There it is, Plain as Daylight

Gestalt, Vol. 1
By Yun Kouga
Published by Viz Media

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Father Olivier is a young priest with low-level magical powers who leaves his order to seek out an island called “G,” where it is said that any explorer’s wish may be granted by the exiled God who sleeps there. As he begins his journey, Olivier ends up performing a miracle for an innkeeper who welcomes him as a guest. It’s a small miracle, which Olivier considers payment for his room, but the innkeeper insists he accept a thank-you gift in return. The “gift” turns out to be a pretty, young slave woman named Ouri, who has had a spell cast on her to keep her from speaking. Initially refusing to take a human as a gift, Olivier is eventually persuaded by the slave herself, who does not want to be sold off to the highest bidder. Continue Reading »

Future Lovers, Vol. 2
By Saika Kunieda
Published by Deux Press

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It’s been a year since the events of volume one and Kento and Akira have become comfortable in their relationship, though there are still a few surprises in store, beginning with a visit from Akira’s mother, a pampering, ostentatious multiple divorcée with a somewhat scandalous past. New revelations about Akira’s background cause some turmoil in his relationship with Kento but as with most everything in this story, the conflict gives each of them a deeper understanding of the other, ultimately strengthening their relationship. As the volume continues, the two of them confront coming out to friends and colleagues, Kento’s jealousy of a former teacher of Akira’s, and the complicated question of same-sex marriage in Japan.

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As I’ve poked around the manga blogosphere over the past few days, I’ve found myself developing a number of Opinions (with a capital “O”). Whether this is a good thing or not remains to be seen, but it is the kind of thing that compels me to blog and so here I am. Opinion, the first:

This morning I followed a link from Brigid Alverson’s mangablog to an article on the Yaoi Press blog regarding an issue they had experienced recently with a printer, Docucopies, who refused to print their Yaoi Coloring Book due to images they found “disturbing.” Continue Reading »

We Were There, Vol. 4
By Yuki Obata
Published by Viz Media

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“Why do people make promises they can’t keep?”

After hastily announcing that she was ready to have sex with Yano at the end of volume three, this volume opens with Nana in a state of abject terror as she’s faced with actually doing the deed. Reassured by Yano’s unexpected sweetness, she shakily plunges in only to be interrupted by the return of Yano’s mom before anything can really happen. Though this is somewhat of a relief for Nana, Yano immediately begins trying to raise money for a love hotel which Nana manages to stall by suggesting they save up for something nicer. The volume’s charmingly awkward beginning becomes more troubled in later chapters when Nana finally persuades Yano to tell her the truth about his association with his ex-girlfriend’s sister, Yamamoto. Yano’s past with Yamamoto, however, is not nearly as difficult for Nana as the discovery of his lingering feelings for his deceased ex, revealed in a stunningly poignant scene at the end of the volume.

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