5/10/09

Review: Tea for Two -Vol. 1-

Author: Yaya Sakuragi
Pages: 184
Price: $12.99
Publisher: BLU Manga
Summary from back cover: Clumsy Madoka Tokumaru can't seem to go a minute without breaking something. To teach him a little self-control, Tokumaru's sis forces him to help out the Tea Ceremony Club despite the hesitations of the club president, the graceful Kazume Hasune. Composed and cool, he is the exact opposite of the brash Tokumaru. Will the two be able to bridge their differences, or will a potentially hot romance become cool like iced tea?

Review: I've stated before how BL's strong point isn't typically the plot but the characters. This is a tried and true rule that if done correctly can produce some exceptional work. Tea for Two is an example of this done right. And although this first volume may have a few kinks to work out, it has way more right going for it than wrong.

The story opens with Tokumaru breaking his little sisters picture frame. She tears into him about his tendency to throw his weight around with no consideration for anything surrounding him. Refusing to have him destroy anymore of her things she demands he joins the tea ceremony club to learn composure. Enter Hasune, the club president and our premiere seme. He agrees to take Tokumaru under his wing, hoping to transform the rambunctious duckling into a graceful swan before the cultural festival.

Not much of a beginning, right? Everything I described above takes place within the first six pages. Because of this the plot comes out rather forced, as if Sakuragi couldn't wait to get Hasune into the story. I think the real problem for me is we hear and see more of Nagomi in those first three pages than we do of her brother, so you get more of a feel for her character than his. I understand manga creators are on a schedule and have limited time to complete chapters, but I think the story could only benefit by showing us Tokumaru's personality instead of having it explained to us by Nagomi. Yes, this would have taken a few more pages, but the opening to any story is very crucial and she risked losing readers by cutting corners.

But, despite this flaw, obviously many people continued to read and were smitten. What exactly were they smitten by? Well, when we finally get to actually see (key word here) these two characters in action you quickly discover how endearing they are. And, no, this isn't a story about opposites, in its essence this is a story about people learning to make compromises in relationships. Yeah, Tokumaru is super rambunctious and Hasune is super composed, but this never gets in the way of their relationship. Of course, true to the old addage: opposites attract, this is initially what draws the two to each other. But they go through the same relationship problems many couples go through regardless if they are alike or not. Every person comes into a relationship with different expectations, I don't care who you are, there's going to be something you expect the other person to do or be and you learn, hey, they won't and they're not. Of course this works vica versa and you can change or just keep on keepin' on. In this first volume you see Hasune struggle with this when they are approached by a group of high school trouble-makers. Oh no, what will our seme do?! What he does the first time (yes, it happens twice) takes me by surprise as well as Tokumaru. This is one of the highlights of this manga for me, Sakuragi makes her characters go against the BL norm.

Aside from our main couple there is another: Hasune's pastry chef friend, Keigo. The guy he's had a crush on since high school, Mizuki, dumps his girlfriend of three years, leaving an opening for Keigo to make his move. The only problem is that Keigo is too afraid to take that first step and Mizuki has suddenly become cold toward him. What's a seme to do? Not much of anything, it would seem. He mopes while getting advice from friends at the bar, Hasune, and even Mizuki's ex. This might be great for a character that has been a big part of the original storyline, but to watch a character you barely know mope about isn't very entertaining, especially when he's acting differently from what you've initially seen of him (some how his angst level jumps from 0 to 10 in this short). Despite these flaws I was taken by Mizuki and would love to see more of him. So if anything his presence saved this one-shot for me.

Speaking of extra characters, I think this is a perfect time to segue back to Nagomi. There are BL that are totally devoid of females and I believe they suffer for it. Tea for Two makes use of them and benefits greatly by their inclusion. Hasune and Tokumaru both have sisters and it's quite obvious that they play a huge part in their lives. In many cases Nagomi's interaction in her brothers life would have ended with his introduction to Hasune, but Sakuragi refuses to retire her and ends up making great use of her. She is, of course, a part of the tea ceremony club too. Hasune's sister, Kotoko, even gets her own little story at the end of the manga where Nagomi makes an appearance. This only makes the overall manga more endearing.

When it comes to the art I kinda have a love hate relationship with it. I would have never purchased Tea for Two if it wasn't for a 40% off sale at a local Borders that was going out of business. She suffers from the same "bad cover art" disease that plagues Tanaka Suzuki. And the alterations BLU made to the cover didn't help (they very rarely do). Also, Sakuragi draws her characters with very long pointy faces. Some day's I'm really feelin' this style but others her characters look like horses to me. But, this is Sakuragi's signature style. And I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on this story because they weren't a fan of her art. I do think she does a great job on everything from the eyes on up. But, lol, I guess that's not saying much.

