#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.


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

Men of Tattoos/Dream Lover

I read Men Of Tattoos (Yaoi)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has comics).

Finder: Naked Truth

I read Finder Volume 3: One Wing in the View Finder (Yaoi) (See all Manga)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

Finder: Body Chase, Unobtainable, DNA in Love

I read Finder Volume 2: Cage in the View Finder (Yaoi)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

FINDER: Target in the Viewfinder and Fixer

I read Finder Volume1: Target in the View Finder (Yaoi)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.

I Reads You Review: WORLD’S END (Yaoi)

Creator: Eiki Eiki (cartoonist); Douglas W. Dlin (translation)
Publishing Information: Juné Manga/DMP; B&W, paperback, 232pp, $12.95 U.S.
Ordering Numbers: ISBN 13: 978-1-56970-766-1; ISBN 10: 1-56970-766-9

Drama/Romance; Rated “YA” for “Teens 16+”

World’s End is the sequel to the yaoi manga, Dear Myself. Both books are the creation of mangaka Eiki Eiki (Train Train). Dear Myself focused on Hirofumi Mizui, a freelance writer, and his possessive boyfriend, Daigo Furubayashi, a businessman and college freshman.

If I understand the story correctly (and I may not because I’ve never read Dear Myself), there is a third character in this scenario, a character known as “Alien Hirofumi.” At one point in the story, Hirofumi loses his memory, and he essentially becomes someone different from the real Hirofumi – thus the term “alien.” It is “Alien Hirofumi” who falls in love with Daigo. This Hirofumi writes “Dear Myself” letters so that when he regains his memories and goes back to being the “real” Hirofumi, he’ll have written memories of his time with Daigo.

As World’s End, a continuation and conclusion of Dear Myself, opens, Hirofumi and Daigo have been living together for a year. However, Daigo has become frighteningly possessive of Hirofumi and starts imposing restrictions on when and where Hirofumi can go. Determined to be independent, Hirofumi insists that Daigo not accompany him to a high school reunion. There, Hirofumi meets an old female acquaintance, Nanae Maeda, who may have romantic feelings for Hirofumi. Meanwhile, his psychological scars lead Daigo to taking drastic action for fear of losing Hirofumi.

This volume also includes the short story, “The Last Spring,” a side story to Dear Myself, featuring the amnesiac Alien Hirofumi. Here, Hirofumi worries that regaining his memory will mean losing the part of him that loves Daigo, so he makes a promise involving cherry blossoms. The only new story in World’s End is the short story, “The Next Spring,” a follow-up to “The Last Spring.”

Eiki Eiki is one of my favorite Boys’ Love (BL) creators. I love her drawing style and the sensibilities of her graphical storytelling, even when I’m not impressed by the core story and characters. This is straight melodrama, but what makes it work is character motivation. The fact is that the characters are selfish and self-centered, even in romantic relationships. They are so focused on their own good feelings and fear of pain, and that gives this drama some edge, as well as potent conflict, both internal and external. A love story that involves stalking, deception, and false imprisonment is a spicier read than a straight love story.

This book also includes stories featuring two more young couples. In “Kiss on a Honeymoon,” Fumiya Yoshino and Ayane Kumagai are a gay couple who married before they graduated from high school. However, school obligations kept the duo from honeymooning. Now, they’re trying to make the class graduation trip to Hawaii double as a honeymoon, but classmate, Takagishi, is a full-on cock block. What to do?

In “Papa’s 18,” former street punk Chiharu Daisawa is now a 20-year-old college student, and he wants his mother, Kayoko Daisawa, to be happy. He approves of her engagement to get married until he discovers that her fiancée is an 18-year-old kid just out of high school. This kid has even taken the family name and goes by the name, Noboru Daisawa. What’s worse to Chiharu is that his new “dad” is a sleepwalker who likes to get in bed with his new “son.”

“Kiss on a Honeymoon” is just a trifle, a cute BL story that really plays out like a high school shojo manga romance. “Papa’s 18” is funny simply because its not-so-farfetched scenario plays out with raunchy, mini-set pieces. There are so many possibilities here for outrageous and scandalous comedy that “Papa’s 18” should be a full-length graphic novel.

