Last and final scanlation post....for now.

What bothers me about articles such as this one written by Kuriosity's Lissa Pattillo is she is placing all the blame for the downward spiral of manga squarely on the shoulders of the fans. Want to read manga? Learn Japanese. Want to own manga? Import from Japan. These are all great suggestions but they're very much detached from reality. The majority of individuals don't have time to invest into learning a foreign language just to enjoy a leisure activity and despite her skewed facts the majority of people do not have the money to import manga from Japan.

However, people are more than willing to pay for entertainment if they believe it's worth it. Sita Sings the Blues is a great example of how fans will clamor behind a product they like. Even though Sita was free to the public the creator, Nina Paley, made a fifty-five-thousand dollar profit. Paley embraced the internet and in turn was rewarded. Such an acceptance of the internet has yet to happen within the corporate world of manga. There's no Netflix for manga. But maybe the aggregator's have shown companies there is a need for a similar service for manga fans.

I believe, for the most part, the fans have done their part. We've shouted loud and clear, "we want this". Now it's up to the companies to provide. If they don't, we'll find our own way. People such as Lissa may point their fingers and cry "thief", but I'll sleep soundly tonight regardless.

Where do we go from here?

This week DMP officially released information on their new translating venture to ANN:

The program is set to feature over a thousand manga titles or as many as "a few thousand," mostly in the boys love genre, to establish a following before branching out into other genres and possibly novels, Sasahara said. The business model will allow for DMP, the Japanese licensors, and the translators to each receive a cut of digital sales, and additional revenue will come from derivatives such as advertising, and possibly television or other adaptations of manga titles. Titles that perform well online may also go into print.

According to Sasahara, the venture was established as a reaction to the high up-front costs of licensing manga titles, coupled with long production time. He states that he was not aware of the Digital Comics Association's plan to work with U.S. publishers in a coalition against scanlation aggregators. He said that DMP's new program has been in development for over a year, and that "a few" unnamed content providers in Japan have verbally agreed to participate.

Sasahara also indicated that DMP would like to invite translation/lettering groups to the DMP offices at the company's expense for a presentation on the program in the near future.

It would seem DMP wants to become a legal BL aggregator site. But how do they intend on getting thousands of titles overnight? I believe they want those scanlations already in existence. All those titles Dangerous Pleasure, Nakama, and Arigatomina have been working on for years. I'm sure some scans will need touch ups here and there but for the most part I believe DMP just wants all these scans under their name. They're just doing what One Manga or Manga Fox already do but are actually asking the scanlators for permission to post their work and promising pay someday...maybe.

I can't really make heads or tails of this. My knee-jerk reaction is to not trust DMP because they are the big evil company who only cares about money. However DMP is at a disadvantage in this situation. They do not have the scans and they do not have the fans. By teaming up with scanlators they gain both. However, once DMP has a hold of those scans and the fans the power balance will shift, this is one reason why scanlators are probably wary about negotiating with DMP.

I wish the scanlators luck. And who knows, maybe this new initiative will transform the corporate manga world. A BL aggregator is a wonderful idea and if done right has the ability to be beneficial to all. So I'm just gonna wait to see how this all pans out.

Waaaaant....or maybe not.

Found this gem while looking up on Sakira:

Ryo Mutobe! For me, she's one of those automatic purchases. If she made it and it's BL or yaoi--I want it. So off to Jpqueen I went. I was excited to discover they had a copy. They also had this lovely preview up:

I then scrolled up and saw this:

WTF indeed. The price caught me off guard because it's more than double the original price (680). Jpqueen usually charges a bit more for all their purchases, I know. But this is quite the increase. Look, this is what I paid for a new yaoi manga in 2008:

This was the usual one would expect to pay for a yaoi manga from Jpqueen around that time and before. Some people may wonder why I'm making such a big deal since BL manga in the US goes for about 13-17 dollars, depending on the publisher. The key difference is shipping. If I buy this and ship EMS I'd have to pay 33 dollars. There are other shipping options: air, sea, SAL, all cheaper but with no tracking. I could take a chance and ship it without EMS...

There's also the whole thing where I feel like Jpqueen just charges too much in general. In Japan used manga usually goes for about 1-5 dollars. Jpqueen seems to slap an extra 3-4 onto used manga and I don't understand why this is done. I guess I could understand if they were relying purely on sales from outside of Japan. However, I don't know. And I guess not knowing makes me hesitant to rush into making a purchase.

If I'm lucky some store like Akadot Retail will someday have a few copies for sale. Until then I think I'll hold off on this purchase. If someone out there is willing to cough up the dough you can purchase the manga here. If it's not there it may be because I somehow talked myself into getting it. Maybe...maybe...

