Customer Reviews

Hands Off! Vol. 1

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

 

 

This book is focused around three high school teen boys - Kotarou Oohira, his cousin Tatsuki Oohira, and the friend Yuuto Urushiyama. Each of these boys has a special ability. Tatsuki can see the past, Yuuto can see auras, and Kotarou (unbeknownst to him at the moment) is able to amplify the abilites of the first two.

The three main characters are the classics you find in many mangas. Kotarou is sweet and innocent. Tatsuki is the handsome,quiet, yet dark and mysterious type, and Yuuto is your typical gigolo.

The 1st volume sets the stage on how these three end up coming together. Basically Kotarou has transfered to a new school in Tokyo where he meets Yuuto. In addition, he moves in with his grandfather, who also takes care of Tatsuki, and this is how he ends up meeting his cousin again.
This story has somewhat of a detective type of plot. The three teens always end up in some situation where they have to solve a problem/mystery making use of their powers in the process. In addition, between the funny moments that arise in the plot, we have some conflict/drama between the main characters, particularly Tatsuki and Katarou, seeing as how an unfortunate incident long ago led Tatsuki to pull away from (and perhaps resent in some ways) Katarou.

Though this story has minor overtones of shounen-ai I would not classify it as that nor as a yaoi. It's quite clear that the main characters are heterosexual (at least Katarou and Yuuto . . . Tatsuki doesn't seem to like anybody - romantic or otherwise). And I don't see anything happening between the two cousins besides a mending of their past friendship. [It IS possible for two male characters to care about one another (epecially when they're family) without there being a romantic interest.]

So if you are interested in a comedy/drama with a psychic slant than I would recommend this book for you.

"Hands Off" is super good. There isn't anything up on the Tokyopop website about it yet, but it focuses on a high school boy who is a psychic-catalyst, his cousin who sees past events, and his womanizing best friend who sees emotion-based auras. Wheee!

All three boys are pretty, but the main character is the prettiest of the bunch and he's had some trouble being taken seriously because of his looks. In general, I enjoyed the art very much.

In some ways, this book reminds me of Eerie Queerie, but I find it ten times better because of the psychic stuff. ^_^ It's also written much better with more of a coherent storyline than EQ. For the most part, the story is light and funny; a feel-good read. I look forward to the future volumes.

First, Hands Off is definitely not straight yaoi... in fact, nothing happens between the boys in the first three volumes (I don't know about later because they haven't come out in English yet). But please, don't let that discourage you from buying it.

The main characters in Hands Off are Kotaru, Tatsuki, and Yuuto.

Kotaru is a small girly boy, who hates his feminine features and short height. He gave his cousin (Tatsuki) esp when they were little kids, and for that reason they stopped being friends. In the beginning of Volume 1, Kotaru transfers to Tatsuki's highschool, where he meets Yuuto, and the two become friends right away. Kotaru loves basketball.

Tatsuki is Kotaru's cousin. He hates his powers, and for that reason, he hates Kotaru because Kotaru was the one who gave them to him. He is quiet, and doesn't talk much, and is REALLY strong (like, scary strong!). All the girls love him, but he just ignores them. He is always mean to Kotaru, but yet, whenever something happens to Kotaru, he always rescues him. Actually, in the third volume, Tatsuki starts to freak out if even something little happens; like if Kotaru is late for school he gets really worried (aww...), and paces around until he finds him.

Yuuto... ah, Yuuto. He is always chasing after girls, and asking them for phone numbers (think Miroku from Inuyasha, cept Yuuto doesn't ask girls to bear his children). Yuuto also has a special power. He can see people's auras, and can tell what they're feeling.

Now, don't get turned off by the fact Kotaru and Tatsuki are cousins. It honestly doesn't seem like it, and I assure you, you will find yourself begging for them to get together! Tatsuki so obviously cares for Kotaru, but can't get close to him. Hands Off has its sad moments, suspenseful ones, and cuteness. One of my favortite things is that Yuuto and Tatsuki keep grabbing his hand, or touching him in some way, and he has no clue why. See, whenever either of them are touching Kotaru, their powers get better, clearer. So they often grab his hand. ^^ it is really cute.

Also, the artwork in Hands Off is amazing! Kasane Katsumoto has such a good style! Her characters are cute, yet sexy at the same time (and Tatsuki looks so hot with his hair un-gelled! ^^). The plot is good, and will keep you entertained and wanting the next book fast!

So like I said, even though it isn't in the yaoi category, you can definatly tell something will happen between Tatsuki and Kotaru soon. And even if it doesn't, Hands Off is simply too good to pass up! Trust me... you will be hooked.