At 232 pages, World’s End is packed with entertaining boys’ love manga. None of it is great. Some of it is quite good, and even the average stuff can be entertaining.

A-

Google eBookstore Has Digital Manga Publishing Titles

Digital Manga Publishing launches on to Google Books!

Gardena, CA (May 25, 2010) - Digital Manga, one of the manga industry's most unique and creative publishers, is proud to announce its digital distribution expansion on to Google Books! http://books.google.com/ebooks

Digital Manga has so far launched over 90 titles from their DMP, Juné, and 801 Media imprints into the Google ebookstore, with more to follow in the coming weeks and months, including popular manga titles like Vampire Hunter D and Maiden Rose. Kindle blocked titles like The Color of Love, Weekend Lovers and The Selfish Demon King, are also available in the Google ebookstore.

Digital Manga believes in the “More the better…” concept where digital distribution to every available online storefront, platform, device or digital distributor can provide easier accessibility and availability to readers who own alternative e-reading devices.

Average pricing for most DMP titles is between $5.95 to $7.95 downloaded to your device. You can find a direct listing of current available Digital Manga titles in the Google ebook store here: http://www.junemanga.com/digitaledition/

Google eBooks is compatible with just about any dedicated ebook reader as it stores your library in their digital cloud. Access, your ebooks using your favorite e-reading device like the Barnes & Noble Nook™ and Reader™ from Sony. Follow the link for an overview of Google’s wide array to read your favorite ebook on your favorite device or platform: http://books.google.com/help/ebooks/overview.html

Google Books also provides FREE online eReading applications to help you browse, purchase and download directly off their sites to your preferred device. Apps for PCs, Macs, iPads, iPhones, and Android smartphones and tablets are available now.

http://books.google.com/help/ebooks/devices.html

Sample some of the DMP’s titles below now or go to Google eBooks http://books.google.com/ebooks (best keyword search: digital manga, yaoi, manga)

Sample links:
Vampire Hunter D vol.1: http://books.google.com/books?printsec=frontcover&id=uLb7M1yvHNoC#v=onepage&q&f=false

Love Water: http://books.google.com/ebooks?id=Q2uwSRq_IxgC&dq=digital+manga&as_brr=5

Same Cell Organism: http://books.google.com/books?id=MlP8mzc9OWwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=same+cell+organism&hl=en&ei=GxXXTeXOHY-WsgO1zfCwBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Digital Manga currently also publishes manga through other storefronts like the Amazon Kindle, the Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo books and their very own eManga.com. Check back for new manga title releases which will be up on sale over the next few weeks and months through our newsletter, blog, and our other social networking links below.


About Digital Manga Publishing
Located in Gardena, CA, Digital Manga Publishing is one of the industry's most unconventional and innovative companies, specializing in building corporate and cultural bridges from Japan to the Western Hemisphere - specifically through the licensing, importation and preparation of anime (Japanese animation), manga (Japanese comic books) and related merchandise for the North American mainstream and subculture markets. In this capacity, DMI serves as a catalyst for the expansion of Japanese pop culture institutions into global arenas. The company's imprint line includes DMP: its mainstream imprint, DMP PLATINUM: its classic manga imprint, JUNE´: its boys love imprint, 801 MEDIA: its adult boys love imprint, and DokiDoki: its exclusive co-publishing imprint with Shinshokan Publishing.

For more information about Digital Manga Publishing, visit http://www.digitalmanga.com/ as well as:

http://www.emanga.com/
http://twitter.com/digitalmanga
http://www.youtube.com/user/junemanga
http://www.youtube.com/user/801media
http://www.youtube.com/user/digitalmanga
http://www.facebook.com/DigitalMangaInc

I Reads You Review: LOVE LESSON (YAOI)

Creator: Hanae Sakazaki (cartoonist) with Translation by Design (translator)

Publishing Information: Juné Manga/DMP, paperback, 184 pages, $12.95 (US)

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-56970-737-1 (ISBN-13); 1-56970-737-5 (ISBN-10)

Rating: “M” for “Mature Audiences 18+”

Love Lesson is a collection of yaoi manga short stories from Hanae Sakazuki. Six short stories follow six couples and sometimes their friends, associates, and former lovers as they deal with the very painful first steps of new romance.

