Hiatus

Putting the site on indefinite hiatus to focus on college. I don't know when I'll be able to come back to it, but this site means a lot to me (as more than just an independent pet project) so I definitely will be back.

Hopefully it won't take too long.

All my love.

Apron de Choushoku

Apron de Choushoku
By Hiiro Reiichi

Overall: Mediocre
Smex Factor: Red Lantern
Art: Generic-
Status: 1 Volume; Complete

Review: A guy gets fired from his job, runs into his underclassman from college, and becomes his housewife.

While the premise isn’t especially interesting, and it runs the risk of emasculating the main character (especially when he just got laid off his job; going from important executive employee to housewife is kind of a suckerpunch for a woman OR a man). He even lies about being unemployed, so clearly he’s ashamed of not having a job.

However, I have to appreciate the manly admiration the main character has for the “expert housewife”. (Somebody should really tell these translators that “homemaker” is a legitimate word. See? Even spellcheck recognizes it.)

Anyway, the main character seems really surprised and confused about Takano (who is the love interest, in case that isn’t obvious) having a framed photo of “just the two of us together,” which I don’t really understand considering all the overt flirtations Takano makes at him. (AT HIM.) The way he treats Takano seems like he’s already his boyfriend, or even downright seductive (that whole scene in the bathroom is weird), but then he’ll say something like the above thing about the photo that makes him sound completely oblivious. The plot to get the two of them together seems almost superfluous because of this.

But the best is when Takano does finally confess his love (seriously, how did the main character not notice, I mean I can only suspend my disbelief so much), because it reads like the author just said “FUCK IT, I’M BORED WITH THIS PLOT, LET’S GET ON WITH IT.”

I don’t like the implication that fucking her (or his, in this case I guess) husband is the housewife’s “duty.” Calling it a duty isn’t even kinky in this context. It’s just some kind of gross sexism. (I tend to get pretty fired up about feminist issues while reading yaoi manga because more often than not, the bottoming guys are written more as women than men. Even a million cries of “But I’m a man!” won’t change that.)

Speaking of being a man, it’s like the main character has never even heard of homosexuality. Dude, this is the twenty-first century and your best bud just stuck his tongue down your throat. Why does this still seem confusing to you? Also speaking of being a man, why does yaoi manga always seem to assume that men cannot hold themselves back? The psychology behind rape is the desire to dominate a victim— The majority of these (admittedly scant) stories are spent trying to convince me that this man cares so much about this other man. Men don’t want to rape those they honestly love, even if they are sexually attracted to them. So why should I believe that the main character being around Takano is a danger to his...virginity? When Takano is supposedly in love with him? The real danger comes from hurting the main character and him never wanting to see Takano again, breaking Takano’s heart into itty-bitty little pieces and then setting them on fire, stomping the fire out, and feeding it to some particularly ravenous and famished piranhas.
And if Takano really is a danger to our main character’s purity, well, then he’s an asshole and doesn’t deserve him anyway.

HAHA, BUT THAT’S ME THINKING REALISTICALLY
GET IT TOGETHER, ARIELLE
I haven’t read manga for a while. I seem to have forgotten that logic and reason have no place here.
And there ends your morality lesson on rape for the day.

I really like the Expert Housewife though. He’s a funny guy, and the seriousness with which he takes his duty is intense. His stare-down with Takano paralleled a scene from a shounen manga, where you know that in a second, the protagonist and his arch-enemy will leap at each others’ throats (each will be doing backflips while doing so too). Except that Takano would pull out a calculator or something else business-like, and Expert Housewife would stab him with knitting needles or something.

Wait, I lied about your rape/morality lesson ending for the day. I am all kinds of not okay with how Expert Housewife basically shames the main character into feeling guilty that he didn’t let Takano rape him.
THE FUCK, EXPERT HOUSEWIFE
I THOUGHT WE WERE COOL
THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS

I’m still mad at him, but apparently Expert Housewife feels kind of bad about it and also his husband is dead, which our main character expresses his condolences about with some pretty amazing tact.
The more I think about it, the sadder his story seems. I mean, the bit about him basically performing his housewife duties so that they can…have a harmonious relationship in death…? Is kind of hard to take seriously, but the fact that he actually managed to build a family only to have it torn away after a short period is honestly kind of heartbreaking.

His son is precious though. “Go ahead Dad, Dad’s dead, it’s not like I mind if you start dating again.” You can read between the lines and tell that he’s just saying his mopey dad really needs to get laid.

(I’m encroaching on some dangerous semblance of reality again here, but how do they get money if Expert Housewife doesn’t work? And he always seems to be at the store. Who takes care of his kid? Does he just leave him alone all the time?)

I’m going to ignore the fact that all of this somehow gets the main character to want to have sex with Takano. I’m also going to ignore the fact that everyone is gay for the main character. And that the author subconsciously believes that all men are scum.

