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juushikaAfter reading Mukizu ja Irarenee (find the review here), I said that I would run off to read more of the mangaka's work. In fact, what I ended up doing was rereading Mikuzu ja Irarenee, and I'll be damned if it isn't even better the second time around. So after that I did go and read more by the same author. Not just more: almost everything I could find. Since there's so much, I'm splitting these reviews into their own post; since a number of the volumes have sequels, I'm posting them out of alphabetical order (in fact, they're posted in the order which I read them). Same old warnings here: these manga contain explicit sex and may contain BDSM, rape, or student/adult relationships. Here are my thoughts on Sadahiro's oeuvre:
Title: Buddy System
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 5
Rating: 3 of 5
Haruomi and Kiichi are police partners who have decided to take their relationship to the next level: after they complete their current undercover mission, they'll have sex for the first time. Buddy System bears some superficial resemblance to the manga Fake in the characters's personalities, sexualities, and careers—but where Fake is a tortoriously slow seduction, Buddy System is a constant parade of porn. That concept only sounds good—in reality the characters, plot, and sex are all unrealistic, so while there's trace evidence of a nuanced relationship between the partners and some hot sex scenes, the majority of this manga is unbelievable and therefore unremarakble. There are worst wastes of time, but I don't recommend it.
Title: XI Extreme Love
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 6
Rating: 3+ of 5
A partial sequel to Buddy System, XI Extreme Love chronicles the further adventures of Haru and Kiichi as well as Kiichi's ex-lover, Shishimaru, a man who will do anything for money from start an affair to turn a homophobe gay. To my surprise, this semi-sequel improves on the concept of Buddy System. The stories about Haru and Kiichi benefit from being toned down a bit; the stories about Shishimaru are over the top, but they suit his character. Meanwhile the art remains decent, and the sex scenes are all the better for their more realistic settings. The manga still has problems and it's not worth going out of your way for, but this sequel is a pleasant improvement on the original.
Title: Angnus Dei - Lamb of God
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 1
Rating: 2 of 5
Hisoka is a caretaker for a rich man's vaction home--until that man, now in a wheelchair, hires him to have sex with his wife. But Hisoka's desires extend a bit further than the wife. Lamb of God is one big parade of WTF. From cold-hearted wives to love-via-rape, the plot is as clichéd and unbelievable as a soap opera, and the characterization is no better. The art is decent and the premise has potential (would that it were a little slower and somewhat toned down), but as it is Angnus Dei is rushed, unbelievable, altogether just plain weird. I don't recommend it.
Title: Innaikansen (Nosocomical Infection) and sequel Shijii (You are a Physician in Charge whom I Love)
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 7 and 6
Rating: 3 of 5
Brilliant surgeon Iori and married physican Tomoya have been conducting an affair in the hospital room of a comatose boy. But the night that Iori cuts things off, Tomoya is rushed to the ER—and not much longer, the comatose boy awakes. This short series isn't bad: the plot, full of medical drama and amnesia, tends towards soap opera-esque, but characterization is decent and the relationships have pleasant complexity—they aren't quite convincing, but at least they're interesting. Yet there was nothing here to capture me. Neither character nor the sex stand out in my mind, and that combined with lackluster plot make for an altogether unremarkable manga. This one has no distinct weaknesses, but I still don't recommend it.
Title: Three and a Half
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 6
Rating: 3 of 5
A series of one shots, this volume tells the story of a conservative man rooming with two sex fiends, an on-again/off-again couple, a man in love with a statue of a torso, and more. In any format, short story collections tend to be a mixed bag, and that's true here. Half of this collectiopn (3 1/2, Dessin, and Sasayaka na Yokubou) are decent—they're necessarily brief, but complex characters and twisted relationships make for interesting reading and hot sex scenes. The other half of the volume, however, is a little too unrealistic, a little over-the-top—and as a result, disappointing. One-shots like these can be quick, harmless diversions, and some of these are decent—but the collection on the whole is underwhelming.
Title: Haito Diamond (Ash to Diamond)
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 11
Rating: 4+ of 5
Otoji is searching for his missing brother, a search which brings him to the doorstep of Joe, a young male prostitute who captures Otoji's attentions and eventually joins him in his search. But their work and search ties them up in local gang activity which puts their lives in danger. Now this is more like it: when Sadahiro commits herself to a long, serious project, she excels. Haito Diamond is not without weakness: this is an old project (1995), and the art is somewhat dated; ranging from prostitution to incest, the plot and the sex it contains is sometimes overdramatic, though not distractingly so. But Otoji and Joe are so well-written and have such a complex and troubled relationship that their saga is absolutely captivating. Even when they're both idiots, it's impossible not to root for them and their struggle towards love. I was sad to reach the end of the series, and that's the mark of work well done. Highly recommended.