The title story finds mild-mannered math teacher, Haruto Shirai, fending off the aggressive advances of Akira Akagi, who is also a popular actor. Akira needs after school help because he is behind on his homework assignments, and Haruto begins to care deeply about his new pupil’s academic success. Or is there more to his concern than just being a good and caring teacher?

In “Uncle and Me,” Tohma discovers that he and his granduncle, Kiyomi, get along better with each other than they do with the rest of the family. The truth is, however, that Tohma loves his uncle – really, really loves him!

In this collection’s longest story, “Don’t Love Me Tender,” we meet the bed-hopping Tomo Miyazawa, the young man known by his many of his one-night stands as the “manslut.” Now, Ryo Harada, a saucy bartender and fellow college student, starts romancing Tomo. Although Tomo is ready to sleep with him right away, Harada insists that there be no sex until Tomo falls in love with him. That infuriates Tomo, but it also causes him to examine why he acts the way he does.

Some of the stories in Love Lesson are merely typical yaoi in which male characters take on the traditional roles of a heterosexual romance. That pretty much describes “Love Lesson” and “Blame it on Spring.” Other stories, such as “Uncle and Me” and “Don’t Love Me Tender,” address the personal and, to a lesser extent, social issues facing a gay couple. In fact, these gay romances are more complex in dealing with romance, self-doubt, and matters of the heart than a story like “Love Lesson.”

Although the background art is about as good as it is in most yaoi manga, the figure drawing by creator Hanae Sakazaki has an awkward quality that lends itself to depicting the emotionally charged content of a story like “Don’t Love Me Tender.” However, the art does nothing for a standard yaoi tale like the title story. Overall, Love Lesson is a pretty good collection mainly because Sakazaki offers as much heart-wrenching romance as she does sex. This makes the entire volume seem not so shallow.

B+

Comics and Magazines from Diamond Distributors for March 2 2011

PREVIEWS PUBLICATIONS
JAN110059 PREVIEWS #270 MARCH 2011 PI

COMICS
NOV101003 ABATTOIR #3 (OF 6) (MR) $3.50

JAN110980 ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON #1 (OF 4) NEW YORK CON ED (MR) $3.99

JAN110981 ALAN MOORE NEONOMICON #2 (OF 4) NEW YORK CON ED (MR) $5.99

JAN110937 AN ELEGY FOR AMELIA JOHNSON HC $14.95

DEC100737 ARCHIE #618 $2.99

DEC100738 ARCHIE & FRIENDS DOUBLE DIGEST #3 $3.99

JAN111281 ASTERIOS POLYP GN (MAR094389) $29.95

JAN111240 BINKY GN VOL 01 SPACE CAT $8.95

NOV100907 BLUE SHEEP REVERIE GN VOL 03 (MR) $12.95

OCT101033 BODYSNATCHERS #1 (OF 6) $2.99

NOV101061 BOKURANO OURS GN VOL 03 $12.99

JAN111118 BOYS #52 (MR) $3.99

DEC100905 BRING THE THUNDER #3 $3.99

JAN111258 BROADCAST GN (O/A) $13.99

OCT100759 CHAOTIC SOLDIERS GN $19.95

OCT101197 CHARMED #7 A CVR SEIDMAN $3.50

OCT101198 CHARMED #7 B CVR ESQUEJO $3.50

DEC101103 CHI SWEET HOME GN VOL 05 $13.95

JAN111051 CHIP N DALE RESCUE RANGERS #4 $3.99

DEC101050 CLASSIC DAN DARE HC VOL 13 TRIP TO TROUBLE (RES) $22.95

DEC100775 CROSSED FAMILY VALUES #1-7 BAG SET (MR) $25.99

JAN110978 CROSSED FAMILY VALUES #3 (OF 7) SHOPPING CVR (MR) $5.99

JAN110979 CROSSED FAMILY VALUES #4 (OF 7) NEW YORK CON ED (MR) $5.99

JAN111054 DARKWING DUCK ANNUAL #1 $4.99

OCT100765 DAYS MISSING KESTUS #4 (OF 5) $3.95

AUG100957 DEAN KOONTZ FRANKENSTEIN PRODIGAL SON VOL 2 #4 $3.99

JUL100997 DF THOR #615 FRACTION SGN ED $29.99

NOV100803 DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP #20 (OF 24) $3.99

