Ichigenme... The First Class is Civil Law vol. 2 by Fumi Yoshinaga review

Ichigenme… The First Class is Civil Law vol. 2

Author/Artist: Fumi Yoshinaga

Publisher: 801 Media

Rating: M – ages 18 and above

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Comedy, Romance

Grade: B+

In Ichigenme vol. 1 we met Tamiya and Tohdou at the beginning of their relationship in this volume we hop back into their relationship seven years after the first volume.

Tamiya is now working as an assistant professor at Teinou University while Tohdou is finishing his graduate work in engineering. Their relationship has continued on but because the two have been so busy with their careers they hardly have time to be together. In fact the last time they had all the way sex was seven years ago. There is more in store for these two lovers. A new intelligent student has shown up in one of Tamiya's classes. He seems to have caused a huge stir in the law program. Not only is he extremely smart and talented, but he's handsome to boot. His name is Hiroaki… Tohdou. Yes, he's Tohdou's younger brother and is also taking the route down the law path to please his politician father, since Taka'aki (Tohdou's first name) has become a disappointment by coming out. Hiroaki is also gay but is still in the closet as far as his father is concerned, but these two brothers get along very well and Hiroaki even helps Taka'aki with his relationship problems that he and Tamiya are going through.

This is a very good conclusion to the story. With Tamiya and Tohdou's relationship going strong and the beginning of a relationship for Hiroaki you finish the book with a fully satisfied feeling. I know I suggested the first volume as a great beginner book into the smuttier side of yaoi, but in the case of the second volume it turns up the spice big time. Not only do you get Fumi Yoshinaga-sensei's signature style with simple panel layout and the focus on the facial expressions, but it is much more graphic in its sex and language. Man can Tamiya talk dirty! So if you read Ichigenme vol. 1 as an introduction to more graphic volumes of yaoi, you may want to hold off on reading the second volume until you become more familiar with the more graphic titles. The story is very well told and I enjoyed switching between the two plot lines.

Yoshinaga-sensei has a very large following and many fans. I may not be one of her rabid fans but I haven't been disappointed (even though I try really hard not to like her titles). I know that in some blogs I've found gay male readers enjoy her work (where in many other cases they can't stand other types of yaoi). In her works (to be honest I've only read Antique Bakery and Ichigenme) there are characters that are actually gay and in the case of Ichigenme you see the effect that Taka'aki's father has to his coming out. In so many other titles that aspect of the story is glossed over. But we are dealing with a fantasy here.

I really enjoyed Ichigenme… The First Class is Civil Law. I think that 801 Media made a wise choice. If you like Yoshinaga-sensei this is a great work. Just be aware that this volume is much more graphic than the first so proceed with caution.

***Review Copy purchased at Borders***

Two of Hearts by Kano Miyamoto review

Two of Hearts

Author/Artist: Kano Miyamoto

Publisher: Deux Press

Rating: M – 18 and up

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance

Grade: A

I'm going to quote from the back:

Haruya, a frustrated writer for a magazine, is constantly puzzling his editors with his lack of motivation. His quiet, solitary life is spent in a house away from the city. However his outlook changes drastically when he sees a shy, troubled young man undressing on the beach. Their lives become intertwined in unforeseen ways. A passionate and unusual relationship develops that will ultimately be beneficial for the both of them.

I mentioned in my review for Lovers and Souls that I did like Two of Hearts by Kano Miyamoto-sensei. I quickly pulled out my copy to reread it just to familiarize myself with the story and it reminded me how great of a story this is. Haruya is an isolated author living in the countryside. He's currently dating his editor with who he was a pal with in college. After some sex Haruya heads for the beach and spots a young man undressing on the beach. This chance encounter changes the lives of these men forever.

One thing that I've noticed about Miyamoto-sensei's work is that her characters seem human. Her artwork isn't super clean or ultra detailed, but it works with the storytelling. Unlike other manga-ka that choose to create men who are so handsome that they don't exist in reality Miyamoto-sensei's have an everyman look to them. In Two of Hearts you can't help but get drawn into the story from the get-go. Haruya is lonely, but enjoys his life in the countryside. Maki (the young man from the beach) is in a truly heartbreaking situation. Not only does he have an alcoholic mother that he has to take care of, but also suffers from OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and he's also neglected by his mother. I really appreciate when manga-ka aren't afraid to approach subjects like mental illness and use it within their stories. Miyamoto-sensei handled it very well and your heart can't help but want to ache for Maki and his life situation. It is a truly moving work and no matter how many times I've read it I find that I love it that much more. Miyamoto-sensei's covers look like oil paintings and that they belong on the wall of an art gallery. Whether sensei actually uses oil paint or scans her art into her computer and makes it look like an oil painting, I don't care; it's stunning none the less. Deux Press seems to be the only publisher presenting Miyamoto-sensei's work and I hope they continue with the manga that come after this one. There are several that are linked to this story through Haruya's editor Yagisawa.

For a story that is heartwarming, touching and emotional be sure to pick up Two of Hearts. You won't be disappointed.

***Review Copy purchased through Amazon.com***

Ichigenme... The First Class is Civil Law vol. 1 by Fumi Yoshinaga review

Ichigenme… The First Class is Civil Law vol. 1

Author/Artist: Fumi Yoshinaga

Publisher: 801 Media

Rating: M – 18 and up

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Comedy, Romance

Grade: B+

When it comes to Fumi Yoshinaga-sensei I am torn. I'm not a huge fan of her art style but her storytelling is so amazing that I find myself drawn in every time. I hadn’t planned on buying Ichigenme… at the beginning but I decided that I wanted to collect all of the titles that 801 Media released. So I decided to purchase them. Yes, I'm glad I did.

Tamiya is a third-year student at Teinou University. At the zemi's (seminar's) launch party it seems that the new students are required strip and do the "human formaldehyde" bit. Tamiya really has no desire to participate in these hijinks and is saved by fellow student (and the one who started the night off by stripping and causing things to go downhill) Tohdou passionately French kisses him. This starts off a bizarre friendship. The zemi is known for being the easiest zemi on campus where the richest of the rich gather. Tamiya, however, is a serious student and was unaware of the reputation of the zemi.

Tamiya insists that he is straight and Tohdou is gay. Yet Tohdou continues to pursue Tamiya. After an incident with a male professor Tamiya begins to question his sexuality, and is Tamiya attracted to Tohdou after all?

The two main characters have quite the chemistry from the get go. They are seriously polar opposites. Tamiya is serious and kind of grumpy. Tohdou is a complete freak (in a good way of course) and is totally hilarious. I really liked the series despite my misgivings in regards to Yoshinaga-sensei. I read Antique Bakery and fell in love with that story and the amazing storytelling, but I'm just not a huge fan of her art. And these comments are coming from someone who likes unique artwork. I do like her chibi renderings though. They are very cute. The panel lay out is very clean and she shows the range of emotion through facial expressions. This is a pretty graphic work, but the second volume is smuttier than the first. The relationship starts off how it should, as friends first. There is a large cast of characters, but it focuses mainly on Tohdou and Tamiya. There were many times that I found myself laughing out loud, which isn't too hard for me seeing how I find humor in everything.

Of course this is a quality 801 Media release. I love them with a passion. The books fit nicely in your hands and are flexible without being crappily made. It is wrapped in its signature dust jacket and features an 801-chan comic (which is always a highlight for me.)

Before Yoshinaga-sensei's rabid fans begin to gather on my lawn to protest I do recommend this work. This is probably a good training wheels volume to introduce you to the smuttier side of yaoi. It's graphic, but not too graphic and most of the scenes involving sex focus on the facial expressions and not the actual body parts involved (but there are a few of those panels as well). I'm still not a huge fan of Yoshinaga-sensei's art but I'm not so against reading her works thanks to Ichigenme… The First Class is Civil Law.

***Review Copy purchased through 801 Media Store***

Gakuen Heaven by Spray and You Higuri review

Gakuen Heaven

Author/Artist: Spray/You Higuri

Publisher: BLU

Rating: M – for ages 18 and up

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance, School Life

Grade: B+

Keita Ito has just been accepted into the world renowned Bell Liberty Academy (BL Academy, get it?). This school admits only the cream of the crop for its students. Keita is an average student and an average athlete, so he has no idea why he's been admitted to this prestigious school. There is one thing that sets Keita apart from the rest, though. Keita is supremely lucky. Just to prove this point there was a major bus accident on his way to the school. Because he couldn't fit his futon in his luggage it unfolded itself and acted as a cushion. He didn't even get a scratch.

He awakens to see the faces of two stunningly handsome young men. Soon Keita meets a gaggle of gorgeous students that all have exceptional talents. One student seems to have caught his eye, Tetsuya Niwa, the Student Council President AKA the King. After Keita is asked by the Junior Director of the Board to withdraw from school all of Keita's new friends, lead by Niwa, try to do everything in their power to keep Keita at BL Academy. The Chairman of the Board announces that there will be an MVP battle. Whichever team of two students wins will have whatever wish (within reason of course) granted to them. Of course Keita's wish is to stay at BL Academy even though he still hasn't figured out why he's there. There is only one student he wants as his partner, the King. Yet Niwa is in high demand. He's smart, strong, you name it that's Niwa for you. Can Keita overcome these obstacles to win the MVP Battle and the King's heart?

