SuBLime Has the "Right Stuf" for Second Anniversary

GLOBAL YAOI PUBLISHER SuBLime CELEBRATES 2-YEAR ANNIVERSARY WITH SPECIAL MANGA SALE AT LEADING ONLINE RETAILER RIGHT STUF

Diverse Yaoi Imprint Marks Second Birthday With Up To 50% Off Selected Yaoi Manga Bundles And Individual Volumes

SuBLime, the global yaoi manga publishing initiative between VIZ Media and Japan’s Animate, Ltd. (Animate), marks its 2-year anniversary with the announcement of a special sale on print editions of a variety of celebrated yaoi manga titles from its catalog at leading anime/manga online retailer/distributor Right Stuf.

For a limited time through January 20th, yaoi readers can take advantage of 50% off select SuBLime manga bundles. This is an ideal opportunity to enjoy a specially curated selection of acclaimed SuBLime series for half-off their regular print MSRP. Access the complete list of SuBLime sale titles at RightStuf.com. For our global readers, RightStuf does ship internationally.

The following print bundles are available for 50% off:

AWKWARD SILENCE by Hinako Takanaga • Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers •
Bundle Set Includes Vols. 1-4 • MSRP: $25.98 (U.S. / CAN)
Satoru Tono is too shy to speak to classmate Keigo Tamiya. Instead he fills his sketchbook with drawings of the boy he likes. But perhaps Keigo has noticed him too...?

HIS FAVORITE by Suzuki Tanaka • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens •
Bundle Set Includes Vols. 1-5 • MSRP: $32.48 (U.S. / CAN)
Yoshida is short, scrawny, and generally unattractive. To make matters worse, all the girls in his class hate him because Sato, the hottest guy in school, always uses hanging out with him as an excuse to turn them down. Is Yoshida just a convenient excuse or is there something more? Could this odd couple even make things work?!

PUNCH UP! by Shiuko Kano • Rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers •
Bundle Set Includes Vols. 1-4 • MSRP: $25.98 (U.S. / CAN)
High-flying architect Motoharu Maki loves looking at hot guys, and where better to find a lot of good-looking, well-toned hotties than a construction site? But after one visit, Motoharu winds up with an unexpected commitment. Ironworker Kouta Ohki is young, foul-mouthed, and not at all Motoharu's type!

Also, don’t miss special savings on all bundled manga packages featuring multiple titles by these celebrated yaoi manga creators:

Yaya Sakuragi Bundle – SALE MSRP $32.48
BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE, Vols. 1-4
HIDE AND SEEK, Vol. 1

Youka Nitta Bundle – SALE MSRP $27.98
EMBRACING LOVE, 2-in-1 Omnibus Edition, Vol. 1
SPIRITUAL POLICE, Vol. 1
STARTING WITH A KISS, Vols. 1-2

**Titles are rated ‘M’ for Mature Readers.

Readers can also purchase individual print editions of the above mentioned series for $6.76 each – a 48% saving off regular MSRP (omnibus editions are $8.84).

Also visit SuBLimeManga.com for an array of additional yaoi manga titles that are available digitally in a download-to-own format for $5.99 (U.S. / CAN) each and are viewable as a PDF on any enabled eReader device or computer, or also accessed via the online manga viewer found on the web site.

For up-to-date news and release information, please visit the SuBLime website at www.SuBLimeManga.com, or follow SuBLime on Twitter at @SuBLimeManga and Facebook at facebook.com/SuBLimeManga.

About SuBLime
SuBLime is a global yaoi/boys’ love manga publisher, and is a partnership between VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, and Japan’s Animate, Ltd. (Animate). This bold, global publishing initiative will present English-speaking fans everywhere with a broad selection of high quality titles. SuBLime will offer titles digitally worldwide available at www.SuBLimeManga.com, with many available in Download-to-Own format, and selections in print also available in English-language editions worldwide.

