Because I'm A Boy! [Paperback]

Watanabe Asia (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 186 pages
• Publisher: Media Blasters (November 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159883021X
• ISBN-13: 978-1598830217
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #428,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing manga! Fans of BDSM / S&M yaoi (M/M) will love it!!, May 26, 2009

By 

Brooklyner (NYC) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Because I'm A Boy! (Paperback)

I'm surprised by all the previous negative reviews/comments about this book. Let me guess: all of these reviewers probably didn't care much about purely S&M stories? Watanabe Asia (Ajia) is one of my favorite manga-kas, mostly because her stories (and art) are very original and fun to read, many feature BDSM elements. And I find her art really pretty. I only wish more of her works were translated into English.

A few stories in this manga are mostly about sex, though there are a few that are very sweet and purely romantic (for instance, a title story on a boy who falls in love with his friend, a Shinto priest).

Two stories feature fairly explicit BDSM. I absolutely loved them, and, thus, highly recommend the book to all those who like this particular sub-genre (S&M / BDSM yaoi). But be warned that only two out of eight stories have S&M scenes (bondage, light "punishment", kissing a boot are shown), and even these stories are still light and "gag" in tone. I found them very amusing and hot. They made the purchase of this yaoi well worthwhile for me. If Kazuma Kodaka's "Tale of Samurai Love" or "Pleasure Dome" are among your favorites, ignore all those negative reviews and do try this manga!

P.S: if S&M is not your thing, then, of course, my recommendation depends on whether you like short story anthologies, with a variation of themes. Though I liked two S&M stories most (definite 5 stars for those!), I'd still give this anthology 3 - 4 stars even if those were not included, mostly because I really like the art of this manga-ka (yes, her ukes are pretty, with long lashes and "dewy" eyes. Her semes are masculine and hot, though). In terms of explicitness, some frontal nudity is shown, and I found sex scenes hot (both S&M and not). However, this is not as explicit as "Brother" or Shiuko Kano's "I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone" series.

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Which is worse? This or Lily Hoshino's work? ...Lily Hoshino., January 23, 2007

By 

Carolyn "Dedicated Yaoi Fan." (NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Because I'm A Boy! (Paperback)

Why such a low rating? It's because of the Art. The Art annoys me the most. It's borderline of ugly. But I persevered and continued to read the number of small stories the Manga contains (which are all real short)

The first is about Yoh and Tomo, childhood friends. Yoh has had a crush on his friend since they were little and is jealous of his twin sister Kana for being a girl (thinks Tomo is love with her) and after a bath scene and a smut scene the story is over and the two are madly (?) in love. Disappointing for plot there.

The second is about 3 brothers - Toji, Hikaru and Akio. First, Hikaru is involved with Akio, who is only with him because he looks like his mother Kakuro (already a weird story!). But Hikaru is in love with his older brother Toji and wants to be with him. Toji finds Akio and Hikaru together and goes off, threatens to send Hikaru to his real father and then Hikaru tries to commit suicide. Overall, happy ending. Dull and boring plot.

The third story is about Nen and Kiri. Nen wants to be a bondage expert and ties up Kiri for practice. Yeh, not much to this one. Over real quick and wasn't funny - I think it was suppose to be...

The fourth is Jin and Kazui. This one made as much sense as the other ones. Kazui plays the piano and one afternoon, Jin listens, they get it on in a storeroom and then Jin says it wasn't meant to happen and he's staying with his girlfriend. Then amazingly he gets dumps and professes his love for Kazui. Overdone plotline.

The fifth is Hisaya a school doctor who is also a sex maniac and the Biology teacher Kazumi. Hisaya has a habit of sleeping with students and Kazumi wants him to stop it, so geuss what happens? They end up together. Sadly obvious.

The sixth is Echigoya and Daikokuya. Just slight BL. Daikokuya comes to terms with his feelings for the older man and confesses to him. That's it really. They don't get to together but there is a kiss. Pointless.

The seventh is Hanao and Sou. Sou is an artist and paints Hanao portrait. They confess their love. Nothing else to this story really.

And the last story is the eighth, and another story about Kiri and Nen. Nen has Kiri dress in drag and they do it in a park.

I'm really surprised I read the whole damn thing cos it bored the crap outta me. There's no point on reading the whole damn book, it's better just reading the smut scenes, probably make more sense. Try anything from Row Takakura!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bad art? What bad art?, August 12, 2010

By 

C - See all my reviews

This review is from: Because I'm A Boy! (Paperback)

I can't believe the negative reviews of this book! The art is amazing, and has its own unique style, which after reading several yaoi that could all be clone copies of one another, is refreshing. The stories, while short, are cute and funny and explore into S&M. Once again, the stories didn't follow the usual yaoi formula of schoolboy/business man and had their own unique feeling to them. I highly recommend this book, and any work from this mangaka (which I hope there will be more of!) if you want to try something different.