The ending’s nice enough. It wraps up the plot point mentioned in the first chapter and solidifies Takano’s idiocy. It even gives some of the main character’s pride back to him (the the femininity that his face grew into, stayed). Also there’s some naked-apron kink that I’m surprised the story took so long to get to.


And I want to put it out there that I really like the line “If he’d said that before…he’d be tasting my fist instead of my meals.”

Also this is creepy.

Junjou

Junjou
By Fujiyama Hyouta

Overall: Intéressante
Smex Factor: Red Lantern
Art: Different
Status: 3 Volumes; Complete

Review: I like Junjou. It’s not exactly anything special, but it leaves a good taste in my mouth; a calm mind. It’s satisfying.

Its plot is common enough: First Love walks back into Tozaki’s life, they end up sex buddies, and eventually they work out what they want from their relationship and become lovers. Like any good story, though, the details are what give it a good place in my heart.

For one, I like the impetuous Kurata (the afore-mentioned First Love). His character is more interesting than the run-of-the-mill “hey, I remember you from high school! Let’s have sexy sex sex for sexy reasons that I won’t explain because sex.” I like his motivations. Essentially, he’s both sexually frustrated and sexually confused. And while Tozaki’s presence is causing Kurata’s internal conflict, he doesn’t express his turmoil violently against Tozaki. Instead he seduces him. He knows they both want it, so why not? Sure, there’s a little (okay, a lot) of insistence on his side, but only because Tozaki is confused and wary about Kurata’s intentions. Namely, “did you become gay in the last five minutes or what? ‘Cause I feel like I missed something there.”

What he missed is the inner POV given to the readers. I like this because we can interpret Kurata’s thoughts and memories in a way that even Kurata can’t. (Because he’s not putting two and two together mostly.) He doesn’t recognize his attraction to Tozaki as anything more than frustration. He wants Tozaki to like him, really like him, but he doesn’t know why.

So he comes off as a bit of a spoiled child, attempting to take something (Tozaki’s confession) merely because he briefly glanced it once, and becoming obsessed with possessing it (it being Tozaki’s love). It’s actually kind of cute.

Tozaki himself has a pretty cool head—he’s confused by Kurata’s actions, obviously, and a little apprehensive on how to handle Kurata, but he rolls with the (figurative!!) punches. He’s attracted to the man, but he decides that he shouldn’t expect anything from him. He’s a down-to-earth kinda guy who gets just as surprised as the reader when characters act irrationally Meanwhile, Kurata is getting all kinds of emotional over Tozaki. His conscious thoughts deny any attachments, but his actions tell another story.

They’re nice foils to each other.

I won’t say their relationship is realistic (that’s stupid to expect from something that’s basically a fantasy), but I like that the motivations behind each character’s actions. Kurata’s emotional because he feels fragile and unfamiliar in their new relationship. Tozaki’s level-headed because he’s trying to understand and sympathize with Kurata’s motivations.

There is one particular violent scene that could quickly have devolved into rape, but—and this is annoyingly scarce in manga—Tozaki firmly rejects Kurata and ejects him from his house. And not as a “I never want to see you again” dig, but as a “I love you, and I don’t want our relationship to be this way because this is not who you are” argument. Kurata backs off, and while they’ve clearly got an issue to resolve, neither party has done something he will permanently regret. (Unlike last time. As growing characters, Tozaki and Kurata learn from previous encounters! What a concept.)

For an originally reluctant character, Tozaki grows more assertive about their relationship as he grows more secure in it. I love that.

I also love that there are moments in their relationship that actually do feel real. I want to call special attention to two moments: one, when Kurata is extremely upset and goes to Tozaki for comfort. No, not hollow sexual comfort. He stays the night at Tozaki’s apartment because it’s become a place in which Kurata feels safe, secure, and loved. He talks about his problem with the person he trusts, and they continue with the evening feeling better on both ends. Mostly though, there is a general atmosphere given off from those few pages in which you can tell, “holy crap. These guys love each other.” And HOLY CRAP, THEY DID IT WITHOUT DICKING EACH OTHER ain’t that a concept.

And secondly. These two characters. Talk out a misunderstanding.
This shouldn’t be a miraculous thing, but CHRIST. IT IS A MIRACULOUS WORK OF SCRIPT-WRITING. Fuck BL manga—major Hollywood MOVIES can’t even seem to get over this dumbass plot device. Somebody tells person A an untruth in order to split him from person B. Usually person A will get irrationally angry (or something similar), and confuse person B until HE’S upset too, and then they won’t be able to stand each other.
This plot device is SO stupid, and SO overused, and SO EASILY SOLVED, I just want to punch the whole idea in its metaphorical FACE and CONTINUE TO DO SO until it STOPS EXISTING AS AN ACCEPTABLE DEVICE
FOREVER
AND EVER

Junjou  fixes this easily when Kurata hurries over to Tozaki’s apartment and asks him about it. Tozaki tells him exactly what happened, and the two talk it out and continue being in glorious love.