DEC101033 EARP SAINTS FOR SINNERS #2 (OF 5) (MR) $3.50

OCT101034 ETHAN #2 $2.99

JAN110991 FEVRE DREAM #1-10 BAG SET (MR) $34.99

DEC101118 GFT MYTHS & LEGENDS #2 A CVR MEDINA $2.99

DEC101119 GFT MYTHS & LEGENDS #2 B CVR DEBALFO $2.99

JUN101205 GFT PRESENTS NEVERLAND HC $24.99

OCT101201 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #56 A CVR QUALANO $2.99

OCT101202 GRIMM FAIRY TALES #56 B CVR $2.99

JAN111034 HEXED TP $14.99

NOV100712 HEXEN HAMMERS GN $14.95

JAN111039 IRREDEEMABLE #23 $3.99

JAN110894 JOHNNY HIRO TP VOL 01 (MR) $14.95

NOV100908 KIZUNA GN VOL 02 DLX ED (MR) $19.95

JAN111218 KOKO BE GOOD GN (O/A) $18.99

JAN111070 LADY DEATH (ONGOING) #0 REPOSE ED $9.99

JAN111322 LENORE NOOGIES HC COLOR ED (O/A) $17.95

NOV101018 LENORE VOLUME II #1 REISSUE $3.99

NOV101019 LENORE VOLUME II #2 $3.99

NOV100941 LEWIS & CLARK GN $16.99

JAN111060 LIFE & TIMES OF SCROOGE MCDUCK HC VOL 02 (O/A) $24.99

DEC100745 LIFE WITH ARCHIE MARRIED LIFE #8 $3.99

NOV100909 LOVE SYNDROME GN (RES) (MR) $12.95

SEP100780 LUCID #4 (OF 4) $3.95

AUG100991 MILK TEETH GN (NEW PTG) $16.95

JAN110989 NIGHT O/T LIVING DEAD #1 (OF 5) MID OHIO CON ED (MR) $5.99

SEP101039 ONE #3 (OF 5) $2.99

OCT101168 ORPHEUS GN VOL 01 (MR) $7.95

JAN111222 OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE #1 $3.99

SEP100772 POE & PHILLIPS GN $14.95

NOV101073 POKEMON ADVENTURES PLATINUM VOL 01 $7.99

OCT101016 POPEYE HC VOL 05 WHAS A JEEP $29.99

SEP100959 RED SONJA #55 $3.99

DEC101028 REED CRANDALL READER TP $25.00

NOV100793 ROGER CORMAN PRESENTS DEATHSPORT #3 $3.99

SEP101040 ROUTE DES MAISONS ROUGES #3 (OF 4) (MR) $2.99

JUL101014 ROY CRANE BUZ SAWYER HC WAR I/T PACIFIC VOL 01 $35.00

DEC101087 SHONEN JUMP APRIL 2011 $4.99

JAN111289 SIDE B GN (O/A) (MR) $22.99

OCT101035 SKELETON STORY #3 (OF 5) $2.99

JAN110896 SKYSCRAPERS O/T MIDWEST HC (O/A) (MR) $19.95

JAN111220 SLOW STORM GN $17.95

JAN111267 SMURFS GN VOL 05 THE SMURFS AND THE EGG $5.99

JAN111268 SMURFS HC VOL 05 THE SMURFS AND THE EGG $10.99

DEC100749 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #222 $2.99

OCT100849 STYX & STONE #1 (MR) $3.99

DEC100850 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #63 S/N EDITION (MR) $10.00

NOV100836 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #66 DLX ED (MR) $19.99

