Hunting for Yaoi

Part Three: Future Catches

By Wolfen Moonsget
August 17, 2009

In this, the last installment of this article series, I'm going to list some titles that I haven't read yet but would like to. Before I get to that, though, let me explain my tastes a bit, as there are certain kinds of yaoi I don't much go for — though there are always exceptions if they are done well.

I don't generally like stories where one character forces themselves on another, even if the other does admit later in the act that they wanted it; FAKE is an exception because those moments are usually done with a sort of wacky humour and never actually goes that far without Ryo's consent. Unfortunately, a lot of yaoi feature moments where one character considers himself, when he forces himself on his partner, to be breaking down the barriers of his would-be partner so that said partner can finally succumb to his own feelings. It's like it's not really meant to be seen as real rape, but actually some sort of help, like, as I mentioned last time, in Takumi-Kune Series Vol. 1: June Pride. Still, even if it's not meant to be seen as rape, these things make me uncomfortable — but if the story is good enough, I'll sometimes look past it. I'm definitely not into bondage or stories of sex slaves (unless the slave attains freedom and their lover helps them), so you won't find any such recommendations here, sorry. And I don't care much for stories where one character is obnoxiously overly-aggressive in pursuing the other, either.

I don't really go for love stories between teens and adults; two teens together is fine, but otherwise even an 18-or-19-year-old with someone over 25 is stretching it for me. And regardless of the ages, I don't care for student/teacher relationships, even if the teacher is young and the student is the one doing the pursuing, like in You Will Fall In Love. One title I would have otherwise checked out because the art is gorgeous, Kiss All The Boys, unfortunately features a man seeking a relationship with his son's friend, so I won't be going there. Same for Just Around the Corner — nice art, but it features a student/teacher affair.

Bishounen — beautiful men, especially those with long hair — are great when they're mature-looking and still manly (especially ones that are a bit evil), but I don't much like bishies who basically look like girls with no tits. And while I will read stories where the uke acts a bit girly in personality if the story is good — Pet on Duty is a good example — I like it better when the guys are on more equal footing. In fact, I'd prefer that there not really be a seme or uke, that they swap; unfortunately, that's hard to find.

I love good angst and hurt/comfort scenarios. I generally like stories where at least one of the characters is emotionally scarred. I typically enjoy tales where one of the characters is a cold fish or social outcast that's brought out of his shell (and into society) by the other (I guess you could call it a sort of Beauty and the Beast scenario). I like stories of unlikely lovers (those separated by social class or interests) getting together, so while I don't like the idea of sex slaves, I do like relationships blossoming between master and servant (when it's mutual). Love / hate stories can be great — provided they don't involve rape. I also love the concept of people who have been friends since childhood (or were friends and meet again years later) becoming lovers. And I want a happy ending — that's pretty much a deal-breaker. I mean, if I want a broken heart, I can get that from everyday real life — for free!

Oh, and as a further matter of cost-effectiveness, I prefer one-shots and short stories to ongoing series.

So bearing all that in mind, here are some titles I've found listed online that seem appealing and I'd like to check out. But of course there's always a chance there will be something I don't like about it and just don't know is in them yet. Oh, unlike the last edition, the reviews in this one are in no particular order — I just wrote something quick about each as I came across them.

The Crimson Spell (Media Blasters), by Ayano Yamane, is a highly-rated two-volume manga about a prince who, thanks to a cursed sword, turns into a beast (well, still pretty human-looking but with stripes) at night. He sets off on a journey with a magician to find a cure; unbeknownst to the prince, the magician keeps the prince's beastly, sexually-starved side tamed at night. I've seen a few pages from this: the art is exceptional and the sex is explicit and hot. It's definitely high on my list of titles I want to get! Of course it helps that there' a cute magical bunny-like creature in it — I love bunnies! *grin*

A Foreign Love Affair (801 Media, Inc) is another tale from Ayano Yamane, this time a non-fantasy. A newly-married yakuza (Japanese mobster) ends up sleeping with the captain of a cruise ship on his honeymoon! The pair meet up again in Italy, and the captain ends up going to the yakuza's rescue after the man is kidnapped. It could be interesting, but it's the mangaka that makes me want to read this one at all. Yamane's series Finder seems very popular, but is quite violent, including rape. Being out of print, it is quite pricey now anyways. Love Affair sounds tamer, and more appealing.

Dog-Style, Vol. 1 (Media Blasters), by Motoru Motoni, has such a dirty-sounding name, doesn't it? *Grin* It's about a couple of guys who fall in love with a pair of brothers and end up seeking solace in each other. When they reach a plateau of sorts in their relationship and can't decide if they're lovers or just friends-with-benefits — and then a third person enters the mix. The description's not all that exciting, but the reviews say that it's a nice, slow build about the guys falling in love, and also that it's not a "girly" love story. Seeing guys who stay guy-like would be a nice change of pace from stories where one has to wonder why the uke is even a guy at all ....

