Customer Reviews

Kizuna - Bonds of Love Book 1 (Yaoi)

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

 

 

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.

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!!!

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.

Rape happens in the world, and thus the subject is bound to crop up in art. However Kazuma Kodaka's rape fetish goes way beyond even the usual forceful male found in many romance novels. Ran never once consents to sex or says he wants it; rather his "man" must constantly force it out of him, protesting and yelling.

Some other scenes of more violent rape, including drugs and outright force in later volumes, are glorified in great detail. We the reader are clearly supposed to find screaming, crying boys very sexy. It seems Kodaka cannot write consensual sex at all, no matter the couple or the setting. It's rape or nothing.

Unfortunately, the above is not the only flaw in this book. The characters are not very interesting, the story is a predictable soap opera with random silly romantic obsessions and kidnappings thrown in as plot twists, and the visuals vary in quality (some pages are quite lovely, but others have strange proportions and choppy features and layouts).

Unless the thought of rape turns you on, or you're a fan of soap operas, there's nothing to recommend about this one.

These old copies of Kizuna by BeBeautiful were published without the consent of Kazuma Kodaka. The newest publications by June are now coming to us and I urge everyone to buy them instead. I just bought the new publication of volume one from June and I am very happy with it. Please support Kodaka and buy the ones from June instead of BeBeautiful.

I cannot recommend this series enough, to all the yaoi fans out there. It has everything a good story needs, and with the (sometimes nicely graphic) yaoi it gets a star extra :)

Over the series there is a significant change in drawing style, and it gets better with every issue :)

Venturing in the world of Yaoi thru Kazuma's work makes me really beet red.I read a review of this in Anime Insider and they were right on the money. I really dont read this kind of book/manga and I cant believe I am but the story, the characters , the art is so compelling.
The illustartions of Ranmaru are so beautiful(sigh).

2011S Six years later...I still have this manga in my collection. I had bad ones and good ones.This is one of the better ones.I cant believe I got into the world BL because of this book.I still have a hard time telling friends except for my gay friends whom I share these books.Some books are worth rereading and this is one of them.

Though alot of people don't like the art - don't take this into consideration. There is alot of yummy Yaoi bits (lol most of the book really...) to enjoy and you end up feeling sorry for the way Ranmaru treats Kei, but then again if it was like how I wanted it, it would be PWP. I don't like the idea of Kai ruining all the good bits between Kei and Ran but then again it's better then some annoying chick they usually have in Yaoi Anime and Manga (yay! a lovely change!) he should be with Masa. Buy and support this amazing genre!

Two stars because you can read this yaoi without yawning too much and because some plot ideas are excellent... as for the rest...

I am no expert, but I found the art quite bad: some strips are grotesque, some sequences confused. There is the usual anime censorship of genitalia: act strips are therefore unclear to say the least.

The characters are not particularly likeable, nor deep and they act irreasonably. There are some stereotype hints of humour, completely out of place in what is supposed to be a drama set in the world of yakuza.

Last but not least, plenty of the usual unbelievable blond Japanese and the obnoxious obsession for roles in homosexual sex.

I will not buy the other volumes.

I'm not really all that familiar with this genre of products but was intrigued into buying it from it's description. When I finally recieved it, I wasn't all that impressed. I almost felt a little rediculous reading it and decided to give it away as soon as I find someone who is A) seriously into Manga B) has a lot of time on his/her hands, and C) a total Pervert!!!

Bonjour, Ma Petit le' chiens!!! (Sorry, I've just started learning French)