Il Gatto Sul G vol. 1Author/Artist: Tooko Miyagi
Publisher: Juné
Rating: YA – ages 16 and up
Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance
Grade: A
Atsushi Ikeda is the quintessential nice guy. He rescues stray cats and helps clear the streets by picking up stray furniture on the way to the dump. One day on the way home he finds a high school student in front of his apartment. The young man’s hand is injured quite badly so Atsushi brings him in, treats his injury and even feeds him. He can’t seem to get any information from the young man, but because Atsushi is the caring soul that he is he wants to help this kid out any way he can. He soon learns that the guy he helped out is none other than famous violinist Riya Narukawa. Atsushi finds himself worrying about Riya and so he takes it upon himself to take him under his wing. But the more he sees of Riya the more he learns about how troubled Riya is. It seems that Riya suffers from multiple personalities.
Riya seems to be timid and shy but his other personality is much bolder. Atsushi met the less timid personality first. Atsushi gives Riya a spare key to his apartment and tells him that he can come over anytime and use it as a refuge. The two start to get to know one another but it seems that the timid personality doesn’t remember what happens when the bold personality is in charge. It’s the beginning of a complicated relationship with many twists and turns ahead.
Anytime you combine yaoi and a musical storyline you are definitely going to get my attention. Il Gatto Sul G is a three volume series by Tooko Miyagi. I’m not too familiar with Miyagi-sensei so this was really a first for me. The only thing of sensei’s I’ve ever checked out is the Juné light novel A Promise of Romance, she was the illustrator. Since this is the first volume we’re just setting up the story and introducing the characters. In this one it’s a bit more complicated because we have the black (bold) personality being attracted to Atsushi and the white (timid) personality is attracted to his sempai (we’re introduced to him in this volume but his part is minor). I find myself drawn to this story not only because it has a musical story to it but anytime you have characters that deal with mental illness in any way, shape, or form is going to pique my interest. Mental illness is a tough thing to deal with and when you present it in an interesting way you can bring attention to a much stigmatized issue.
This is a beautiful release. It has a matte dust jacket which gives it a very sophisticated look. The paper is brilliant white but is rather flexible and makes it a pleasant read. The translation is smooth and I don’t recall any editing mistakes. It is a very nice presentation and is Juné at its best.
Be prepared for a heart wrenching, emotional, rollercoaster ride. But it is definitely worthy of your time!
***Review Copy purchased through Amazon.com***
3 comments:
It's good that you're starting this series now, since the third volume has finally been released. I have to say, after such a gap between the second and third volumes, I had no idea what was happening or who anyone was. That said, I still liked it. It resolved pretty well, from what I could tell. :)
Can i know where to read these manga s... thanks!
@P2 - Thanks for stopping by! The first volume of Il Gatto Sul G is a bit hard to find. It's out of print and I actually purchased my copy through a reseller at Amazon, so there's always that route. Have no fear though because the first volume is available at Digital Manga's own eManga. Their reader is easy to use. You also have the option of purchasing a Kindle copy at Amazon. The nice thing about Kindle books is you don't have to have a Kindle to read them. Amazon offers free download application for a variety of different devices ie PC, iPhone or iPod touch, Android phones, etc. They have a list. Thankfully volumes two and three are still in print and can be purchased in a variety of locations. I've heard that Robert's Anime Corner (http://www.animecornerstore.com/) is a great place to check out if you are looking for harder to find manga.
Good luck! I hope you enjoy it and feel free to comment any time!
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