Customer Reviews

JUNJO ROMANTICA Volume 1: (Yaoi) (v. 1)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I downloaded the scantilations of this and the subsequent volumes years ago, but I am ecstatic to see this here in an official (and probably better translated) form! Nakamura-sensei has a wonderful sense of humor and the comedy in this is enjoyable without making the story too slapstick.

While the romance between Misaki and Usagi-chan-sensei is slow-going, both are well-defined characters and their relationship is established in this volume. You can't help but feel for them both as they struggle to impress Misaki's older brother: Usagi with his unending friendship to the man who unknowingly broke his heart; Misaki doing his best to reach the dream that his brother sacrificed for his sake. The sexual tension is light, but that doesn't stop the sex scenes from being erotic.

The second story is actually connected to the first through a character, but you won't discover that until later volumes. Right off the bat, Nowaki's sincerity and straight-forwardness captured my heart. Hiroki shares a lot of personality traits with Misaki in his short temper and perseverence, but he's just helpless to his partner's charms. One of the nice things about this story as opposed to Misaki/Usagi's is that the roles are less stereotypical. Nowaki (the seme, despite being the younger of the two) is the definite persuer, but he's emotionally open and genuine, where Hiroki is more aggressive and emotionally unsure.

Both stories are light-hearted and the erotica lovely. Don't be turned off by the angular style (Nakamura-sensei draws her boys thin and their hands large), the story is well worth any oddity there. The characters are unique, expressive and a lot of fun. Definately a great addition to any collection.

fantastic in a plot what plot sort of way...
not that there isn't a plot, it's just that the first thing you notice is the... extreme lack of plot.

this volume focuses on two couples getting together.
first misaki and usagi, who have the longest story in this volume.
usagi is an cliche spolied rich boy (jokes are made) who writes award winning novels. oh... and yaoi comics. with sex. and the protaganists are named after usagi-san and misaki's older brother? wha?
misaki freaks out, and usagi confesses he's always loved misaki's brother, even though he'll have to suffer in silence because big brother is clueless (and straight) big brother introduces his friend to the woman he's going to marry, and misaki cries for usagi. "you wept for my broken heart."

i won't tell you anything else, but the plot is nice, the explicit content is worth the looks you'll get from people who see you buying it, and the sense of real people in an imperfect world is really good to see in a manga.

I picked this up in a bookstore because I'd finished Hybrid Child and noticed that it was done by the same manga-ka. The art, while still great, is not quite as breathtaking as Hybrid Child's was.

The plot is intriguing, if confusing at certain points. I have to say, I would have liked at least one completely consentual sex scene in the first half of the novel, but it will not be enough to deter me from buying the next book in the series. And the one after that. And probably the one after that.

There are two stories within one manga: one is about Misaki Takahashi & Akihiko Usami, the other is about Hiroki Kamijo & Nowaki. The begining of these two stories are connected by heartbreaks and finding new love in unexpected places. Both Misaki & Hiroki are extremely shy about their feelings so it's a cute story about the difficulties of a relationship.

I acutally only just got and read this manga today.
After reading the first few pages I was left confused as to what the hell was happening but everything was explained. It was just a 'jump' straight into the plot and made no sense but it's a minor detail.
The book was great - the sex scenes weren't graphic (cones again, if not just plain invisible) and the plot wasn't too strong that it over powered everything.
I won't say to much about the real plot except it's more trying to find love and stay close to them.
The art isn't gorgeous, just plain and pretty in certain areas. Sometimes I thought the art was silly in the overreacting scenes.
But it's a funny Manga with the romance and tones of sadness. It's a good series for someone to collect you loves Yaoi but don't expect anything to hardcore.

I absolutely adore this series. I recently came across this work and I read the scans first and now own the series. The stories are heartwarming and filled with love and romance. It is the best romance read I have enjoyed in a long time!

I LOVE the Junjo Romantica series! But, I do warn, STRONG YAOI. In the first book (this book) it introduces two out of the three couples in the series!

After an appointment with the dentist, my father took me to the local "Hastings Book Store" to look around for a bit. I am a fan of manga/anime, so naturally, I went to their manga isle. Scanning the shelves, I saw nothing of interest. Before walking away, the pink cover caught my eye. "Junjou Romantica, huh?" I thought to myself. Picking it up, I started flipping through it. I was only able to read bits and pieces of it, so I didn't get the whole picture of what it was about. Storing it behind other books for next time, I left Hastings for home. The next time I visited Hastings, I bought the book and brought it home, eager to finish what I had previously started.
Needless to say, I was converted to yaoi that day.