For those of you that don't know Gakuen Heaven was a very popular BL game in Japan. Following certain scenarios you could decide whom Keita would end up with. Because this was a super popular franchise: manga, an anime series, and a ton of doujinshi followed. There were even more video games spawned from this phenomenon. You Higuri-sensei was involved with the character design from the get go and she did an amazing job. She has to be in the list of my top five favorite manga-ka. The art is so detailed and beautiful that you can't help but be captivated by it. After reading Gakuen Heaven I found myself obsessed with the whole franchise. I first checked out the anime series, which takes the path of a different character being the apple of Keita's eye (plus it sticks pretty close to the game as well). After I checked out the anime I then moved on to the original game by Spray and Higuri-sensei. I knew by that point that I wasn't going to be able to make a clean break from Gakuen Heaven, I decided to go with the flow.

At the end of the book in the author's notes we learn that this particular volume is pure fan service. In the magazine BexBoy they had a contest to see who the fans would like to see Keita with the most. The votes were for Niwa. From what I can tell from the game (I don't read or speak Japanese [I desperately want to learn]) it covers the time from Keita's arrival to the party after the MVP battle. It looks like they just adapted the game to favor Niwa and the manga covers the same material as the game. In the other two Gakuen Heaven manga they take place after the MVP battle and have new situations for the characters to face. Yes, I do know that is the case because I have one of the other books (plus the novel, which I can't read [but I don't care]). This is a franchise that I wish there would be more for us to enjoy in English. I know that BLU has the publishing rights to Gakuen Heaven: Closer to You (this is the Keita x Nakajima pairing [Nakajima is the Vice President of the Student Council]). But they pushed back the publishing date on it so I don't know when this will be coming to us. I would give my left arm (seeing how I'm right handed, but if my right arm is needed I'll sacrifice it too) to get Gakuen Heaven: Calling You published here. If you couldn't tell, this is the pairing I'm most passionate about, it's the Keita x Kazuki pairing (Kazuki is an old childhood friend and Chairman of BL Academy).

I like this manga on so many levels. The story is good, even though you get a feeling of being rushed at the end. The art is spectacular, which you come to expect from Higuri-sensei. The sex is handled very tastefully. This is a good yaoi starter manga. The yaoi stereotypes and plot devices are all there, male body parts are more defined (as opposed to the blank space you usually see) but it goes by so quickly I had to go back to double check to see if it was indeed more defined. It truly is great for beginners. It's also beautiful to look at. There is a full color first page and you immediately fall for Keita's wide-eyed innocence and determination. Check it out, I definitely recommend it!

***Review Copy purchased at Borders***

Blank Slate vol. 1 by Aya Kanno

Blank Slate vol. 1

Author/Artist: Aya Kanno

Publisher: VIZ Media

Rating: T+ - for 16 and up

Genre: Shonen, Shojo, Action

Grade: B

*** Review originally appeared at The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society at http://liheliso.org/. Check it out! ***

"He" is the most wanted man in the country. You're probably wondering who I mean. His name is Zen. Zen is the most violent, soulless, criminal in Amata. He takes no prisoners. He gets what he wants and leaves bloody battle in his wake. After taking the Army General's daughter and her companion hostage he sustains a nasty injury and is sent to a doctor who treats criminals, terrorist, and so on. This doctor is in a neighboring land that is fighting for freedom from Amata. Dr. Hakka made it his mission to save lives no matter what their status in society is. As soon as Dr. Hakka and the villagers learn that this new patient is the one and only Zen they decide to kick him out because they don't want the army invading their land.

Dr. Hakka decides to travel with Zen back to Amata to free the terrorists from the Army's grasp. It seems these two need each other. Zen seems to not have any memory of who or what he is and as soon as the violence starts something inhuman kicks in. Zen wants to figure out what's going on and Dr. Hakka wants to help him. What is in Zen's past and is it something that he really wants to know?

I've noticed that with VIZ Media titles they often fall in either the Shounen Jump or the Shojo Beat categories. I was curious to see why on earth a story line like that of Blank Slate is classified as a Shojo Beat title. I'm used to the shojo titles to be sweet romances and girly stories. Blank Slate is none of that. It's violent, bloody, and very intense. Zen is ruthless and has no soul. To me this really seemed like it belonged under the Shounen Jump moniker. The only reason I can see it being classified as a shojo title is the art style. It doesn't have a shounen manly look to it. The lines, the layouts, and even the characters fit into the shojo style. Despite the violence (I'm not one who is into violent stories – wait a minute what am I talking about I love Yakuza yaoi) and blood I found myself intrigued by the story. Now I really want to know what is in Zen's past. Was he some type of spy? Who is he really? Is he an android of some kind? I don't really know. The doctor is also an interesting character. I really want to see how their relationship plays out.

Even though this is an action story the shojo style art made it more enjoyable to me. That probably has to do with the fact that I don't read a lot of shounen titles. I generally read shojo, josei, and yaoi, so with this art style it made the violence a bit more palatable to me. But yes, the shooting and killing and explosions have their place - we are dealing with terrorists and war here. I am going to recommend this title for the art and the story. They play so well together that it really is an intriguing read and now I'll have to go pick up the next volume when it is released!

***Review Copy provided by VIZ Media***
***Reposted with permission from The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society***

Are you BL curious?

I know I said I was burned out on writing reviews, (which is still true) and yet I'm still posting them. I have a giant pile that I need to get through. But thanks to Narutaki's kind words I'll continue with my posts for great beginner BL manga. That was the reason I decided to start Manic About Manga in the first place. I want to be able to impart my knowledge to all that want it. There is a lot of manga out there, but it's not all good manga.

A good way to judge your BL manga is know what to expect from the publisher. If you are interested in super hardcore PWP (Plot? What Plot?) the publishers that most likely fill this category are 801 Media and Kitty Media. Juné has a wide range to choose from. With their M-rated titles there is going to be a bit more action, but chances are its still going to be toned down in comparison with what you'll find in 801 Media (Digital Manga is the parent company of both Juné and 801 Media). Don't be afraid to check out reviews for Juné titles online (you can always check here, I'll help!) BLU is TokyoPop's BL imprint. It is similar to Juné because they have a wide variety of titles to offer. DramaQueen and BeBeautiful have been MIA for quite some time now so who knows what is going on. But with the back catalog of BeBeautiful titles they are much more explicit. DramaQueen has a wider variety, but because they don’t print as much as other publishers the selection is smaller. So far the titles that I've read are pretty sexually explicit. But that's only for the titles that I have.

I'll talk about more BL publishers in the next post, but let's get down to business.

Voice or Noise by Yamimaru Enjin – Shinichiro is having trouble with his dog Flappy. The veterinarian sends him to see a "specialist" by the name of Narusawa. It seems that Narusawa is able to communicate with animals. It turns out that Shinichiro has this gift as well. Shinichiro tries to convince Narusawa to teach him the art of animal conversation. Soon feelings develop between these two. This is a great read for beginning BL readers because you get kissing and hinting at sex, but nothing graphic. It's Doctor Doolittle meets boys love!

Future Lovers by Saika Kunieda – Kento has a dream of marrying a beautiful woman, having a large family, and live in bliss. After his girlfriend rejects his proposal of marriage Kento gets drunk and ends up sleeping with some random guy he met at the bar. But its not too bad seeing how the guy is gorgeous and this mysterious man is really the one who picked him up. It turns out the mystery man is actually the new art teacher at the high school Kento teaches at. This one is a little more graphic, but the sex is tastefully done. My only worry is the one-shot featured at the end of the book. Yet the first story is so wonderful and funny that I, personally, was able to truly enjoy this volume and overlook my hesitations towards the second story.

Sunflower by Hyouta Fujiyama – Ryuhei had a crush on his tutor Aikawa, but those feelings remained unrequited. You see Aikawa is involved with someone else. Ryuhei decides that he's just going to go with the flow and enjoy his high school experience. He attends Kinsei High a school rumored to have a student body that is 90% gay (this is a boys school). In class he meets Kunihisa who transferred into the school and is completely unaware of the rumor. It seems that Kunihisa has piqued Ryuhei's interest. There is passionate kissing, and sex but it is mostly in the side stories. The sex scenes, however, are tastefully drawn with Fujiyama-sama's delicate style.

Gakuen Heaven by You Higuri – Keita Ito has been accepted into Bell Liberty Academy. It is a very prestigious school that only takes the best of the best. Keita sees himself as an average dude. Yet he is supremely lucky. Once he arrives at the school (after a messed up bus accident) he quickly makes friends with many of the students. There is one that seems to catch Keita's eye, Tetsuya Niwa – Student Council President. This one is probably the most visually graphic volumes on this list because you do see an erect member. This happens at the end however. There is also a moment of non-consent that can be a little off putting. But this is a great beginner volume because it introduces you to some of the many yaoi plot points and the more graphic style. Also, it being from the master Higuri-sensei the quality of the art is second to none

Okay! I've provided another short list of excellent beginner BL titles. With Voice or Noise it is a series with currently two volumes (there are three that have been released in Japan) but the series is still ongoing. Future Lovers has a sequel coming out next March. Sunflower also is a two volume series that is well worth your time. Gakuen Heaven has another title that has been licensed by BLU Manga but I have no idea when it will be released, but it follows a totally different story line.