Now lets get to the nitty-gritty and talk about the sex scenes. There are only two. One between Hasune and Tokumaru and the other is between Keigo and Mizuki. In both cases they're short and you don't see much of what's going on. In fact in both sex scenes the characters are still wearing clothes. This happens to be one of my kinks, so I don't mind it one bit. But if you like you're men to be naked and covered in all sorts of liquid for more than 10 pages than the sex in here will probably disappoint you.

But I'm not a gal that requires lots of sex in her BL (although it doesn't hurt to have it ^_-) and Tea for Two excels where it counts so that's why I'm giving it a:

5/5/09

KakaIru Anthology: After Class

Came home this weekend and was welcomed by a nice little package with KakaIru goodness inside. After two weeks of waiting I received my English translated KakaIru doujinshi. A print of the cover in color was also included (pictured above next to the book) as a sweet bonus to people who preordered. It's 44 pages long with three contributors: Comichub, Pandabaka, and Nanaya. There is also a delicous pic by Kuma Wind included.

The first comic, Task, is by Nanaya and is 4 pages long. It opens with Iruka yawning and stating how tired he is. We learn by the second panel that Naruto has tired him out (who doesn't Naruto tire out). He runs into Kakashi and they have a super short exchange. And then: the end! If anything, I like to look at this short comic as a sort of appetizer, just a small taste of what will follow. And what follows is awesomeness.

Pandabaka is the main reason why I purchased this doujin. I like her sleek art style and the way she draws faces (I especially like the eyes). The story for her comic, Life is simple: Iruka adheres to the old adage carpe diem. I do find the dialogue lacking, but I chop it up to the fact that English aren't these creators native tongue (excluding the guest artist, Kuma Wind). But, where dialogue fails the art excels. The composition of the first page is breathtaking. The contrast between the white and black help to set a melancholy mood for the beginning of the comic. What she succeeds at is the way she seamlessly transitions from one mood to the next. The story opens with an air of sadness but as we reach the middle it begins to morph and by the end she leaves us on an upbeat note. Most of this is done through the art.

The final contribution to this small work is a nameless comic by Comichub that has its beginnings in a AU but returns to Konoha. How she does this is one of the most cliched story techniques (Spoiler!!! It's a dream), however it works in this comic and I wouldn't want her to change it. My only real problem was the abruptness of the ending. I just felt there was no closure. I don't think things had to be tied up in a nice little package, but I do believe a few more panels were needed to make the ending feel complete. Although I wasn't a big fan of the art, I did enjoy her story the most. It would be great to see her write a script for Pandabaka to draw.

I do appreciate that this doujinshi is very well put together. In fact, the print value is 10x's better than the print release of Totally Captivated, and that says something if amateurs can out do the so called professionals. So, if you missed out on this lovely anthology, sucks for you, 'cause it was a nice treat to read a KakaIru doujin and not have my 100 pound kanji book at my side as a translated one panel at a time. I'm definitely going to keep an eye on Pandabaka's DA page because she occasionally opens up an online doujinshi market. Although she's currently into Bleach (noooooooo) I'd love to snag some more of her prints.

5/4/09

May 2009 BL Manga Releases

Title: Awaken Forest
Creator: Yuna Aoi
Publisher: June Manga
Pages: 200
Price: 12.95

Title: Hey, Class President!
Creator: Kaori Monchi
Publisher: 801 Media
Pages: 224
Price: 15.95

Title: Kirepapa
Creator: Ryo Takagi
Publisher: Deux Press
Pages: 192
Price: 12.95

Title: Noodle Shop Affair
Creator: C. J. Michalski
Publisher: Deux Press
Pages: 192
Price: 12.95

Title: Sex and Sensuality
Creator: Kaori Monchi
Publisher: Media Blasters
Pages: 192
Price: 11.99

Happy Yaoi Yum Yum is advertised on the Yaoi Press website for a May release, but Amazon has it down for a June one, I decided to go with Amazon's date since they tend to be more accurate. I know the releases look a little sparse. I wouldn't doubt if I missed some or if there were some releases from last month that got pushed back to this month. But, yeah, not a whole lot to choose from this month. This was released in Japan on the first:

Libre's release of Tanaka Suzuki's Aishiatteru Futari. The original version came out stateside last month under the name, Love Hurts (still hatin' that title). I tend to snatch up any Suzuki releases, but I think I'll pass on this. I know there will be new content but I was never a big fan of this particular manga. And that new cover does very little to entice me.