NOV100910 THEN COMES LOVE GN (MR) $12.95

NOV100987 TICK NEW SERIES #8 $4.95

JAN111065 UNCLE SCROOGE #401 $3.99

OCT100764 UNIMAGINABLE GN $14.95

OCT100929 VAMPIRELLA MASTERS SERIES TP VOL 03 MARK MILLAR $19.99

OCT101149 VIETNAM JOURNAL TP VOL 06 BLOODBATH AT KHE SANH $18.95

JAN110955 WULF #1 $2.99

MAGAZINES
OCT101270 AVENGER DOUBLE NOVEL VOL 05 $14.95
NOV101128 COMICS BUYERS GUIDE #1675 MAR 2011 $5.99
DEC101142 COMICS REVUE PRESENTS FEB 2011 $19.95
JAN111469 DOC SAVAGE DOUBLE NOVEL VOL 45 $14.95
NOV101137 DR WHO MAGAZINE #430 $8.99
NOV101163 FILMFAX #126 $9.95
DEC101150 PACESETTER THE GEORGE PEREZ MAGAZINE #11 $12.95
JAN111470 SHADOW DOUBLE NOVEL VOL 46 $14.95
DEC101187 VIDEO WATCHDOG #161 $8.95
DEC101665 WHITE DWARF #374 PI

I Reads You Review: GREAT PLACE HIGH SCHOOL (YAOI)

Creator: Naduki Koujima (cartoonist); Sachiko Sato (translation)

Publishing Information: Juné Manga/DMP, paperback, B&W with some color, 164 pages, $12.95 (US)

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-56970-747-0 (ISBN-13); 1-56970-747-2 (ISBN-10)

Drama/Romance; Rated “M” for “Mature 18+”

Great Place High School is a manga from Naduki Koujima, the creator of the manga series, Our Kingdom. The story takes place at a high school full of rambunctious boys and has elements of boys’ love (both shounen-ai and yaoi), bishounen, and high school comedy.

Great Place High School may be like most high schools, with a student body comprised of jocks and geeks and popular girls and not-so-popular girls. The focus, however, is the computer club known as the Information Management Club. There, control freak Ryouichi Tsuruga has to keep things in order, which is made difficult because he has to fend of the machinations of his ultra-vain twin brother, Naruhito.

The arrival of a new member, Minami Wakamatsu, a cute kid with a tendency to destroy electronic gadgets, only complicates matters. Naruhito has a cuteness fetish, and he begins to both harass and hit on Minami. But why should Ryouichi care, unless he also has strong feelings for Minami, whom the Tsuruga brothers feed and dote on as if he were a small pet.

Meanwhile, two other comic melodramas ensue. We learn the history between Student Council President Rin Amanohara and Vice-President Eichi Shidou who have been together since childhood. Also, people think Kotone Kimura and Suzune Kimura are identical twins. They are really first cousins whose mothers are sisters. One thinks they are rivals, but the other cousin thinks they should be romantic.

One of my favorite manga artists is Naduki Koujima because of her gorgeous art. She cartoons the human face with such skill that her characters are beautiful (or pretty like a girl) whether she’s drawing them straight or super-deforming them. I could make viewing Koujima’s comic book art a daily exercise in uplifting my spirits.

Great Place High School, however, is not a great manga, but it is offers light entertainment. It is a collection of short, short stories and several pages of four-panel, vertical gag strips. The Rin-Eichi stories are yaoi as they feature graphic depictions of sex between a male lovers. The Kimura stories are light-hearted shounen-ai boys’ love. The rest of this book is boys’ love comedy – more comedy than BL.

Most of Great Place High School is feel-good and cozy. One might even think of it as BL comfort food. Those who like me enjoy the eye-candy art of Naduki Koujima will want this comfort food.

B

I Reads You Review: VANILLA, VOL. 2 (YAOI)

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+

I Reads You Review: VANILLA, VOL. 1 (YAOI)

Creator: Riyu Yamakami (cartoonist); Sachiko Sato (translation)

Publishing Information: Juné Manga/DMP, paperback, 192 pages, $12.95 (US)

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-56970-754-8 (ISBN-13); 1-56970-754-5 (ISBN-10)

Drama/Romance; Rated “M” for “Mature 18+”

Vanilla is a yaoi graphic novel from creator Riyu Yamakami. Originally published in the late 1990s, Vanilla was published in two trade paperbacks by Digital Manga Publishing under its Juné Manga imprint a few years ago. The story focuses on a high school student just starting to accept his gay inclinations when he falls deeply in love with a teacher who does not believe in confessions of love.

