Customer Reviews

Passion Volume 1 (Yaoi) (v. 1)

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

 

 

I have been a fan of yaoi (gay-themed manga) since before it became popular in the U.S., so I used to just take whatever I could get. Unfortunately, this is the first manga I bought that taught me that just because it's yaoi, doesn't mean it's gonna be good. The main premise of this story is that Hikaru, a high school student, rapes Shima, one of his teachers (on the very first page!) and he must then make it up to him by "play-acting" as his lover, and also by maintaining a high GPA (don't even ask). Will Shima ever decide to become Hikaru's "real" lover? Before you're through the 1st volume, you'll already have stopped caring.

Rape is a common occurance in yaoi manga, and there is usually a lot of deep angst or emotion involved in it, from one or both people involved. There's none of that in "Passion". Hikaru just raped him because he loves him so much. Really! He even blurts out "Will you marry me?" right afterwards! Now if that's not true love, then I don't know what is. But it's okay, Shima doesn't seem overly upset. Like any good teacher, he just criticizes Hikaru for doing it wrong and tells him to "think about what you should do to make up for what you've done today." Okay, I know yaoi isn't supposed to be realistic, but "Passion" asked me to suspend my disbelief way too much. It isn't that they act out of character, it's more that they don't have "character" to begin with. We never find out why Shima or Hikaru act in the bizarre ways they do (volume 2 attempts to offer some belated explanations, but fails). There are some side plots and additional characters that add length, particularly in the 2nd final volume, but they supply nothing in entertainment value.

In addition to all that, the English translation is horrible! The language sounds dry at best, but it's often so awkward and unnatural that it made me wince. Not to mention Hikaru throws "sir" into his speech at the most irrelevent times ("I could imagine it was painful, sir"). And to top it all off, the sex scenes aren't even very impressive.

This is definitely one-star yaoi, but I give it two stars because "Passion" is still better than a lot of sappy shoujo manga out there that manage to be twice as unbelievable and melodramatic as this is. But unless you've already bought the many better-quality yaoi manga that are now available in the U.S. and you're truly desperate for more, I'd pass on this one.

the only reason i gave this book 2 stars is because gay themed manga novels are still hard to find. despite it's recent burst of popularity in the states yaoi is still pretty inaccessible. there's only a handful of titles in circulation. if there was a wider variety to choose from i still would have bought "Passion" but only because i'm a huge fan of the genre and a closet obsessive compulsive who has to collect everything of a specific genre.
the story definitely has a plot but the characters and the reasons they do what they do are never explained. also the choices they make are incomprehensible and uninteresting. at least in gravitation theres a comedic undertone to everything so the story can get by with a little fluffiness here and there. thats also the problem here, with passion your not sure what the story is supposed to be, between the odd way everyone behaves "let's pretend to be lovers till the end of term" to the ongoing flashbacks of unrequieted romance between the teachers the story tries to be too many things all at once and fails on all counts. also if your looking for good adult material this is NOT the book for you. when i gave up on the plot (by page 10) i thought "okay at least i'll see some cute manga boys gettin nakies" but the most you see is a couple of torso shots.
if you want some good adult material i highly recommend "Golden Cain" aside from a very good story it's sex scenes are pretty hardcore. and if your more interested in poignant romance that resonates, pick up "only the Ring Finger Knows". if your after light cute and funny go with gravitation. of course as i i said earlier if your a diehard yaoi fan you wouldn't want your collection to be without this title. if nothing else the art is beautiful as manga usually is.

Hi there! I hope this helps you if you are looking for BL manga of the Shonen-Ai or YAOI variety.

Storyline: **
Artwork: **
"Steamy" scenes: 2 non-explicit, and 2 or 3 kisses.
Nudity: Bare minimum - partially dressed or top half only
Did it keep my interest: Barely

Hikaru is a student who has a crush on his teacher, Mr. Shima. This led him to do something stupid, which he then has to make up for to Mr. Shima. The feel of the story is angsty, with Hikaru pining after Mr. Shima. Mr. Shima encourages Hikaru to study dilligently, and encourages Hikaru to approach him, but he still keeps Hikaru at arm's length. Add in an old flame of Mr. Shima's who wants him back...

If you're interested in student/teacher relationships and shonen-ai and are not fussy, then I believe this might be of some interest to you. The story seems a little contrived, with only one point of difference to the usual student/teacher romance story, and was not sufficiently original enough to sustain my interest. The artwork is quite plain and has the bare minimum of detail. The content is fairly tame, despite the promising looking statement of "Parental Explicit Content Advisory" sign on the cover!

Having said that, I still want to know how it all ends, but I'm certainly not on the edge of my seat waiting for the next installment.

With a name like "Passion," I was expecting something more...well, passionate. All I see here is a few power and mind games, sprinkled with not-very-erotic sex scenes.

The story opens with Hikaru, who is obsessed with his teacher Shima, raping Shima in an empty classroom. Shima, instead of getting angry or, you know, calling the police or anything, tells Hikaru that he should think about how he's going to make up for what he's done.

What follows is a bizarre series of events that I just can't swallow--a teenager with stalker tendencies obsesses over his teacher, while the teacher, fully aware of the obsession, uses it to manipulate his student. Hikaru is allowed to "play" at being Shima's lover as long as he keeps his grades up, and by the end of the book, Shima seems to be developing some tender feelings for his rapist.

The art is sparse and mostly unattractive; plenty of panels don't have backgrounds, and the characters don't look polished enough to carry the story on their own. The translation is awkward and dialogue unnatural, though I have seen worse. Combine it all with the weak and unbelievable plot, and I'm just glad that I won this book in a raffle; if I'd spent money on it, I'd have felt ripped off.

