Customer Reviews

Our Everlasting Volume 1 (Yaoi) (v. 1)

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

 

 

I really enjoyed this manga, actually. It's comforting to find good slash where the charcters are well balanced and human. This manga volume contains two stories: the first one involves a college romance between an outgoing, funloving surfer guy and a shy, academic guy who's been burned once before; the second story centers around a man who has mostly given up on life after learning that his heart condition is likely to be untreatable. Neither story is trite, and the characters are all very unique and well drawn. The stories are humorous and heart-warming, and the boys are quite fanciable.

i've been a fan of toko kawai for quite a while now. her characters are very human and flawed, but that's what makes them memorable and real to readers.

in "our everlasting," two very different college students find themselves deeply in love. however, despite the attraction, they are nothing more than just close friends. this volume slowly follows the changing landscape of their relationship, starting from being friends into something more. the one-shot included is an interesting love story about a teacher with a serious medical problem and his aggressive suitor.

kawai-sensei's art is light and pretty with a modern touch. the illustrations are well-done and dynamic. her men are slender, not muscled and buff, but really nice to look at. some might be androgynous, but you won't mistake them for girls. kawai-sensei manages to express her characters' feelings and emotions with her deft handling of facial movements. lovely.

the love story of horyu and shouin has to be one of the sweetest and loving you'd ever come across. their insecurities, attachment and depth of their love are explored in a realistic way that still somehow feel very 'pure'. it's also interesting that horyu and shouin doesn't really behave in the typical seme/uke convention - they really do balance out each other. shouin's willfulness and 'selfishness' also adds an interesting facet to the story.

in a way, this manga isn't a typical yaoi manga. it really emphasizes the growth of a love relationship as well as that of the parties involved. the characters aren't perfect and struggle with many of the same problems a normal person does, but that is the charm and strength of this manga, in my opinion. an atypical love story with a mature outlook of life.

one of the best yaoi romances out there.

I loved this story. There were parts to the story from both characters that the reader can really relate to. Its a beautiful story of not wanting to be alone and finding a love that accomadates that desire.

All 2 stories are well done. Miss Toko Kawai is one expressive Yaoi writer/artist.

In the first story, the scenes could be hotter and more explicit (The writer does explain at the end why this is not the case...). But the tender and touching love story more than makes up for it and there is an innocence in the 2 characters which I find endearing. Let's hope the continuation of their love story in Volume 2 will be wilder.

The 2nd story line is great too and the love scenes are more explicit. It may be a familiar plot of teacher and student in love. But there is a maturity in the characters which I like. I hope this is not a stand alone story as there is much Miss Kawai can do for these 2 characters.

Definitely looking forward to Volume 2.

Book 1 had some good character stuff, but Book 2 betrays the hard won trust of the shy hero, not to mention the reader. The One Star rating is for the series as a whole. However, the plotless nature of the story means that you don't HAVE to buy Book 2 if you don't want to. So in fairness to Book 1, I gave a two-star rating.

The story is essentially a series of little vignettes, mostly character rather than plot driven. And initially I thought the characters had charm. Horyu is a surfing beach bum and carefree womanizer. His friend Shouin is painfully shy and timid, but confesses his love anyway. Horyu falls hard, but Shouin's painful inhibitions and fears of making himself emotionally vulnerable could kill the relationship. There is an ongoing struggle between Shouin's tendency to clam up emotionally under pressure, and Horyu's tendency to temper and frustration in response. While I DO like plots as a rule, in THIS case I though just ditching the "plot" and focusing on day-to-day character/relationship stuff seemed like a pretty good idea. It made things more interesting, affecting, and human. But it also makes the volume 2 developments that much worse.

Warning signs in Book 1 include Horyu's surprise at himself for his own forbearance with his shy beloved, implying that he has been used to pushing himself on his girlfriends. The second story has a certain dumb charm which made me want to like it, but it also has a scene where a passionate Osakan youth won't take "No" for an answer from his heart-patient boyfriend until "No" turns into "Ack, I'm dying!" But I read Book 2 anyway and . . .

SPOILERS for BOOK 2 now!

. . . it turns out that Horyu is also an Osakan (uh oh), so what ELSE should he do but rape his pencil-wristed lover in a jealous snit. Anyway, after the rape, Shouin goes ahead and confesses that he HAD been with another man before they met, and rapist-Horyu magnanimously forgive his victim. The rape is apparently considered to be "wrong" in the way that a guy yelling at his wife after a tough day at the office is "wrong", quickly forgiven and forgotten, and all her fault anyway somehow. Whatever. To be honest, I couldn't go on reading after that. A quick flip-through showed them dealing with ordinary relationship stuff, moving on from college into careers, etc.

"Content" is R-Rated movie stuff, and the rape is between-panels. The most explicit sexual detail is in the Student/Teacher story in Book 1, and that's what in the olden days was termed "solitary vice". The art is not great, but was expressive of the characters. As with many DMP titles, the translation totally ticked me off until I found other things to be ticked off about. Shouin refers to an older student as "Mr.", for example, which was creepy since the older student was coming on to him, but I wish that's all I had to complain about.

If you want a good character driven romance, or if you read volume 1 and liked it, but don't much care for volume 2, I strongly recommend the Korean manwha NOT SO BAD by E. Hae. Like this it is a two-parter, and focuses on relationship dynamics rather than plot contrivances. But it has better writing and art, stronger characters, a moral center, and no filler side stories. And yelling at somebody after a tough day is actually taken far more seriously, and has more serious consequences, than is the case with actual forcible rape here.

My friends and I all agree: this manga is outstanding! Well-developed dialogue and plot make for a truly heartwarming story! I know if I ever feel depressed, all I have to do is look through Our Everlasting and I instantly get that warm fuzzy feeling inside that can only come from a great romance such as this!

Highly recommended to all romantics out there!

When I first read this book, I honestly felt nothing towards this series at all. Actually, the side story about a sickly man who isn't able to have a physical relationship with his lover really moved me! That's usually not the greatest sign when the side story is more touching than the main one. I mean, I liked the characters and the art was so beautiful, but it just didn't love it. It's one of those yaoi mangas that seem perfect in the summary, but just somehow lacks and doesn't grab you emotionally. I read it again and I cared a little more, but it still wasn't the feeling that I was expecting. I mean, it was good, but Our Everlasting just held my hand when I wanted it to pick me up and spin me around. But maybe I just had too high of expectations going into it.

Just as I said I bought this on a whim. I flipped through the book and Horyu caught my eye. The stories seems disconnected at first but as I read on they aren't. The events are just that...events in the life of two bishonen. The side stories are nice also. It's got just enough angst to keep you interested but not enough to depress you. The thing I really liked was the love between Horyu and Shouin and how their relationship developed throughout the two volumes. I think anyone looking for a boys love story will enjoy this.

Defiantly not the best Yaoi Manga out there, but this series may get better. It's about two friends who confessed their love to one another and bobs your uncle. Average story but instead of being mainly situated in a school, it plays around the fact the Seme is a surfer.
There's not a lot to keep you motivated into buying the next few titles, but it may get better. It's rather dull in areas and easy to guess what will `happen next' but it's up to others. Maybe other people saw a better Manga then I did.