#IReadsYou Review: THE PROMISED NEVERLAND Volume 16

 

THE PROMISED NEVERLAND, VOL. 16

VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY: Kaiu Shirai
ART: Posuka Demizu
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
LETTERS: Mark McMurray
EDITOR: Alexis Kirsch
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1701-9; paperback (August 2020); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
208pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £7.99 U.K.

The Promised Neverland is a Japanese manga series written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu.  It was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from August 2016 to June 2020.  VIZ Media published an English-language edition of the manga as a paperback graphic novel series under its “Shonen Jump” imprint from December 2017 to August 2021.

The Promised Neverland opens at Grace Field House, an orphanage where the children have a wonderful life... or so it seems.  The orphanage's three brightest children are Emma, Norman, and Ray, all 11-years-old as the story begins.  Like the other orphans, they enjoy the daily studying and exams, and also the delicious food and plentiful playtime.  However, the children's loving, but stern caretaker, “Mom,” hides the fact that everything is not what it seems, a fact these three bright children will discover upon turning 12.

As The Promised Neverland, Vol. 16 (Chapters 134 to 143; entitled “Lost Boy”) opens, Emma and Ray attempt to find the “Seven Walls,” and find themselves trapped in a mysterious, twisty world.  Can they escape this labyrinth and make their way to the human world?  And are they willing to pay the price required?  Elsewhere, Don, Gilda, and Hayato continue their quest to find their old demon friends, Mujika and Sonju, but betrayal is afoot.

Meanwhile, Norman has his own plans to end the human-demon conflict...

THE LOWDOWN:  In Japan, The Promised Neverland manga ended its serialization in the Japanese edition of Weekly Shonen Jump last summer.  In North America, the final volume (Vol. 20) of VIZ Media's English-language collection of the manga as a graphic novel series for young adult readers will arrive in about two weeks as of this writing.

The Promised Neverland Graphic Novel Volume 16 is the first volume of the series that I have read in almost a year.  I still find this manga to be a riveting read, but I realized, early in reading this volume, that I wasn't as into reading the series as I had been a year or so ago.  That changed and I got back into the series, full-on, when I realized that Vol. 16 was a symphony of backstabbing and betrayal.  Much of it deals with the history of Julius Ratri, essentially the human who helped to create the current status quo between humans and demons.

Satsuki Yamashita creates the translation that makes Vol. 16 deliver power via its shocks and surprises, while Mark McMurray's lettering hits all the dark and edgy notes.  They help to make Vol. 16 both an exceptional and a pivotal volume.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers of dark fantasy graphic novels will find a terrifying story in Shonen Jump's The Promised Neverland.

A
9 out of 10

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


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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: THE PROMISED NEVERLAND Volume 15

THE PROMISED NEVERLAND, VOL. 15
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY: Kaiu Shirai
ART: Posuka Demizu
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
LETTERS: Mark McMurray
EDITOR: Alexis Kirsch
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1499-5; paperback (June 2020); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.

The Promised Neverland is a Japanese manga series written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu.  It was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from August 2016 to June 2020.  VIZ Media has been publishing an English-language edition of the manga as a paperback graphic novel series under its “Shonen Jump” imprint since December 2017.

The Promised Neverland opens at Grace Field House, an orphanage where the children have a wonderful life... or so it seems.  The orphanage's three brightest children are Emma, Norman, and Ray, all 11-years-old as the story begins.  Like the other orphans, they enjoy the daily studying and exams, and also the delicious food and plentiful playtime.  However, the children's loving, but stern caretaker, “Mom,” hides the fact that everything is not what it seems, a fact these three bright children will discover upon turning 12.

As The Promised Neverland, Vol. 15 (Chapters 125 to 133; entitled “Welcome to the Entrance”) opens,  Norman prepares to make a deal with the dissident demon, Lord Geelan.  Their union would form a conspiracy to take down both the demons' royal house and their five “Regent Houses.”  As Norman and his group prepare their plan to eradicate all demons, Emma searches for her own path, and it does not involve the destruction of all demons.  Ray and Emma decide to travel to the “Seven Walls” in a bid to reach the human world.

Meanwhile, the demon Queen Legravalima meets with the demon regents:  Duke Yverk, Lord Bayon, Lord Dozza, Lady Noum, and Lord Pupo.  They gather to discuss the destruction and the chaos that plagues the demons.  While, they plot, however, the real threat advances.