Ruff Love (Deux), by Tamaki Kirishma, is a kemonomimi story — that is, the uke is a human with a dog tail and ears. He's a dog that has transformed into a human, and wants to thank his former owner for his kindness by bestowing his love upon the old man's now-grown grandson. I write about kemonomimi myself, so this sounds right up my alley, but I can see how it wouldn't be everyone's cuppa. Still, if you like tales with kitsune, I don't see as this is really any different.

CUT (June), by Toko Kawai, is (obviously) about two boys: one, falling into severe depression, resorts to cutting (the practice of cutting one's body in an effort to feel something when the rest of their life is numb), while the other fears human contact and hides a body covered already with scars. It sounds deliciously angsty and, more importantly, it sounds like the boys eventually help each other get past their wounds, both physical and emotional. Reviews also say that there's an aggressive uke — depending on in what way he's aggressive, that could be really good or really bad. Also, there's warning of teen abuse (I can't determine if they mean sexual or just being smacked around), and there are sex scenes with these underage characters (but it sounds like they aren't explicit), so be forewarned.

Ze, Vol. 1 (801 Media, Inc), by Yuki Shimizu, tells of a young man who, upon the death of the last of his family, comes to live and work in a mansion that holds some strange people and dark secrets. Sounds intriguing, no? I haven't read Fruits Basket, but it's likened to it, and the art is appealing. This volume is supposedly tame, but apparently later volumes get explicit. (They should, seeing as 801 Media is Digital Manga Publishing's raunchier yaoi imprint! Unfortunately, 801 Media's higher price $15.95 may make collecting the whole series (which is at least seven volumes so far and as-yet unfinished) economically daunting!

The Sky Over My Spectacles (801 Media, Inc), by Mio Tennohji, is a collection of four stories with, it's said, explicit sex. The first two tales are about classmates (which makes me wonder about the legality of buying the work, alas), and the latter two are about an investigator and his assistant. It's basically described as a feel-good collection without being overly so — and I'm all about feeling good! But again, 801 Media's $15.95 price tag makes me wonder if the work is really worth it.

Lover's Pledge (June), by Kae Maruya, is an anthology with two long stories and one short. The first tale is one of those rare master-slave scenarios I would consider reading, in that it's a voluntary servitude rather than forced. Takasugi wakes up one morning, hungover, in a stranger's bed and learns that he sold himself for $10,000 the night before. Needing the money, he negotiates his servitude down to just a month. The concept reminds me a bit of Pretty Woman, a movie I love. And happily, his employer, Kazuto, according to a review, never forces himself on Takasugi, which adds to the appeal for me. It's described by multiple reviewers as being a safe story for those of us who don't like coercion. The other big story in the volume is described as a love triangle between students; it sounds like there's only kissing there, but I can't be sure.

Il Gatto Sul G (June), a three-volume manga by Tooko Miyago, sounds like it would appeal to my inner angst and hurt / comfort fiend, but I'm also wary due to age issues. Riya, a freshman in high school, is a brilliant violinist with some mental problems. When he ends up on the doorstep of Atushi, a college student, with self-inflicted damage to his hands, Atushi takes him in and helps the boy with his wounds — and then becomes a shelter of sorts for Riya from his many problems, both internal and external — and the internal ones may be far worse than anyone realises. The "wounded bird" scenario is right up my alley, as well as the mental problems, so I'd be willing to overlook the age issue. I have no idea how explicit the boy's relationship becomes, so you may want to flip through both volumes carefully to see if there's enough or too much for your tastes.

Weekend Lovers (801 Media), by Kiriko Fuwa, is an anthology of five stories. The first is about a temp worker and a salaryman who, due to the latter's schedule, can only get together once a month; when the temp accidentally breaks the salaryman's glasses and sees how much the man relies on them (something I can relate too), the temp realises he wants to be that vital to the other man's life himself.

Spirit Marked (Yaoi Press), written by Colter Hillman and illustrated by Yishin Li, is a fantasy story about a young man bearing the spirit mark of a tiger who must raise an army to fight a demon lord, avenge his uncle, and reclaim his kingdom — and falls in love with a circus acrobat along the way. Reviews have given the art — and semi-graphic sex (no frontal) — high praise, and the story seems fairly well-liked. There's a short story after, as well, about a clock-maker and android — something along the lines of Pygmalion and Galatea, I wonder?

Stallion (Yaoi Press) is by Kosen, the same team that brought us the exquisiteSaihoshi the Guardian — in fact, there was a preview of it in the first volume of Saihoshi that makes me quite eager to read it! Stallion tells of a Native American by that name who is out for revenge against a white man, the outlaw Bill Tempest, who ruined his life. After a rocky meeting, he ends up teamed up with another young guy whose life was ruined by Tempest, a white man named Josey; together, they hunt down their mutual prey. Of course, as hot as our heroes are, Tempest is pretty damn smokin' himself .... The volume also includes another story from team Kosen, about a vampire who, having failed to gain the affection of one man (and having killed him for it), later goes after the next generation — who isn't any more receptive, it seems, than the first. I can't wait to get a look at the vampire from this duo — I'm sure he's so sexy it hurts!