Woooooo, cliffhanger!

Harder, Better, Faster, Cheaper

The Yaoi Review has an article up on DMP's new effort in the digital market. Here's a little snippet:

DMP is working on a new ‘secret’ project for publishing more manga faster and cheaper than it is now. It would be via a digital format and they are looking to hire scanlators to help with this. Essentially, scanlators would be doing what they do now except there is the possibility of getting paid based on the sales of said manga titles they worked on. They also get to have their name on everything they translate and retain certain rights to the work they do. What rights I do not know. There is also the possibility of becoming a paid translator ‘if qualified’ and you’d be ahead of the pack when it comes to any other candidates that applied for the position.

Nine times out of ten faster and cheaper translates to cheap and/or free labor. DMP is hoping to snatch up scanlators with promises of "pay someday, maybe". This is a common tactic used throughout the business world and it's sad to see DMP being so open about it. I want to believe in this because having an American comic/manga company finally embrace digital media is great. Not paying people who work for you isn't so great.

However, Jennifer, Yaoi Review's blogger, finds the situation a bit ironic:

If I recall correctly, when a scanlator scanlates a title, the author and artist already did their work… where is their pay? Don’t they have a right to be “paid for that service regardless of the manga’s success” as in, even if it isn’t successful enough to be published in the U.S. or other countries, they should still get paid?

I think Jennifer probably doesn't remember the good ol' days when BL was not being sold in the US and scanlating groups such as Nakama were havens for us fans who were unable to get their hands on the real deal. Scanlators served and still serve a purpose to our community. Even though BL has finally found a way to our shores there's still a time delay. How long did we have to wait for Under Grand Hotel to make its way over here despite being a fan favorite? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for supporting the creator, but where would the fans for the work be if not for the scanlators? I wouldn't have discovered Suzuki Tanaka if not for Obsession. I know it's the same for many other fans.

DMP knows this and it's probably the reason why they want to integrate these individuals into their company. I applaud them for their efforts but find it deplorable if they intend on not paying the very people who created the fans who give them their profits.

Brother, where art thou

Ever since I returned from Japan I haven't read comics, BL included. This mostly has to do with school and the amount of work I have to do this semester. Workshops. Ugh. So much reading. BUT I made time this weekend to read a couple of BL works and downloaded Giglio and Brother X Brother from Dangerous Pleasures. Giglio, by Inariya Fusunosuke, made me miss the time I devoted to reading my favorite manga genre. Brothers X Brothers, by Kisaragi Hirotaka, had me running to my homework.

This isn't the first time I've read Brother X Brother. In fact I can recall having a soft spot for this manga. However, whatever the author is doing with her current plot line isn't working for me. It's too predictable. I found myself rolling my eyes on quite a few occasions as I read chapters 12-15. And the sad thing is I like the characters and I feel there is so much potential for them to grow.

I mean, the author was pushing it with the whole "my ptsd makes me want to sex someone up". And maybe I could be more forgiving if that plot device was used for lots of sexing. The thing is, this story is definitely not sex driven, it's plot driven, therefore, the plot must be intriguing. And Brother X Brother just isn't anymore. For me, that is, what drove the story was the history behind Kaname and Masato. But with that all explained in previous chapters the mystery is gone.

From this point on there will be spoilers.

Okay, yeah, I like Kaname and Masato as a pair. But I don't dislike Souichirou and I can see him with Kaname, I just don't like how things seemed to have ended between Kaname and Masato. Kaname's all like "I'm gonna go get help for this problem I have" and Masato replies "yeah, you know, I think we shouldn't be using each other sexually anymore" and that's that. It shouldn't be so simple, especially if someone is suffering from PTSD, that's some hard stuff to overcome. I know Kaname wants to make a change, but I can't help but believe he won't need Masato there to hold his hand until he gets to a point of stability. Yeah, Souichirou is suppose to take his place, but the story would be far more interesting if Kaname and Masato continued on with their relationship as Souichirou realizes his feelings for Kaname, but recognizes that for the time being, Kaname needs Masato.

So, yeah, that's just my two-cents. Brother X Brother isn't godawful (this is), I'm just a little disappointed it hasn't lived up to it's potential.

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.