Title: Surf Junkie
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 5
Rating: 4 of 5
Ritsuro is an expert in surfing and sex but he's never fallen in love—until he falls head over heels for Shibuki, a straight man and a surfing novice. Surf Junkie is nothing special, nothing too memorable, but it's a solid and enjoyable read. It's a bit more down-to-earth than much of Sadahiro's work, and the little details—about the anxiety of a man's first gay relationship, about the difficulties of a relationship that spans seperate social circles—make the characters and relationships realistic and gently compelling. This story may not stick with me for long, but it made for perfectly enjoyable entertainment at the time, and so I recommend it.
Title: Neji no Kaiten (The Turn of the Screw)
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 6
Rating: 3 of 5
Disappointed in his affair with his college professor, Ryu kidnaps his lover's son and rapes him—but Hayato, the son, unexpected falls in love with Ryu. Yes, the premise is as stupid as it is repetitive (within the BL genre), but the relationship that results still makes for an interesting read. Again the plot tends towards soap opera-esque, but the characters are so troubled and conflicted that the style almost works. Such an enthusiastic love story is a bit out of place given the twisted premise and the dark, dramatic plot, but don't think about it too hard and Neji no Kaiten has some unique characterization and hot sex. It's not great, but this is a tolerably good read.
Title: Under Grand Hotel
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 23
Rating: 4 of 5
Sentenced to life in an American underground prison, Sen offers his body to Swordfish, the prison's most powerful inmate, in exchange for his safety. But the relationship between them develops into love which is constantly threatened by the dangerous environment of Under Ground Hotel. Under Ground/Grand Hotel tries to do a little too much with the plot, and the hasty machinations are unconvincing and sometimes confusing. But Sen and Swordfish are brilliant characters with a complex, compelling relationship. When plot interferes, the realism of their relationship suffers, but for the most part their twisted, complex, troubled romance is truly captivating. The characters are violent and cruel, many aspects of their relationship are hurtful and unhealthy, the sex scenes are often incredible—in all this is a dark but truly enjoyable manga, and I recommend it.
Title: Pathos
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 9
Rating: 4 of 5
Ace is a human teenager raised by a pair ageless vampires, Jay and King. Ace is in love with Jay and wants nothing more to become a vampire—and if he can wait until he's 18, both of his dreams may come true. Pathos has a lot going for it: Sadahiro's vampires are nothing special, but she nails vampiric intercourse—it's realistic, sexy, and decidedly non-human. The characters are decent, and the romance is actually quite good, balancing anticipation against sex so that there's plenty to satisfy the reader while still keeping him on his toes. The plot resolves too quickly—and a little strangely—and there's nothing outright wonderful about this work as a whole. But Pathos is a solid, enjoyable, slightly unusual manga, and I recommend it.
When I sat down to read more of Sadahiro's work I started with Buddy System and Angnus Dei, which were such disappointments after Mukizu ja Irarenne that I assumed that Sadahiro's older work was still developing (and therefore not as good) whereas her more recent volumes were more mature and better done. My love for Haito Diamond threw that theory out, of course. Now, I believe that Sadahiro has considerable talent, but her talent shines best in her longer, more serious works. Sadahiro's not shy about drawing porn—which is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but sometimes floods out necessary, realistic character and story. She tends towards overly dramatic plots, a potential drawback in all of her work but particularly detrimental in her short works, where all that drama leaves no room for realism. But when she is able to balance these aspects with realism, Sadahiro's work is astounding. In her love of porn and drama, she draws incredible sex scene and has all sorts of fascinating and delight dark, troubled characters and relationships. As an added bonus, most of her characters interchange uke and seme roles—a real scarcity in BL manga, sad to say.
Sadahiro strikes this balance most often in her longer, more complex, more serious efforts. In all my reading, Mukizu ja Irarenee remains my favorite—stripped of soap opera-ready settings, this story of three fairly normal youths is realistic, complex, twisted—and beautifully rendered. My other favorites are Haito Diamond, Under Grand Hotel, and Pathos, in that order. These series are somewhat more dramatic, but they retain Sadahiro's strengths and are intense, enjoyable reads. In all, Sadahiro's work was sometimes disappointing but more often harmless and, at best, truly wonderful. She was a great mangaka to discover.
