DMP introduces new artists of the manga industry in this collection of doujinshi one-shots showcasing the US debut of Kometa Yonekura, Shiori Ikezawa, Haruki Fujimoto, and Goroh, among others!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Annoyingly non-reversible but otherwise agreeable anthology,
By
This review is from: Reversible Volume 1 (Yaoi) (Paperback)
A collection of 11 short stories by various authors, none of which seem to have previous works licensed in English. The most disappointing thing about this collection is that, despite the title and back-cover copy, very little role-switching is on display here. The most interesting thing is that the stories appear to be previously unpublished; in some cases they are possibly from doujinshi but others are apparently commissioned. The second interesting thing is the big 1 on the spine, suggesting that this may be planned as an ongoing anthology.
The third interesting thing is that June has apparently decided that "glowing cones of light" count as 16+; most of the stories are squeaky-clean, but some have a surprising degree of smut. Perhaps the rating is based on an average across them all... The first story, and the standout of the collection, is "Tell me you like me" by Saki Takarai (front cover): a chipper salaryman takes his pretty but grumpy boss / boyfriend on a date to the movies; a satisfying combination of smutty bathroom sex and romantic shmoopiness ensues. The art is nice and the characters are endearing; I'd like to see more by this author. The second story is "Perfect age" by Goroh (art) and Enoki (story): one schoolboy has a crush on another schoolboy, but the crush-ee has his own case of unrequited love for a third. The author's note says that this is part of an ongoing story, which may excuse its lack of narrative resolution; if the complete story were available it might be worth a look, as the writing and art are otherwise effective. The third is "Sakuragawa University cheer squad" by Neri Koizumi: A college student has crush on his young nephew's kindergarten teacher. Pretty teacher is gay (good) and has relationship issues (bad), but it seems to all work out in the end. The art is shaky in spots and there's rather more plot elements than a 26-page story can handle, but the author shows promise. Fourth is "Boyfriend" by Haruki Fujimoto: An understated schoolboy love-triangle with an uke-type who has unexamined feelings for a gay boy who, in turn, is in love with a seme-type who is probably straight; slow-moving and quiet but nicely done. Fifth is "Catch!" by Saito: Cute schoolboy couple gets accidentally locked in an equipment shed; sex ensues. Competently done but similar to a thousand other stories. Sixth is "Caged bird" by Kometa Yonekura: Standard-issue cute blushing uke / cool bespectacled seme boys-at-school story rescued from forgettability by a healthy dose of smut. Seventh is "It falls at night" by Shiori Ikezawa: Dating couple of schoolboys go on a haunted-house dare and get caught in the rain; smutty sex and a very mild ghost story ensue. Eighth is "Dear boys" by Misora Hatori: A mostly pointless and rather poorly-drawn story about a transfer student who is being recruited by his new school's student council (full of hot guys, of course), in which nothing at all happens, either plotwise or romantically. The low point of the collection. Ninth is "Office mermaid" by Tomoko Takakura: Germophobic, fish-collecting executive falls for doe-eyed, long-haired computer tech ("You're like a silver arowana!"), but his coworkers have to give the relationship a nudge to get past the guy's touch phobia. Cute and funny; the art is not spectacular but I'd happily read more by the author. Tenth is "Tri-color love song" by Kazuha: Another messy schoolboy love triangle; the third wheel is a seductive straight (?) boy who seems to want to keep the seme of the couple to himself. Has potential as the beginning of a larger story but not enough happens to work as a one-shot. And finally, "Happiness, fun, kindness" by Midori Nishiogi (back cover illustration), in which a guy comes across an angel sitting in the park and takes him in; romance ensues. Lots of talk about the importance of sex, without any actual sex, makes this one rather weak. In total, this is a mostly-entertaining look at a collection of newer authors, and even if it doesn't deliver on the reversibility front, it's worth a read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top, Bottom, Side to Side, and Back to Front,
This review is from: Reversible Volume 1 (Yaoi) (Paperback)
Just as varied as these (cough) spatial positions are, so are the stories brought to us by Digital Manga's Juné imprint. It is an anthology of stories featuring not just a diversity of plot lines and characters, but a veritable crop of talent from Japan who are making their English language début within these pages. The short story is a difficult format to master, and quite often short one shots like these feel choppy, rushed, or somehow incomplete. So how do these bear up? Seeing as each story is by a different mangaka, I'll look at them separately.