THE LOWDOWN:  In Japan, The Promised Neverland manga has come an end via its serialization in the Japanese edition of Weekly Shonen Jump.  In North America, the collection of the manga continues to be one of the best graphic novels series for young adult readers.

The Promised Neverland Graphic Novel Volume 15 is a riveting read, although it is not one of the graphic novel series' best entries.  Still, I quickly read through this volume so that I could experience the surprises and the shocking reveals.  Vol. 15 is one of those volumes that prepares readers for the fireworks to come.  It is not the beginning of a paradigm shift for this series the way Vol. 14 was.

Translator Satsuki Yamashita does a good job with the heavy dialogue of this volume, and Mark McMurray's lettering paces the off-beat rhythm.  Both contributors seem to be preparing for the fireworks to come.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers of dark fantasy graphic novels will find a terrifying story in Shonen Jump's The Promised Neverland.

A
8.5 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 syndication rights and fees.



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#IReadsYou Review: STAR WARS: The Legends of Luke Skywalker #1

STAR WARS: THE LEGENDS OF LUKE SKYWALKER: THE MANGA, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon. And visit the "Star Wars Central" review page here.]

MANGAKA: Akira Fukaya and Tikashi Kisaki; Haruichi; Subaru; Akira Himekawa
ORIGINAL NOVEL: Ken Liu
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
EDITOR: Fawn Lau
COVER: Akira Himekawa
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1584-8; paperback; 5 3/4 × 8 1/4 – trim size (January 2020); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
212pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S., $19.99 CAN

The Star Wars media and merchandising franchise has been hugely popular over the time since the debut of the original film, Star Wars, some 43 years ago in 1977.  Some of that popularity is the reason that there has been, except for a few years, at least one comic book publisher producing Star Wars comic books since 1977.

One of the latest is Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga.  This is a single-volume graphic novel containing four manga short stories set in the Star Wars universe.  The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga  focuses on four characters who have encounters with the elusive Jedi Luke Skywalker.  The stories is this book are adapted by Japanese manga artists:  Akira Himekawa, Haruichi, Subaru, and the writer-artist team of Akira Fukaya and Takashi Kisaki from The Legends of Luke Skywalker.  This is the 2017 young adult novel by award-winning author Ken Liu's that is also part of the Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi book series.

The writer-artist team of Akira Fukaya and Takashi Kisaki starts the volume off with “The Starship Graveyard.”  The story stars a young gunner aboard a Imperial Star Destroyer who finds himself face to face with a mysterious rescuer who may or may not be the legendary enemy of the Galactic Empire, Luke Skywalker.  Haruichi's story is “I, Droid,” in which a newly enslaved construction droid finds himself in the company of an unusual pair of droids that seem to know one another.  They may also have a connection to someone who might save them all, Luke Skywalker.

In “The Tale of Lugubrious Mote,” Sabaru chronicles the adventures of a “mole-flea of Kowak” and how he helped Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker during a legendary moment in Star Wars history.  Finally, the manga-ka duo, Akira Himekawa (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess), take readers into the “Big Inside” of an “exogorth” [The “giant space slug” in The Empire Strikes Back is an exogorth.]  In the story, a young biology student and Luke Skywalker must escape from inside a creature from which few beings escape.  Along the way, the duo will discover the “Master Weavers” of “the Luminous Mist.”

THE LOWDOWN:  I have been looking forward to reading Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga since I first heard of it a few months ago.  I have not read Ken Liu's original novel, and I don't plan to.  I have nothing against Liu, and I am not at all familiar with his work.  I simply have not read any Star Wars novels that have been published since The Walt Disney Company revamped the Star Wars line of novels to make every one of them fit in “Star Wars canon.”

The Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga graphic novel is a good read.  The stories are not great, but Liu managed to create a version of Luke Skywalker that feels authentically fearsome, legendary, mysterious, and unknown.  That is no small feat as, obviously, Luke Skywalker is so familiar to fans of Star Wars.  In fact, Luke Skywalker has been my favorite Star Wars character ever since I first encountered him over four decades ago.