Yaoi Review: AWKWARD SILENCE Volume 3

AWKWARD SILENCE, VOL. 3
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga

CARTOONIST: Hinako Takanaga
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
LETTERING: Deron Bennett
COVER: Hinako Takanaga and Fawn Lau
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4356-7; paperback; Rated “M” for “Mature”
186pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Born in Aichi, Japan, Hinako Takanaga is a female mangaka (creator) known for her yaoi manga work, including such titles as The Devil’s Secret and Liberty Liberty! She has also provided illustrations for light novels.

SuBLime is currently publishing her BL/yaoi manga series, Awkward Silence. “Yaoi manga” is a subset of boy’s love manga (BL) that usually depicts romance and explicit sex between male characters. The third volume of Awkward Silence focuses on a high school student confused after a rascally classmate steals a kiss from him.

Awkward Silence Volume 3 (Voice 6 to 7 and “Side Voice”) focuses on Yuji “Yu” Sagara. In Vol. 1, Sagara was a rival of Keigo Tamiya’s for the affections of shy and introverted Satoru Tono. Now, Sagara is the shy one, and a busy shy guy at that. Sagara’s mother needs surgery, and he works a part-time job to pay bills while his mother is in the hospital. In addition to preparing for college, Sagara also works in the Student Council Office at Nishikou High.

That Student Council is the reason Sagara has to deal with Takahito Kagami, an incorrigible flirt who has all the girls after him. When Kagami steals a kiss from him, Sagara doesn’t know what to do.

While it is labeled as a yaoi manga, Awkward Silence Volume 3 does not feature much in the way of sex, especially of an explicit nature. This graphic novel could be labeled as shounen-ai, the other subset of boys’ love manga. Labels don’t really matter, however, in regards to this book’s quality.

Awkward Silence Volume 3 is like a shojo manga high school romance, but with a same-sex couple rather than with teen boy-teen girl lovebirds. Sagara worries and frets about the way he acts around Kagami. Kagami comes on strong, but is genuinely determined to prove his love to Sagara. This love story is sweet and gentle. It even has light, comic moments, such as when Sagara and Kagami join Tono and Tamiya on a double date at the amusement park, MB Land.

I enjoy the grab-ass-a-rama that yaoi manga can often be, but I also like the pure romance that boys’ love offers, such as in this sweet, shojo-like book. I want more like Awkward Silence Volume 3. Readers looking for love stories about awkward young love can find it in the SuBLime series, Awkward Silence.

A-

www.SuBLimeManga.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Yaoi Review: AWKWARD SILENCE Volume 1

AWKWARD SILENCE, VOL. 1
SUBLIME

CARTOONIST: Hinako Takanaga
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
LETTERING: Deron Bennett
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4347-5; paperback; Rated “M” for “Mature”
202pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Born in Aichi, Japan, Hinako Takanaga is a female mangaka (creator) known for her yaoi manga work, including such titles as The Devil’s Secret and Liberty Liberty! She has also provided illustrations for light novels.

SuBLime recently published the first volume of her BL/yaoi manga series, Awkward Silence. For those who don’t know, “BL” is boys’ love manga, a comic book that features romance between male characters. “Yaoi manga” is a subset of BL that usually depicts explicit sex. Awkward Silence is about an introverted boy who finally gets the boy of his dreams, but finds himself too overcome to speak to his dream lover.

Awkward Silence Volume 1 introduces Satoru Tono is a shy, introverted, high school boy. He has long had a crush on Keigo Tamiya, a popular boy who plays baseball for their school, Nishikou High. Tamiya shocks Tono by striking up a conversation with him, but Tono is so overcome that he cannot respond to the nice things Tamiya says to him. As their relationship blossoms, Tono and Tamiya find others coming between the two of them.

One is Yukari Machida, a pretty girl who always seems to be next to Tamiya. Tono is shocked to discover that he is jealous of this pretty teen rival. Tono also discovers that Yuji “Yu” Sagara, a former childhood pal, is also a student at Nishikou. Yu wants to be friends again, much closer friends than before (and they were pretty close). Tamiya, however, thinks Yu is trying to get too close to Tono.