First up we have "Tell Me You Like Me" by Saki Takarai. First impressions are good. I see adult businessmen. I admit to having a fondness for stories featuring gorgeous men in well tailored suits or uniforms. So far, so good. The opening lines tell us it is an office romance, and there is as light feeling of awkwardness to it as the protagonist confesses it is not only the first time he has found himself liking a man this way, but initially he hated the guy as he was not only his superior at work (uh oh) but a real stickler for minute detail and depth on the projects they worked on. The jump to " a lot of things happened and we began dating" though felt unsatisfying. I found myself pausing to think, "Like what?" as it alludes to something significant that changed the status quo and brings us to this point when they are already dating. It was a momentary pause, but one nonetheless. It broke the mental submersion I had and I had to force myself back into the story to find out what was happening now. I am glad I did, as what followed was a very amusing little story about a small series of misunderstandings between the two lovers. Chouno-san is not only a precise and correct man at work; he is outwardly like that in private too, so when his junior co-worker and lover unwittingly and untactfully blurts out his surprise at an element of Chouno-san's previous inexperience in bed, he is not just embarrassed, but outraged. He in turn gives in to an outburst of his own, forbidding his lover to touch him again until he says so. Not that this is a break up, they still go out, and they are at the cinema, where the lover reflects on his previous error and hopes that holding Chouno-san's hand is at least okay. Unexpectedly, it makes Chouno-san blush, and erupt again after the film. It seems Chouno-san was under the impression that his lover was dismissive of his wishes and felt him up at the cinema. Protesting his innocence, there is no doubt that Chouno-san is embarrassed at the state of arousal he is left in. But if it was not his lover, who did it, and why? A visit to the toilets to relieve himself provide the answer, and it is unwittingly a misunderstanding caused by Chouno-san's own up-tightness. It is a fortuitous misunderstanding that sweeps away a barrier between the two slightly awkward and shy lovers, though this is surely not the last time they bump heads. It is a cute little story and overall it felt satisfying as a read. The earlier niggle I had still remains however, but it doesn't affect the overall quality. Rather it leaves an opening for a second related one shot should the mangaka choose to write the back story on the things that led them to being together, which I suspect would be just as cute read as this was. The art was good, in particular the facial expressions during the tense emotional moments. Quite often artists overcompensate for flushed faces and miss tiny line marks about the eyes, or opt to go with the warped chibi faces, which would not have suited this piece at all. The facial movements are subtle, and realistic, greatly adding to the mature feel of the piece. Goroh's "Perfect Age" takes us to the other end of the awkward spectrum. High schooler Atsumi lives in a multi-storied building and apparently as to share a room with a much younger sibling. Not the best circumstances then to wake up vocally from a wet dream then, especially calling out a a close male friend's name. Adding to his dilemma is his fear of losing said friend's friendship should he ever find out. After confiding to a close female friend, she counsels him that if it is disturbing his sleep, he has to face it, and that if Chitose is truly his friend, he'll understand. Not necessarily accept it, but be understanding. Adding to his complication is that he knows his friend already has someone else that he likes that way, a boy from his childhood. So, should he tell him or not? And will just getting an understanding, but still friendship level, response be enough? The pain of a first unrequited love is explored here, with great sensitivity, as is the boundaries of friendship with its often unintended cruelties. The art is a subtle as the action here, with emotionally expressive eyes and mouths that lend great credibility to the difficult thoughts and feelings being expressed. Far from being perfect, it is an age that most of us would never want to revisit, and this short story reflects the bitter yet sweet reason this is so often true. In the third story, we meet the rather interesting students of Sakuragawa University's cheer squad. Most interesting is the leader of the cheer squad. Openly gay, he makes no secret about it, and is quite the flirtatious fellow. So what happens when he runs into a guy he simply must have for himself, and not just for a fling either? Well, he strikes out of course, but is later glad he did when he catches him in an unsavoury position at a club he works for. When the cheer squad is hired by a local shopping district and his intensity during the performance attracts the undivided attention and affections of his previous target, what happens next? As the cherry blossoms fall, the pursuit is on. Neri Koizumi's "Sakuragawa Cheer Squad" is visually pleasing, but not quite satisfying as a meal, being more of a vignette than a fully fledged short story. It looks as if the mangaka knew this as well, stopping for