Don't hesitate to leave a comment for me on what you think of these volumes once they've been read. I hope that these postings have been informative for you. When I first started reading yaoi titles I jumped in and found myself a little shocked. I had to go back to some of the more vanilla titles to familiarize myself with the genre. There was no where for me to go to get advice on what would be good for a beginner. Just consider me your water wings for when you venture out into the vast ocean of BL titles!

Lies and Kisses by Masara Minase review

Lies and Kisses

Author/Artist: Masara Minase

Publisher: DramaQueen

Rating: M – 18 and up

Genre: Yaoi, Drama

Grade: C+

Quoting the back of the book:

Separated as children due to circumstances of their parents' making, Tatsuya and Haru meet again at the bar where Haru works part-time. Unaware that Haru is his long-lost younger half brother, Tatsuya invites the young man out for a drink. Haru, who has forever admired the kind hearted brother of his memories, enthusiastically agrees to the invitation. However – when the evening takes an unexpected turn… Haru finds himself in a very un-brotherly position!

Tatsuya is looking for his younger half-brother Haruka. Haru in turn just wants to be closer to Tatsuya. When they meet in the bar Haru immediately recognizes Tatsuya, so when Tatsuya invites him out for a drink Haru agrees to go. After passing out Haru finds himself in a hotel room with Haru. Things quickly spiral out of control and Tatsuya soon seduces Haru. Tatsuya has no idea that this man he's just picked up is his younger brother he adored. Things go beyond what you should be doing with a family member.

Haru went along with things but Tatsuya finds out that Haru is actually Haruka, his half-brother. Oy vey! What to do when you fall in lust with a family member? Not only did they share a bed (in that way, you know what I mean) but there also seem to be all kinds of secrets going on between these two.

Let me warn you now, THIS IS AN INCEST STORY! If you don't like the idea of this, do not, I repeat, do not read this manga! When I first cracked open this story I was immediately captivated by the art. It is really beautiful. I absolutely love Masara Minase-sensei's colored art, especially the full color front page. It is rich in detail and is vibrant and simply gorgeous. Even in black and white it's stunning! Often times I'll recommend titles because of the amazing art, but because of the touchy subject matter I recommend it only if you think you can handle the subject matter. I really wish that this story ended differently that the way it did, but that might be the prudish side of me talking (believe me, I'm not really that much of a prude but I do have my moments). If you read too far into this I apologize for spoiling the ending. Luckily when I picked up this volume I had been reading yaoi for a while and was familiar with the many formulas that are used for stories.

DramaQueen has impressed me so far. Since I only started reading manga earlier this year I haven't been able to accrue many DramaQueen titles. If you decide to Google the company you'll see what a mess that DramaQueen is in. But that's beyond the point! The books are lightweight but high quality. The translation seems to be done well because the story flows well. They have tight fitting dust jackets. The books are very flexible so while reading you won't develop any wrist injuries while reading. It really is a nice volume.

I have a hard time recommending this title solely on its story matter. I don't want to be responsible for someone blaming me because they got weirded out. The art is amazing, I will say that. But be cautious because of the angle the story takes. If you don't mind a pervy tale every once and a while, this angst ridden manga might be right up your alley. But for the mainstream audience, this may not be a wise choice. But I'll leave that up to you.

***Review Copy purchased at Barnes and Noble***

So, you wanna read BL...

I'm a bit tired of cranking out reviews, so this time around I'm going to do something a little different. My posting will have a BL nature to it, but read on to see what I'm talking about.

I'm fairly new to the world of manga and anime. When I was younger I would watch fairytale anime that was played on Nickelodeon, but there wasn't much there to keep me interested. Early last year (2007) I was deathly ill and stayed home from work. I was looking for something to watch and came across Howl's Moving Castle by Hayao Miyazaki. I was enthralled immediately. Once I headed down that path I didn't look back. I then started checking out anime series that were featured through our cable system in the on demand service. Manga was still not something I was interested in though. That all changed earlier this year. The cable system started airing a show called Piano. It was about a girl who loved to play the piano but had lost some of that desire. I also play the piano and so it was a story line I was interested in. The episodes weren't coming out quick enough for my own liking so I purchased the DVD's. While checking out the trailers featured on the DVD there was a trailer for a show called Gravitation. Seeing a show about rock stars might be interesting and the song that accompanied the trailer was so amazing I filed the show's name in the back of my brain. When Gravitation came to the on demand service I thought that I would check it out. I figured a show about a cute pink haired girl who was the lead singer in a band and a gorgeous blond guy was an interesting idea (and I couldn't forget the song, it was burned into my psyche by this point). However, I was surprised to find out that the cute pink haired lead singer was in fact a guy. I've never had a problem with homosexuality (just because I live in the Salt Lake City area doesn't mean I'm closed minded), but I was pretty surprised that there was an anime series out there like that. This piqued my interest. The on demand service wasn't showing the episodes quick enough (actually I saw the first couple episodes and couldn't wait any longer) so I ran out and purchased the entire series plus the OVA. I was so taken in by the story, for the first time in my life I decided to check out the manga. After I read the entire series, I found myself interested in the BL genre. But because I didn't know much about boys love I dove in head first and found myself swimming in an ocean of BL without a life preserver. This posting is to be a life-saver for those who might want to read boys love but don't know which titles to read, how graphic they are, etc.

Boys love can be kind of scary, but keep reading on because I'm going to provide some great titles that are good titles to get started with, or you like boys love but you just aren't into the hardcore PWP stuff (PWP stands for "Plot? What Plot?" and is used for those titles that have no story, just sex).

Gravitation by Maki Murakami– Like I said, this was my first series. Shuichi Shindou wants to be a rock star. But he seems to be lacking a muse. That is until he meets the mysterious author Eiri Yuki. This is a wild and wacky roller coaster ride. I laughed, I cried, it even made me think. It is a good series to start off with because there are plenty of moe moments, passionate kisses, and sex, but the sex isn't graphic (it's been a while since I've read through the series but I don't think you even see the sex but you know it's going on).

FAKE by Sanami Matoh – I was initially confused by the covers. How on earth could a book with guys brandishing guns on the cover be a boys love title? Randy 'Ryo' Maclean gets transferred to the criminal investigations division with NYPD's 27th precinct. He's partnered up with the bad boy of the department, Dee Laytner. In between solving crimes and raising a child Ryo has his hands full trying to fight off the advances of Dee. There is quite a bit in the way of passionate kisses but because this is a crime manga there is quite a bit of violence as well. This is a great read and you don't get any sex until you get to the final volume in the series. Even there the sex is tastefully done.

The Paradise on the Hill by Momoko Tenzen – Kijima and Ono teach at an all girls' school. These two teachers seem to be attracted to one another but don't know how to put their feelings into words. Plus they seem to be misleading one another without even realizing it. There is kissing but that's all you'll see in this beautiful sweet romance. This is a great title strictly for the art, but the story really makes this a good read.



The Alley of First Love by Ellie Mamahara – Shusuke has been crushing on his best friend Atsushi for like forever. He was heart broken when Atsushi move to England to go to college. After six years Atsushi is back in town. Worried that things are going to be tough on his poor heart Shusuke approaches the situation with caution. There is kissing and sex at the end (like you get in many BL titles) but the actual sex acts you don’t see but you know that they had a good time.


I know that this is a list of only four titles, but Gravitation is a series of 13 manga (12 in the original series, 1 in Gravitation EX) and two novels and FAKE has 7 manga in the series. Feel free to get started with these titles and I'll provide another list with many more great titles that I've read!

Loveholic vol. 1 by Toko Kawai

Loveholic vol. 1

Author/Artist: Toko Kawai

Publisher: Juné

Rating: YA – ages 16 and above

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance

Grade: B+

I love him. I love him not. I love him. I love him not.

Kentaro Nishioka is one hot photographer. He's in demand baby! But some of his best work is when it is for businessman Daisuke Matsukawa. The two have known each other for ages but anyone who sees these two men together wouldn't know it. They don't seem to get along. But if they don't get along, why is Nishioka always taking candid pictures of Matsukawa?

Matsukawa is a very successful ad man. Any and all of his projects he works on, he must have the photos taken by Nishioka. He insists upon it. Matsukawa is a very handsome man and seems to cause women everywhere to swoon, but he doesn't have a significant other. Could there be something in his past that is holding him back?

