Anima by Dany & Dany review

Anima

Author/Artist: Dany & Dany

Publisher: Yaoi Press

Rating: N/R (but parental advisory warning is placed on the cover)

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance

Grade: B+

Danya Arnisev is the hottest ballet dancer on the scene right now. He has charmed audiences with his nearly perfect performances. He has studied under the great Nicolaj Zaharov who was quite talented in his own right. Pulitzer Prize winner Patrick Owens and his android Ed witnessed Danya's most recent performance. It seems that Patrick has a crush on Danya. But Zaharov keeps Danya on a short leash for fear of Danya's secret from coming out. He even has the assistance of the Mafia to keep things around Danya calm.

Because of a chance encounter Patrick and Danya meet. Danya is immediately charmed by Patrick because of his care for his android Ed. The two end up spending some time in a virtual reality room playing a game and end up having virtual sex. Once finished with the game Patrick wants to have some actual sex but Danya leaves in a panic. It's all due to his secret. It turns out that Danya is an android who was loaded with a program called Anima. The Anima program makes it possible for androids to feel human emotions and behave more humanlike.

There's another problem though and it's in the form of Patrick's expose style of journalism. His Pulitzer Prize was won because of a story he wrote about people using androids on sports teams, in competitive events, etc. With the unfair advantage in competition androids were banned because of Patrick's expose. Patrick is now working on an article about the Mafia and he's now got his eye on Zaharov. Will Danya be able to be with Patrick or will Zaharov put a stop to it?

Anima is Dany & Dany's most recent release through Yaoi Press. It lives up to Dany & Dany's most recent standards. The story is tight and interesting and the characters are both beautiful and fascinating. Danya is beautiful and you can see why Patrick is so taken by him. Patrick is kind and understanding when it comes to Danya's secret but takes his work very seriously. Ed even plays an integral part of the story. I know didn't mention him much in the synopsis above but he is an important player in the plot. Zaharov has a great villain quality to him and you hope that someone takes him down. The tension that exists in the story makes it that much more interesting.

The art is stunning, like I expected. I have to say it was kind of refreshing to see that Patrick had shorter hair. Many of Dany & Dany's characters have longer hair. The story takes place in the future, but it has a very retro look to it. The costuming to the cars has that old fashioned feel to it but it's also has a timeless feel as well. I've noticed that seems to be the trend with portraying the future, look at the cartoon My Life as a Teenage Robot (but it's kind of hard to compare Dany & Dany to a Nicktoon.) The lush backgrounds and beautiful costumes continue the greatness and beauty that you expect from Dany & Dany. It's their art that attracted me to their titles and the combination of art and story is what keeps me reading their works.

Yaoi Press' quality of printing is definitely top notch. The paper is a brilliant white which help the images leap off the page. It is also higher quality and heavier, but not stiff. The cover is scored near the binding so you don't get the ugly crease and it keeps things looking neat. I am so thankful that Yaoi Press brought the work of this amazing team to our shores instead the work being kept hidden in Italy!

This is another quality release and I recommend Anima. Even though there isn't an age rating I feel that it is for an audience for those 18 and above. But if you find the idea of a human and an android disturbing you may want to pick up a different Dany & Dany title, but the robots don't look like how you imagine robots to look. Those are my only warnings but I really enjoyed this title and I hope you do too!

***Review Copy purchased through Everything Yaoi***