The art in “The Starship Graveyard” is rough, even ugly at times, but the story is fun to read.  The heroic arc of the young Imperial gunner is quite captivating.  “I, Droid” is okay, but I can see fans of Star Wars droids really getting into it, although it doesn't do much for me.  “The Tale of Lugubrious Mote” is a fun, throwaway, and ultimately nonsensical spin and take on the part of the film, Return of the Jedi (1983), that deals with Jabba the Hutt.  I would describe it as a young readers' Star Wars “Legends” or non-canon story rather than as a young adult tale.

By far the best story in Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga is Akira Himekawa's “Big Inside.”  It reads like one of those weird stories that Marvel Comics published in its Star Wars comic book series from the 1970s and 80s.  The art is beautiful, of course, because Himekawa always delivers beautifully, drawn, lyrical art that conveys a sense of history, magic, mystery, and romantic adventure.  “Big Inside” has all that and also feels like a non-canon Star Wars story because of its mystical take on “the Force.”

Honestly, I would not recommend this Star Wars manga to all fans of Star Wars comic books, unless I knew what kind of Star Wars comic books they liked.  I would, however, recommend Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga to any readers always on the lookout for Star Wars manga.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Star Wars manga and fans of Luke Skywalker will want to try Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker: The Manga.

6 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: 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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Review: RECORD OF THE GRANCREST WAR Volume 1

RECORD OF GRANCREST WAR, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Makoto Yotsuba
ORIGINAL STORY: Ryo Mizuno
CHARACTER DESIGNS: Miyuu
TRANSLATION: satsuki yamashita
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Steven “Stan!” Brown
LETTERS: James Gaubatz
EDITOR: David Brothers
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0188-9; paperback (November 2018); Rated “M” for “Mature”
168pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.

Record of Grancrest War is a light novel series created by author Ryo Mizuno, who may be best known for the fantasy novel series, Record of Lodoss War.  Writer-artist Makoto Yotsuba adapted the Record of Grancrest War novels into a manga that began serialization in 2016.  VIZ Media has begun publishing an English-language edition of that manga as a graphic novel series, entitled Record of Grancrest War, which will be published on a quarterly basis.

Record of Grancrest War is set in a world where the noble elite are supposed to fend off the threat of the terrifying and mysterious force known as “Chaos.”  Instead, these nobles engage in pointless, petty squabbles, most of it involving two political entities, the “Fantasia Union” and the “Factory Alliance.”

Record of Grancrest War, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 6) introduces a young mage named Siluca Meletes, who dreams of bringing justice to the land.  She is about to witness a wedding that will unite the Fantasia Union and the Factory Alliance when tragedy strikes.  Determined to forge a new future for the world, Siluca joins a talented fighter, named Irvin, and a knight errant with potential, named Theo, to change the world order via the magical power of “crests.”

The Record of Grancrest War manga is a fantasy adventure series that reminds me of another fantasy manga, Mitsu Izumi's 7th Garden.  Both manga have deep back stories, and the territories in which they are set have long histories.

Record of Grancrest War Graphic Novel Volume 1 introduces a lot of terms:  crest, “Grancrest,” chaos, artist, etc., and not to mention a long list of titles of nobility and levels of social class.  Luckily, this first volume focuses on introducing characters' personalities and character dynamics.

The English adaptation written by Steven Brown a.k.a. Stan! is quite efficient.  Stan! focuses on conveying to readers motivations, conflicts, and introductions.  This makes for a breezy read, for which James Gaubatz's clean lettering and art touch-up should also get credit.  I don't know if I will fall in love with this series, but I would like to read more.  Fans of medieval set fantasy may also like Record of Grancrest War.

7 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE PROMISED NEVERLAND Volume 1

THE PROMISED NEVERLAND, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY: Kaiu Shirai
ART: Posuka Demizu
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
LETTERS: Mark McMurray
EDITOR: Alexis Kirsch
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9712-6; paperback (December 2017); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.

The Promised Neverland is a new graphic novel series published by VIZ Media.  This is the English-language publication of Yakusoku No Neverland, a shonen manga (comics for teens) from writer Kaiu Shirai and artist Posuka Demizu that is published in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump.

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 1 (entitled Grace Field House; Chapters 1 to 7) is set at the Grace Field House orphanage.  We meet the orphanage's three brightest children who are all 11-years-old.  They are Emma, Norman, and Ray.

