Customer Reviews

Just Around The Corner (Yaoi)

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

 

 

Toko Kawai is one of my must-read mangakas and this love story between a sensei and his much younger high school student is just so well told.

Yuuya and Kiriya met one night when they were at the lowest points in their lives. Yuuya, a gifted pianist, has lost his ability to play on his beloved instrument while Kiriya has lost both his job and his lover in one day. They opened up to each other and comfort soon turned to sex on the same night. They could have stopped then but their loneliness drew them together and they found themselves becoming week-end lovers with no strings attached. Imagine their shock when Kiriya turned up in Yuuya's high school one day as a substitute teacher and Yuuya was really not as old as he claimed and looked.
Thereon it is one emotional roller coaster ride for Kiriya and the 17 year-old Yuuya. The age gap of 10 years is not the real problem though the last thing Kiriya wants is an immature under-age lover. Their sensei-student relationship is the main obstacle and this soon proves to be true as they were found out in one tumultous scene.
Toko Kawai has done a marvelous job exploring this ultimate sensei-student emotional love story. It is realistic filled with anguishment and so much yearnings as the older Kiriya fought against what is right and what his heart wants as he succumbs to Yuuya's sincerity and youthful persistence. The scenes when they are forced to part with Yuuya begging Kiriya to wait for him to grow up is most heart wrenching.
As I read this story I was never assured that I will get my happy ending as there are so many obstacles in the lovers' path. It is not that I do not like Yuuya but I thought the vulnerable Kiriya really deserves a mature and caring man to love him. On the other hand maybe Yuuya will grow up to be such a man, as he promises his sensei.
The ending could have ended either way. Realistic me would have preferred a bitter ending but I could not complain about this ending which satisfy sappy old me. Highly recommended. Again such high quality packaging from 801media

The story revolves around Yuuya and Kiriya, who coincidentally meet when they're both going through a rough patch. Starting out in a casual relationship, they manage to support each other and the manga centres around the relationship that develops between them.

Toko Kawai is definitely one of my favourite yaoi mangakas, if you haven't come across her work before I definitely recommend it! As in her other mangas, the artwork here is beautiful and the story and characters are very well developed.

Even though the plot may not sound like anything out of the ordinary, it's so well done that the manga really is a brilliant read. The story has a lot of depth and is sweet, funny and completely engaging- it really doesn't disappoint in any way. There are plenty of hot scenes too- though I should probably mention that these aren't as explicit as you can get.

What else can I say? As far as I'm concerned this manga shouldn't be missed!

Yuuya has no luck, but that seems to be changing when he meets Kiriya by chance one day and saves him from getting hit by a car. The two men begin a friendship with benefits that helps Kiriya heal from a broken heart and Yuuya get over the damage to his hand, which ended his piano career before it had a chance to start. But Yuuya's bad luck starts up again when Kiriya's new job brings them face-to-face--at the high school Yuuya attends, much to Kiriya's astonishment and horror. Fans of Kawai's work will be thrilled to see that she again combines humor, drama, sex, and reality in a powerful story, but readers looking for a light hearted work that is tied up neatly at the end will be disappointed. There are a lot of interesting questions raised in this work, and easy answers are not readily available.

Kawai is great a building characters. Yuuya is a typical older teen boy, sometimes acting like a mature young man, sometimes seeming so young that it is like he shouldn't yet be in high school. But his moments of maturity are enough where it is easy to see why Kiriya would be mistaken about his age. Kiriya, for his part, is not a warm and fuzzy person. He is demanding and bossy, but also torn between what he desires and what the right thing to do is. Side characters are mostly foils for the protagonists, acting as friends and confidants or getting in the way romantically, depending on what the story needs.

Kawai's men and boys have an angular prettiness to them, but they also have a tendency toward stiffness, awkwardness. It's not a terrible downfall in her lighter works, but it might throw readers out of the story in a more serious tale like this one. On the other hand, Kawai has a nice way of drawing emotion in her character's eyes and her art fits well with the humorous bits. The strongest part of this book is Kawai's use of humor. She uses it not only to lighten the mood, but also add a dose of realism to the story. Kiriya's reaction when he finds out the truth about Yuuya's age is hilarious, even as readers can tell that he is furious. There are also some achingly romantic scenes, especially when Yuuya tries to play the piano again despite his injury. Kiriya's thoughts at that moment show the bond that ties the two together even with issues of age and personality.

The humor, though, is not enough to cover up the seriousness of Kiriya and Yuuya's situation. Yuuya is a minor and Kiriya is his teacher. What they are doing is wrong and Kawai doesn not hesitate to point that out. This is an interesting take, especially considering how many yaoi stories feature a teacher/student relationship. (Or how many shojo titles, for that matter.) On the one hand, readers will feel for them, seeing how much they love each other and how much each one needs the other. On the other hand, mature readers will probably agree with the idea that their relationship is wrong and very possibly hurtful, something that makes the sex scenes more difficult to absorb. The combination of those feelings makes for a strange read, but don't begrudge Kawai the element of realism. The reminder that reality and fantasy are two different things can be hard to find, especially in "yaoiland" and it is nice having a talented writer to bring you back to earth. If you're looking for a fantasy romance to make you forget about the real world, then this might not be the title for you, but if you don't mind a little thoughtfulness in your yaoi, then this is a strong choice.

-- Snow Wildsmith

This story is really funny and I really enjoyed reading it. It doesn't tame itself to serious but that doesnt mean the story is plotless.
The story revolves around two lonely souls who don't know what to do with themselves now that they've both lost something important. Kiriya, the light haired man, lost his lover and Yuuya, the dark haired boy, lost his ability to play piano. The two meet by chance and end up comforting each other. They decide to continue to meet up at Kiriya's place whenever they need comfort but their are no strings attached. The story gets going when Kiriya gets a job as a substitute math teacher at Yuuya's high school!
I really like the art in this book too. So pick it up. Its worth the read I guarantee!

This book was so sweet! For those of you who prefer "mild" yaoi, this book is for you. It's not graphic or filled with sex scenes, but very touching.

I love Toko Kawai's manga in general, and this is on well on it's way to being one of my favorites ever. My number one favorite would probably be Our Everlasting, then this one, then Bond(Z). Her guys are so hot! Her artwork is so smooth too, I love it! The explicit scenes are nicely done as well. There could have been more, but really, that's just me. There was enough to leave you satisfied though, which was good. It's nicely angsty but a happy ending, which I like. I don't normally like teacher-student love stories but I just had to make an exception for this one. It definitely deserves five stars.

OK then -- I do like this book. It was easier to follow than some of its' kind -- the art is really good, the lay out is really good and the story line itself is super. No spoilers here -- let's just say that I've seen it happen just like this and really thought it was done well.
HOWEVER, and you knew this was coming right?, I was disappointed by the preachey parts and I was especially disappointed that the end left me feeling as if the best was yet to come and I wasn't invited to see it! I want more of these characters but we're left in a place that's hard to come away from and be satisfied. This is worth the purchase -- just don't invest a lot of your heart in these fellows!