Customer Reviews

Only Words

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

 

 

This is a simple yet incredibly emotional manga about a Polish seminary student and a Hitler Youth. The subject matter is dark and controversial, yet somehow the story is still sweet and touching. The artwork is hauntingly beautiful, and more of the story takes place in the drawings than in the words on the pages. The little bit of sex in the book is rather explicit. The story does not have a happy ending, however, and the novel takes less than half an hour to finish. Fair or not, those two issues did affect my overall enjoyment.

While I would happily recommend Only Words to manga collectors and fans of poignant and heartfelt artwork, I'm not sure I recommend it for the casual boylove fan looking for a fun manga to read. This is more of a collector/conversation piece than breezy entertainment.

Wow. This isn't what I expected. I'd seen other Nazi yaoi from Japan, and it's mostly stupid, unrealistic, and it looks like its just the same old sex story, but with hot Nazis in well drawn uniforms--or if there is no sex, it's some unrealistic drama that's best seen on a ladies soap opera with lots of ellipses and little sense, but hot Nazi's in well drawn uniforms.

Not this book. Only Words actually has a story, and while it's not an earth-shattering deep one, it's something of a page turner, and I couldn't put it down. It doesn't feel like the kind of story that is formulated as an Excuse to have a sexual relationship between two men. I picked this up a convention, and the book is in great condition, though the print seems a bit dark on some pages, and I think there might be pages missing because it just abruptly ends after the artist `freetalk', with a blank page, and some publisher information. Given writer Anderson's reputation to love to hear herself talk, (world's largest Ego, really) I can't believe she didn't write notes for this book. The art is very interesting, and the artist isn't afraid of using black, in fact, Ms. Monaco seems to be a master of it, and her character designs are refreshingly unique and interesting. You're not going to find breath-taking bishounen in this one; you're going to find guys you might know. Another plus, in my opinion.

I don't want to spoil the story, but I can't help but share some of it. It takes place on a border town in Poland at the start of the war, and we meet this young man named Koby, who would've been a priest, had it not been for the German invasion. He attends school with many German youth, most notable, young men in the Hitler Jugen. One bit of Praise: Kudos to the artist for knowing her uniforms - I've seen too many Nazi-fetish manga that cater to cosplay fans by putting manga Jugen and Wafen SS officers in their Summer best and placing them in stories with snow falling or no leaves on trees. The Winter uniform just isn't as sexy, but it depends on how you look at it. Thank you Ms. Monaco. But that's a nitpick, apologies -Koby manages to provoke one of the young men, and gets him booted from class. This puts the ousted student's friend Oskar, on a mission to bully Koby; what he doesn't realize is that Koby likes that sort of thing. I know, it sounds weird, but to yaoi fans, it makes complete sense.

As I said, I won't spoil. It's one of the better written yaoi in English books I've picked up, because it's solid and it isn't all over the place, trying too many plot lines at once. It's like a film; it never strays off course and keeps you reading. I think most Yaoi in English titles suffer from an inability to find good stories to match great art. Yaoi Press is notorious is for this, thank goodness Iris Print seems to have figured it out. The sex is not impossibly lovely, in fact, it seems awkward in some panels, but the character designs are still sexy, if you're into `males', and not `genderless pretty boys'.

For such a quick read, what stood out about this manga was how much was gotten across in so short a time. Generally shorter mangas have that rushed feeling about them and I end up having difficulties caring about the characters at all. With Only Words, this was not the case.

Every incident has meaning behind it, building up this story of a student named Koby, who from the start seems to be one of the few who has survived the Nazi occupation with a good soul still intact. He refuses to see others bullied---regardless of how outnumbered he is---and ends up in a situation that leads to his acquaintance with the Hitler Youth, Oskar.

This isn't much by way of romance if that's what you're searching for. It's more about Koby trying to cope with his feelings, trying to understand his interest in Oskar, and attempting to make a life when everything he was counting on before has been destroyed.

The ending is not a happy one, and I'm sure it would put off many readers. Recommended, however, for those looking for something more historically-based, and who like their yaoi with more substance and little to no fluff.

Only Words does lose a few points with me, mostly for length (too short) and artwork that wasn't much to my taste. The characters are definitely male-looking, which will please some, but I found it to be a little too blunt to be anything of a favorite. The backgrounds, however, are detailed and relay the story well. This problem is mostly subjective, and I think regardless of whether or not you find the art appealing, it's still very much worth the read.

The lead of Only Words is Koby, a seminary student who lives his life honestly and quietly within the confines of society in Nazi-inhabited Poland. Affecting his life in a way that will forever stay with him is Oskar, a Nazi soldier, and between them is arranged a seductively dangerous encounter.

Koby is a somber character and, for the little readers get a glimpse, is a bit of a masochist, his personal sexual attentions on Oskar. The whole story carries along at a pace that suits Koby's personality, slow and steady, but sharply changes in contrast by appearances of Oskar, whose page-time is brief, but notable, in Koby's life (for which this book is only a small part of). Panels are laid out evenly and more sparse compared to most, with only about 2-4 panels per page. Honestly, it was nice to read it that way when compared to some graphic novels that suffer from an abundance of clutter.

As both a warning and point of interest, those looking for romance won't find it here, so don't let the tender cover fool you. What passes between the characters is lust, if anything, but fluffy love it most certainly is not. No complaints from me however, because the cold, harsh reality of it felt like a refreshing change from the usual unrealistic, forced romantics of many other stories. A little more dark and depressing than some may expect but thankfully not in a way that takes any time to wallow in itself.

With the end set up as it was, and the brief though impacting interactions that will no doubt have a lasting effect on Koby, I would love to see the story taken further since I felt this book worked to set up a great potential follow-up. By the time I'd finished the book, I'd really got the feeling that it was more of a prequel than a standalone.