Under the care of “Mom,” the children enjoy a comfortable life:  good food, clean white clothes, and the perfect environment in which children can learn and also play.  One night, however, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth about the outside world that they have been forbidden from seeing.

Because of its title, The Promised Neverland manga does not seem to be anything more than a children's fantasy story.  The word, Neverland, will always summon images of the children's paradise that is the home of Peter Pan.  However, even Peter Pan and Neverland has a dark undercurrent, an obvious truth, that broaches an uncomfortable and taboo topic.

The Promised Neverland Graphic Novel Volume 1 reveals its heart of darkness in a sudden burst in the last 20 pages of Chapter 1.  From that point on, the narrative takes a sinister tone that never changes after the first part of the horrifying truth is revealed.  Beginning with Chapter 2, The Promised Neverland reads like a summer potboiler novel that you will have to force yourself to stop reading.

This first volume of The Promised Neverland makes it clear that the series will appeal to both teenage and adult readers; perhaps, it will be appropriate for some middle school readers.  The creative team of writer Kaiu Shirai and artist Posuka Demizu are one in the storytelling – a seamless blend of story and graphics.  The result is a sinister, dark fantasy, and mystery thriller, and The Promised Neverland may be the second best new graphic novel series of the year, after the superb Children of the Whales, which is also from VIZ Media.

A
9 out of 10

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


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

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Review: 07-GHOST Volume 17

07-GHOST, VOL. 17
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Yuki Amemiya and Yukino Ichihara
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
LETTERING: Vanessa Satone
EDITOR: Hope Donovan
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7794-4; paperback (July 2015); Rated “T” for “Teen”
216pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

07-Ghost, the debut manga from creators, Yuki Amemiya and Yukino Ichihara, has come to an end.  The series is set in the Barsburg Empire and focuses on a slave boy who will save the world from a rogue god.

Once upon a time, the Barsburg Empire destroyed the Raggs Kingdom.  Teito Klein is a slave and a cadet at the Barsburg Empire Military Academy.  He discovers that his father was the late Weldeschtein Krom Raggs, the murdered King of Raggs.  Teito escapes to the Barsburg Church of District 7, where three bishops and seven legendary ghosts attempt to guide his destiny.  Teito hopes to uncover the secrets of the world's murky past, as well as his own.

As 07-Ghost, Vol. 17 (Chapters 96 to 99) opens, Teito tries to find a way to free himself and Bishop Frau from the scythe of Verloren the death god.  Teito's final confrontation with the death god will pit him against the personification of Verloren, his nemesis and former tormentor at Barsburg Military Academy, Chief Ayanami.  To save the world, however, Teito may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

[This final volume contains the bonus story, “Seven Ghosts.”]

I read the first volume of the 07-Ghost manga in November of 2012.  A little more than two-and-a-half years later, the series has come to an end.  Series creators, Yuki Amemiya and Yukino Ichihara, have rewarded those who followed the series from the beginning with answers and a resolution.

Please, allow me to be the fly in the ointment.  07-Ghost Volume 17 is quite satisfactory, but I am usually ambivalent about the final volume and final chapters of a manga.  I find that the ends often feel incomplete, and 07-Ghost ends, with the hint that there is more.  In fact, those are the last words of the final chapter.  So I accept this closure and wait to see what comes next... if something comes next.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux (Support on Patreon)


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

07-Ghost: The Emperor and My Mom

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 15

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

07-Ghost: Sweet 16

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 14

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me at Twitter or on Grumble.

07-Ghost: Tiashe

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 11

I posted a review at ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter.

07-Ghost: Mystery at the Almaaz Estate

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 10

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which has free smart phone apps and comics.  The Bin has a call out for donations.  Follow me on Twitter and at my Indiegogo campaign.

07-Ghost: Lady Ouka

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 9

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

07-Ghost: Memory Quelle

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 8

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

07-Ghost: The Fyulongs

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 7

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

07-Ghost: Xinglu? I Know Him!

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 6

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics, which you can also buy).