A student molests his teacher in a deserted classroom. Okay, that's how this book starts, but if you can get past the opening, the story is strangely bittersweet. The art was very different but the faces of Hikaru and his teacher "Sir" Shima are gorgeous. Volume 1 has some rough translations work in it, with very archaic dialogue, and it's sometimes confusing pairing up the dialogue bubbles with who is speaking. Volume 2 greatly improves on the translation work, and really hits you in the gut as the story progresses. Hikaru is given the opportunity to play "pretend lovers" with his Mr. Shima until he graduates. Shima comes off as being very cold and you start to wonder why HIkaru is so obsessed (but then you look at how beautifully Shima is drawn and the question is answered). As far as yaoi goes, this one was very different from the standard dominant/submissive paired couples. While Hikaru is dominant, Shima holds all the power of the relationship, which was a refreshing change. Volume 1 leaves you wondering if Shima's ex-lover, Amayima is going to break them up, and if Shima might not care more for Hikaru than it seems. Stick with it, get Volume 2 and you won't be disappointed in this suprisingly touching tale.

I enjoyed this manga, but presently it's strong point seems to be iilicit nature of the tryst, since there's a student making the moves.

Not that there are not YAOI with students making the moves, but the teacher maintains emotional control in the situation rather than become a complete WAAH WAAH uke as usually happens. Well, actually, it still might happen.

The twist with the lover coming back promises some serious angst, but there is already a lot of angst involved on behalf of the student.

It's like every drop of kindness from the teacher is water to a man dying of thirst (yes... cliche). Still, it's cute and I enjoyed the student making the moves, even if the teacher is so nonchalant it hurts.

This has like NO funny moments, and is seriously focused on the kid getting him some emotional attachment (he's already getting the sex, yeh). If you like that sort, it's pretty entertaining.

I just finished reading this manga and I would definetly reccomend it to any yaoi fan.

The art style is beautiful (A little reminiscent of Mars), and the storyline doesn't lack anything either. It's a twist on the normal pattern for stories with a teacher and student.

It's got enough sappy parts, but not so much that you'll grow weary of it, and it has enough steamy scenes, but not too much to make one timid. I'd say this is the best manga I've read in a long time, and I can't wait for the second one to come out X3

I'm a bit leery about reviewing a series before I've seen/read the whole thing--especially with manga and anime, as they seldom have the 'happy ending' my little Western heart desires. But I found volume 1 of "Passion" intriguing enough that I'm tapping my foot and checking my calendar for the release of vol. 2.

The illicit nature of the a teacher and student having a sexual affair seemed to be the focus of the story--which, in light of recent real-life events we've seen on the news--makes this a pretty risky release. (I wonder if the American publishers cut some more explicit scenes for that reason?)

Other reviewers have given Shima 'bad marks' for his treatment of Hikaru...but I think his behavior warrants a second look and some second thoughts. Compare the opening scene between Shima and Hikaru and the party scene between Shima and Amamiya (don't want to spoil anyone!). There's a *drastic* difference in Shima's reactions. There are a number of understated signs throughout the manga that Shima is more deeply affected by Hikaru than he acts or says. When one compares what Shima went through in his earlier relationship with Amamiya and how *that* ended, his caution becomes much more understandable. (And I'm with all those who are hoping Amamiya gets left on his player butt at the end of vol. 2.)

The translation is a bit awkward, the use of honorifics is...clumsy. The art is a bit sketchy, but it's not rough, and the commentary by the manga-ka in the afterword is *priceless*. (But then, I love reading what artists and authors think about their creations.)

But "Passion" is about that which is hidden, what lies under the surface, as opposed to what is openly displayed. A reader needs to keep that in mind. I only hope vol.2 lives up to this promise!

To start with, I've read both volumes, and I'd have to say it is absolutely necessary to read Volume 2 to truly enjoy this manga. (The series is complete with Volume 2.)

The artwork can take some getting used to, but the main attraction for me was that the characters do not look like little girls- though Shima has his moments... The sex is on the less explicit side of explicit; that is to say, the artist relies on angles to obscure all the "important" stuff and subscribes to the "vague outline" school of drawing when it becomes necessary. As with any truly good yaoi manga, the story is more about the emotional aspect of the relationship than the sex. The translation is awkward at times, but if you take the spirit of what they're saying rather than the exact words it doesn't impede the story. As others have said the translation of honorifics is clumsy. ...There really isn't anything else I can say about that, except that you get used to it.

As for the story, something I found particularly enjoyable about it is the way the balance of power is shifted from expectations. For example, Shima, the teacher and elder of the pair, is the uke(bottom) yet he also exerts almost all control in the relationship, limiting how often Hikaru can see him and insisting that Hikaru finish his schoolwork before they do anything romantic. "Passion" is a very complicated story in which almost all of your first perceptions of the central relationship are eventually challenged. A lot of reviews talk about the illicit nature of the relationship depicted. All I can say is, yeah it's kind of a dark story. It's about a love forbidden on two different levels... what were you expecting? The characters are well portrayed, and that's what makes the story worth reading.

For those who enjoyed (or didn't quite) this manga, I also recommend:
Loveless (soft-core shonen ai-ish, dark/twisted relationships.)
Kizuna - Bonds of Love (hard-core yaoi, difficulties facing an established relationship.)

Another of DMP's Yaoi Manga, it's not like most Yaoi Manga having the teacher as the Uke and the student as the Seme. It wasn't necessarily DMP's fault for my low rating of this Yaoi Manga but it simply the fact was I disliked it. The art didn't catch me and neither did the story. So if you are a true Yaoi Fan get it but if you only collect the good stuff, pass by this one. After all, two of the main characters get girlfriends and that's not my cup of tea when I prefer reading boys boinking.