Loveholic is drawn in Toko Kawai-sensei's signature style. Whenever I read her works, you can't help but be drawn to the eyes of her characters. But we all know that the eyes are the windows to the soul. I love Nishioka. He's loud, opinionated, loud, and behaves like a child. I can totally relate, I'm loud, opinionated, and behave like a child! Matsuoka is Nishioka's opposite in every way possible. He's quiet, cool, and reserved. Opposites definitely attract in this story. Since this is a two volume series I'm looking forward to see what is in store for us in the next volume. According to Juné's website it should be coming out next month. I can't wait!

OK, I know that this review isn't much of a review, but this is such a sweet story. There isn't much in the way of angst. It isn't intense in the least. It's a breath of fresh air.

***Review Copy purchased at Borders***

Lovers and Souls by Kano Miyamoto review

Lovers and Souls

Author/Artist: Kano Miyamoto

Publisher: Deux Press

Rating: M – for ages 18 and up

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance, Tragedy

Grade: C+

*** Review originally appeared at The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society at http://liheliso.org/. Check it out! ***

One thing I've noticed about Kano Miyamoto-sensei is that she has a huge online following. Her fans are also rabid and obsessed. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, believe me there are a few manga-ka that I am rabid and obsessed with. At the back of the manga sensei mentions that Lovers and Souls was her first manga and it kicks off the Rules universe. The first two-thirds of the manga features the story of Shinomiya and Matsuoka. The last third is the completely unrelated story about Kai and Nozaki.

Lovers and Souls, Vanity, and Sleeping Beauty is the tale of Toru Shinomiya and Satoshi Matsuoka. These two men attend the same Art College. Shinomiya is known across campus due to a nude photo that he posed in for a contest that Matsuoka entered. The students are stunned by the photo and assume he is gay, because it is a well-known fact that Matsuoka is in fact gay. You see, Shinomiya can't seem to relate to others and he lacks morals. He has no problem posing nude in photos, sleeping around with random people, and he even insists on having Matsuoka pay him for sex, even though he's straight. Once he's had his first man, Shinomiya begins selling himself for cash. By this point Shinomiya and Matsuoka have become good friends and are heading towards becoming lovers. Matsuoka truly cares for Shinomiya, and because of Matsuoka's influence Shinomiya seems to start warming to others and being friendlier to others. But tragedy will soon strike.

With the story found in Eternal Moon and Tomorrow's Sky Kai's best friend Nozaki has just come out of the closet. It seems that Nozaki is tired of having to keep it on the down low, so he feels it necessary to be up front about it. The two continue being best friends, but soon Kai starts reading up on the subject of anal sex and soon becomes curious. After a night of drinking Kai and Nozaki end up sleeping together. Hmmm… lets complicate our relationship, shall we?

When reading Lovers and Souls keep a box of tissues handy and make sure your hormone levels are normal. It is a real tearjerker. With the three Kano Miyamoto-sensei titles that Deux Press has published I've found that her work is either hit or miss. Now before the rabid Miyamoto-sensei fans grab their pitchforks and torches to head to my residence, I really enjoyed Two of Hearts. It's been a while since I've read Say Please, so before I say whether I like it or not I'll have to read it again. With Lovers and Souls I found myself liking the last story but not being too fond of the title story. Maybe it's because I'm not one who enjoys tragedies. That even includes my opinion on Shakespeare (but what does Shakespeare have to do with Lovers and Souls). Sensei's art is a bit simplistic and isn't as clean as I'm used to. But I'm not complaining. The characters look like real, normal people, not the gorgeous bishonen types that you see in other yaoi manga. I've noticed with her covers that much of the full color art has an oil painting look to it, which gives it a high art feel. Out of the three covers, I'd say that the cover of Lovers and Souls is by far the most beautiful.

Yaoi manga is generally written by women for women. You don't see many gay men reading yaoi manga because of unrealistic nature of many of the stories. Yet in many places on the net I've noticed that when gay men talk about reading good realistic yaoi, the two authors that are mentioned the most are Fumi Yoshinaga (author of Antique Bakery) and Kano Miyamoto. The thing that I've noticed with these two manga-ka is the fact that their characters are in fact gay. The relationships that develop between the characters also seem to be a bit more realistic as well.

I hope to be able to read more from Miyamoto-sensei. Deux Press seems to be the publisher of choice when it comes to sensei's work.

***Review Copy provided by Deux Press***
***Reposted with permission from The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society***

Constellations in My Palm by Chisako Sakuragi and Yukine Honami review

Constellations in My Palm

Author/Artist: Chisako Sakuragi/Yukine Honami

Publisher: Juné

Rating: M - 18 and up

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance

Grade: B+

Anything that is illustrated by Yukine Honami is going to catch my eye. I was immediately captivated by the beautiful artwork on the cover. Throw in astronomy as a part of the story and I'm hooked! I started reading yaoi manga that had an M-rating earlier this year and Constellations in My Palm was one of the first ones I read. I'd say in some ways it was a good choice, but in others not quite so good.

Mizuho and Enji at one time were very close. During the summer holidays these two cousins would always play together, gaze at the nighttime sky together, you name it they were always together. Mizuho was a year older than Enji and felt like he needed to protect his younger, cuter cousin. They had a dream that they were going to become astronomers together. After an accident, Mizuho started to avoid Enji.

Many years later Enji moved in with Mizuho and his family so he could attend college. You could cut the tension between Mizuho and Enji with a knife. Enji has grown into such a gorgeous young man. Mizuho is also gorgeous, but is finer featured. Mizuho wants things to go back to the way things were before, but he is worried that it's too late. Is it too late?

This was the first title of Yukine Honami-sensei's that I've checked out. I realize this review is very late in coming, but I only started reading manga earlier this year. That's why you'll see reviews of books that were published several years ago showing up on this site now. I try to stay current, but there is a lot to check out. OK, back to Constellations in My Palm. I mentioned that the choice of this title was both good and bad for a beginner M-rated yaoi manga. I'll start with the negative first. I really struggled with the whole "loving" your cousin situation. It's a common usage in yaoi and I'm now used to the whole getting involved with other family members. If that story line is not something that you are used to you may want to wait to read it. But if you can put that past you (like I did) this is an amazing piece of work. Chisako Sakuragi-sensei's story is so gentle and beautiful you can't help but fall in love. Add in Honami-sensei's gorgeous artwork and you have a masterpiece. This story has enough drama, but it's not so overly dramatic that you feel like you're reading a manga-ized (yes, that is a word that I just invented) version of a soap opera. There is enough comedy sprinkled throughout. The supporting cast rounds the story out nicely and adds the spice needed to keep the story moving.

I recommend this title highly. Take one look at the cover and you'll understand what I mean. This is one where the cover pulls you in and you won't let it go until you've reached the end!

***Review Copy purchased at Borders***

Stop Bullying Me! by Natsuho Shino review

Stop Bullying Me!

Author/Artist: Natsuho Shino

Publisher: Juné

Rating: YA – 16 and above

Genre: Yaoi, Comedy, Romance, School Life

Grade: B+

*** Review originally appeared at The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society at http://liheliso.org/. Check it out! ***

Teasing the one you like is nothing new, at least if you are in elementary school. Bullying the one you like, that's a different story. I find the title Stop Bullying Me! to be a little misleading. When I think of bullying I think of overly large boys threatening smaller kids for lunch money and stuff. In this story the "bullying" looks more like teasing to me.

Tomo Masaki is an adorable freshman in high school. He has a brother complex; he even applied to attend the same high school as Ei-chan just so he could spend even more time with him. You see, Tomo is a bit thick and simple minded. But he's also sweet, cute, and sincere. Since starting high school Tomo hardly ever gets to see Ei-chan. Ei-chan is the Student Council President and is always busy. Not only is he terribly busy but "he" is always with him. The "he" is Motoki Izumi, the Student Council Vice-President, Ei-chan's best friend, and Tomo's tormentor. It never fails, whenever Tomo heads into the Student Council room to see Ei-chan, Izumi is there instead with teasing remarks ready. Izumi has a sweet side to him, too. Soon Tomo finds himself feeling conflicted when it comes to his feelings towards Izumi. Does he like him, hate him, love him?

Please Keep It a Secret is a brief one-shot about two childhood friends who were separated but were brought back together when they met again at the same high school.

I was first introduced to Natsuho Shino-sensei through the release of Oh my god! published through another company. I was immediately charmed by sensei's artwork. In Stop Bullying Me! you can't help but love cuddly Tomo. He has the signature large uke eyes and the small frame. He also has a head of hair that just begs to be ruffled. Izumi and Ei-chan are perfect with their statuesque frames, thick necks, and manly jaw lines. Not only are they drawn gorgeously, but the interactions between these three characters are hilarious. Tomo isn't the only one with a brother complex. Ei-chan is in quite the predicament. He's stuck in the middle of his best friend and his dear little brother. It's a hard place for him to be because Tomo isn't afraid to say what is on his mind about his relationship with Izumi. It's a fun story to watch while it unfolds. The art just adds onto the playfulness of the story.

I'm glad Juné decided to pick up this sweet and funny manga to publish here in the states. Just one look at the cover I knew I was probably going to like it. This has a rating of YA, which means that it is suitable for ages 16 and older. I suggest for someone who has never read boys love but is interested in checking it out Stop Bullying Me! is a great title to pick up as an introduction. Even those who've read more hardcore titles (like me, you name it I've probably seen it) you can still enjoy a sweet title like Stop Bullying Me!

