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juushikaCleaning up my overgrown notes document, I found a few more of these. So here we go: reviews of two manga and two BL manga. If you've added me since the last time I did one of these, surprise! sometimes I review porn.
Title: Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai (Nobody Can Hear Me but You)
Author: Otsuichi
Illustrator: Kiyohara Hiro
Length: 1 volume, 4 chapters
Rating: 4+ of 5
Timid, social-misfit Ryo is so isolated that she doesn't even own a cellphone. In her loneliness she dreams up the perfect cellphone, but one day her fantasy seems to become reality—her imaginary phone rings. Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai is, in a word, beautiful. It's brief, and sometimes lacks complexity, but these critiques are minor in scope of the story's gentle, melancholy beauty. A unique and surprisingly smart plot, lovely character interactions, and a strong conclusion make for an absorbing, emotionally-driven story; the art is clean and deceptively simple, adding to the atmosphere of subdued authenticity. Although imperfect, this is a story to remain in the memory and the heart. I recommend it.
Title: Goth
Author: Otsuichi
Illustrator: Ooiwa Kenji
Length: 1 volume, 5 chapters
Rating: 4 of 5
Classmates Kamiyama Itsuki and Morino Yoru become friends through their shared, unusual fascination with death, a fascination which allows them to solve murder cases which occur around them. But Kamiyama has no interest in bringing these murderers to justice—instead, his only desire is to discover the perfect way for Morino to die. Despite its title, slight unrefinement, and the fact that it could easily slip into either cheap horror or Addams Family-styled humor, Goth is deadpan, morbid, and unexpectedly subdued. The plot sometimes leave subtlety to be desired, but the unusual characters are wonderful (I cannot overstate my love of the protagonist) and the deceptively simple art, a perfect companion to Otsuichi's stories, sets the tone and hides some secrets. Visual violence balances psychological intensity to make Goth an intriguing and surprisingly intelligent volume which, despite its faults, captures the imagination. Recommended.
Title: Gokujou no Koibito (The Best Lover)
Mangaka: Minase Masara
Length: 4 volumes
Rating: 3 of 5
When Kuniyoshi Masahiro is given a new model to manage, he thinks that Suda Yoshimi is nothing more than a spoiled rich kid—and he's mostly right. But Yoshimi defies expectations when he fights to prove himself a better man that Masahiro's previous lover and so win Masahiro's heart. Gokujou no Koibito is what happens when a manga defies convention enough to be interesting, but suits too many clichés to be good: it's simply mediocre. With strong art, some interesting antagonism, and the unusual combination of a powerful uke and an unexperienced seme, this manga begins well—but from rape means love to blushing reluctant uke, it collects BL clichés as it goes on and so grows increasing predictable and passionless. It could be worse, but it also could have been much better—and all told, it's just not quite worth reading.
Title: Baby Bitch Chapters 1-3: Oh My Bitch!
Mangaka: Inomoto Rikako
Length: 3 chapters
Rating: 4 of 5
OMB is simple smut, nasty and unforgiving and, if those things are to your taste, delightful. But it gains surprising complexity if you read it not just as straight PWP porn, but as a psychological question: what would you do if you had complete power over someone? how sadistic would you become? would you become emotionally attached to your victim, or your victim to you—and would that attachment change your relationship? Not all of these subquestions are rendered with equal intrigue and insight, but their presence overlays the smut with unexpected depth. Pathos and pubic hair are an odd, dissonant combination even in yaoi manga, and they make OMB a quiet success despite its faults and a lackluster translation. I recommend it.
Title: Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai (Nobody Can Hear Me but You)
Author: Otsuichi
Illustrator: Kiyohara Hiro
Length: 1 volume, 4 chapters
Rating: 4+ of 5
Timid, social-misfit Ryo is so isolated that she doesn't even own a cellphone. In her loneliness she dreams up the perfect cellphone, but one day her fantasy seems to become reality—her imaginary phone rings. Kimi ni Shika Kikoenai is, in a word, beautiful. It's brief, and sometimes lacks complexity, but these critiques are minor in scope of the story's gentle, melancholy beauty. A unique and surprisingly smart plot, lovely character interactions, and a strong conclusion make for an absorbing, emotionally-driven story; the art is clean and deceptively simple, adding to the atmosphere of subdued authenticity. Although imperfect, this is a story to remain in the memory and the heart. I recommend it.
Title: Goth
Author: Otsuichi
Illustrator: Ooiwa Kenji
Length: 1 volume, 5 chapters
Rating: 4 of 5
Classmates Kamiyama Itsuki and Morino Yoru become friends through their shared, unusual fascination with death, a fascination which allows them to solve murder cases which occur around them. But Kamiyama has no interest in bringing these murderers to justice—instead, his only desire is to discover the perfect way for Morino to die. Despite its title, slight unrefinement, and the fact that it could easily slip into either cheap horror or Addams Family-styled humor, Goth is deadpan, morbid, and unexpectedly subdued. The plot sometimes leave subtlety to be desired, but the unusual characters are wonderful (I cannot overstate my love of the protagonist) and the deceptively simple art, a perfect companion to Otsuichi's stories, sets the tone and hides some secrets. Visual violence balances psychological intensity to make Goth an intriguing and surprisingly intelligent volume which, despite its faults, captures the imagination. Recommended.
Title: Gokujou no Koibito (The Best Lover)
Mangaka: Minase Masara
Length: 4 volumes
Rating: 3 of 5
When Kuniyoshi Masahiro is given a new model to manage, he thinks that Suda Yoshimi is nothing more than a spoiled rich kid—and he's mostly right. But Yoshimi defies expectations when he fights to prove himself a better man that Masahiro's previous lover and so win Masahiro's heart. Gokujou no Koibito is what happens when a manga defies convention enough to be interesting, but suits too many clichés to be good: it's simply mediocre. With strong art, some interesting antagonism, and the unusual combination of a powerful uke and an unexperienced seme, this manga begins well—but from rape means love to blushing reluctant uke, it collects BL clichés as it goes on and so grows increasing predictable and passionless. It could be worse, but it also could have been much better—and all told, it's just not quite worth reading.
Title: Baby Bitch Chapters 1-3: Oh My Bitch!
Mangaka: Inomoto Rikako
Length: 3 chapters
Rating: 4 of 5
OMB is simple smut, nasty and unforgiving and, if those things are to your taste, delightful. But it gains surprising complexity if you read it not just as straight PWP porn, but as a psychological question: what would you do if you had complete power over someone? how sadistic would you become? would you become emotionally attached to your victim, or your victim to you—and would that attachment change your relationship? Not all of these subquestions are rendered with equal intrigue and insight, but their presence overlays the smut with unexpected depth. Pathos and pubic hair are an odd, dissonant combination even in yaoi manga, and they make OMB a quiet success despite its faults and a lackluster translation. I recommend it.
