One of the things I was hoping to hear from Eve was that she had a DA page or something going on at the Y!, but sadly, not a word. Until today. I recently received a message from some awesome person who has informed me that Eve does have a page over at DA and she is continuing Tei and Riki. I thought I'd pass this great news along to everyone else. So, if you're like me and been hopin' for new updates on Tei and Riki head on over here and check 'em out.
Last night my mom asked me to put a movie on, so I rummaged through my computer to find something she hasn't seen. I came across Sukitomo and remembered I had downloaded it from a BL website. So, I'm like, BL tonight, yay!
No. No yay. Because this movie is not BL. This is a story about a girl dealing with her feelings for her brother. Yes, her brother's best friend is in love with him, but the focus of the movie isn't on their relationships. We follow the little sister to school where she waits to here good news about her brother's boxing match, into her room where she complains about Yoshiki and makes a confession to her friend, and to the boxing ring where she cheers her brother, Tomokazu, on. Yoshiki does get a few moments here and there and we get one of those "oh noes I must protect you by throwing my body on top of you, oh, hello thar" scenes, but everything will inevitably lead back to the sister. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but you know how when you're expecting something to taste one way and than you get thrown off because it ends up being something completely different? That off kilter feeling can be a bit off putting.
Okay, there was no real boy/boy lovin' in this movie but snatches of it, so how did the movie fair overall? Sukitomo is every shoujo cliche tied up and wrapped with a bow. So, if you like seeing something you've seen a hundred times before, then go watch this on youtube right now! You'll love it! But everyone else might want to pass on this. Aside from the eye candy that is Saito Takumi, this movie is forgettable.
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.
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:
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.
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.
Suzuki has made it onto the cover of B-Boy again. Yay, for more exposure for her, but boo for the bad cover art and for this series. I really need to make a post as to why I'm put off by this series. Anyway, go here to check out the previews (click on the line up bar) for this month as well as to see who's gonna be in the next issue. Yoneda Kou's on the line up, this makes me soooo happy. Maybe I'll pick this up while I'm in Japan?
Oh, and in case you haven't heard: JPQUEEN IS ACCEPTING ORDERS AGAIN!! They've scaled things back considerably, which is quite understandable given the current economy. At least they're still alive and kickin'. I wish them luck and I hope they're able to make it through these rough times.