Mice, Carps, and Setona

The first manga I ever read by Setona Mizushiro was X-Day. If I'm remembering correctly it was released when manga had just started to gain traction in the US market so there was some glut but it didn't flood the market as it does now. So I trusted X-Day would be on par with the majority of the other manga I had been purchasing. I enjoyed the first volume of X-Day but had a feeling, from the way the story had unfolded that it was going to end in a very predictable cliche shoujo way. It did. And so I was content with reading it during my lunch break at Waldenbooks and not purchasing it. Unimpressed by her writing I avoided anything by Mizushiro for years. Then one day as I scrolled through my LJ post I noticed a BL cover drawn by her. "So she does BL also," I thought to myself, "I bet it's just as cliched as her shoujo work". Oh, how wrong I was.

Setona Mizushiro's story about a gay man who is in love with a straight man and the trials and tribulations of their relationship is one of the best manga I have ever read. I know the premise sounds like every BL story in existence, but it's all about how you tell that story and Mizushiro tells it well. Her two characters, Imagase and Kyouichi are just...raw. You see their strengths and their weaknesses and you learn quickly that these two people aren't the nicest guys in the world. They have weird quirks, get jealous, cheat, lie, argue, shout at the top of their lungs, fight when they should be working on a peace treaty or not fight when they should put up a battle. This isn't a list of negatives, this is a list of realities. Of behaviors that make us human. Not bad. Not good. Just is. And just like us, they aren't aware of their feelings, nor are they quite sure of who they are, especially in Kyouichi's case. And Imagase, who comes off very self assured is always shaky because his foundation is Kyouichi. The whole first volume of The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese is a roller coaster ride that keeps going down. It's exhilarating and fun, but you need a brief reprieve so you can catch your breath. Setona never gives you a chance to breathe.

The second volume, The Carp on the Chopping Block Jumps Twice, the ride comes to a screeching halt and knocks all the air out of you. I use this analogy because as you slow down a feeling of relief shoots through your body before the sudden stop that jolts you. And although the first chapter, Melancholy Butterfly, starts out just as rocky as the previous volume Mizushiro ends it so bitter sweetly that one can have hope where there wasn't any before. Maybe things will work out? Maybe they can be happy together? What is interesting is Kyouichi is asking himself the same questions. By the third chapter, Owl, he seems to settling into the idea of a life with Imagase.

And that feeling, that possibility, is the one time you're able to sit back and inhale. Things do eventually come to a head but there isn't a crazy soap opera explosion. I think of Totally Captivated and how Mookyul and Ewon eventually have an all out war. I don't know what I expected to happen between Kyouichi and Imagase. If anything at all. But what transpires isn't at all a thunderstorm, but a light down pour. And for some reason, that made it all the more heart wrenching.

Man, I cried like a baby while reading this chapter and after. And it sucks that I can't say why because I don't want to ruin it for any of you who haven't read the latest chapter or even the manga. I will say hurry over to Presencedear and download it if you haven't. I promise, you will not be disappointed.

Why aren't you slashing them?!

And why haven't I ever made a post about these two? These two who? Why, Seiji and Kouta from Midori no Hibi. What is Midior no Hibi? It's a shounen romance comedy created by Kazurou Inoue where the main character, Seiji Sawamura's right hand is replaced with a green haired girl named Midori. There is also this guy:

Kouta Shingyouji is Midior's childhood friend. When Midori enters a sort of coma he takes it upon himself to find a way to awaken her. Deciding it best to overlook all scientific explanations Kouta instead focuses his attention on fairy tales, because they have indeed saved many a comatose individual. If he wants to wake a princess he must find a prince. And there is no better prince than Midiori's crush, school delinquent Seiji Sawamura. But when Kouta meets Seiji something unexpected happens:

He falls in love. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! What I adore about Kouta is we get to see his little boy crush develop. The audience is there from the sweet blossoming to the bitter end. We slashers get treated to many a slashy moment such as this:

And this:

And my personal favorite:

Ha-ha! Threesome.

Usually when there is a shounen romance and a guy becomes the object of affection of another guy it irks me because I feel the creator is trying to say "the main character is so special even guys want him" (a great example of this takes place in I"s by Masakazu Katsura). Although Kouta's infatuation with Seiji is used for comedic purposes I like the fact we see the relationship develop. We get to see him and Seiji become friends and how Kouta struggles with his sexual feelings for Seiji. It's all very adorable. And very cannon. So if you haven't read Midori no Hibi then GO READ IT NOW.

His Favoritest

After years of avoiding it, I finally sat down and read Suzuki Tanaka's, Aitsu Daihonmei. The reason for my avoidance stemmed from reading the original release in Libre's Pheonix anthology. The topic given to the creators participating in the issue was basically ugly guys and the hawt guys that love 'em. In my opinion, no one actually stayed true to the topic (except for Saika Kunieda) because none of the ugly guys were ugly. One of the characters looked like he might've been a teenaged version of Timmy Turner from Fairly Odd Parents, but that's not ugly, just a little odd and kinda funny. What I didn't like about Tanaka's story is it seemed her version of ugly required having almond shaped eyes.