The first issue of the new mature-rated comic series Yaoi Candy (Yaoi Press) features a story from Kosen "about forbidden love in a French boys' school." Kosen is the magic word: I'd try it regardless of what it's about, really! But the "forbidden love" aspect certainly adds some appeal.

After I Win (June), by Itsuki Kaname, is a boys-sharing-a-dorm-room story with a twist — the sempai (upperclassman) is the uke! It sounds sweet and angsty. It's also described as steamy but not explicit.

Love+Alpha (801 Media, Inc), by Takashi Tanzaki, caught my curiosity with it's bizarre premise: a man must chose between his life-long best friend and a more recent friend who, due to an accident, is now a ghost — one who can posses people! Okay, so there doesn't seem much room for actual drama there — I can guess already how it's going to turn out — but the predictability means that for once I'm guaranteed the kind of resolution to a love triangle that I would prefer. Sure, it sounds fluffy, but as much as I love angst and intricate plots, sometimes funny, sexy, and smutty with a happy ending really is just what I'm in the mood for.

Only the Ring Finger Knows (June), by Satoru Kannagi, is a yaoi manga I see recommended again and again. The premise is based on a tradition in Japan of wearing matching rings with your lover: two teens accidentally switch rings, discovering they wear the same style. They clash like fire and ice, yet are drawn to one another — were their matching rings a sign? Like I said, love-hate stories can be great when done well, and given the popularity of this one, it sounds like it is. Also, it's much tamer fare, being kisses-only, concentrating on character development instead — reviewers seem to agree that it's a good trade-off, no sex for a better story.

Same Cell Organism (June), by Sumomo Yumeka, is another manga anthology of stories for those who aren't looking for sex, just sweet kisses. It features a coming-of-age story about two very different boys who enrich each other's lives and, as their relationship deepens, have to decide things like whether or not to move in together or go to college. I can't find much about the other stories in the volume other than that one is a bit sad, and another has to do with falling in love with an angel. But really, the main tale sounds like something that I would like to read regardless.

U Don't Know Me (NETCOMICS), a manwha by Rakun, tells of two teen boys who are friends secretly in love, illustrating the trials of having a gay relationship, such as coming out to family, et cetera. The uke tries to seduce the seme, and the seme tries to resist at first, but while I generally don't like pushiness from either side, it sounds like it's not overdone here, no forcing and no relentless pursuit of an uninterested individual (the seme sounds like he's just in denial). And there's extra appeal in that the uke is, it's said, not a girly-type. It sounds like the kind of coming-of-age drama that would make a good movie — well, save for that the plentiful, explicit-but-tasteful sex scenes the reviews I've seen mention would be cut out, of course. *wink* And I'm mollified that the teens look like young men, not children.

Take Me to Heaven (Deux) is from Nase Yamato, mangaka of one of my fave yaoi, Pet On Duty, so I'm already interested in it by virtue of that alone. And the plot sounds fairly sweet and interesting: Fumiya, a high school boy who can see ghosts seeks aid from Shogo, the son of a temple priest. After the Shogo ends up saving Fumiya, Fumiya begins to fall for his hero. Slowly the two grow closer together — with ghosts nudging them along. Note that reviewers say there's some adult content, but not much and it's not explicit. I like stories about the supernatural, and I like stories where two people who work together develop feelings for each other over time — which is pretty much why I loved The X-Files, so I hope I'll love this too!

Two of Hearts (Deux), by Kano Miyamoto is one of those rare instances of a love story between an adult and a teen that intrigues me enough to want to read it despite the subject. It tells of a struggling magazine writer whose world is turned upside down when he finds a homeless 17-year-old with OCD on a beach. The story spans several years, so it's not rushed, which is something I appreciate — I love a slow burn. It sounds wonderfully angsty and heartwarming from the reviews, even if the writer is 13 years older than the teen. Sensitive readers be warned that there is a rape involved in the story, but it's not committed by the writer and is treated negatively rather than as titillation — or so the reviews say.

Lover's Flat (June), by Hyouta Fujiyama, tells of how two couples (three of the men living in the same building) each move stumblingly from friendship into something more. For one couple one of the guys has been in love with the other for a while, but after they hook up drunkenly one night, it's the other guy who wants to pursue a relationship, and the first guy has some angst holding him back. The second couple involves a declaration of love out of the blue, and the object of that declaration seeking advice from one of the members of the other couple. I love the cover art, and the slice-of-life story sounds utterly charming! I really want to read this!

Freefall Romance (June), another manga by Hyouta Fujiyama, tells of drinking buddies who go too far one night, but this time neither was in love with the other first. And yet they end up doing it again and again — are they really gay, or is it just the beer? Are they just friends-with-benefits, or is it something more? One of them was homophobic, and has trouble accepting the fact that he might be gay. This volume sounds similarly appealing as Lover's Flat, but I think I'll try Flat first.

Now hopefully at some point I'll track down copies of these and be able to tell you whether the works actually lived up to my expectations! Meanwhile, if you've read any of these and can offer feedback — or can recommend some titles that I've missed — we'd love to hear from you in our letters column!