Ai no Kotoba wo Uragaeshi

Ai no Kotoba wo Uragaeshi
By Abe Akane

Overall: Mediocre, except for the last story (Which is Awesome)
Smex Factor: Modest; some stories have no sex.
Art: Generic
Status: 1 volume; complete




Review: Ooooh boy. There're six stories in here.

1. Starring...Souma and Masayoshi! The first half of their story is SO CUTE. Souma's a trying-to-be-cool kid, who's really just stupid (and maybe a little lonely) and Masayoshi's a young, apathetic, mean, warm-hearted idiot. (In other words, my favorite.) The first half is the two of them coming together and Souma wriggling his way into Masa's life. Cute cute cute. ...I don't like the second part so much. Souma grows into a horny, gay teenager. He wants into pants plz. Masa ain't crazy about that. I liked their relationship better when they were like family... (Seriously, how many people actually want to sleep with their caretaker after how many years?) The general tone of their story is pretty mellow, and the humor is good though.

2. Totally cute. I love already-boyfriend stories. It's a little angsty in a "I love you so much! Don't leeeave me!" kind of way, but it's not enough to care. The conclusion is nothing new or exciting, but the easy sweetness is really all that matters. A two parter, told from each boy's perspectives. I have to wonder about the bounds of possessiveness though. How much is too much? Is it okay if both partners are equally possessive?

Stay classy, folks.

3. In this story, a bar patron sexes up a waiter boy; self-consciousness and uneasiness ensue, as is the case in flyaway relationships with older, more respectable(?) members of society in BL. Sure, Waiter-Boy may be unsure of Bar-Patron's feelings, but I don't think any reader will. It's not terribly exciting (been done before), but it's okay.

4. Little brother loves older brother's friend. Except that the friend is a total PREDATOR. Good thing it's consensual. For a generic story, it's pretty cute, and it wins bonus points for the phrase "pervert juice." Hahahahaha. Also, I think uke-boy's older brother is totally hot.

5. I don't even...what? I don't even know what this one is. Uke-man is buying a little rubber boob keychain, so seme-man hires him for part time work that's really just getting raped...?? And then there's an unrequited love in there somewhere, but the whole thing's only eight pages, so...!? It's odd. Not confusing; just odd. And freakishly mellow for something so undeniable weird.

6. Bittersweet: unrequited love and soft cheeks. Very short, but definitely worth reading.