I've just finished reading the "Hands Off!" manga 1 and 2 and boy, do I love it or what? *sparkles*

First thing first though. "Hands Off!" is not a yaoi manga. It's not even shounen-ai. It depicts the story of three high school boys: the blond Kotarou with the girly face, the womanizer Yuuto and the morose Tatsuki. The manga is about their friendship and about the cases they solve thanks to their supernatural abilities. Yuuto can see people's aura, Tatsuki can see the past and Kotaru... well, his ability hasn't been revealed as of yet but it has something to do with his touch.

Thanks to the ESP aspect of this manga, a lot of people compare it to "Eerie Queerie" but it's NOT "EQ". Although this manga can be humorous too, it's not your bouncy, giggly "EQ" stuff. These boys solve real cases: murders, kidnapping etc. etc. They catch real baddies and they get hurt. A lot. Especially Tatsuki, but about that later. So, if you thought that "EQ" was a bit too fluffy but you liked the theme, then I think you will love "Hands Off!"

And now to the characters. You can say that they are rather stereotypical. Kotaru is the blond bishie boy who gets himself kidnapped and molested and goes through all the misery that befalls pretty boys in manga. But he is not your usual sweet material. No, he is as bad tempered as any other boy that has been mistaken for a girl one time too many. But his only desire is to find a girlfriend. And that's why his character always clashes with Yuuto's, who is rather laid back but considers "fidelity" a bad word. He loves to tease Kotaru and embarrass him through pretending that they are "special friends". But he likes the boy very much and is always ready to help him out, be it with thugs or girl-related problems. And then there is the third boy, the morose Tatsuki, Kotaro's cousin, who is withdrawn and mostly rude, though he risks his life to protect Kotaru. He likes Kotaro very much but it was Kotaro's touch that had awaken his special ability in him. And whenever Kotaro touches him, this ability grows more pronounced and that drives Tatsuki on the verge of madness. And that is the reason why he tries not to get close to his cousin and keeps driving a wedge between them.

Even though Kotaro is your standard uke boy, it's obvious that it's Tatsuki whom the author loves best. There isn't a story in which he wouldn't get hurt protecting Kotaro or wouldn't suffer silently. Only Yuuto knows what Tatsuki feels since he can see his aura which reflects his mood. And just as a side note - I love Tatsuki best too! XP

But it hadn't been just the characters that drew my attention to this manga. The cases they solve are mighty interesting too. The boys usually find themselves right in the middle of the whole thing without actually knowing how but they always get their man. Although for Tatsuki, it's rather complicated to explain how he knows things because he has never told anybody about his ability.

Oh, and the drawings are truly excellent too. It's not just the style of the manga, the cover looks fantastic too. When you touch it, it feels a bit like plastic and the picture is done in this glossy way, so there are two textures on the cover. Great! Yeah, details, I know XD

So, if you look for a manga with a fast plot, likable characters and you don't mind the fact that it's not yaoi, then this manga is something for you. I would give it 4,5 stars out of five and the fact that I've immediately ordered all the other available volumes should tell you something...

This is the best manga series that i have read to date-- the only slightly annoying thing about this series is the fact that if Tatsuki and his cousin were flirting with each other, it would be incest. thankfully, and depressingly, i doubt they are so i'm pretty sure we're ok there. The art work in this book is very well done and for those of us who wish they had a guy following them around to save them from all the stupid problems we create ourselves,i wish to say "wow, this is just what i imagined being liked would be like!" all obsessions aside this is a good series because it goes in depth into a really sad story of two cousins who want to be there for each other, and fight fate and pesky supernatural abilities to do it.

please read it, you'll be glad you did.

Compared to other manga, I don't think the artwork in this book is all that pretty, but I have never read anything funnier. This series has a supernatural spin on the classic mystery story line. Kotarou has no idea that others' psychic abilities are augmented when they touch him, so when his cousin, Tatsuki, and his friend are trying to help him solve a mystery, they make up completely random excuses for touching him. Honestly, I've never laughed harder. Add that to the fact that Kotarou looks like a girl, and you have more hilarious incidents.

I really like the relationship between the three main characters. There's a lot of tension, but there's camaraderie, too. I'm looking forward to see what exactly happened between Tatsuki and Kotarou to change them from best friends to almost-enemies.

Volume 1 was a bit formulaic for me. There are three acts that all play out similarly. I hope that the future volumes add a bit more variety in the story line. I think once Tatsuki starts opening up, the story is going to have a lot more substance.

Hands Off! is a quick read that is guaranteed to make you laugh. I would recommend it for any manga fan.

The story is fairly good.The only part that I dislike is everytime the main character is in trobule his cousin swoops in to save him,that makes it really unrealistic and easy to figure out the rest of the book with.This is a review for volume one.

This is one of the best mangas ive ever read. A great plot, hilarious characters, and crazy problems.

To many friggin' chicks in this series, it is NOT anything like Eerie Queerie which at least had Shonen Ai. This Manga had 3 guys swooning over chicks - not something for ANY Yaoi fan.