It’s funny, because that’s what real people do too.
OR AT LEAST THEY WOULD IF COMMON SENSE EXISTED IN THE WORLD

So basically this manga is a treasure trove of character development and traits. In case you haven’t noticed, I really like character-driven romances.
This is a good example of one.

Songs of Self Abuse

Songs of Self Abuse

By Renaissance Yoshida

Overall: Just Wow
Smex Factor: Sexy Sexy
Art: Different
Status: One volume; Complete

Note: I would also recommend reading this on Nakama’s lovely in-browser reader.

Review: I was so excited when I first saw the art, I forgot how to breathe. Literally. I gasped, and then I was completely unsure of what to do with the air. It was a very uncomfortable and slightly panicky few seconds.

The art is beautiful. More than lovely; utterly gorgeous. The first couple of pages are in color, and the grainy stressed texture used over the earth tone pallet sets the tone of the story beautifully. The translation is done by Nakama, so of course, it’s quality as well. The font is more decorative than standard, but not obtrusive; conversely, it fits the vein of the story.

Huh. Actually, I think I have that font. Love ya like a sister? Oh, no. It’s a little different, but it’s close.

The inks for the rest of the pages are scratchy and detailed. Every single line has its purpose, not one is out of place. Small features like the knuckles on a hand or the creases in a glove that’s slightly too big are drawn with love. The blacks are pure black. I love it. The artist doesn’t spare the texture, but doesn’t overuse it either. And the backgrounds? To. Fucken. Die for.

The sex scene with the woman is graphic. While the artist has interesting ideas about what womens’ nipples look like, the genitals are, again, lined in loving detail. If vaginas really freak you the fuck out, then I recommend with caution. (I wouldn’t say I’m fond of them myself, but sometimes you just gotta muscle through this stuff to the gold at the end of the rainbow. I’m mixing metaphors again, aren’t I.)

All this happens while the first main character ponders the connection between sex and death (an old contemplation, to be sure), even thinking about ‘le petit mort.’ (If your English teacher was obsessed with sex like mine was, you’d learn from Romeo and Juliet that “death” can be a euphemism for climaxing during sex. I think my teacher got bored of teaching anything about that play besides the sex metaphors, because that’s all I remember about R+J. She was a bit of a nut. Love that lady.) Birth, death, and sex are all themes in this book, by the way. Sometimes their significance can be metaphorical, other times, literal. And they can mix too... Birth is mostly significant in the first and last parts of the story, with the shop manager and his mother.

For a while, I was a little worried that this wasn’t a BL manga (despite being on Nakama). Not because it would make it less enjoyable, but because then I wouldn’t be able to post this review, heavily recommending it.

But past that: this is a complex, disturbing manga. The art style fits it so well. Soooo weeeeell. I’m sorry: I’m an art nerd. But the point at hand. With a title with the term “Self Abuse” in it, it’s obviously not gonna be rainbows and sunshine, but man. Contemplative misery is just my style I guess? Misery may be the wrong word. Calmly assessing their problems and examining the misery as though it’s being experienced by a person separate from themselves. Maybe I like it because I can identify with it, but the idea of that kind of mental process is fascinating.

The narrative of the flower prostitute boy is captivating. He speaks, detached from his situation, calmly. His “self abuse” is evident in the portrayal of his body, but he speaks of those he let ruin him as though they are the self-abusers. He’s a pathetic character when viewed through the perspectives of other characters, but inside his mind, he never cares. His tragic descriptions of his own loneliness neglect the plaintive overtones of other manga about downward-spiraling lives. He never pities himself, but he pities others. Never have I read a manga with such strong characterization through narrative. I mean, obviously it’d be weird to see a literary style prevalent in a graphic presentation, but it works here. The illustrations serve as a complement to the inner monologue. Like icing on cake…

Again, about the sex scenes (because in a manga about a whore house, sex scenes are always going to be important), they’re not sexy. They exist to make you think. The sex scenes are never about the sex, but what's happening around the sex scenes, what led to characters having sex, etc.

This is a thinking manga.

It’s the kind of thing that I won’t understand if I don’t read it more than once. Sure, it’s about love, and sex, and death, and the death of love, and hope, and abuse, and overexertion, and living, and being a bad person, and being a good person… It’s confusing and it doesn’t make sense unless I put my mind to it. And then I start thinking all these things and…It’s about a lot of things. That’s why it’s good. The narratives are all delusional, and the situations can be absurd, but the words! The idea! All of it fits together seamlessly.

It’s a wordy manga. But the art’s so nice, I’d at least recommend a flip through, even if text walls (no matter how engaging the contents) psyche you out.

The after stories are a bit…less serious in tone. I’m honestly not sure what to make of them.

Also it mentions Excel Saga at one point, which is bizarre, yet fills me with affection.