***Review Copy provided by Juné***
***Reposted with permission from The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society***

God of Dogs by Satoru Ishihara review

God of Dogs

Author/Artist: Satoru Ishihara

Publisher: Juné

Rating: YA – 16 and above

Genre: Shonen Ai, Drama, Action, Organized Crime

Grade: D

*** Review originally appeared at The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society at http://liheliso.com/buzz. Check it out! ***

I'm going to quote from the back:

The notoriously vicious Chinese Mafia has lost its next rightful heir... to sudden suicide! Now, the esteemed "God of Dogs" Tsai family must race against the ticking clock and hunt down the child of the deceased eldest son in order to preserve their ancient, sacred legacy. Meanwhile, the mysterious Archer has been convicted of killing his father and is on his way to jail. What will fate reveal for the powerful Tsai clan's criminal dynasty AND this strange young man?

In God of Dogs, a feared family demands the service of a special descendant... but can the chosen one fight back? A rebel with a mind of his own is trapped in a bloodline riddled with secrets, murder, and the constant threat of betrayal. Will he break the centuries-old chains that bind him to this history of violence and stand on his own two feet, or does he have no choice but to bow at the altar of his wicked forefathers?

Archer Rogue has been convicted of murder by killing his father. On his way to the pen, the paddywagon that the prisoners are riding in comes under attack. It crashes and the prisoners escape. One of the prisoners gets picked up by a fancy car, which they pick up Archer as well. Archer leaves behind his knit cap as a clue for his friend, police officer Kohki. Meanwhile back at the ranch, the "God of Dogs" has killed himself and the search is on for the pureblood successor. Some guy named Zigger is involved in all of this and someone promises to deliver Archer Rogue to him.

Some craziness ensues and Archer ends up in Miami as ransom, a riot somewhere breaks out, and people are soaked in acid to destroy evidence. If I'm not making much sense, that's because this story is a bit confusing.

This is the first Satoru Ishihara-sensei manga I've read. She also wrote Dost Thou Know? also published by Digital Manga. I had no idea what this manga was going to be about because I didn't see anything on the Juné or Digital Manga websites about it. This manga probably would have been more enjoyable had it not been so confusing. Characters are introduced and are dropped just as quickly. The story feels like you're starting in the middle of a larger series, but there aren't any other books associated with it. In the author's notes at the back, Ishihara-sensei makes the point that this is a continuation of a story that started in another set of stories, but we only get this one volume and are expected to know what was going on. All of the characters seem to look the same; the only way you can tell characters apart is their hairstyles. This is supposed to be a "Shonen-Ai" story, but there was no boys love to be found. The only BL thing I could think of is there was something happening between Kohki (the cop) and Archer (the criminal). But there wasn't enough there to make it really boys love worthy. I did like the art on the cover though. It has a tough looking watercolor picture of Archer (I assume) and a bunch of other dudes. It has Juné's signature dust jacket and larger trim size and the design of the jacket is pretty sweet. Unless there are plans to release the prior volumes of manga that would clear this story up, I wouldn't bother. Sorry.

***Review Copy provided by Juné***
***Reposted with permission from The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society***

The Paradise on the Hill by Momoko Tenzen review

The Paradise on the Hill

Author/Artist: Momoko Tenzen

Publisher: Juné

Rating: YA – 16 and up

Genre: Shonen Ai, Drama, Romance

Grade: A

Romance is something that we women can't seem to live without. Why, I don't know? Communication is essential in any relationship, especially in new relationships. The Paradise on the Hill is the story of Ono-sensei and Kijima-sensei. They teach in an opulent girls school perched atop a hill. These two teachers are the envy of all their friends. Because this is a boys love tale we know that even though there are girls in this manga they're just set dressing!

Ono is the new PE teacher at the school. Kijima teaches English (I think). One day a student approached Ono to confess her feelings. While all of this is going on Kijima stumbles in completely by accident. Because Ono doesn't seem to know what to do he approaches Kijima for advice. Here begins the complicated waltz between Kijima and Ono.

Ono loves Kijima, Kijima loves Ono, and Tsuda-sensei (another teacher at the school) plays cupid – kind of. Ono is the new teacher in town and so all the students shower him with gifts and attention. It's taken some of the pressure off of Kijima. Soon after the confession incident Kijima and Ono become fast friends. They seem to love spending time together and Kijima even gives Ono a key to his private office, yet they still can't seem to share their feelings to one another. Will they ever be able confess their feelings for each other or will it be an eternal game of cat and mouse?

There is also a brief one-shot called Summer Rain. Motomi Takase was having an affair with a married man. He loved this man with all his soul but didn't want to be the cause of his lover's family to break up. He couldn't handle the pressure, so he fled. Ten years later he comes back thinking that he was able to put everything behind him. That was the case until a letter arrived from Hiroyuki Kasahara, his past lover.

This gentle love story from Momoko Tenzen-sensei is more than just an amazing title; it is a brilliant piece of work. There is only one word to describe Tenzen-sensei's work, Classic. The art is smooth and detailed in every way possible. It is very clean and clear not just for the characters but the backgrounds, the clothing, everything. Tenzen-sensei is a first-rate manga-ka. While reading this manga the piece of music that kept coming to mind was Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 21 in C major (this is one of my favorite piano concertos). It is so gentle and mild, a wonderful piece of art. It was a little frustrating seeing Ono and Kijima dance around the issue while the rest of us are yelling at the manga because we see that they are both attracted to one another. I can't praise the art nearly as much as I want. With Kijima's cool beauty and Ono's playful air you just want the two characters to end up with each other.

It seems that Juné really likes Tenzen-sensei. They've released The Paradise on the Hill and Seven already and there are three other titles scheduled for 2009. Having checked out several of sensei's other titles, I can't argue with Juné's decision. It was truly inspired.

If you love romantic stories be sure to pick up The Paradise on the Hill. If you don't like the story, look at it for the art. It is a stunning piece of artwork. This is also a great title to read if you are new to the world of boys love.

***Review Copy purchased at Borders***

Sighing Kiss by Riyu Yamakami review

Sighing Kiss

Author/Artist: Riyu Yamakami

Publisher: Juné

Rating: M – 18 and up

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance

Grade: B+

Love triangles are the spice of life, especially boys love triangles. Akira Yui is gay. He realized his tastes in Junior High. Now he has quite the conundrum on his hands. He is attracted to his best friend Tatsuya Oka. Tatsuya is tall, handsome, popular and good at sports. He even has an absolutely adorable girlfriend. Yes, Tatsuya is straight. Akira is currently living in the dorms at school. His neighbor, Tanabe, loves to tease Akira. You see, Akira really gets into pleasuring himself and can be a little on the noisy side. But Tanabe can be gentle as well. He can see the turmoil that Akira is in over the whole Tatsuya deal.

One day after school Tatsuya informs Akira that he and his girlfriend broke up. Being overcome with emotion Akira ends up blurting out those three little words "I love you." After that, Akira freaks out about what he's done and runs off without listening to Tatsuya's side of things. Running into Tanabe was the last thing Akira wanted, but that's usually how things go (at least for me). After talking with Tanabe, Akira puts on a brave face to confront Tatsuya. Tatsuya wants to talk to Akira but it just doesn't happen. Akira, one evening, looks for a little action and winds up with Tanabe. Tanabe is gay and has quite the skills. What will Akira do? Does Tatsuya feel the same about Akira? Does Tanabe have feelings for Akira? Hmmm…

One thing I've been impressed with when it comes to Riyu Yamakami-sensei is that the characters are gay. In so many other yaoi stories out there the characters say they're straight, they fall in love with a man but still claim that they are straight. In the Yamakami-sensei titles that I've read (Sighing Kiss and Vanilla) the main characters are attracted to men and identify themselves as gay. It's really rather refreshing since the generally attitude in yaoi is so totally unrealistic. But who reads yaoi for the realistic relationships, I sure don't. I'm all about the fantasy baby! Sighing Kiss is a title I definitely recommend. The story is compelling. You see how Akira pines after Tatsuya, how clueless Tatsuya is towards Akira's feelings, and Tanabe's insightfulness. Yamakami-sensei keeps you guessing up until the very end on whether Akira ends up with Tanabe or Tatsuya. Don't worry I won't spoil it for you. Yamakami-sensei has a unique art style that I really like. You and look at sensei's work and know it's hers (I assume that sensei is a she) immediately. The only complaint that I have about sensei's art is that the faces are a little narrow and pointy. The detail is amazing. When you look at Sighing Kiss and compare it with sensei's earlier work Vanilla (both published by Juné) the art has improved exponentially.

Juné did a great job in producing this title. Pick it up, you won't be disappointed!

