Hunting for YaoiPart Two: Captured Prey
Last week, I told you about some manga that weren't necessarily categorised as shounen ai / yaoi, but had overtones that could make them appeal to those who are interested in the genre. This week, I'll give reviews of the titles I have read so far that are considered as being part of the genre by their publishers. As I always like to end on a high note, I'll be going in loose order from least-liked to most. Thankfully, there's only one book I've come across that's such a waste on the whole that I would actually recommend people to stay away from it: Shonen: An American Yaoi Anthology, Volume 1. Think of those amateurish college art zines that students will try to hawk on city streets, and you'll have something akin to this anthology. Ronda's "Santoor", a story about a xenoarchaeologist meeting an assassin, had potential, but really needed some polishing in both art and storytelling — there was too much "showing" and not enough explaining. The art of Tarot's "Club Delusion", too, had potential but was ultimately clumsy. While the authorial voice was all right, I didn't care much for the story; a preppy guy basically stalks a virgin goth guy (that everyone else, really, is also stalking). Tammy Lee's "Kitty Fairies", about one anthro cat-fairy cursing another's dick because (he claims) the other stole his living cat-hat, was just plain bizarre; while the art was polished, neither it nor the story was at all appealing to me. Nuriko Windchaser's "Dead Eyes" is about a boy who has the chance to be adopted by a pair of gay men but isn't allowed to be by the social worker who runs the orphanage; what could be a great premise is turned into some disturbing, anger-driven teen comic when the boy kills the social worker, the sort of work that seems like it was made by a kid bitter about not having been adopted, as a work of therapy. At least the author admits the work is amateurish, but it makes me wonder why the works of amateurs would be included in an anthology with such a high price tag. Lain Bradford's short, textual, slice-of-life story, "Alphabet Soup", is by far the best work story-wise in the anthology, but it's also quite depressing. David Ralston's "Bite Me Sweetly" is a silly bit of fluff with often inane dialogue that tries to be funny but doesn't make me laugh, as well as amateurish art. Sumy's "Just Because" has some nice art, but the quality of the reproductions is terrible, and there isn't much of a story, just a sweet bit of fluff with a nugget of weirdness that spoils it. There's also a gorgeous print by Sumy after it — if it were in colour, I could see it making the anthology worth the cover price! The last comic, "First Aid" by Scooter X, is again glaringly amateurish, and the two drawings after are only marginally better (and too similar in posing). Shounen is a tall and wide volume — American comic book dimensions, really — but not thick at all, and sure as hell not worth the $15.95 price tag! (Don't worry, I didn't buy it.) Ryo Takagi's Bran Doll isn't a bad story, but it isn't much of a yaoi, despite being sold through go! Boyz LOVE. Fen is mistakenly — and unwillingly — enrolled in the secret Special Doll Force, which collects "Bran" dolls (ugly plushies) for the king. Slowly, Fen starts to appreciate that the dolls are actually significant. Then he's teamed up with Dio, the King's brother and a look-alike to princess Christina. At first the duo are resentful of being paired with each other, but then Dio makes it his life's mission to prove his worth to Fen. It's a shoujo sort of story, in that it's somewhat fluffy most of the time and has "lessons" inherent in each mission. It's not exceptional, but it's fairly amusing and the art is good. In order to explain why this isn't a very good story in terms of yaoi, I have to spoil you, so skip to the next paragraph if you think you might want to read it. The problem is that a "boy's love" story should be about boys falling in love, but Dio turns out to actually be princess Christina! Not only that, but: the other males in the SDF are barely used; one of those guys says he doesn't like men who kiss other men; and the only real instances of real male/male contact are with bad guys — one of whom is butt-ugly and the other is assumed to be a woman at the time the kissing is done! So if you want to read it just as a story, okay, it's mildly entertaining, but if you're looking for yaoi, this story is an exercise in disappointment. Maki Murakami's Gravitation tells of a musician, Shuichi Shindou, and his hopes of becoming a rock star — as well as his love troubles with an older man, a seemingly cold author named Eri Yuki. It's one of those manga that's published as an ordinary title at TOKYOPOP, rather than under their BLU MANGA imprint, probably because they published it long before they had a yaoi-specific imprint. Truth be told, while the art is good, somehow it didn't really appeal to me — I like the style well enough but not the character designs. The characters' personalities weren't terribly likable either, nor was the story all that gripping. I think I only read two volumes before I gave up on it. Still, there are things I've heard about later parts of the story that make me think maybe I should give it another go.