07-Ghost: Fellowship of the Curse Tickets

I read 07-Ghost 05

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

Yaoi Manga Review: HIDE AND SEEK Volume 1

HIDE AND SEEK, VOL. 1
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga (Asuka Comics CL DX)

CARTOONIST: Yaya Sakuragi
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
LETTERING: Annaliese Christman
COVER: Yaya Sakuragi with Courtney Utt
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5572-0; paperback (July 2013); Rated “M” for “Mature”
186pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Yaya Sakuragi is a creator known for such manga as Hey, Sensei?, Tea for Two, and Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love.  One of her more recent series is Hide and Seek, a yaoi manga.  Yaoi manga is a subset of boys’ love manga (BL) and features explicit depictions of sex between male characters.

Hide and Seek, Vol. 1 (Acts 1 to 5) introduces Shuji Tanihara, a divorced single father who runs a modest corner candy shop, called Tanihara Store.  His young daughter, Chisuzu, is somewhat independent, so Tanihara is always looking for something to break the boredom.  Into the store walks a handsome pediatrician.  Takafumi Saji of the Saji Clinic is serious and reserved, but he has another side.  He is gay, and he’s about to put a romantic move of Shuji.

Although it has sex scenes, Hide and Seek Volume 1 is a gentle love story about star-crossed lovers.  It is a tale of two people who have different personalities, but can somehow become intimately tangled.  The dramatic tension comes from the fact that the leads may be star-crossed sex partners and star-crossed best pals, but they may not be able to have a long term relationship because of personalities and intentions.

Yaya Sakuragi slyly inserts the idea into readers’ heads that Shuji and Saji may not really be compatible.  Perhaps, there is a streak of independence or perhaps they are two alpha males.  Whatever it is, it made me think that every time I turned a page, there would be scene that would depict an end of the affair.  Anticipation is a good thing.  The best praise that I can give Hide and Seek Volume 1 is that I did not want the fun to end.

Fans of Yaya Sakuragi will be glad to know that Hide and Seek is a spin-off of her previous series, Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love.  Ryomei, the priest and patissier of the earlier series, turns out to be a friend of Shuji’s.

A-

www.SuBLimeManga.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

07-Ghost: The Bishop's Exam

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 4

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

Yaoi Review: BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE Volume 4

BOND OF DREAMS, BOND OF LOVE, VOL. 4
SUBLIME – @SuBLimeManga (Asuka Comics CL DX)

CARTOONIST: Yaya Sakuragi
TRANSLATION: Satsuki Yamashita
LETTERING: Annaliese Christman
COVER: Yaya Sakuragi with JAY
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5235-4; paperback (May 2013); Rated “M” for “Mature”
186pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Yaya Sakuragi is a creator of yaoi manga and has produced such series as Hey, Sensei? and Tea for Two. Yaoi manga is a subset of boys’ love manga (BL) and features depictions of explicit sex between male characters.

One of Sakuragi’s recent yaoi manga series is Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love, which SuBLime Manga is publishing in a four-volume graphic novel series. The series focuses on Ao, a high school student who falls in love with Ryomei, whom Ao has known since he was a child. Ryomei, who is several years older than Ao, ignores the younger man’s advances.

As Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love, Vol. 4 (Acts 14 to 18) opens, Ryomei and Ao finally become intimate. Ao should be happy, but he starts to believe that their first time was merely pity sex. Ao has also been living with his Grandma Teruko, but now, she finally insists that Ao move in with his estranged mother. Moving also means being farther away from Ryomei. What can Ao do? Can he accept Ryomei’s newfound affection as real? Can Ryomei help Ao and finally express his love for him? The drama of not-so-unrequited love must finally reach a conclusion – happy or sad.

The Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love manga is the epitome of the seme (guy on top)-uke (guy on bottom) dynamic in yaoi manga. Ryomei is tall, dark, and handsome, and when he wears his priestly vestments (as he is a shrine priest), he looks like a dashing samurai. With his small frame, tousled hair, and large, expressive eyes, Ao is the quintessential, smitten, BL girlish teen boy – ready to stand by and to love his man.

Jokes aside, Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love Volume 4 is deeply romantic. I have not read the prior three volumes, and had not heard of the series until my SuBLime media rep sent me a copy of Vol. 4. I’m glad I read this. It is the comfort food version of yaoi manga reading material; the depictions of sex are more about lovemaking and being sweet than being raunchy, erotic, or even funny. There are two lovey-dovey side stories to spike your blood sugar even higher, but this volume is a good way to end a series.

Readers looking for sugary yaoi manga from the dessert cart will want Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

www.SuBLimeManga.com

07-Ghost: Bishop Frau Stands Accused

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.