Customer Reviews

Challengers, Vol. 2

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From what I understand Challengers was Hinako Takanaga's first series. That said the art was pretty darn rough in volume 1 but it got a lot better for volume 2. I'm actually a big fan of her work though. I think the art is consistantly pretty good and the stories, while somewhat simple, are funny, sweet, and well plotted. The characters are nicely fleshed out and, with the exception of Kurokawa and Morinaga (who are rarely in the same panel anyway), are all very easy to tell apart. Challengers is also strictly BL (boys love). No sex here so no yaoi. The emphasis here is on romantic comedy.
Volume 2 finds Tomoe and Kurokawa living together in an uneasy agreement. Kurokawa is in love with Tomoe, however Tomoe is still unsure of his own feelings. In an effort to move things along Kurokawa invites Tomoe out on an almost date but Rick (Tomoe's American exchange student and openly gay friend) invites himself along. Despite Rick's interference they manage to have a good time. And then Kurokawa's drama queen of a mother shows up. Is it any wonder that our hapless couple has barely even kissed? Though for once though, Souichi (Tomoe's overprotective older brother) actually stays out of their love life. For the most part.
A lot happens in volume 2, including the introduction of two other characters: Phil, Rick's American ex-boyfriend/stalker, and Morinaga, Souichi's only friend (at least I don't think he was introduced before). The side story in volume 2, "The Unspeakable Truth", revolves around Souichi and Morinaga. Souichi is a hardcore homophobe but unbeknownst to him his one and only friend Morinaga is gay. And in love with him. Their side story fleshes out their relationship, how they met, and why Souichi is such a gay hater. It's a good story, funny and just a touch romantic. It also makes a great lead up to the rest of their story in the sequel series "The Tyrant Falls In Love".
Also included in the book is a "bonus story" from Takanaga about all of her rejected ideas for the manga and a little preview of volume 3. Oh and it comes with the pretty dust jacket and one page color insert.
While the Challengers series isn't quite as good as some of Hinako Takanaga's later works, I really enjoyed it. It's also a nice change from most of the yaoi type books that I've read that are all sex with no plot and barely any characters. The characters here are not quite as pretty as many I've seen so that might be a drawback for some. However they are unique with definite personalities and some parts of the story were so funny that I actually laughed out loud. Of course I also wanted to smack Tomoe a couple of times for being so clueless. Then again, that might be part of his charm. Either way, I definitely recommend the series, and more so the Tyrant series (when it eventually gets released).

Cute little story that at most has a kiss----no yaoi, strictly pg13