!, VOL. 1
SUBLIME MANGA – @SuBLimeManga

MANGAKA: Scarlet Beriko
TRANSLATION: Christine Dashiell
LETTERS: James Dashiell
EDITOR: Hope Donovan
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9644-0; paperback (October 2017); Rated “M” for “Mature”
242pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Jackass! is a yaoi manga from manga creator, Scarlett Beriko.  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.  Jackass! is a romantic comedy about the love and lust that ensues when someone accidentally puts on a pair of pantyhose.

Jackass!, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 6) introduces Keisuke, an ordinary high school student living with his older sister, Akiko.  Keisuke has a best friend named Shinoda Masayuki, who is handsome and carefree, and who is also from a wealthy family.  In fact, Masayuki is so stunningly handsome that he can (and often does) have any girl he wants.

The trouble starts one day when Keisuke accidentally wears a pair of Akiko’s pantyhose to gym class.  Suddenly the hot friend Masayuki is rubbing his hands on Keisuke’s pantyhose-clad legs!  Has Keisuke unwittingly unleashed a secret fetish that will change their relationship forever?  Masayuki certainly thinks so.

[This volume includes the bonus story, “The Shino-Hara Household” and an “Afterword” in manga form.]

Wow.  I have read quite a bit of yaoi manga, and I have come across numerous unusual scenarios.  Pantyhose as the impetus that turns friendship into romance:  no, that is new.

Jackass! Volume 1 is truly a romantic comedy, however.  Creator Scarlet Beriko seems determined to offer humorous sexual situations, and she does not rely only on sexual innuendo.  In addition to the Keisuke-Masayuki relationship, Jackass! presents other promising romantic relationships and entanglements, including one between a teacher and a student!

Don't think that Beriko denies her readers depictions of sex.  The main story ends with a bang:  condoms, mutual masturbation, fondling, and more.  On the back cover, one of the characters is wearing a t-shirt with a slogan – the kind of slogan that promises a yaoi manga of wild fun.

A
8 out of 10

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/.

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


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Yaoi Manga Review: TEN COUNT Volume 4

TEN COUNT, VOL. 4
SUBLIME MANGA (Shinshokan) – @SuBLimeManga

MANGAKA: Rihito Takarai
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: NRP Studios
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8906-0; paperback (May 2017); Rated “M” for “Mature”
188pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Ten Count is a yaoi manga from manga creator, Rihito Takarai.  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.   Ten Count focuses on the developing relationship between two men, Tadaomi Shirotani, a corporate secretary who is a “germaphobe,” and Riku Kurose, the counselor and clinical psychotherapist who tries to help him.

The truth is that Shirotani cannot resist Kurose's advances.  As Ten Count, Vol. 4 (Chapters 19 to 24) opens, Shirotani is at the mercy of Kurose and a shapely butt-plug Kurose wields.  Although he shivers with pleasure, Shirotani declares that Kurose is disgusting and runs away.  His words to Kurose, however, will cost Shirotani and will force him to be real about his feelings concerning Kurose.

[This volume includes the Ten Count bonus stories, “Kurose, Shirotani, and Thumb Wrestling,” “Kurose, Shirotani, and Silky Sensations,” and “Kurose, a White Cat and a Can of Tuna.”]

In my review of the first volume of the Ten Count manga, I wrote that it was okay that there was no sex in the first six chapters of Ten Count.  Sometimes, even yaoi manga is good at quietly building romance over a slow simmer of a narrative, but by the sexual... I mean... second volume of this series, it was on like rough-sex Donkey Kong.

Ten Count Volume 4 is one of the most intensely sexual comic books that I have ever read, just as was the case with Vol. 2.  [I did not read Vol. 3.]  Creator Rihito Takarai surprised me by how she made masturbation seem as sweet as a first kiss in Vol. 2.  In Vol. 4, she spreads Shirotani's butt cheeks and reveals the anus and puts the Oh! in Ohio.  Her romantic lead cannot get enough of the pleasure that he derives from objects and digits being inserted into his bunghole (with a nod to President Lyndon B. Johnson).

Still, the pure, heartfelt romance remains.  From the beginning, I thought that Ten Count was an odd yaoi manga considering the profession of one lead and the condition of the other.  However, disorders and jobs aside, Ten Count is a love story, and I want a happy ending.

A

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


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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

Yaoi Manga Review: TEN COUNT Volume 2

TEN COUNT, VOL. 2
SUBLIME MANGA – @SuBLimeManga

MANGAKA: Rihito Takarai
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: NRP Studios
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8803-2; paperback (November 2016); Rated “M” for “Mature”
186pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Ten Count is a yaoi manga from manga creator, Rihito Takarai.  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.   Ten Count focuses on the developing relationship between two men, Tadaomi Shirotani, a corporate secretary who is a germaphobe, and Riku Kurose, the counselor and clinical psychotherapist who tries to help him.

Shirotani was opening his heart to Kurose, and the latter's 10-step program was helping the former.  Then, Kurose told Shirotani that their sessions were over.  As Ten Count, Vol. 2 (Chapters 7 to 12) opens, both are dealing with the repercussions of Kurose's decision.  In a state of shock, Shirotani has withdrawn into his home and refuses to leave – even for work.  When Kurose texts him and asks to see him, Shirotani will discover the secrets behind Kurose's actions.

