Time Lag (Yaoi) [Paperback]

Shinobu Gotoh (Author), Hotaru Odagiri (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 18, 2006

Satoru Tendou has confessed his love to Shirou Sawaguchi every spring since entering high school, only to be rejected with a cold stare. As the spring of their third year approaches, Satoru is starting to wonder if he should give up on Shirou or risk being rejected a third time. Will Satoru be able to convince Shirou that his love is genuine? Or will Seiichi Hiro, Satoru's friend and confidant, steal Satoru away before he and Shirou can reconcile their differences?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Satoru, often mistaken for a girl, has a strong crush on his long-time best friend, Shirou. He has confessed his love every year, and each time he is rejected. Unable to understand why, he decides to give up his quest, assuming that Shirou has fallen for the beautiful Seiichi. Seiichi, on the other hand, has fallen for Satoru. This all-male love triangle finally untangles when, after a three-year time lag, a long-lost letter arrives in Satorus mailbox, providing the catalyst that allows the boys to confront one another with their true feelings. This is a sweet and angst-filled example of the boys love genre. Filled with innuendo and a few PG-rated love scenes, the will they or wont they intrigue will surely charm readers. The fluid art style with its pretty male characters works exceptionally well. This one-volume edition is perfect for any library looking to add boys love manga to their collection without a huge commitment to additional volumes.–Jennifer Feigelman, Goshen Public Library and Historical Society, NY
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Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing (July 18, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569709211
• ISBN-13: 978-1569709214
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,453,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Attractive & Sweet, August 26, 2006

By 

A&M Junkie (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time Lag (Yaoi) (Paperback)

For those who fell in love with "Only the Ring Finger Knows" and "Little Butterfly", Time Lag is a must buy. A romantic tale about a love triangle between three sweet guys in high school - the quiet cool Shirou, the good looking Seiichi, and the sweet naive Satoru. Misunderstandings, secrets, and confusion meet our three heroes.

The main character is Satoru who is filled with unrequited love for his former childhood friend Shirou and, through a misunderstanding, starts to believe that Shirou is in love with his friend Seiichi. Drawn by the same delicate hand as "Only the Ring Finger Knows" - Hotaru Odagiri, the artwork is spot on and extremely attractive. Although the author of the story is different to OTRFK, the storyline is quite similiar.

This appears to be a one off story, and although it has a satisfactory conclusion, I would really like to keep reading about these likeable characters and see the next stage in their relationship. If you are new to Shonen-ai stories this is a really good place to start as it captures the romance but is not graphic.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sweet little tale, July 18, 2006

By 

E. Slavnic "ljubavnica" (Alb, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time Lag (Yaoi) (Paperback)

This is a sweet romantic tale of misunderstandings; Three years late (love confession!!) letter and triangle of love rivals make "time lag" funny and sweet, but don't expect anything more than few kisses. This one is for the romantics.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice enough read with pretty art., October 29, 2006

By 

Karnation (Queens, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time Lag (Yaoi) (Paperback)

This is a one-shot "shonen-ai" school romance about a love triangle, with a bit of a mystery thrown in at the beginning. The mystery was the most enjoyable part for me, as we are introduced to our hero Satoru, in love with his childhood friend, but who has been rejected and treated coldly since confessing his love two years earlier. A third boy figures into this - but how? It was fun to try to figure out what was going on, and fun to read the book over again once I was in the know.

The drawbacks: The characters are your basic lookalike prettyboys. Satoru's love is purely generic yearning, a fixation which does not change even after two years of being ignored and treated badly, which makes him seem kind of sad. The author tries to give this love depth by basing it on a past friendship, but includes little honest characterization and interaction in the actual story. TL actually seems to go out of its way to avoid such things. When the mystery is cleared up, the author throws in a few more misunderstandings to keep the characters from any real communication, which I found annoying rather than suspenseful.

As a result, although I liked the situation around which the story was built, the people reacting to it aren't all that deep. It's like the romantic subplot in an Agatha Christie mystery. By no means a bad thing if that is what you are in the mood for.

TL is by the illustrator of ONLY THE RING FINGER KNOWS, who does delicate and pretty very well, but it has a different writer. There is a little bonus story at the end written by the illustrator. DMP does a handsome production job, but makes annoying editing mistakes, with characters being referred to by the wrong name and name order getting mixed up.