I really liked Caroline's artwork here in Only Words. The style has a roundish, cartoon sort of appearance to it but one that compliments the dark story brilliantly. The consistency and cleanness of the work suggested to me much more experience than I later learned the artist had, so all the more kudos to her for such a great work! The character designs were fairly simple but undoubtedly gained their charm by the style portraying them. On the downside, at times the screen-toning seemed a little rough, almost as if it would've benefitted from insertion at a higher resolution, but they did still work well giving mood to the dark-intended scenes.

As a whole, I really liked reading Only Words but I definitely felt there should've been more to it. I liked what I saw but it only feels like only the start of something bigger. Maybe that's the intent, maybe it's not, but a little finishing emptiness aside, Only Words is a good example of the talent pool for global manga-influenced works out there and it's a read I'm glad I finally got to experience.

I follow Tina Anderson's work as a fan and I have to say this was a GREAT manga. a bit dark, a bit depressing, but with great writing and awsome art to back it up. I suggest this to any yaoi fan. It's a bit of a short read, but good none the less. ^____^

4.5 STARS. This is the first manga I have purchased from the new Irish Print publisher. I really enjoyed the novel, "A Strong and Sudden Thaw" so I decided to gamble on a western yaoi from them. It was well worth the purchase. The artwork is very good. The body proportions are usually correct, and the shading and backgrounds are well done without being crowded. The characters look real and completely male; though not as attractive as in most yaoi - but that is more realistic anyway. My only criticism is that the lines are a little thick (not cartoon/coloring book thick, thank goodness!) so it isn't as clean looking as the work of mangakas such as Yamane or Nitta. But, this is a personal preference and did not deter my enjoyment of the story. The artist is likely to improve in subsequent work in any case.

The story is set in Nazi-occupied Poland, and so the tone and art is understandably dark. There is not nearly as much dialog as in other yaoi I have read, but it fits with this story. Our hero finds himself almost unwillingly attracted to Hitler youth, Oskar. Oskar's feelings are not revealed, at least until the end. Hmmm, the end. What a SHOCKER! I will not spoil it here, but I will say that this is the first yaoi manga to actually surprise me with the conclusion. I will certainly look for more from Anderson & Monaco and may also check out Iris' other yaoi titles. Highly recommended.

First off, I should mention that I generally steer away from full on nudity (which this manga contains). However, I don't think the nudity here affected my opinion--because the story just wasn't... there.

I read all the great reviews this story has gotten and I got really excited to read it myself and fall in love with it. That didn't happen. The story is too short to tell me anything meaningful about the characters. I didn't feel connected to them at all. The only feelings I had toward them were annoyance (the main character was particularly aggravating with his constant 'tattling') and frustration. The story was practically nonexistent. There was some bare background details presented before the reader is forced into the main character's wet dreams before getting slapped in the face with an ending that made me want to yell in frustration.

The sex scene (because, really, there was only one) wasn't anything special. If it had at least been steamy and hot, I think I might have kept the book just for that. But, unfortunately, even in that area the book failed.

This story had potential. If the author had taken more time to develop the characters and their stories, I think I could have really loved this book. However, the shortness and emptiness I felt at the end was not my idea of entertainment.
I would not recommend this book.

so yeah! i finally got a copy of this book after waiting for its release for over half a year.

I do love this genre of stories, forbidden love and taboo love affairs between two people that should never be together, and Only Words is all about that. if you're not into Nazi stuff, this probably isn't for you. This book dosen't glorify Nazis, it just tells it the way it was.

it is a good story! i recommend it to anyone. Its a bit short, but what is there is good. :) Tina and Caroline did a terrific job!

and now for my detailed review (contains spoilers)

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its set back in 1939 a little after the German occupation of Poland. Its about a catholic boy named Toby, training to be a priest. He is constantly picked on my these asshat Jugen boys, although he secretly fantasizes about one of them, Oskar.

you see, Koby is a closet pervy masochist...and Oskar is a angsty teen with a troubled childhood. at one point, Oskar says that he is going to have sex with Koby..and they do..but afterwards...well Oskar commits suicide. After that the story is pretty much over. It didn't surprise me though, with a subject like this i knew there wouldn't be a happy ending. In fact i thought it would be more tragic than it was xD I figured both Koby and Oskar would meet a miserable fate, but with this story, Koby just goes on resuming his life normally..

my critiques...

TOO SHORT! XD i kind of felt like wanting more but then again i kinda didn't. even though the story was short, what was in the story was fulfilling enough. Besides, it would be difficult to make these characters have some long lasting love affair..Oskar was in the Jugen and he would probably be sent off to war..while Koby stayed back in Poland..and well, you'd have no story there!

but since the story was short, there wasn't a whole lot of character development. We never know why Koby is such a pervert and a masochist, and we never find out Oskar's true reasons behind wanting to have sex with Koby, or why he killed himself. although maybe it was just like the way it was in the story, Oskar could have just wanted to have sex with Koby nothing more, and was miserable with the way his life was going didn't want to be part of the war so he decided to end it all? I don't know, i reckon there could have been other reasons, but the reader has to guess that for themselves.

But, the story could have been longer if the two boys had a longer love affair while Oskar was still in Poland. Although, we never know whether he is just interested in getting some quick sex or if he actually was interested in Koby...so there could have been lack of story if all Oskar wanted was a one night stand....and if they just kept having sex with no meaning to it, the story would be kinda boring.

but then again its not fair to demand more from these girls, they don't have the time to dedicate everything into making a graphic novel, if they had to opportunity to do so maybe they could have made the story longer and with more content. but like i said, even though it was short and there wasn't a whole lot of character development the story was still fulfilling for me. and i enjoyed it a lot!