You Will Drown In Love, a story that runs parallel to the one told in You Will Fall In Love, tells Reiichiro's budding romance with an employee in his fabric store and is much better than its sister volume, save for one big point: the seme (or top) virtually rapes the uke (the bottom)! Still, outside of that and ignoring the fact that the characterisation of Reiichiro makes him seem like a different (and arguably more interesting) character from how he is in the other volume, the story between the love scenes is cute enough to make it worth reading. (You can read my full review here.) Sanami Matoh's Under the Full Moon, a two-volume manga from Broccoli Books, tells the story of David, a vampire, and Marlo, a werewolf, who are betrothed — and are both male. Except, the werewolf doesn't actually change into a wolf, like his parents — instead, he changes into a girl with the full moon. His groom doesn't have any issues with that, though; it's the bride who can't forget that he's a guy by birth and feels that two men being together is a problem! It's a moderately cute and fun — if bizarre — tale, but it's arguably spoiled, from a yaoi standpoint, by the fact that the bride is a woman when their relationship is consummated (not graphically), and even spends more time as a girl than a guy in the second volume. Matoh has another, much better yaoi series, which I'll get to later .... Lovers in the Night was created by the creator of Antique Bakery, Fumi Yoshinaga. It tells of the misadventures of manservant Claude and his master, the spoiled Antoine. Claude was a thirteen-year-old prostitute when a man took pity on him and introduced him to the household to which he would become a life-long servant. When Antoine is born, Claude is a young man, and he helps oversee Antoine's own journey to adulthood. However, by the time Antoine reaches the end of that journey, his parents have died, his wealth is all but gone, and every servant but Claude has left. Claude, having loved the father (a love that was never reciprocated in that way), now loves the son — who in turn eventually realises he feels the same way. But does the change in their relationship into one that's more equal mean that Claude can finally be strict with Antoine and shape him into a more worthy man? Or will he always spoil Antoine and let him get away with selfish behavior? I must admit that the fact that Claude is soooo much older than Antoine, having known him since babyhood, squicks me a little bit, but not too badly — at least they're adults when they sleep together. Oh, that reminds me — their consummation? Isn't in this volume, it's a short story called "A Butler's Proper Place", in BLU MANGA's Truly, Deeply (which I have not read))! What a rip, having a major plot point missing! At any rate, the bigger issue for me is that Antoine is such a brat, it's really hard to like him! And at times, the work seems more concerned with sex than plot (which is, I guess appropriate for yaoi, technically). But when the story is there it can be really good, particularly if, like me, you're into hurt/comfort. I should warn you that, right at the very beginning of Lovers, there's a scene with the young Claude and his john in which it's rather unmistakable that Claude has just been engaging in fellatio. It also seems that, in the image, he's holding the guy's junk in his hands. Honestly, while it's only one scene and not exactly graphic, I'm not entirely sure it's even legal for this work to be sold, considering the recent court case regarding manga and obscenity laws. Yes, that case involved imported manga, but remember, just because a work like the one I'm talking about now is printed and sold in stores in the US does not, unfortunately, necessarily mean it's legal for it to be sold in the US, only that someone in a position to determine whether it is or isn't might not have seen it yet. I don't want to scare you — I just don't know if this is really "safe" or not. I've only read one volume of Kazuna Uchida's I Shall Never Return, so I can't tell for sure yet how good it will ultimately prove to be: it has the potential to be brilliant, but could just leave a sour taste in the mouth. Ritsuro and Ken have been best friends since childhood, but Ken's family has fallen apart and he's struck out on his own, dropping out of high school and resorting to prostitution. Whenever Ritsuro has a girlfriend, Ken