Almond shaped eyes?! Is that what got you all riled up, you oversensitive girl?! Well, yeah. It seemed illogical to me to have a trait that so many Asians shared labeled as ugly. It's like the pot calling the kettle black. Maybe it is a bit oversensitive to completely avoid a title because I don't agree with the premise, especially when I take pride in exposing myself to a variety of things so I can become more knowledgeable. I guess one of my problems with Aitsu is I was thinking too much like an American who has wide knowledge of American racism. Mind you, I am not saying that I found Aitsu racist, but my history with racism made me sensitive to the content. But Aitsu is created for the Japanese by a Japanese author and their rules of prejudice and racism are different from our own. So I concluded that it would be best for me to read the rest of Aitsu before passing judgment. And that I did. The whole almond eyes = ugliness is still something I want to explore but I have to admit that the story swept me away. Maybe because, I don't know, it had a hint of familiarity.

Hmmm...Two high school boys, one that's unattractive and the other is very attractive hook up. Attractive guy has jealousy issues and is always ready to jump the bones of his lover, although his lover isn't too receptive to his advances. Sounds kinda like...

Menkui! One of the big differences between Menkui and Aitsu is the prior one took place at an all boys school. In Aitsu, the main character, Yoshida is constantly being picked on by girls because their idol, Satou, lavishes him with attention. It makes me wonder if Kotori would have received the same treatment if their school had been co-ed. If anything the characters in Aitsu seem to be extreme versions of Kotori and Aikawa. I'd even go as far to say Aitsu is a parody of those high school romances Tanaka is so good at writing. Other than the extremities of the characters there's the fact that Tanaka doesn't really draw any backgrounds, which seems to compound the fact that this could quite possibly be a parody. Everything tends to be stark white. When she pans out on the school it's never a well detailed building, it looks like something your little brother might have scribbled on his math homework. And the building is very reminiscent of the thousand school buildings you've probably seen in manga and anime. Tanaka seems to be relying on her audience to fill in the blanks and parodies are always completely reliant upon the knowledge of the audience. And it is kind of weird seeing a Tanaka title without any sci-fi touches. So I am most definitely leaning in the direction that this is a parody.

I don't know. I can't help but see Aitsu as Menkui sans the whole sci-fi twist. It's just pure and utter high school romance fluff. Which, if that's your thing, you'll fall in love with this title. I still want to put on my sociologist cap and analyze it to death, but for now I'll just enjoy the syrupy sweet goodness of Satou/Yoshida. And, boy, is it good.

Yaoish Newsy Stuff -Edition 1-

I'm pretty sure by now everyone knows about the Deux sale. In case you missed it somehow here's the link to the info page. I don't have to tell you that five dollars is an awesome price for a yaoi manga. Also, orders are open to fans outside the US. Yeah. Great sale. You know it, I know it, and your mom knows it. In case you're not sure what to get here are the titles I recommend:

Title: Lovers and Souls
Creator: Miyamoto Kano
Deux Page with summary and previews

Title: Say Please
Creator: Miyamoto Kano
Deux Page with summary and previews

Title: Future Lovers
Creator: Saika Kunieda
My Review
Deux Page with summary and previews

Title: Future Lovers Vol. 2
Creator: Saika Kunieda
Deux Page with summary and previews

You can't go wrong with Miyamoto Kano and Saika Kunieda. The sale ends April 30th. I know things are really tight for a lot of people now, but it would be great if we can help Deux weather this storm. Especially since they were awesome enough to give us comics by Saika Kunieda and Miyamoto Kano.

There's been a mod change over at Yaoi Gallery. For me, the biggest news are a few of the little tweaks made to the site. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me that there's now a "marked all as viewed" button in submissions. Submissions pile up so fast if you don' t log in for a few days and then you have to sit and wade through them little by little. Such a tedious task. So thank you yaoi gallery for this much needed improvement.

If you're a Bleach fan Pandabaka over at DeviantArt is selling a few doujinshi. Go check out her page for previews and info. She also has a couple of the KakaIru anthology left. The sale of the doujin ends April 15th. Only a few days left!

And I don't know how I forgot that Tanaka Suzuki's book, Love Hurts (that title hurts me >_<), was released this month. Get it for the story dealing with a boy and his crush on a girl who is obsessed with aliens. I know, not BL, but to be totally honest, it's the best story in the book.