Yeah, I'm a dork.
Title: Buddy System
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 5
Rating: 3 of 5
Haruomi and Kiichi are police partners who have decided to take their relationship to the next level: after they complete their current undercover mission, they'll have sex for the first time. Buddy System bears some superficial resemblance to the manga Fake in the characters's personalities, sexualities, and careers—but where Fake is a tortoriously slow seduction, Buddy System is a constant parade of porn. That concept only sounds good—in reality the characters, plot, and sex are all unrealistic, so while there's trace evidence of a nuanced relationship between the partners and some hot sex scenes, the majority of this manga is unbelievable and therefore unremarakble. There are worst wastes of time, but I don't recommend it.
Title: XI Extreme Love
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 6
Rating: 3+ of 5
A partial sequel to Buddy System, XI Extreme Love chronicles the further adventures of Haru and Kiichi as well as Kiichi's ex-lover, Shishimaru, a man who will do anything for money from start an affair to turn a homophobe gay. To my surprise, this semi-sequel improves on the concept of Buddy System. The stories about Haru and Kiichi benefit from being toned down a bit; the stories about Shishimaru are over the top, but they suit his character. Meanwhile the art remains decent, and the sex scenes are all the better for their more realistic settings. The manga still has problems and it's not worth going out of your way for, but this sequel is a pleasant improvement on the original.
Title: Angnus Dei - Lamb of God
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 1
Rating: 2 of 5
Hisoka is a caretaker for a rich man's vaction home--until that man, now in a wheelchair, hires him to have sex with his wife. But Hisoka's desires extend a bit further than the wife. Lamb of God is one big parade of WTF. From cold-hearted wives to love-via-rape, the plot is as clichéd and unbelievable as a soap opera, and the characterization is no better. The art is decent and the premise has potential (would that it were a little slower and somewhat toned down), but as it is Angnus Dei is rushed, unbelievable, altogether just plain weird. I don't recommend it.
Title: Innaikansen (Nosocomical Infection) and sequel Shijii (You are a Physician in Charge whom I Love)
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 7 and 6
Rating: 3 of 5
Brilliant surgeon Iori and married physican Tomoya have been conducting an affair in the hospital room of a comatose boy. But the night that Iori cuts things off, Tomoya is rushed to the ER—and not much longer, the comatose boy awakes. This short series isn't bad: the plot, full of medical drama and amnesia, tends towards soap opera-esque, but characterization is decent and the relationships have pleasant complexity—they aren't quite convincing, but at least they're interesting. Yet there was nothing here to capture me. Neither character nor the sex stand out in my mind, and that combined with lackluster plot make for an altogether unremarkable manga. This one has no distinct weaknesses, but I still don't recommend it.
Title: Three and a Half
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 6
Rating: 3 of 5
A series of one shots, this volume tells the story of a conservative man rooming with two sex fiends, an on-again/off-again couple, a man in love with a statue of a torso, and more. In any format, short story collections tend to be a mixed bag, and that's true here. Half of this collectiopn (3 1/2, Dessin, and Sasayaka na Yokubou) are decent—they're necessarily brief, but complex characters and twisted relationships make for interesting reading and hot sex scenes. The other half of the volume, however, is a little too unrealistic, a little over-the-top—and as a result, disappointing. One-shots like these can be quick, harmless diversions, and some of these are decent—but the collection on the whole is underwhelming.
Title: Haito Diamond (Ash to Diamond)
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 11
Rating: 4+ of 5
Otoji is searching for his missing brother, a search which brings him to the doorstep of Joe, a young male prostitute who captures Otoji's attentions and eventually joins him in his search. But their work and search ties them up in local gang activity which puts their lives in danger. Now this is more like it: when Sadahiro commits herself to a long, serious project, she excels. Haito Diamond is not without weakness: this is an old project (1995), and the art is somewhat dated; ranging from prostitution to incest, the plot and the sex it contains is sometimes overdramatic, though not distractingly so. But Otoji and Joe are so well-written and have such a complex and troubled relationship that their saga is absolutely captivating. Even when they're both idiots, it's impossible not to root for them and their struggle towards love. I was sad to reach the end of the series, and that's the mark of work well done. Highly recommended.