steals her away, not because he wants the girl but because he wants Ritsuro. Ritsuro is unsure of his feelings for Ken. When he finds his latest girlfriend, Moeko, with Ken, he dumps her — but is it really because she cheated on him or is it because he's jealous? What if it's both — how does he choose? Moeko, meanwhile, doesn't take too kindly to being dumped for cheating when she realises the truth about Ritsuro and Ken's relationship. (Note: the characters are either 17 or 18 — they're 13 at one point, and then it jumps to four years later — and there are a number of non-graphic love scenes.) I like the premise; it's angsty and complicated. It's also complicated in presentation, though; you really have to pay attention and study the panels to get what's going on, as it all happens very quickly and without much in the way of explanation. It's like you're watching the goings-on of strangers through a window without knowing very much about them, so it's sometimes hard to connect to the characters. It's also hard to feel much sympathy for Ken — it's not until late in the volume that I manage to get past thinking about how seriously messed-up in the head he seems, that he's overreacted to his family situation and made more of a mess of his life than is excusable, and actually feel sorry for him. And Ritsuro is so wishy-washy about his feelings, never seeming happy no matter whose arms he's in, that it gets downright annoying at times. I will confess that part of my issues with the book stem from my own perspective as a bi-poly, though — I want to ask all three of them why, since they all three like each other, they can't have a three-way, why they must force each other to choose? Well, maybe that's how it will turn out eventually? If so, it might become one of my fave titles ever! Meanwhile, I'm very curious about details partially-revealed towards the end, so I am interested in reading more, despite my frustrations. Shinobu Gotoh and Kazumi Ohya's Takumi-Kun Series is based on the series of illustrated yaoi novels they did together, and I suspect that you're supposed to be familiar with those before reading the first volume of the manga, June Pride. At the start, it rushes through an explanation of the characters and briefly mentions previous situations as if summarising what has happened in issues before; then, just a few pages later, jumps into the story, making me feel like I'd missed some pages or something — very frustrating. We don't get much of a sense of who these people are and what motivates them. Well, it helps that the premise is simple: Takumi, a student at an all-boy's school, suffers from a phobia of being touched, which proves an obstacle between him and his would-be lover / roommate, Gui. Also, Gui is always declaring his love for Hayama, which makes Takumi doubt his sincerity. And of course there's the usual problem of others being interested in Takumi and challenging Gui. I do love the art, I will say that right off the bat. And Gui could have been annoying in his relentless pursuit of Takumi, but it's tempered by the fact that Takumi does care for Gui, too. And there's some nice conversational moments involving Gui's best friend, Shozou, as well as a few really sweet moments between Takumi and Gui, and one great scene where Gui has to dance around the subject of his sexuality with a another friend. I am, however, a bit bothered by a scene that anyone who, like myself, is sensitive to rape or coercion may also be bothered by. If you don't want to be spoiled, skip to the next paragraph. Takumi's reason for his phobia is that he was raped as a child by his beloved brother, who was nuts. Actually, that's not even the issue for me (although I question the publication of a title in the US that includes drawings depicting the act, however vaguely, especially since he was a child at the time — seriously, could I get in trouble for owning this??) — it's a plot point that builds Takumi's character. The problem is that, upon learning the truth, Gui arguably forces himself on Takumi in a sort of "get back on the horse" sort of mindset, the idea being that he's going slow and gentle, and Takumi must put up with it or else they can never really have a relationship together. On the one hand, I see what he's saying: we have to sometimes push ourselves past our fears, our comfort zones, in order to, well, live. But on the other