Il Gatto Sul G vol. 2 by Tooko Miyagi review

Il Gatto Sul G vol. 2

Author/Artist: Tooko Miyagi

Publisher: Juné

Rating: YA – ages 16 and above

Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance

Grade: A

Life is getting more complicated for Atsushi Ikeda, Riya Narukawa, and Haruto Kousaka (Riya’s sempai.) When we last left off Kirimine High was preparing for their big concert featuring some of their most talented musicians. Riya was one of the featured violinists but some of his upperclassmen were not OK with him being chosen. After competing against Kousaka Riya is officially chosen as the representative but because of his mental instability Kousaka has taken on the role of understudy. Riya both admires and despises Kousaka. It seems that Kousaka is rather talented yet unmotivated but after witnessing one of Riya’s masterful performances it seems he’s found his muse. Kousaka enjoys teasing and bullying Riya (which is why Riya despises him). Things progress with Kousaka faster than one would like. Riya loses Atsushi’s apartment key and it turns out that Kousaka is the one who finds it. Using the key to lure Riya over to his apartment Kousaka then forces himself on Riya.

In the meantime Atsushi waits around for his cat (Riya with his Black personality) to show up. When Riya does appear he’s beyond ticked off at Atsushi. He admits that he is aware at what’s going on while the White personality is in charge but White, on the other hand, is completely unaware that Black exists. Plus Black Riya hates that everyone seems to prefer White Riya, including Atsushi. Atsushi tries to calm him down by stating that he makes no weird distinctions between the two personalities. Unfortunately that doesn’t appease Riya at all and he returns the key while confessing that White Riya slept with an upperclassman.

Atsushi hates that things left off the way they did so he blows off school to attend the Kirimine concert. Luckily Riya has reverted back to the White personality but things aren’t smooth sailing yet, nor are they likely to get better with the introduction of Riya’s cousin Saki Narukawa, famed pianist. After the concert Atsushi and Saki are introduced and to Saki’s surprise Riya seems to be rather attached to Atsushi. Another reason Saki is surprised with Atsushi is because of the fact that Atsushi knows the Black personality. Saki arranges for Atsushi to move in with Riya to work as a housekeeper and to keep Saki up to date on what is going on with Riya’s mental health. Will things work out for the better, or will Riya’s fragility cause him to break?

I still really like the story. It’s definitely a love triangle tale that I’ve never encountered before. Writing compelling stories that are riveting and interesting is definitely a talent that I don’t have and sometimes can be a difficult for anyone. Plus trying to portray characters with flaws realistically can be tough as well but so far I think that Tooko Miyagi-sensei has done a bang up job. I don’t know much about Multiple Personality Disorder but I know that it can be brought on by abuse. Was Riya abused as a child? Does Saki really know what’s going on? I’m pretty sure that all of that will be answered in the third and final volume.

The only real struggle I have with the story is Kousaka. He’s jealous of Atsushi, which can be expected when you have a crush on someone, but for some reason he feels the need to be violent at times. He claims to have feelings for Riya but doesn’t show them well. You often see this characteristic in semes in yaoi and I’ve never understood it. I can understand the whole "I want to tease them" behavior but I don’t get the "I want to mess them up" attitude. But it’s something that I have to deal with because this is an often a plot device that is used often in yaoi.
Juné has again done a beautiful job with this release. It has a matte dust jacket (it was released before Juné dropped the dust jackets) and brilliant white paper. I also love that on the inner flap of the dust jacket has a picture featuring a chibi Black Riya and Atsushi. What can I say, I’m a sucker for chibi’s. The book is a bit stiff but you don’t have to wrestle with it to stay open.

I’m looking forward to how this is going to turn out. It seems that Atsushi’s feelings for Riya go deeper than he originally thought and he has to deal with the fact that White Riya seems to be somewhat attracted to Kousaka. And Kousaka is struggling with the discovery that Riya does indeed have multiple personalities. The third volume is definitely a title that I’m excited to read!
If you’re interested feel free to check out my review of the first volume of Il Gatto Sul G.

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