Vanilla, Vol. 1 introduces high school student, 17-year-old Ichiro Morio, who is just one of the boys, except that he really isn’t. Morio’s friends are always talking about the girls they would like to “get with.” Morio is not really crazy about dating girls. He has his eyes on the new chemistry teacher, the cold and callous Yoshitaka Saeki.

Morio notices that Saeki is also indifferent towards the girls who throw themselves at him. Saeki, however, is not into romance and sentiment, so can the romantic Morio melt his teacher’s cool apathy?

Readers who prefer their boys’ love to be deeply romantic will love Vanilla. The lead character, Ichiro Morio, is old-fashioned in that he believes that romantic love must absolutely come before physical intimacy. He is practically scandalized by one-night stands and recreational sex in general. Thus, Riyu Yamakami gives the readers page after page of Morio thinking about love, his schoolmates’ lusts, and, of course, his aloof teacher. This is romance-shojo masquerading as yaoi because it is about young love more than it is about hot sex.

While this volume only has brief graphic depictions of sex between male lovers, the passion and yearning slowly simmers, constantly building up anticipation. In fact, whenever the characters share some physical contact, the narrative seems to explode with a burst of energy. I look forward to the next volume.

A-

http://www.junemanga.com/

I Reads You Review: PRINCESS PRINCESS 5

Creator: Mikiyo Tsuda (cartoonist); Earl Gertwagen (translation)
Publishing Information: DMP/Juné Manga; B&W paperback, 200pp, $12.95 U.S.
Ordering Numbers: ISBN 10: 1-56970-850-9; ISBN 13: 978-1-56970-850-7

Rated “YA” for “Young Adults 16+”

Princess Princess is a manga series from Mikiyo Tsuda that was collected in five volumes by Digital Manga Publishing’s imprint, Juné Manga. Princess Princess has characteristics of both shojo manga and the boys’ love subset, shounen-ai manga.

Princess Princess has shojo manga elements like teen romance and high school politics. There are some romantic moments between the male characters, but that is more shounen-ai than it is the explicit boys’ love subset, yaoi. The male cast can be described as being bishounen or “beautiful boys,” a term used to describe male characters that are androgynous or clearly feminized.

Princess Princess is set at Fujimori Academy. Every year, a few boys become “princesses.” These male students dress as girls for special events and cheer on athletic squads, warm hearts, keep up school spirit, etc. Basically, by appearing in drag, these already androgynous boys have “princess power.” This is ability to smile, look pretty, and speak in a magical falsetto voice, and it all makes everyone in the school feel happier. This year the princesses are Mikoto Yutaka and the nearly-inseparable pair, Tohru Kouno and Yuujirou Shihoudani.

In Princess Princess 5, it is election season at Fujimori, and the race for student council president has torn the princesses and the school apart. Tohru Kouno and Yuujirou Shihoudani are doing everything they can to help and support Akira Sakamoto, whose older brother is the great “Sakamoto-Sama,” a former student council president.

Meanwhile, Mikoto has sided with Toui C. Mitaka, an aloof and haughty transfer student. Tall with long blond-hair, Mitaka is ambitious and sees everyone and every position as a mere stepping stone on his way to future success as a businessman. Tohru and Yuujirou despise Mitaka, and the school is in turmoil, with everyone taking sides. The soft-hearted Akira, however, is determined to play peacemaker even if it costs him the election.

Digital Manga Publishing (DMP) eventually created an imprint for titles like Princess Princess, named “DokiDoki.” This new imprint was a place for titles for female readers that were somewhere between younger teen-oriented shojo manga and shounen-ai. In fact, DMP published the Princess Princess sequel, Princess Princess Plus, under DokiDoki.

Princess Princess 5 isn’t exactly boys’ love, although there is some romance between male students, both obvious and sublimated. What does that make Princess Princess? It’s like a comedy set at an all-girls school, except the girls are actually boys – some girlish, some effeminate, and some typically teen male.