***Review Copy purchased through Akadot Retail***

Sounds of Love vol. 1 by Rin Tanaka review

Sounds of Love vol. 1

Author/Artist: Rin Tanaka

Publisher: Luv Luv Press

Rating: M – 18 and above

Genre: Josei, Drama, Romance

Grade: B

*** Review originally appeared at The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society at http://liheliso.org. Check it out! ***

If music be the food of love, play on

We are all familiar with this line from William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (yet how many people do you know keep their Complete Works of William Shakespeare handy? Just me?). In Sounds of Love vol. 1 music and love weave a beautiful symphony. Kazune is the manager of up and coming pianist Kyoichiro Haneda. But Kazune is more than Kyoichiro's manager; she's also his girlfriend. Kyoichiro is hotheaded and passionate. When he plays it's like he's making love to the audience. Because he puts so much emotion into his playing he is quite frisky after his performances. Kazune is also a pianist but her style is very different from Kyoichiro's. She seems to put everyone to sleep. It's because her style is calming and flowing, like water.

In Sounds of Love vol. 1 we learn more about Kyoichiro and Kazune's love affair all while dodging offers from prestigious talent agencies wanting Kyoichiro to sign with them, performing with other musicians, and even avoiding marriage proposals.

There are also two short one-shot stories, The Prince of Love and Little Lovers Hands. Mayu and Sakito dated in the past but Mayu wanted Sakito to show her how he feels. Many years later Sakito is a hot romance novelist and Mayu models for him. Will their love return? With Little Lovers Hands Shiori is dating her coworker Takayuki. Takayuki gets sick and Shiori is at a loss as to what she needs to do.

Holy crap this is one hot manga. The sex is so steamy you will need to keep a towel handy. We are dealing with a subject that I love. Classical Piano. Music and romance perfect together. Kind of like chocolate and peanut butter, it's the perfect combination. Rin Tanaka-sensei has written a beautiful story to go along with the gorgeous artwork. Kazune's dresses are stunning and Kyoichiro is handsome in his tuxedo. The artwork and story are both so amazing you can almost hear the music coming through the manga.

Lately Luv Luv has released some really amazing titles recently. This one is added to the list of amazing josei titles that I've read. They really hit a home run with this title (mixing sports and music, hmm…). My only complaint is the cover isn't scored near the binding so now you get nasty creases. I know I'm OCD, but aesthetics are very important to me.

I recommend this title to those who love music and romance. The story is compelling and since this is a series I'm anxiously awaiting the next volume. Keep up the great work, Luv Luv!


***Review Copy provided by Luv Luv Press***
***Reposted with permission from The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society***

Junior Escort by Sakurako Hanafubuki review

Junior Escort

Author/Artist: Sakurako Hanafubuki

Publisher: Juné

Rating: M – 18 and above

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance, Anthology

Grade: D

*** Review originally appeared at The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society at http://liheliso.org/. Check it out! ***

Initially, I thought that Junior Escort was just another book of one-shots that Juné is releasing. Yet there will be more Junior Escort titles coming out in the next year. Which stories will be continued? It beats me!

Mizuhara. He's the hottest face in Japan right now. You see him on ad posters, in television commercials, even acting in television series. Ayukawa works for the same talent agency that Mizuhara does. One night after partying, Ayu (the name he's known by) is the person chosen to take a hammered Mizuhara home. It seems that Mizuhara has fallen for Ayu. Ayu isn't too sure about his feelings because he's been a Mizuhara fanboy. A deal is struck between his boss and himself to continue seeing Mizuhara. If Mizuhara stays happy then there is a possibility for more projects for Ayu. There seems to be danger on the horizon for Ayu.

The first two stories, Junior Escort and Paparazzi Channel, star Mizuhara and Ayukawa. In Angelic Seduction Yuta Ninomiya has a crush on one of his neighbors, Kakeru Aoyama. Kakeru's parents are talking divorce and Yuta's mom allows him (a kindergartner) to wander around all by himself. Yuta will do anything necessary to catch his man. Behind Closed Doors is about Ueda and Haitani. Ueda has been crushing on Haitani for a while. After they first slept together Ueda finds out that Haitani sells himself. The two strike up a deal to continue sleeping with each other. Haitani also has had a dark past that has contributed to his current behavior. Kamijo is an insomniac. In So Lovable, So Kind Mitsuru offers to help Kamijo cure his insomnia by having sex. It seems they like one another but don't seem to do anything about these feelings. They're relationship seems to be one of sex buddies, no more, no less. In Baku, Megumu and Aki are roommates. They have a mutual friend named Senno. It's the typical love triangle. Megumu and Aki have known each other since they were children and it seems that Senno also has a thing for Aki (or is it Megumu, I'm not sure). It's a very confusing story.

I know that the upcoming volumes of Junior Escort will feature more stories starring Mizuhara and Ayu, but whether the other stories will be continued I just don't know. I wasn't too fond of this collection of stories. Junior Escort and Paparazzi Channel were by far the better of the six. I found myself very disturbed with Angelic Seduction. Now, I don’t know the age when Japanese children start kindergarten, but when I was in kindergarten sex and conquest was not even close to being on my mind. Then we are looking at a seme who is fourteen. The whole shotacon genre is lost on me. I find it rather disgusting. Behind Closed Doors is rather sweet and I'll add it to the list of better stories. Not only was I not terribly impressed by the stories but also I found the art to be lackluster at best. All of their faces were much too narrow and they had some major pointy chins. You could carve wood with those chins. Who knows, maybe the next installment will be an improvement.

I love many of the Juné titles, but I feel like they struck out on this one. Even though it is the larger size and is wrapped in a dust jacket, it's still not enough to redeem this book.

***Review Copy provided by Juné***
***Reposted with permission from The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society***

Hanky Panky by Koreaki Kamuro review

Hanky Panky

Author/Artist: Koreaki Kamuro

Publisher: Deux Press

Rating: M – for ages 18 on up

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance, Anthology

Grade: C+

*** Review originally appeared at The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society at http://liheliso.org/. Check it out! ***

Here we have yet another one-shot collection. This time it is in a Deux Press release. Koreaki Kamuro-sensei has created Hanky Panky for our enjoyment.

The first tale, Hanky Panky, is about Manaka. Manaka is a college student but he's living a double life. At night he goes by Itsuki and he and his cousin run a hot host club. To hide his identity he plays up the nerd role during the day. There is one student who treats him with contempt, Masanari Doi. While he and his cousin are interviewing prospective new hosts the last person Itsuki (night name, remember?) wants to see applies for the position. It's Masanari Doi. Now Itsuki has to worry about keeping his identity hidden from this man who now shows interest in him.

In the tale The Truth is… Miki has a huge crush on his friend's brother. Kensho is 26 years old and owns two host clubs. Miki on the other hand seems to be very apathetic towards his life. His only bright spot is meeting up with Kensho on a regular basis. With Lovers, Only Tonight Suzuki gets hammered and wakes up in some stranger's apartment. Yet this stranger seems to know him, he even calls him "Coach". At one time Suzuki coached an elementary school soccer team. Just when he was confident with his coaching abilities one of players, Makio to be exact, started complaining about all kinds of things. This crushed Suzuki's confidence and he quit coaching. Could this man be Makio? We meet Ehara and Saki in A Kiss and Beyond. This is your typical old childhood friends fall for each other. Jealousy arises in regards to their other relationships. One Sweet Position has the typical salaryman feel to it. Kei is attracted to his coworker, Tatsuya. But it seems that Tatsuya is married and has a kid. In A Lovely Punch we return to our lead couple Manaka/Itsuki and Masanari Doi in a crazy situation.

Hanky Panky is a one-shot collection where the stories are short, sweet, and to the point. Which means that the story is slightly rushed so you get to the sex quicker. Then once the sex is over the story rushes to the ending so you can move on to the story which flows the same way. I prefer to have a little plot involved with my smut. It's a tad difficult to get the character development that I prefer when it comes to sex. I'd say that some of the stories were enjoyable but overall it's just OK. The thing that redeems the story is the art. Koreaki Kamuro-sensei has a wonderful eye for detail. The eyes are expressive and the lines are clean. Kamuro-sensei has done a great job with the art for this manga.

Deux Press does a great job when it comes to the licensing and printing of their titles. This volume is done very well. The only beef I have is that the binding that hasn't been scored. Now I have an ugly crease on the cover. I'm sure that this isn't a problem for most manga readers. I just happen to have some weird OCD about it. I know, I'm strange.

This title, Hanky Panky, is not bad but it's not super awesome either. I enjoyed it mostly for the art and some of the stories were compelling but others were lacking something that I just can't put my thumb on. If you enjoy one-shots that truly encompass yaoi (stories that don't have much story, but it has plenty of hot, sweaty, manloving) Hanky Panky may be your answer. But for someone like me I really only liked it for the beautiful art and Kamuro-sensei's style and layout.

***Review Copy provided by Deux Press***
***Reposted with permission from The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society***

Waru by Yukari Hashida review

Waru

Author/Artist: Yukari Hashida

Publisher: Juné

Rating: M – ages 18 and up

Genre: Yaoi, Comedy, Romance

Grade: A

I initially judged this book by its cover. There was no desire on my part to read Waru when I started reading BL manga. I wasn't taken by Yukari Hashida-sensei's style. But after reading Kabuki vol. 1 I have joined the ranks of Hashida-sensei fans. Because of that I decided to order Waru through Yaoi Club (the book was super cheap, which totally made my day!)

