Up, up and away...

Back home in the states and I'm welcomed by this news: Tokyopop is raising prices on their BL titles. BLU manga will now cost 14.99. This doesn't sit well with me. I know the economy sucks for everyone and TP probably is hurting for money, but I don't see how raising prices is going to help them any, especially when everyone is cutting back. And I doubt BL is on the top of anyone's buy list. I'm also not easily won over by their promise of bonus color pages. Going by their track record they can just as easily pull these pages without any explanation to the customers and expect us to keep paying the same price. This is probably why I'm not too keen about the new price because I don't know how long they will keep printing these color pages, nor am I confident this new price raise will prevent them from doing yet another, and another, and another.

I don't know. I'm all about supporting the genre, but I guess everyone has their limits and I think TP has reached mine. This isn't just about the raise in prices, but a lot of things TP has done over the years. So, this is more about not supporting a company then not supporting a genre. BL will continue to get my money one way or another, but TP won't.

Review: You Will Fall in Love

First, let me point out there is no color insert in this manga, and it would seem for the time being all Blu gn's are going this route. I've been a fan of the color inserts and will miss them. But, hey Blu, we're all suffering in this economic downturn, how about taking a dollar off the price tag if we're not going to get the color insert?

Now, to zee review. Here is the summary you will find on the back of the book:

Painful, heartbreaking memories suddenly surface for Haru when he agrees to fill in as teacher for the high school archery club. In his youth, Haru was a brilliant archer who competed for the national championship. But uncontrollable urges for a male rival forced him to give up on his archery dream and run away from his true feelings. Now that he's back in the bow-and-arrow game, Haru becomes drawn to the brother of his long-lost love--and he must find out if desire has taken on a new, seductive aim...

Let me correct something in that summary. Haru first becomes a substitute teacher for a class before he agrees to also substitute for the archery club, by this time he has already met Tsukasa. Next, I'm surprised they somehow left out the most dramatic part of the story in that summary, and that's Tsukasa's older brother, Reiichiro. Reiichiro plays a bigger role in this story than just a lingering memory. He shows up a quarter into the book and puts a strain on Haru and Tsukasa's blossoming relationship.

For those of you who like student/teacher relationships this will probably be right up your alley. And if you're just getting into the BL genre this is also a good book to start with. But for the most part, this is your typical student/teacher romance story: Student loves teacher, teacher rebukes student, student molests the teacher, teacher cries but likes it and the two live happily ever after. Sound familiar? You know it does.

But, you know what? I really liked the addition of Reiichiro. He added just enough drama to the story to keep me eagerly flipping from page to page. Other then the fact that I really enjoyed his character I also liked watching and reading the reaction Tsukasa had to him meeting up with Haru. And I appreciated that Reiichiro wasn't treated like some villain. I'd say buy the book just for him. And also, the Hakama. Guys + Hakama = Total Win. Indeed.

Where does this book rate smut-wise? On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being no smut and 10 being an orgy of deliciousness, I give this a 3. There's only one sex scene but there are no drawings that focus on anything lower then the torso. There's not even any tongue kissing (boo to no frenchin' I like me some tongue).

If you liked Takanaga's other work, such as Little Butterfly, or if cutesy art is your thing then this title should please you. But, for those of you familiar with BL, this isn't a title that will have you jumping up and down. But that's not to say you should pass on this book. It's a good read. It's no Future Lover's, but it's something nice to keep for a rainy day.