I have to admit that I enjoy this kind of shojo/shounen-ai hybrid. There is something interesting about these boys getting along and working out their problems, even after all the fussing and fighting. This is simply an idealized and fantasy version of male-bonding that both women and men like (although the men might not admit it). In this volume, there is storyline that has Tohru accompanying Yuujirou home and helping Yuujirou work through some family issues. It exemplifies this series vibe of seeing male friendship through rose-tinted glasses.

Princess Princess 5 is good character drama and good boys’ something, and readers who like this sort of thing will certainly enjoy this.

B+

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

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

I Reads You Review: CRUSHING LOVE (Yaoi)

Creator: Ritsu Natsumizu (cartoonist); Issei Shimizu (translation)

Publishing Information: DMP/Juné Manga; B&W paperback, 208pp, $12.95 U.S.

Ordering Numbers: ISBN 10: 1-56970-774-X; ISBN 13: 978-1-56970-774-6

Rated “M” for “Mature Audiences 18+”

Crushing Love is a yaoi manga short story collection from Ritsu Natsumizu. The stories focus on romantic love and passionate affairs. In each relationship, the romance is a burden on or creates a burden for one of the partners more than for the other – a crushing love.

The title story, “Crushing Love,” opens to find rich boy, Keiichiro Kuroda, still smarting over being the jilted lover. When his former lover, desperate for cash, asks for money, Kuroda agrees to give him the money (5 million yen), but he won’t make it easy. Kuroda sets up a game wherein he leaves the money in the park as a test.

The bag with the money in it, however, gets picked up by Kaoru Otowa, who is also desperate for cash. Although he initially plans to turn the money over to the police, Kaoru decides to leave to town for Kyoto in order to pay off his debt to Yukihiko Shingyoji, a shady businessman. Kuroda accosts Kaoru and then, decides to accompany him to Kyoto where a cat and mouse game between Kuroda and Shingyoji ensues – with Kaoru as the prize.

“Crushing Love” epitomizes the stories in this collection, stories in which love is a burden or puts a weight on a lover. In the title story, the weight is on Kaoru as the one who needs the money and because he believes that his debt is what stands in the way of real romance with Kuroda.

A better example of crushing love is “Purity and Tyranny of Love,” which is tied to “Crushing Love” by the character, Yukihiko Shingyoji, who is one of the romantic leads in “Purity.” In fact, this story actually takes place during “Crushing Love” and is a side story. This time, the burden is on Sei Aoyama, the son of a former Shingyoji family servant. Sei loves Yukihiko, and while Yukihiko flirts with Sei and has sex with him, Sei is unsure how real their relationship is.

All these stories play with the idea of uncertain love, in which one lover is unsure of his partner. In these stories, the uke (bottom) is both the girlish bishounen boy and the one plagued with doubts. Meanwhile, the seme (top), who is usually masculine, devilish, and a tease, happily enjoys the sex, but also slyly keeps his uke toy unsure about the seriousness of the relationship.

This collection is a good read, light and frothy. There is plenty of sex, but the drama is not serious. It’s a bit too melodramatic, like a gentle spoof of soap opera romance.

B

Hoopsters in Love

I read The Object Of My Affection (Yaoi) (Yaoi Manga)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps and they're Free).

Waiting for Death

I read Yokan - Premonition (Yaoi)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has apps for the iPhone and Palm smart phones and they're FREE FREE FREE!)

The Memories of Dry Heat

I read Dry Heat (Yaoi)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has an update of it iPhone app).  This is a yaoi manga from June Manga.

Kabuki Red

I read Kabuki Volume 2: Red (Yaoi) (v. 2)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which now has an iPhone app).  This is a yaoi manga title from June Manga.

The Vampire Beauty Shop

I read How to Seduce a Vampire (Yaoi)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which now has an iPhone app).  This is a yaoi manga title from June Manga.

To the Victors Goes Kurashina Sensei

I read Kurashina Sensei's Passion Volume 2 (Yaoi)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which now has an iPhone app).