Sunday, March 1, 2009

Take Me to Heaven by Nase Yamato review

Take Me to Heaven

Author/Artist: Nase Yamato

Publisher: Deux Press

Rating: M – 18 and up

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

Grade: A+

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

Fumiya has a special gift; he sees dead people and one of his ghosts that he can see must have been a math teacher because he can't seem to get his homework done without the ghost interfering. This is how Take Me to Heaven starts. When Fumiya was a kid they moved into a house next to a Buddhist temple and his bedroom happens to be right next to the graveyard. Thanks to that he's now become sensitive to ghosts. Shogo is the only son of the priest and ever since Fumiya was little, offered his services – for a price. The two have always had this very weird friendship. Fumiya always turns to Shogo when he's being bothered by a ghost and Shogo in turn teases and bullies Fumiya, but still seems to calm Fumiya anyway. Now in high school, the students in the Occult Research Club scout out Fumiya and Shogo to join. Fumiya is not really keen on the idea but Shogo joins and convinces Fumiya to do the same.

Fumiya is frustrated with the fact that Shogo is uber popular with the girls and that it wasn't too long ago that Fumiya was the popular one and Shogo was the goofy one. But alas Shogo is ultra good looking and super cool and Fumiya is unable to get away from Shogo long enough to make a name for himself. While in the Occult Research Club Shogo and Fumiya have many adventures with the supernatural and thanks to Fumiya it seems that things are going well. Will Shogo get serious and will Fumiya realize why he feels comfortable turning to Shogo?

I knew almost immediately that I would like Take Me to Heaven. I am a huge fan of Nase Yamato-sensei. This has shot to the top of my yaoi manga one must read list. It is hilarious. I was immediately hooked by the fact that the ghost of a math teacher that was interred at the temple was tutoring Fumiya. You can't help but laugh out loud at that premise. Yamato-sensei has a sense of humor that I really relate to. She's sarcastic and snarky and it really makes the manga that much more interesting. Not only does the humor create a great manga, but Yamato-sensei's art is spectacular. From her use of screen tone and shading, to her clean lines and extreme detail, the story leaps off the page. Not only are the normal drawings phenomenal but her use of chibis and how adorable they are you can't help but love them.

There are a few things that people might complain about (but as for me I don't take issue). If you are looking for hot and sweaty sex you won't find it here. The sex is at the end (like it is in many yaoi titles) and it is very brief. For someone who might not want a lot of sex or aren't familiar with yaoi this is a great title to pick up. The story is another thing that people might complain against. It isn't a very deep plot and you can pretty much figure out how things will work out. But pick it up if you are looking for a light distraction from life. It's definitely worth it! Bravo Deux Press!

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

1 comments:

Narutaki said...

I also found this title cute, sweet, and fun!