hand, battling rape with what is arguably another rape doesn't seem logical. It's because of the former mindset that I can put up with the scene at all, as it's obvious that, however much he desires Takumi, Gui's not doing this for himself but rather for his beloved, but only just. I would have been happier with the scene if it had been a bit more voluntary on Takumi's part, but I guess the point is that it never would have been, and therefore he never would have healed. Well, like I said, it's not so bad — I was able to tolerate that, and I do think that there are other scenes that made the manga worth reading, despite its other flaws. Even with the angst (which save for the quasi-rape I would have enjoyed), overall, it's sweet. Takaaki Kusaka's Feverish contains two longer stories, as well as a few little short pieces at the end. The first is about Kensei, a waiter, and Chihiro, a host and the son of Kensei's apartment manager. Kensei is a very pushy bottom, to the point where he has copied Kensaie's key and comes in whenever he pleases — a point that grates on Kensei as much as it does on me. Even so, Chihiro is also very sweet, almost innocent — just not quite so innocent as he acts! And if Kensei truly doesn't like Chihiro's attentions, why doesn't he kick Chihiro out? Why does he not only put up with but enjoy the morning blowjobs Chihiro gives him? For someone who supposedly doesn't want the attentions of his would-be uke, he doesn't put up much of a fight. Still, four years is long enough for anyone to wait for the object of their affections to decide whether or not they want to become a real couple, even for Chihiro, and the uke resorts to some even-more-desperate-than-usual measures to get Kensei to face his feelings. Yes, though Chihiro's behavior would definitely cross some lines in the real world, I find myself, like Kensei, charmed by the nutcase in spite of myself. And their consummation, when it finally happens, is a sweet affair. The second story is longer. The primadonna model Yoh wants a bit of silver jewelry from an amazing artist; on his way to get that piece, he hits a hurdle in the form of a beautiful bar-owner named Ari, whom he assumes is the older sister of the artist. He decides that nothing will prevent him from attaining either of his goals — getting a work of silver or getting Ari's heart — not even learning that Ari is a guy and also the very artist whose work he covets. Ari is a pushy seme, relentless in his pursuit, which is annoying, but there's four saving graces to this story that make it a winner: one is that Yoh never really pushes himself onto Ari sexually or threatens him; another is that, when he does kiss Ari without his permission, he pays dearly for it; the third is that, despite his over-eagerness and initial selfishness, Yoh is a good kid at heart and proves it; and the last is the simple fact that it's a well-paced, well-spun story with intriguing characters, especially Ari. One of the short stories at the end has a fun reveal, the next two are highly amusing in a silly way, and the last is a sweet little vignette with Kensei and Chihiro. All in all, it's a light and fluffy book — but not overly-saccharine. I shouldn't like Yuko Kuwabara's Blue Sky, given my tastes. For one thing, the seme, Chief RA Kihara, has rigged the selection process at the dorm of his all-boy's school so that the uke, Yoshimi, gets him as a roommate, in hopes of fulfilling a prophecy which states that whoever rooms with the Chief RA will end up romantically entangled with them. I can appreciate wanting to increase one's chances, but I don't much care for pushy semes. Unfortunately for Kihara, Yoshimi doesn't believe in prophecies — and doesn't believe guys should love each other. And his overprotective older brother won't let anyone hurt him, so when Yoshimi gets so stressed out by his living situation that he falls ill, his brother sees to it that Yoshimi gets moved — only Kihara thinks the younger Yoshimi himself is behind the room change and gets insulted. Dude! You're the one who forced Yoshimi to move in with you in the first place! And yet this is a love story — we are supposed to be rooting for them to get together and, inexplicably, I do. There's also a story about Yoshimi's elder brother and the school's physician, with some steamy (but not really graphic) adult sex, and another story involving two of the