Three's a crowd. Ranmaru and Kei have a strong and passionate relationship built on years of trust, sacrifice and love. When the mysterious son of a Yakuza boss starts to have designs on Ranmaru's affection, tempers flare, and hidden emotions rise to the surface. Will Ranmaru and Kei's love for each other be able to survive this difficult test, or will the emotional conflict finally come to a head? Will come shrink-wrapped and carries an 18+ age advisory.
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Editorial Reviews
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"A fantastic read...a love triangle, romance, angst, and a bit of tragedy mixed in, making for one tasty treat!" -- SequentialTart.com
"A romantic epic." -- The Village Voice
"A romantic epic." -- The Village Voice
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I'm so disappointed-please read my tale & understand,
By Joyce (Jax, FL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kizuna - Bonds of Love Book 1 (Yaoi) (Paperback)
Please don't misunderstand my rating. I love the Kizuna books...I have about half of the Japanese versions, and have spent several years cruising the internet for 'unofficial translations' and then handwriting those into my books so that I could better enjoy the storylines. Imagine my joy when I saw book 2 in a local bookstore...I don't have book 2, so my disappointment didn't hit until my copy of book 1 arrived. For the most part, I really enjoyed having the already translated books. The fact that the translations for these books didn't completely match what the unofficial translations said didn't really bother me...at first. I figured that it was entirely subjective to the translator. I've done 'unofficial translations' for friends, and I know that it's difficult to capture the spirit of the text and remain true to the actual text. It didn't really bug me until I got book one, which is one of my favourites because of the last story with Masa and Kai. Imagine my distress when I discovered that somewhere along the line, two pages were removed from the story, eliminating an entire scene, disrupting the story, and (in my opinion) changing the whole impact of the story. I cannot believe that no one else finds this distressing; I can only guess that the glowing reviews are coming from readers who are not familiar with the Japanese version. It's a pivotal scene, and because of it's removal the dialogue on the last few pages had to be changed and that loss affects the overall theme. I no longer have any faith in this translation. It makes me wonder what else has been changed. I will not be purchasing any of the other books in this publisher's version. Much as I would love to support them, and the endeavour to bring Kizuna to American readers, I don't understand their motivations. In the first book, we see Ranmaru get 'almost raped' once, we see some violent--and unasked for, on Ran's part--groping from Kei, Kai, and others. In the second book the reader is subjected to the visually graphic rape of Kai. I'm not objecting to the content, I just don't understand why [given the graphic nature of the book] young Kai giving Masa a kiss, and the subsequent chastisement for inappropriate behaviour was removed. I'm sorry, but I cannot recommend this book. I want to, but I just can't. I've tried to put this aside, but when I try to re-read it, just knowing that changes have been made taints the entire experience for me. It makes me wonder what else was changed. It makes me doubt the publication, and shakes my confidence in any other translation provided by this publisher/translator. I've given it two stars, because if you've never seen (or read) the Japanese versions, it won't make a difference, and it's still a good story. But for those who are already familiar with the Japanese version...well, I wasn't happy with the omission. It was disconcerting, and (to me) weakened the story.
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a MUST - have!!!,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Kizuna - Bonds of Love Book 1 (Yaoi) (Paperback)
Kizuna is one of the best stories I've read(it's funny, cute, romantic, dramatic -- it's got everything)!!!!
The artwork is not as great as Fake but the story is so strong you get used to the differences very quickly. The story itself is about 2 lovers, Enjouji and Kei, who are already very much in love but are challanged by many obstacles (Mainly Kei's brother Kai who is in love with Enjouji). Kai's father is a Yakuza boss and so Kai has his own bodyguard who is very loyal to him -- Kai begins to fall in love with him... their relationship is very cute and becomes more developed as the new volumes come out. The story is definitely YAOI so don't get it if you can't stand graphic images of ... you know ... 2 guys, um, "gettin it on"... So now that I've got that off my chest, I'll go back to my manga and drool some more!!!
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Start here,
By Deani Bean (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kizuna - Bonds of Love Book 1 (Yaoi) (Paperback)
As a big yaoi and shounen-ai fan, I'm always looking for new series in which to become interested. When I first heard about Kizuna, it was in its manga form and strictly in Japanese, which I cannot read. However, I liked the pictures and what seemed to be occuring in them, so I had a friend roughly translate a bit for me so I could at least get the gist of what was actually happening. Ultimately, this was not very satisfying, so I was incredibly excited when I heard that it was being translated into English.
As we all know, most manga (and anime, for that matter) are horribly mangled when translated. This is not one of those instances. While it's not a verbatim translation, it's damn close. The love story between Kei Enjouji and Ranmaru Samejima is very sweet and the main focus of this first volume. Kei's charmingly bratty, younger half-brother, Kai Sagano, is all ready to throw his 'wrench' into the happy couple's existence, but those plans become quickly squashed upon the appearance of his life-long protector, Masanori Araki, the right-hand man of Kei's and Kai's yakuza boss father. Masa and Kai clearly share a special bond, helping to open Kai's eyes and steering him away from Kei and Ranmaru. Volume 1 of Kizuna is very well done. Not only is the artwork beautiful, the story is very cohesive and the characters are all likable. It has something for everyone: romance, drama, comedy, even a bit of action, and let's not forget the lovely yaoi sex scenes. Plus, Be Beautiful did an excellent job of translating and producing this version of the book, which is very uncommon in many translated series. If you're wondering if this series is worth your time, stop wondering. It is.
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