"Junjou Romantica" is a boys love series that has 3 separate stories in it, each focusing on different conflicts: Junjou Romantica, Junjou Egoist, and Junjou Terrorist. The main (and most popular, according to recent polls) story is about a young boy named Misaki, who is struggling to pass his college entrance exams. His brother suggests a tutor named Akihiko Usami, and old friend who graduated top of his class. But, Usami is a famous BL novelist, known for his deep plots and smutty writings. At first, Misaki is disgusted by Akihiko, but after spending time with him, he realizes he may be falling in love. "And so begins the bumpy relationship of this odd couple, filled with comedy and pure romance..." says the description on the back of the book.

I personally own vol. 1-9, and hope to buy the rest this Christmas. The series has never failed to give me a good laugh, while tugging furiously at the strings of my heart. It is a must read for any yaoi fan. 5 stars-- totally recommended.

For those of you that are new to the yaoi manga genre, you should be aware that this particular genre of manga has only recently started to be widely translated and published in America; maybe for about the past 10 years - that is not very long ago considering that some of the original manga and anime series were making it over here as early as the 70's. That said, this series, first published in America in 2006, is one of the older yaoi releases that was available at the time.

Over the years the Junjo Romantica Series has spawned several books (I think we're headed upwards of #13 at this point) and now has its own drama TV series. So as you can see, things have gone well.

The first book has two sets of couples. The main couple revolves around Misaki and Usami (Usagi to his lover and friends = silly Japanese nick-name). Their relationship starts off with a not-so-welcome bang and slowly but surely develops into one of longing and unexpected affection. Don't be fooled though, this series wouldn't have been around for so long if Misaki (the Uke in denial) just caved in and took all the loving that Usagi (a true Seme in every way) had to give...Misaki puts up a good fight (or pretends to) and keeps you laughing at his attempts to convince himself that he's not gay; he just happens to have feeling for and enjoys sex with another man...heh.

The second couple in the first few books (1-4 maybe?) is centered around two characters who exist and interact in the same world as Misaki and Usagi. The Uke, Hiroki (Hiro-san to his lover) is older and was childhood friends with Usagi-san. (For those that are familiar with yaoi plot set-ups...childhood friendship is almost always an indicator of potential one-sided love). The Seme, Nowaki, discovers Hiroki crying over his lost love one day and falls for him at first sight...despite being several years younger then Hiro-san Nowaki peruses his interests with the single mindedness of a true Seme (even though he is uneducated and less experienced) and eventually wins over the once frosty heart of Hiroki with his natural warmth and devotion. As this series progresses more characters and couples are added (all within the world of the original main characters), and I have found that I learn to love each pairing for their own reasons.

Despite the 'over the top' lifestyle that Usagi has, most of the other characters are down to earth and have to deal with real world problems in their relationships. Nakamura sensei does a very good job of delivering lively and expressive characters. Her plot line for the first book was neither too serious nor was it overly humorous; I'd say it was just perfect for an introductory book to a longer series. As the books progress so does the plot and character development. Although I will say that she is a VERY funny artist and this is reflected in her chibi panels; you'll laugh for sure at some of Misaki's more dramatic reactions - I call them 'angry cat' moments. At the same time some of her panels are done with such grace and maturity that I found myself almost crying along with the characters in the book; the true mark of a good artist.

Overall her art is not flowery or 'pretty' in a conventional way, but I enjoy it and have found that over time it has simply become the Nakamura Sensei style that I appreciate in her books. In the earlier books her sex scenes aren't very graphic (nothing you couldn't read on the bus or at the park) but she gets more 'adult themes' oriented in some of the more recently published books. Never fear though...the sexiness is still in the first book and despite not being very graphic it is indeed very mature and smokey! In my opinion she more than makes up for it with her plots and how deeply she can take the reader into the world of the book. As this series progresses you may find that these characters and their relationships really grow on you until you find yourself wanting them to be happy as if they were real people; and that, to me, is the best kind of story. Whether you consider yourself a veteran yaoi collector or are only starting to get into the genre I would urge you to add all of these books (in order...so that you understand all of the progress that's made) to your collection.

This was such an exciting day when I came to my house and I had received my book. The book came in such a great condition; I swear, it had that new product smell to it. It was in very good condition, no torn pages or anything, and such beautiful page colors. I was glad I ordered my book of this site, I really was. I surely won't regret it, and its just my start of the exploration here.