Customer Reviews

Love Potion (Yaoi) (Yaoi Manga)

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

 

 

There are three stories in this enjoyable manga, each of them fun, light and having satisfyingly happy endings. This is not a manga dealing with a lot of introspection or angst, though the struggle our Uke suffers is my very favorite suffering one can have:

"Why must all these gay things happen to me?"

Yuuri is unluckily possessed of a pheromone that draws men to him like flies to honey. Though he clearly hates it, I found the whole situation to be quite enjoyable to read. Alas, only the nerdy `Otakus' with their fetishes are safe from his charms.

A student at the school he works at falls for him, but instead of trying to jump him as is the norm, Hasegawa is quite gentlemanly about it (He also constantly proposes marriage). Yuuri is increasingly sure that all men are simply slaves of the pheromone, and cannot take the student seriously, though Hasegawa continues to pursue in steadfast earnestness.

The second story involves a young boy who demands an older brother from his rich, busy father. His father complies and bam instant hot older `brother' who dotes on his every whim. This is a sweet tale of brotherly love becoming more.

The third is a short little story involving a boy with horrible bad luck who meets and is saved by another boy who apparently has good luck. Clearly he can pass this good luck on...with his body. ;)

Note: Though the couples consummate their relationship, it should be noted that most of it is done off screen or slightly covered.

<Spoiler alert>
I really didn't like this book. None of the main characters were very likeable. I felt bad for the seme's in the book, because their uke partners were really manipulative and annoying. In the first story, the guy doesn't like the effects of his "special trait", yet he is clearly leading the other guy on. His actions show no remorse for seducing the poor student. To add insult to injury, he even pursued a relationship with the student who was only in first year (what is that, a 15-16 years old?). He does make somewhat of a comeback, but by that time, I don't like him anymore. In the second story, the younger man is (again) too young, and worse, he's a manipulative spoiled brat. It is the duty of those around him to fulfill his every desire. Yeah, I couldn't relate to him either. The book doesn't have any nonconsensual relations (thank goodness), or I would've really hated it. The translations are pretty fluid, and the art is decent. But in my opinion, two stars is all it gets.

...but I'm glad I got this one! It was a very well-written story with good art and characters that were sweet but with enough 'bad' to make them interesting. ;)

I will look for other books by this author! If you like this you might like "Intense Rain" by Fuwa Shinri, also available on Amazon.

Hanamura is so cute and his Scent of the Butterfly that lures so many man and women to him is a fun theme to play with. Sakuya Fujii talents in showing the fun of this story and the love that delevopes between Yuzato and Hasegawa are great. I suggest that any yaoi fan would love this book and treasure it. I have read it several times now since I received it and still love picking it up and reading it some more.

Love Potion is a smooth shonen ai with the comedic twist of the uki's scent causing situations and some questions about the truth of love.