Joe Oizumi is bad, at least bad at trying to be a criminal. He has been diagnosed with a deadly brain tumor. He wants to go out with a bang so he abducts Yuushi Mikaido, the only son of a Parliament member. While holding Yuushi for a large ransom, the tables turn and Joe finds out that Yuushi is gay and he seems to be glad that he's been kidnapped. Because Yuushi was so honest with Joe, the two end up having some pretty hot sex.

Joe's father happens to be Mr. Mikaido (Yuushi's father) personal physician and is the one who recognizes the composite sketch of Yuushi's abductor. He takes on the task to deliver the ransom. Joe's father ends up embarrassing him by announcing his many unsuccessful crimes, Joe decides to turn Yuushi over. But Yuushi will have none of that. After a brief tussle, Joe ends up shot. When he finally comes to after the whole incident Joe finds himself in the hospital with a minor flesh wound from being shot. Plus his father tells him that the reason Joe was told that he was going to die was to try and have him straighten out his life. It obviously backfired, and Joe only has migraines not a brain tumor. To get Joe off the hook for kidnapping him Yuushi tells his father that it was Yuushi that wanted to run away then he gets his father to hire Joe as his personal driver. It seems that Yuushi's the bad one, not Joe.

This manga had me rolling on the floor laughing so hard. The art is typical Yukari Hashida, the ukes are kind of feminine looking and the semes fit the archetype to a tee. But who cares with a story like this one. Regardless of how bad Joe tries to be, Yuushi's always one step ahead and he seems to have Junichiro Oizumi (Joe's dad) on his side. The one character that made this story so hilarious is Joe's father, Junichiro. Even though he's a doctor he seems to play many roles and always has his nose in Joe and Yuushi's relationship. Around every corner is some wacky scheme that will surprise you. This is a truly unique story line and Hashida-sensei's unique art style compliments the story brilliantly.

This is one BL manga that you shouldn't miss. You'll laugh so hard that you'll worry about wetting yourself.

***Review Copy purchased through Yaoi Club***

A Gentleman's Kiss vol. 2 by Shinri Fuwa review

A Gentleman's Kiss vol. 2

Author/Artist: Shinri Fuwa

Publisher: Juné

Rating: M – 18 and above

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance, Organized Crime

Grade: A

*** Review originally appeared at The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society at http://liheliso.com/buzz/. Check it out! ***

I've decided that I really dig BL Yakuza stories. Maybe it's because my mother has been obsessed with the Mafia and I grew up with The Godfather and other mob movies. I seem to be drawn to the Yakuza in the same way.

Homura Yasobe and Touji Karasuma are back in the final installment of A Gentleman's Kiss. The second volume kicks off with Kyoya Kuramoto, former host at Homura's club, basically stalking Homura. It seems that he has fallen for his former boss. Since the stalking doesn't seem to be making any progress, he goes about using the blackmail approach. Kyoya knows about Homura and Touji's affair. To shut him up Homura agrees to go out with him. But his mind is always focused on Touji.

While all of this is going on Touji is preparing himself and those around him for his succession to the head of the group. It's decided that Touji will soon become engaged to the daughter Tanno, the leader of Homura's faction. When Homura gets wind of this engagement, he is beside himself. Even though they've kept their relationship on the down low, Homura can't help but be hurt. To try and help Homura heal Kyoya steps in to fill in the hole. Having an illicit affair with a rival gang leader sure is tough!

If you are reading this thinking "What?" feel free to read my review of A Gentleman's Kiss vol. 1. Juné made a very wise licensing choice with this series. Shinri Fuwa-sensei's art is truly beautiful in black and white. All of her characters are extremely handsome, especially Homura. You can't beat a beautiful bishonen in glasses. The story is truly riveting. You have sex, intrigue, humor, suspense, etc. You can't beat that! Since this a tale of men involved with organized crime much of the story is at night. Because of that there are a lot of dark scenes which means there is a lot of ink. With all of that ink, some of that ink rubbed off onto my fingers. I was a little surprised because I've never had that problem with any other Juné release. It was a little disheartening but because this is such a great story I'll ignore it.

I feel that this is a great title and series. You can't beat a story where love truly conquers all! I suggest that you read it. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

***Review Copy provided by Juné ***
***Reposted with permission from The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society***

Vampire's Portrait vol. 1 by Hiroki Kusumoto review

Vampire's Portrait vol. 1

Author/Artist: Hiroki Kusumoto

Publisher: Juné

Rating: M – for 18 and above

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Horror, Fantasy

Grade: B

*** Review originally appeared at The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society at http://liheliso.com/buzz/. Check it out! ***

Lou is a young painter. On one cold day a handsome stranger approaches him. This mysterious stranger offers to be his patron. He asks Lou to paint his portrait. Sein is a composer. This intrigues Lou because his grandfather, who raised him, played the piano. There seems to be something a little off with Sein. He's very unsociable. Nothing Lou paints seems to satisfy Sein. After a small row Sein accidentally cuts Lou's hand and Sein's true nature is revealed. Sein is a vampire.

Lou comes to find himself somewhat attracted to Sein. He's resolved to paint a portrait that Sein will approve of. But a man named Adam comes into the picture. It seems that Sein and Adam have a contract. Sein gets to feed off Adam and Adam gets musical scores. Sein had fed off Lou the day before and wasn't as hungry when Adam had arrived. After Adam left in a huff Sein wanted a little more of Lou's blood. A little strange since he'd just vomited up a large amount of blood. We find out that Sein had fallen in love with Lou's grandfather, Claude, many years ago. It seems that Lou and Claude's blood taste similar.

One day Lou arrives at Sein's manor, but Sein is nowhere to be found. It seems that Sein wants Lou to be looked after by Adam. Unable to figure out what's going on, Lou just goes with it. The story begins to get more complicated from here.

Initially I didn't have much desire to read Vampire's Portrait. I wasn't terribly impressed by Hiroki Kusumoto-sensei's previous release Wild Butterfly. But I've learned that you need to judge each book by its own merits and not by previous works. Don't get me wrong, I liked the art in Wild Butterfly but I figured Vampire's Portrait would be more of the same. I got the copy a few days before Halloween so I decided to read it to help me get into the Halloween spirit. I was so happy to find out how great of a book this is. The story was engaging and interesting. The art was beautiful. It's a two volume series so you get a cliffhanger ending. I'm not a huge fan of vampire stories, yet at every turn Juné and DMP have been publishing amazing vampire titles. I have been thoroughly impressed. There isn't a lot of BL sex action in this volume but the man attraction is definitely there. This volume has an M-rating, which I assume is for the blood not the sex. There is A LOT of blood and some violence.

I would have to say that my favorite part of the book is the two four-panel comics on the page with the author's Afterword. It plays on BL theme of the story and is really quite hilarious. Seeing how this is a very serious manga the humor was a breath of fresh air. Check out this title, it is definitely worthy of your time.

***Review Copy provided by Juné ***
***Reposted with permission from The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society***

Feverish by Takaaki Kusaka review

Feverish

Author/Artist: Takaaki Kusaka

Publisher: Juné

Rating: M – 18 and up

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance

Grade: A

In Feverish we have two tales that are loosely related. The first story has a bit more humor than the second does, but they both are excellent tales.

Singles and Persons star Chihiro and Kensei. Chihiro has been chasing after for Kensei years. Seriously, this dude is like a stalker. Chihiro's father is the manager of the apartment that both Chihiro and Kensei live in. Chihiro is constantly breaking in and trying to make the moves on Kensei. Kensei doesn't hate Chihiro, but their relationship is pretty ambiguous (with the exception of Chihiro giving Kensei blow jobs all the time). After giving Kensei a pricey birthday gift, Chihiro goes to the bar that Kensei works at with some friends. A scuffle breaks out between Kensei, Chihiro and one of Chihiro's friends. Was this how Chihiro figured things would go?

Feather Hands takes up the majority of the volume. Yoh Ootsuki is a model. He's also a bit thick and has little tact. But he has an eye for silver jewelry. His stylist gets him a job working with exquisite silver pieces. Yoh is immediately taken by the beautiful jewelry and insists on getting some for himself. The artisan is quite picky on who he sells to and Yoh's stylist lets him know that his chances for getting his mitts on some of this silver is very slim. The stylist takes pity on Yoh and gives him the address of the place where he can meet the creator himself.

Yoh shows up at the bar and meets the bar owner. Supposedly the bar owner and the silversmith are one in the same and is male, but Yoh is thick remember? Yoh starts hitting on Ari, the owner, thinking that he is a she. After months of embarrassing himself in front of Ari, Yoh catches on that Ari is indeed male and the silversmith. But Yoh is in too deep by this point.

