By Tohjoh Asami
Overall: Mediocre
Smex Factor: Sexy Sexy
Art: Generic
Status: 2 Volumes; Complete
(Note: This is a sequel to Denkou Sekka Boys)
Review: While the first series focuses mainly on character development, and less on sex, Chouhatsu is pretty much the opposite. Although the jokes are still there, it seems as though all the interesting aspects of the characters have disappeared and been replaced by stereotypes. Not to mention that the whole series seems to have been created for Natsui and Yasaka to catch up on all the sex they DIDN'T have in the first series and has totally become the focal point of the story instead of its characters. The climactic sex scene is probably the biggest offender. The censor bars are hilariously ineffectual. (Why do they even bother with them?)
But the character development was what game the first series its charm! In Chouhatsu, Yasaka's just a dick. (Which can be taken two ways...) He makes a point the first time he sleeps with Natsui in the first series, that if he made Natsui cry, he would "go impotent." Yet, in the second volume of Chouhatsu, he basically pressures Natsui into having sex with him! And he pressures Natsui by threatening to fuck a whore, right in front of him. Wow. What an asshole.
Natsui screams, "you sleep with people you LOVE!" And then Yasaka orders the boywhore to leave. (The whore is quite catty about it, although I guess I would be too if somebody just insulted my entire profession. Just for the record, I think prostitution is a totally valid profession.) Then they have graphic, teasing sex, with Yasaka obviously exerting his dominance over Natsui, who has regressed into an uke archetype, tragically.
Yasaka loses the gentle, secretly-rather-shy bedside mannerisms and seems a lot more horny. Natsui totally loses all the character development he got in the last series. Hmm. (That's my disapproving voice.) And during that final scene of intense passion, they start talking about loving each other so much that they might have to kill each other. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH I MIGHT ACTUALLY DIE. The drama of that one scene goes on so long that it's actually irritating. It's not even funny! It's melodramatic without sight of a joke for an entire two chapters. And it comes out of nowhere!
And I must say, as stupid as Natsui is, he was never naive. Until now. The manga-ka introduces a plot point that is sadly not uncommon in a lot of BL. Natsui feels incompetent and, despite having been a fairly strong character who communicated his feelings well, he seems to have a sudden obsessive panic that Yasaka doesn't love him. Instead of bothering to say anything about it, he begins taking...sex...lessons. From Yasaka's academic tutor. I don't even.
The drinking side story's pretty funny, but the other two are just bad. Especially the one with the cop. (Just trust me on this.)
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