[This volume includes the Ten Count bonus stories, “Kurose, Shirotani, and Clothing” and “Kurose, Shirotani, and (If There Were) Honorifics.”]

I wrote in my review of the first volume that it was okay that there was no sex in the first six chapters of Ten Count.  Sometimes, even yaoi manga is good at quietly building romance over a slow simmer of narrative.

That said, Ten Count Volume 2 is one of the most intensely sexual comic books that I have ever read.  I can say that creator Rihito Takarai surprises me by how she makes masturbation seem as sweet as a first kiss.  This kind of true romance will leave the reader breathless.  Still, the relationship between Shirotani and Kurose remains a fragile thing, intense orgasms aside.  The simmering will continue in future chapters of Ten Count, which I highly recommend.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

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

Yaoi Review: BLUE MORNING Volume 6

BLUE MORNING, VOL. 6
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga (Chara Comics)

CARTOONIST: Shoko Hidaka
TRANSLATION: Jocelyne Allen
LETTERS: NRP Studios
COVER: Shoko Hidaka with Shawn Carrico
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8806-3; paperback (September 2016) Rated “M” for “Mature”
250pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Blue Morning is a series of yaoi manga graphic novels from creator Shoko Hidaka.  Yaoi manga features love stories in which the romantic leads are males.  A subset of boys’ love (BL) manga, yaoi can also feature explicit depictions of sex.  Blue Morning focuses on Akihito, the heir to a viscount-ship, and Katsuragi, his very capable butler, to whom Akihito is attracted.

After the death of his father, Akinao Kuze, 10-year-old Akihito Kuze moves into the Kuze mansion, as he prepares to inherit his late father’s viscount-ship.  There, he meets the Kuze family butler, Tomoyuki Katsuragi, who is tasked with raising Akihito.  By the time he is 17-years-old, Akihito finds himself relentlessly drawn to Katsuragi, but also frustrated by the distance between them.

As Blue Morning, Vol. 6 (Chapters 28 to 33) opens, Akihito and Katsuragi make love, but then move apart.  Katsuragi begins to run the household and business affairs of Soemon Ishizaki, the father of Akihito's best friend, Soichiro.  Then, it is announced that Akihito will leave to obtain treatment for a long ailment (which he is feigning).  However, Akihito does plan on leaving to study abroad, so will this planned departure be the thing that forces Akihito and Katsuragi back together?

The Blue Morning manga is a romantic period drama, but is also something of a domestic drama.  I have compared it to being something like a comic book version of one of those Merchant-Ivory films from the 1980s and 1990s.

Much of Blue Morning Volume 6 is about character drama; people talk, but talk around those with whom they are familiar or have a romantic relationship.  While this series begins and ends with intimacy, creator Shoko Hidaka uses everything else to play with the big “if,” which is the question of whether the romantic leads will ever truly unite.  I like this series; it is a good one, but the story is ready to be resolved.  I don't see it remaining a quality manga past a seventh volume.

A-

www.SuBLimeManga.com

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.

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

Yaoi Manga Review: TEN COUNT Volume 1

TEN COUNT, VOL. 1
SUBLIME MANGA (Shinshokan) – @SuBLimeManga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Rihito Takarai
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: NRP Studios
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8802-5; paperback (August 2016); Rated “M” for “Mature”
186pp, B&W, $16.99 U.S., $19.99 CAN, £10.99 UK

Ten Count is a yaoi manga from mangaka, Rihito Takarai.  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.   Ten Count focuses on a corporate secretary who is a germaphobe and the counselor who tries to help him.

Ten Count, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 6) introduces Tadaomi Shirotani, the corporate secretary for The Tosawa Company.  He has obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and wears gloves so that he does not have to touch people or things.  He does not eat at restaurants, nor does he even take the train.  He washes his hands so much that they are raw and covered with scars.

One day, the president of The Tosawa Company is in an accident.  One of the people involved in the accident is Riku Kurose, a clinical psychotherapist at Shimada Psychiatric Center.  Kurose immediately recognizes Shirotani's OCD and offers to take him through a 10-step program to cure him of his compulsion.  As they begin the program, Shirotani realizes that his attraction to Kurose grows, causing complications even as he starts to get his compulsion under control.

[This volume includes the Ten Count bonus story, “Kurose, Shirotani, and Hay Fever.”]

There is nothing wrong with a little bump and grind as R&B nasty man, R. Kelly once sang.  But neither is there anything wrong with no bump and grind in an oh-so-slow building romance comic book.

In her afterword to Ten Count Volume 1, author Rihito Takarai says the she almost worried that readers would complain about the leisurely pace of the chapters that comprise Vol. 1.  I have no such complaints.  Considering the concept and central plot of this manga, having the characters quickly engage in sex would seem unrealistic.  There is something about the glacier pace of two people who know little about each other slowly falling in love that is super-sexy.

I found it hard to take a pause in reading Ten Count.  It is like watching the birth of romance and true love – step by step.  There is powerful dramatic tension and good reading in that.

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.

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

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.

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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.