supporting characters getting involved (which I think I like best). The characterisations and reactions of the characters aren't entirely believable, a bit too over-the-top — rather like a soap opera, really (which may actually be why I like the stories in spite of myself, given that I do watch some soaps). For example, Yoshimi is the Ice Prince and Kihara is the "Prince of Warm, Spring Sunshine", right? But we never see Yoshimi as an actual cold fish — turning down someone's advances doesn't make one so. Instead, he seems quite excitable. Kihara, meanwhile, is the one who keeps cool and calm most of the time, save for when he's angry. They even say in the text that the two boys have changed since meeting each other, but we don't really get much of a look at them before then, so the sentiment doesn't mean much. And who faints and gets a fever over a little stress? True, it's a common trope in manga, one that I even find appealing, for the hurt/comfort aspects, despite how silly it is. So while part of me was rolling my eyes, a very girly part of me was giggling and soaking up every sappy second. Other reasons I shouldn't like this work: aside from Kihara, there are two other guys that are obnoxious about the pursuit of their objects of affection, and there's a teacher/student story, which is a plot scenario I'm not generally keen on. And yet I do like this manga. I don't love it, mind, but the book's sweet and amusing enough that I've reread it a few times. Simply overlooking the character traits that irk me a little. Maybe it's the art .... In Yuko Kuwabara's Alchohol, Shirt, and Kiss, police detective Naru, after a night of heavy drinking thanks to breaking up with his girlfriend, wakes up in the bed of his partner, Kita, with no memory of having gotten there. The next night, it happens again. When it happens a third time, this time Naru wakes up naked; Kita tells him, as a sort of punishment, that they slept together and kisses him! But Naru doesn't remember anything from that night. But has his little joke opened a door for their true feelings? It's amusing to watch the pair dance around their feelings (and try to keep it from interfering with their work); they're their own biggest stumbling blocks to a happy relationship. Kita has a lovely underlying "wounded" vibe, which makes up for when he's devious or pushy (as does Naru socking him for it). While the high-school stories can have some delicious angst to, it's nice to read a yaoi where the characters are grown-ups for a change! There's also a bizarre little short story at the end, "Moon Kiss", about two childhood friends who make a pact to meet again in ten years — only one of them, Haru, thought that the other one, Murasaki, was a girl. Can Murasaki convince Haru that their love was real? Especially when he reveals the secret of why he had to leave in the first place? It's a very silly tale that I'm afraid doesn't really do anything for me .... The back cover for Kazusa Takashima's Wild Rock is rather misleading, stating that it's a "Romeo and Romeo" story about Emba and Yuuen, heirs from two rival clans that won't support the boys' relationship. That's not really what the story is at all — at least, not the one involving those characters! Yuuen, who is a terrible hunter, is actually encouraged by his father to pretend to be a girl and entreat Emba, a mighty hunter from a rival tribe, to help feed their clan! The fact that Yuuen is girly doesn't bother me in this one (as such usually would), as obviously that's a part of the plot. Anyway, it's the second story that has the Romeo and Romeo twist: Yuni is off on a journey to prove himself when he injures his leg and is found by Selem, the member of a rival tribe. They have a sort of Enemy Mine thing going on, but quickly grow close — only fate has other plans for each of them. This second story adds a new dimension to the first. At the end of the book is a cute, quick story about Yuuen and Emba with their baby nephew. It's a lovely, sweet book, if sad (but only in the middle, and even that one has an upside), with beautiful art. Another warning, though: there is one graphic panel (no penetration, but fondling of dangly bits) with Yuni and Selem, who it's said, are a year from coming-of-age. Since there aren't any actual ages given (What's coming-of-age to them? Sixteen? Nineteen?), I'm hoping this wouldn't be an issue, but who knows.