Speaking of Tanaka Suzuki, did you check out her cover for Be-Boy last month. Suzuki's cover art is usually a hit or miss (mostly misses, though), and that one was a total miss. Sorry, Suzuki! This months cover was drawn by Shino Natsuho. Also, Yoneda Kou is in this volume. You're probably familiar with her doujinshi work if you're a fan of Katekyo Hitman Reborn. Or maybe you've read the DP scanlations of her manga, Doushitemo Furetakunai, (I ownz it). Either way, you know she writes great stories, so no doubt this one will be just as awesome.

And, wow, I see this pairing very super rarely.

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.

Menkui! Libre editions

So I finally got my copies of the Libre Shuppan editions of Menkui!, and I must say I am quite impressed.
Marvel at my mad camera skillz!
As you can see both books have new covers. Ooooh, shiny! I'm quite glad they replaced the old cover to the first volume because I was never a big fan of it. But for those who are, it's included as a color insert. I did, however, like the second cover and would have preferred it to the third cover insert included in volume two. Also the new volume two cover had me lol. Akaiwa is gonna poke poor Kotori's eye out with that pointy chin of his! Oh noes!
One of the great aspects of this two volume set is it excludes all the filler comics that were a part of the original releases. So all you get is ooey gooey Menkui goodness. Not that I didn't like the extra comics, but it's nice to have each story run into the next without any interruption.
The first volume includes Menkui! 1-4 and the bonus story about Kotori's older brother. The second completes Menkui! 4 and has stories 5-7 as well as the bonus story about Chikage's adorable little brother and his best friend turned boyfriend, Shinobu. Each volume also contains a new side story written by Tanaka. Her drawing style has gotten exceedingly better as the years passed, so it's nice to see her draw her old characters with her updated technique. And I swear, in the case of Akaiwa, there isn't some huge change, but she has somehow accomplished making him look sexier.
*drools*
There's something about Kotori that is different, but I just can't put my finger on it. I don't know if it's the length of his eyes, or his chin, or...I just don't know!
Whatever it is, my uber sweet looking Kotori has been replaced with a manly looking one.
I really like this new release and it shall be displayed proudly on my bookshelf right next to the older version (yes, I'm keeping them >_>).

And God said: Let there be fluff!

The Libre version of Menkui was released today in Japan with a pretty new cover, so I thought this would be a good time to reminisce about the first Boys Love manga I ever purchased. Menkui tells the story of Kotori, your average joe who has a thing for beautiful people (who doesn't >_<). Kotori ends up catching the eye of one of the hottest guys at his school, Akaiwa, and the two become an item. Doesn't sound too interesting so far, right? I mean, here you have your typical high school romance set up, be it BL, shoujo, or shounen. So what sets Menkui apart from the norm? If you are familiar with any of Tanaka Suzuki's work you will notice she likes sci-fi. Because of this love of the abnormal she has been able to put a twist on the conventional storyline. For example, in volume 2 of Menkui, Kotori is swept into a mirror world to keep a beautiful stranger company. And in volume 3 Kotori enters a different dimension where everyone is the opposite of their original personalities. This was something very different from the dead on romance stories I had been reading, so I was intrigued. Tanaka also has a great sense of flow which makes her stories an easy read (and easy for non-Japanese readers to follow). This skill is very helpful for the subtleties she makes use of throughout. One of the things I loved about Kotori and Akaiwa is they have this thing where they'll look into each others eyes and some how, without words, they reach an understanding. I know, I know, it sounds corny, but this is something Tanaka makes use of in many of the chapters, so it becomes a part of who these characters are. In the first volume when Akaiwa and Kotori are having an argument they do not make eye contact at all. When Kotori is looking at Akaiwa, Akaiwa is looking away. When Akaiwa is looking at Kotori, Kotori is looking towards the ground. Then at the end of the chapter Kotori and Akaiwa meet up, both of them have their eyes focused downward and then, they both look at each other. The scene prior seemed to illustrate how they had closed themselves off to each other, and now with this simple eye contact they had opened back up. Awwww, so sweet. But hey, I'm a English major I love analyzing things like this! For all you who read BL for teh SEX, I am sorry to inform you, there is none to be found here. In fact, all of Ms. Suzuki's works are devoid of it. Yes, there's a kiss here, a feel-up there, but there's no "Omigod, right there, I think I'm gon-gonna COOOOME". Yeah, none of that stuff people. Don't worry, Akaiwa feels your pain. Wanna buy the new release? Of course there's always Amazon Japan or if you are Japanese impaired you can always go to Jpqueen and check and see if they have it in stock.