Customer Reviews

Because I'm A Boy!

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

I was so glad I read Brooklyner's review. This series of 8 stories (2 connected) definitely has a different flavor. I absolutely loved them. Pleasure Dome's stories are dark in nature, but these stories have a light comic flavor to them. The artwork is very pleasing.
My favorite stories were about Kiri and Nen, "Ropes of Love," and "Candy and Whip." These are the bondage stories noted by the other reviewers.
My next favorite was Sheep and Bandage. Mr. Miura, mild mannered biology teacher, wants to protect students from Dr. Okitani, the school doctor, who is constantly being hit upon by amorous students and doesn't resist their advances. Mr. Miura's protection techniques are absolutely hilarious.
Shape of Love is a story of a troubled boy living in a dysfunctional family. When he is to be separated from the one he loves, he attempts suicide.
Rain of Love tells the story of Yashichi, an 18 year old, who falls in love with Hiro, a 36 year old, who happens to be friends with Yashichi's family. Poor Yashichi has to wait two years before Hiro will consider him.
The other three stories are short also.
For those fans who like a little kink with their yaoi, the two stories about Kiri and Nen are worth the price of the book. I liked every story, even the very short ones.
Delivery Cupid and Hanky Panky are anthologies of very short stories and they were enjoyable.

Fans of this type of book might check out "Weekend Lovers" which has two dark stories, "Fragments of Glass and Dark Water," and "Cage."
I agree that the sex is not as explicit as Brother or Love a la Carte, but it's still explicit and graphic. No shadows here. This book is a treasure for the right fan!!!

NOte: Amazon's product description up above is not for this book.

Usually, I like to see several reviews on a book just to get a clearer picture of it, which is really the only reason I'm leaving a review now. The first review pretty much says it all. The *many* stories in the book are too short to amount to much, and the art is not particularly appealing to me. Almost every pairing had at least one character drawn with overly dewy, massively eye-lashed eyes. Anyone familiar with BL mangas will know which person in the pairing I'm talking about. *wink* I can't even suggest the adult content because it's also too abbreviated.

The artist/writer (or mangaka) says in her notes that this is her first book. While the inexperience shows, I have to wonder if the book didn't suffer from translation into English and cultural differences. I just can't believe that both Japanese and then English publishers wasted time on this book. There must have been something to it that we're missing.

At least, that's what I'd like to think. Anyway, this was just to confirm what was already said. If there is a reviewer who finds some redeeming value in this book, I'd love to read about it.