the mere purpose of page limitation, leaving us with a teaser that spring brings another story. As this volume is marked as a volume 1, I sincerely hope there is a continuation in the upcoming volume as this simply left me feeling flat and bit on edge as the plot issue was not fully resolved. Haruki Fujimoto's offering, "Boyfriend", is a rather unique experience. Divided up into mini chapters, told from a different character's perspective, we get to experience the feelings of three young men as one comes out to them, confessing his love for one of the other two. The sense of utter confusion felt, of being lost at sea, and the desire for acceptance by the ones you hold hold dear are all examined here, in the voices of each of the three boys. Poignant and stirring, as it unfolds, we see that it is not just a story of one young man's coming out and uttering a confession, but the first real steps into maturity as the trio examine what that means for them all as friends. Will Ryouji lose those he cares about, or will Maki and Takahashi accept that this is who Ryouji has always been, and accept the burdens friendship and affection often ask of us? "Catch" is a sweet little story about the impetuousness of youth. A discussion about unsuitable behaviour in a storage shed by two other students at their all boy's schools leads an upper and lower classman into their own compromising position when they find themselves accidentally locked in after a practice. What happens next not only surprises the upper classman, but the under classman seems shocked as well by his own behaviour. Wide eyed the boys portrayed by Saito may be, but no longer completely innocent either. Still, all's well that ends well. Let's just hope someone finds them before too long though. "Caged Bird" is another school story, again featuring an upper and lower classman. Unlike the previous story, there is an undercurrent of unease, and it is the unease of someone who realises they are trapped, though not entirely unwillingly. A veritable game of cat and mouse, as the discipline committee upper classman stalks his prey. But is the prey running away or unwittingly towards him with a desire to be eaten? It has more of a psychological edge, making this a slightly more plot driven story with characters who are a bit more multidimensional than the norm for such one shots, with a nice diversity of character body types to match. "It Falls at Night" is a nice little twist on the ghost at the school storyline. Accepting a dare and using it as an excuse to fool around may seem like a good idea, but what happens when you get discovered by a night watchman? Not only that, but there is something quite off about the whole thing? Giggles, goosebumps, and a bit of chill down the spine from more than where your boyfriend is touching is what! It is admittedly lighter on the plot and heavier on the sex, but it is a good bit of a giggle that is about as scary as Scooby Doo was when you were five. "Dear Boys" is another half of a story presented here, calling itself a prologue. It sets up a promising scenario that if it continues to play out and is written well, will be well worth the reading. A poor student is asked to join the student council, but refuses due to needing to find a job to pay his expenses. This is not the end of the matter however, as the student council members headhunting him are more than slightly related to the teacher who is their faculty advisor. Unfortunately, he let's them do whatever they want, and it looks like this includes using his influence to coerce someone to join the student council. But why, and what do they mean that the boy is perfect and is the sort you'd want to make cry? Somehow, I doubt it is quite a bullying issue related sort of tears, but another kind... "Office Mermaid" is a... 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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Yawn,
By H.M. Jokela (Helsinki, Finland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Reversible Volume 1 (Yaoi) (Paperback)
For the month of February, this anthology was offered for free by eManga, and, of course, I read it.
I do find the idea behind the anthology quite likeable, but too bad it has absolutely nothing to do with it. "Reversible" as a term does not make me jump for joy in the first place, because once again, what's "normal" and what's not, but even if we accept the term, this anthology does not deliver what it promises. In yaoi the "semes" are more often than not quite tall and muscular and the "ukes" petite and wide-eyed. That's also the case in Reversible. There's nothing in this book that even hints at "reversible". Combined with unoriginal plots and sometimes horrifyingly bad art, this is one boring read. I can't remember what the rating for this collection is, but if you are waiting to see some action that is not kissing and hugging, there is very little for you to look forward to. All in all, one star for the idea, even if the execution failed miserably. I'd really like to see the day when they start translating bara-manga. If "reversible" is something you are interested in, I'd suggest that you google "bara", if you haven't already. To those more used to shounen-ai/yaoi, I'd recommend Matsumoto Inaki's Nakayoshi Wanko (also known as "Buddy Buddy Puppy"), or something of the like.
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