Title: Surf Junkie
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 5
Rating: 4 of 5
Ritsuro is an expert in surfing and sex but he's never fallen in love—until he falls head over heels for Shibuki, a straight man and a surfing novice. Surf Junkie is nothing special, nothing too memorable, but it's a solid and enjoyable read. It's a bit more down-to-earth than much of Sadahiro's work, and the little details—about the anxiety of a man's first gay relationship, about the difficulties of a relationship that spans seperate social circles—make the characters and relationships realistic and gently compelling. This story may not stick with me for long, but it made for perfectly enjoyable entertainment at the time, and so I recommend it.
Title: Neji no Kaiten (The Turn of the Screw)
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 6
Rating: 3 of 5
Disappointed in his affair with his college professor, Ryu kidnaps his lover's son and rapes him—but Hayato, the son, unexpected falls in love with Ryu. Yes, the premise is as stupid as it is repetitive (within the BL genre), but the relationship that results still makes for an interesting read. Again the plot tends towards soap opera-esque, but the characters are so troubled and conflicted that the style almost works. Such an enthusiastic love story is a bit out of place given the twisted premise and the dark, dramatic plot, but don't think about it too hard and Neji no Kaiten has some unique characterization and hot sex. It's not great, but this is a tolerably good read.
Title: Under Grand Hotel
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 23
Rating: 4 of 5
Sentenced to life in an American underground prison, Sen offers his body to Swordfish, the prison's most powerful inmate, in exchange for his safety. But the relationship between them develops into love which is constantly threatened by the dangerous environment of Under Ground Hotel. Under Ground/Grand Hotel tries to do a little too much with the plot, and the hasty machinations are unconvincing and sometimes confusing. But Sen and Swordfish are brilliant characters with a complex, compelling relationship. When plot interferes, the realism of their relationship suffers, but for the most part their twisted, complex, troubled romance is truly captivating. The characters are violent and cruel, many aspects of their relationship are hurtful and unhealthy, the sex scenes are often incredible—in all this is a dark but truly enjoyable manga, and I recommend it.
Title: Pathos
Mangaka: Sadahiro Mika
Chapters: 9
Rating: 4 of 5
Ace is a human teenager raised by a pair ageless vampires, Jay and King. Ace is in love with Jay and wants nothing more to become a vampire—and if he can wait until he's 18, both of his dreams may come true. Pathos has a lot going for it: Sadahiro's vampires are nothing special, but she nails vampiric intercourse—it's realistic, sexy, and decidedly non-human. The characters are decent, and the romance is actually quite good, balancing anticipation against sex so that there's plenty to satisfy the reader while still keeping him on his toes. The plot resolves too quickly—and a little strangely—and there's nothing outright wonderful about this work as a whole. But Pathos is a solid, enjoyable, slightly unusual manga, and I recommend it.
When I sat down to read more of Sadahiro's work I started with Buddy System and Angnus Dei, which were such disappointments after Mukizu ja Irarenne that I assumed that Sadahiro's older work was still developing (and therefore not as good) whereas her more recent volumes were more mature and better done. My love for Haito Diamond threw that theory out, of course. Now, I believe that Sadahiro has considerable talent, but her talent shines best in her longer, more serious works. Sadahiro's not shy about drawing porn—which is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but sometimes floods out necessary, realistic character and story. She tends towards overly dramatic plots, a potential drawback in all of her work but particularly detrimental in her short works, where all that drama leaves no room for realism. But when she is able to balance these aspects with realism, Sadahiro's work is astounding. In her love of porn and drama, she draws incredible sex scene and has all sorts of fascinating and delight dark, troubled characters and relationships. As an added bonus, most of her characters interchange uke and seme roles—a real scarcity in BL manga, sad to say.
Sadahiro strikes this balance most often in her longer, more complex, more serious efforts. In all my reading, Mukizu ja Irarenee remains my favorite—stripped of soap opera-ready settings, this story of three fairly normal youths is realistic, complex, twisted—and beautifully rendered. My other favorites are Haito Diamond, Under Grand Hotel, and Pathos, in that order. These series are somewhat more dramatic, but they retain Sadahiro's strengths and are intense, enjoyable reads. In all, Sadahiro's work was sometimes disappointing but more often harmless and, at best, truly wonderful. She was a great mangaka to discover.
Yeah, I'm a dork.