I think the most compelling thing about the romance of Tono and Tamiya is that one is such an introvert (Tono) and the other is the typical high school athlete/extrovert (Tamiya). Tono’s inability to give voice to his feelings – literally, he can barely speak when overcome with strong feelings – is a bit overstated. Hinako Takanaga presents this in such a way that it made me want to follow this love story, if for no other reason that to enjoy Tono’s humorous suffering. When he can’t express himself in words, Tono allows others to make assumptions about what he wants, thinks, or feels, and such misunderstanding is a mother of comedy invention.

The supporting characters, Yukari Machida and Yuji Sagara, are just what Awkward Silence needs when the narrative gets bogged down in the speechless boy/aggressive boy dynamic. More pixie than vixen, Ms. Machida is seemingly oblivious to the problems she causes, which makes her good for relationship comedy. Takanaga depicts Sagara as so insistent, especially in the way he pursues Tono, that he comes across as a lead character. Sagara is Awkward Silence’s biggest stimulus of conflict.

Takanaga’s art is not one of the better examples of graphical storytelling you’ll find in a yaoi manga. The art emphasizes facial expression, because this story is all about expressing feeling and depicting the intensity of romantic love and sex via facial expressions. Also, the story is divided into three chapters. Takanaga has Tono and Tamiya make love to close each chapter. And while the silence may be awkward, the bedroom play isn’t.

B+

SuBLimeManga.com

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I Reads You Review: CROQUIS (Yaoi)

CROQUIS

Creator: Hinako Takanaga
Publishing Information: BLU, B&W, paperback, 208 pages, $14.99 (US), $18.99 CAN
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-1799-0 (ISBN-13)

In the yaoi manga, Croquis, from creator Hinako Takanaga (A Capable Man, You Will Fall in Love), the ever-so-delicate subject of first love is explored. Young men not only struggle with their feelings, but also with coming out to the objects of their affections.

In the title story, Croquis, Nagi Sasahara always wanted to be a girl. Now, he works as a sort of drag queen-in-training at a gay bar called the Pink Cat. Nagi also has a part-time modeling gig at an art school. Why does he have two jobs? Nagi is saving money for a boob job-breast augmentation, so that he can have big breasts and appear more feminine.

The art school is where the problems begin. Nagi notices that one of the students, Shinji Kaji, stares at him. Kaji is certainly friendly enough, but Nagi is afraid of telling Kaji that he is gay or even revealing his biggest secret: that he is a fledgling drag queen. Nagi just can’t stop believing that Kaji doesn’t totally accept him for what he is.

Croquis, the graphic novel in this collection, plays at being the usual yaoi romance about a small of stature uke (bottom) smitten with a tall, dark seme (top). While it does have such romance comics tropes as lovers quarrels, spats with jealous friends, sleepless nights, etc., Croquis also addresses body image issues, coming out, and virginity, among others, giving this fictional romance a bit of an edge.

Some yaoi manga, which depict explicit sex between male lovers, can be sweet even when featuring randy sex scenes. Croquis is tart; it offers a happy ending, but never pretends that lovers, even soul mates, have an easy affair. It isn’t as if this is some powerful drama, because it doesn’t go into depth about anything, but just the fact that it makes coming out and body image issues such a part of the story is surprising.

The other two stories are a bit lighter and more standard yaoi. In the two part “On My First Love,” each of the two chapters is told from the point of view of one of the former classmates, Torii and Kamota. It is fun to see how each man bungled the romance in his own unique way. “Wish upon a Star” about Sei Mayama, a high school sophomore who hates stars (for the most ridiculous reason), is silly. The object of his affections, a senior named Daiki, is equally ridiculous, but the story is a nice read.

Overall, Croquis is another good yaoi manga from Hinako Takanaga. Her deft touch with character drama makes her worth watching.

Buy CROQUIS