Saihoshi the Guardian is a two-volume manga from the creative team Kosen, published by Yaoi Press. I'm not really sure why it's called "Saihoshi", as the Guardian's actual name is Sastre, but whatever — the important thing is that art is absolutely gorgeous and the story is highly engaging! Sastre is a sort of law-enforcer who is called to escort a prince to another land where he's supposed to meet his betrothed. To protect the (spoiled) prince along the way, they come up with a plan: they make one of the prince's sex slaves, Kaleth, play decoy. Kaleth is understandably perturbed, but Sastre is all about the mission. Well, at first, anyway. Things get hairy when bandits ambush the caravan and the Guardian of the South, Yinn (my fave character), joins the fray — and Sastre starts to realise that there are more important things than duty. There is a somewhat graphic rape scene (you can tell what they're doing but penetration is not shown), but while I normally am bothered by such things, extenuating circumstances and the brilliant art make this one hot! And the love scene in the second volume is sweet and sensual, more up my alley. The story is told over two volumes; however, the volumes don't contain just their story, which is a bit aggravating. They're somewhat slim volumes as it is (at the smaller manga-size, no less), but you're paying $12.95 per volume when the full story could have easily fit into one volume! The first volume also contains the short manga tale "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". The art's not bad, but I can't say I care much for the story. It was a bizarre tale to begin with, and while this version is no less odd, it's too serious in tone and melodramatic-without-intending-to-be-funny for such a ridiculous tale. Also, Gawain is basically raped, in that annoying "he really wants it" sort of way. At the end of the tale is a little comic explaining the creative team's thoughts and inspiration; it was a nice idea, but not all that well executed. In fact, it would have been better if they'd done the tale in the silly style of the post-script! The second volume's short manga, Misa Izanaki and Yishan Li's "Reluctant Savior", is much more appealing, both in art and story. It tells of a kitsune, Yuri, who is rescued from slavery by a thief, Bryn Feybane; the two of them end up on the run when the man Bryn stole Yuri from sends Bryn's friend and mentor, Marcus, after them. It's a cute tale, and the characters are engaging (although Yuri is too effeminate and childlike for my tastes) — I just wish that, like with Saihoshi, more time had been spent developing them, as things seem a bit rushed. Still, it's good enough to make the second volume a little more worth the price. I do want to see more of Sastre and Kaleth .... Technically, I suppose Wendy Pini's Masque of the Red Death is not really yaoi; while her style is inspired to some degree by manga she grew up reading, it's not really manga. Also, while the publisher, go! comi, is primarily a manga publisher, it has a yaoi imprint, yet this is not published under it, nor is it published in a typical manga format (it's much larger). But since a) it is published by a manga publisher, b) it is typically shelved with manga, c) Pini's Elfquest series was, in the past few years, released in manga-sized digest and shelved with the manga, so she likely has fans among the manga audience, and d) the book features the main character in a sexual relationship with another guy, I think it's appropriate to include it in this article. Besides, it's my article and I'll do what I want to! *wink* Masque is a sci-fi retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's short story, "The Mask of the Red Death". In this version, Anton Prosper is a rich scientist who wants to find the secret to defeating death, and becomes embroiled in a world of back-stabbing schemers. Will his lab assistant, Steffan Kabala, be his salvation or his downfall? Perhaps the story here doesn't quite touch the heart the way Elfquest does, but that is actually appropriate, as Anton is a rather cold fellow living in a dark, hedonistic world. The art in this is absolutely stunning, the colours rich and the images fanciful. Pini's love of artist Erté shows more than ever in the fashions and architectural designs of this new world she has created — it's a feast for the eyes! In fact, it looks like a collection of stills from a glorious animated film, not a comic book! Still, if you're after a sweet romance, this isn't really the place for you .... Nase Yamoto's Pet On Duty (Boysenberry Books) is another manga that, given my tastes, it's surprising how much I like it — adore it, in fact! Mizuki is a very boyish-looking uke, something I normally find annoying, but this tale charmed me so much I quickly stopped caring about that. After losing his job and not wanting to be a burden any longer to his aunt and uncle (his adoptive parents), Mizuki moves in with his "brother"; problem is, his brother lives in a dorm provided by the company he works for, and they don't allow outsiders! Still, the other men on the floor quickly agree to keep the secret, bringing food for the poor Mizuki and begin calling him their pet. At first, though, it seems that Koichi's cold, aloof roommate, Kudou, doesn't want Mizuki around, but as Kudou works a different schedule than everyone else, Mizuki quickly discovers that Kudou isn't really so cold as he seems on the surface. The story follows their slowly budding relationship past each of the guys' quirky personal issues, as well as Mizuki's struggle to find work and become independent. Best of all, despite Mizuki's low self-esteem, he's the one who takes the initiative with the physical activity in the relationship, as Kudou has a hang-up about taking advantage of him. That's right, an uke who, while still somewhat passive, has a backbone when it counts, and a seme who isn't pushy! I love it! Unfortunately, the title's hard-to-get — I borrowed a copy, and the cheapest I can find to buy it is $14.95 (which is not the cover price) plus $3.99 shipping! Maybe with enough demand, it'll get re-released?
Next week, in the final installment, I'll talk about yaoi titles that I've read or heard about that I think sound interesting enough to try. |
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