I found myself enraptured by this work by Takaaki Kusaka-sensei. I found both stories to be quite enjoyable for different reasons. They both deal with persistent men, but the Chihiro-Kensei story had a little more humor. I find Kusaka-sensei's art style is very lovely. Her men are all extraordinarily handsome. But the thing I loved most of all was sensei's chibi renderings. They are just too adorable. I would really like to see more of Kusaka-sensei's work published over here. I've checked out many of her (?) manga titles through the scans you can find on line and I've loved them all. PLEASE BRING MORE FROM KUSAKA-SENSEI TO OUR SHORES! Good job, Juné!

***Review Copy purchased at Borders***

Love Bus Stop by Ritsu Natsumizu review

Love Bus Stop

Author/Artist: Ritsu Natsumizu

Publisher: Juné

Rating: M – 18 and above

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance, Salaryman, Anthology

Grade: B

Tsuzuki has a rich fantasy life. But his fantasies involve a man that rides the same bus as him in the mornings. He knows nothing about this man, except the fact that he's mesmerized by him. As it turns out Tsuzuki equally mesmerizes Fujisaki. They strike up a friendship and Tsuzuki has fallen in love. But he's worried about how Fujisaki feels about him.

Love Bus Stop is a collection of one-shots featuring hot and sexy salarymen. Of course the above one shot is the title story. In Blame it on Love Kirishima fell in love with fellow classmate Orihara. Unable to tell him how he felt, he continued on with life. Life was normal until Orihara started working for the same company.

All My Flowers for You is the tale of a sensei and a flower shop owner. Tohyama is a teacher at a middle school. For one week out of the year the students work in nearby businesses for some vocational training. Izumi is the owner of a flower shop. Izumi is attracted to Tohyama-sensei, but sensei is in a long distance relationship.

We meet Kouda and Kudaka in First Kiss. At a drinking party Kudaka gets hammered and kisses Kouda as a welcome to the department. To sober up Kudaka, Kouda gives him a passionate tongue kiss. But when all are sober and at work Kudaka overhears that Kouda doesn't want to go to another drinking party if Kudaka is there. It makes you wonder what Kouda is thinking. I wouldn't mind some random hottie kissing me!

Ritsu Natsumizu draws some of the most diverse looking men. While reading you can tell them all apart. It's great! The art is simple yet still beautiful. Not only that Natsumizu-sensei draws men in glasses and suits like nobody's business. Not only that, sensei has a great sense of humor. When you read the Extras section, who knew that someone could get so turned on by men's catalogs. It cracks me up. She (I'm assuming sensei is a she) also showed that same sense of humor at the end of Crushing Love.

Now I've read other reviews of how people seem to be disappointed in Love Bus Stop, wishing it was smuttier, or more in depth, etc., but I found it to be an endearing volume of one-shots. I feel that things can be just as erotic without being in-your-face nasty. Besides it's a nice volume. The paper is heavier and bright white, which makes the art jump right off the page. It's larger and has a dust jacket. It just looks good. Thanks to Juné for bringing us great artists like Ritsu Natsumizu to our shores!

***Review Copy purchased through Yaoi Club***

We Were There vol. 1 by Yuki Obata review

We Were There vol. 1

Author/Artist: Yuki Obata

Publisher: VIZ Media

Rating: T+ – 16 and up

Genre: Shojo, Drama, Romance, School Life

Grade: B

*** Review originally appeared at The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society at http://liheliso.com/buzz/. Check it out! ***

Nanami Takahashi (throughout the rest of the book she's known as Nana) has just started high school. Her goal is to be uber friendly and make lots of new friends. She starts off with her neighbor Yuri Yamamoto, but Yamamoto doesn't seem to be too friendly. After making a few new friends she hears the girls talking about a guy named Motoharu Yano. He was very popular in middle school and his popularity with the ladies seems to have transferred to high school.

Nana is a bit flighty. She went to nominate one of her new friends as the class president and forgot her name. She stopped to ask someone in her class what her name was. The person who she stopped happened to be Yano. He gave her the wrong name and Nana ended up embarrassing herself in front of her classmates. From that moment Nana and Yano's crazy relationship began.

Nana had no intention to fall for Yano, but fate loves to surprise us. After confessing to Yano, Nana finds out that Yano had dated Yamamoto's older sister but she died in a car accident a year ago. Yano told Nana that Nana-san (the girlfriend) was his first true love. It looks like Nana has a lot to live up to.

We Were There is definitely a shojo manga. We have girl likes boy, boy is dwelling on the past, and they're all thrown into a high school setting. Manga soap operas are always in high school, there's always a death or severe illness, and the boy that our heroine focuses on is the one who is chased by all the girls. Despite the diatribe above I really liked We Were There. I found Nana's enthusiasm refreshing. She trudges along regardless of how things are going in her life. Another thing that made this enjoyable is the art. It is in the typical shojo style with the big eyes and slight frames drawn for the girls. You see slightly larger frames for the guys. But Yuki Obata-sensei's art is stunning. The detail is so amazing. It is so clean and detailed and simply beautiful. If you pick up this volume simply for the art, you won't be disappointed.

This is the first time I've picked up a VIZ Media manga. For the quality of the materials, buying it at $ 8.99 is a steal. The paper it's printed on seems to a little bit higher quality than that of a typical paperback book. The ink stays on the page, which is always a plus for me. I hate having to wash my hands every five minutes because there is more ink on my hands than on the page.

I say definitely check this title out. I'm looking forward to the upcoming volumes. What will happen between Nana and Yano?!

***Review Copy provided by VIZ Media***
***Reposted with permission from The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society***

More Yaoi Novel Reviews

Hey y'all! I have some more reviews for yaoi novels. With those reviews, I prefer to send you over to Lincoln Heights Literary Society. I like to keep this site focused on the manga. Click on any link you like to read the reviews:

Clear Skies! A Charming Love Story – By Akira Sugano; illustrations by Etsumi Ninomiya
Dark Walker – By Hikaru Yura; illustrations by Hirotaka Kisaragi
Passion: Forbidden Lovers – By Shinobu Gotoh; illustrated by Shouko Takaku
S vol. 3: Split – By Saki Aida; illustrated by Chiharu Nara
The Guilty vol. 1: Verdict – By Katsura Izumi; illustrated by Hinako Takanaga.

You Make My Head Spin by Kazuhiko Mishima review

You Make My Head Spin

Author/Artist: Kazuhiko Mishima

Publisher: Juné

Rating: M – 18 and above

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Comedy, Romance, School Life

Grade: C+

*** Review originally appeared at The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society at http://liheliso.com/buzz/. Check it out! ***

Shindou has just transferred into the roughest school in the neighborhood. Upon arriving he meets Murai, Sugi, and their leader Yousuke Aizawa. Yousuke looks like your average juvenile delinquent, but looks can be deceiving. Yousuke gets motion sickness from riding a bike and is a bit on the shy side. Shindou, on the other hand, is very forward with his feelings and extremely confident. Wherever he goes he always seems to be sparkling. So when Shindou confesses, seeing him so nervous breaks down Yousuke's tough exterior.

Once Shindou and Yousuke are a hot item on campus (Shindou doesn't mind PDA, Yousuke does) a new transfer student comes onto the scene, Yuki. Shindou and Yuki seem to get along swimmingly. Yousuke feels threatened. You see, Yuki is what you would assume is your typical uke. Yousuke wants to let Yuki know that Shindou is his hot property (even though Shindou has said that he and Yuki are only friends). Yuki freaks out. He's not gay. The only reason why he and Shindou spend so much time together is because Yuki feels at ease with another non-delinquent student around. Phew… but things still seem to be on a rocky course.

There is a second story in this volume called Sensei. It is the tale of a sensei and a student. Mimori has a beast of a teacher. He's strict and mean and doesn't even smile. But something seems to be off with Sensei lately. After collecting the pop quiz papers and delivering them to Sensei Mimori finds out that Sensei has just broken up with his boyfriend. Mimori wants to do what he can to comfort his teacher, so he offers up his handkerchief. This causes a brief moment of surprise from Sensei. He then shows Mimori his smile, which makes Mimori weak in the knees.

I love Kazuhiko Mishima-sensei. The art style is so unique it is immediately recognizable. The art is very angular and square. You'd think that it could be a little off putting, but I find it refreshing. My only complaint about the art is the cover. The eyes seem to be a little weird and I find it kind of strange looking. If I look at it too long it starts to make my brain freak out. The stories aren't super strong. In You Make My Head Spin the sex comes up really quite fast and we don't seem to develop much in the way of character. Sensei is a bit stronger even though it is the shorter of the two stories. I think I liked it better of the two.

Juné did a great job with the look of this manga. I say that because every Juné title comes festooned with pink band on the bottom of the cover. Usually it stands out like a sore thumb. Yet this time around it blends in perfectly. I guess it pays to have the cover bright pink and have multi-colored hearts behind the illustrations of the main characters. Nice!

It is a quick read and must have for Mishima-sensei fans (I'm one now since the release of sensei's First Stage of Love). Be sure to check it out for the awesome art. Just so you know, be aware that the story is a little lackluster, but still enjoyable.

***Review Copy provided by Juné***
***Reposted with permission from The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society***