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Hero Heel Vol.1 - Makoto Tateno
by shroud
What the publisher says:
"For an aspiring actor, any gig is one more rung on the ladder to fame. But for rookie actor Minami, the climb to super-stardom was a lot more glamorous in his dreams. Cast as the heroic lead in a TV superhero program, Minami takes to his job half-heartedly - surely a mere children's show is ... no place to fully showcase his talent? Despite Minami's lack of enthusiasm, he's soon lured by the obvious "talents" of his co-star, Sawada. Things get messy on the set when Minami stumbles upon Sawada lip-locking another guy - throwing him into a fit of disgust and confusion. Did he just witness the casting couch in action? Or is Minami actually falling for his ice-cold co-star?"
Kimi says:
This book was actually a lot of fun. Minami is an idealistic young actor determined to pay his dues on his way to stardom. he knows all too well that newbies don't get big leading man roles, and looks at taking the job as a character on a kid's Power Ranger-y type live action show as a way to pay his bills, gain experience, and get in the public eye, but only with reluctance. Sure there are better entry level parts in regular Tv dramas. right? Sawada is a veteran actor who has done more than one of these shows and is quite well known for it. He knows that a lot of hard work goes into making a quality show no matter who the audience, and a lot of special know how for working stunts and special effects is needed. Sawada is handsome and quite talented, so his seriousness about his job on the show and his general aloofness soon gets Minami's attention as he tries to show he too can shine.
In fact, he starts becoming a little TOO aware of Sawada, enough so that when he catches sight of that liplock, his mind wanders off into all sorts of directions it probably wouldn't for most folks. It's rather cute how he doesn't quite get why Sawada treats him the way he does, and how the pair come to reach an understanding professionally while the personal aspect implodes. Being Makoto Tateno, we are treated to some rather stunning visuals not excluding two gorgeous men doing some rather explicit things, earning this it's 18+ rating.
What sets this apart is the nature of the show and the little insider information bits on how the shows are made, which greatly adds to the feel and depth of the storyline. Minami is new to this, so he doesn't know anymore than we do at first, and it's quite interesting seeing how they rig up these scenes using a relatively low budget. It's a fun read with just the right amount of tortured angst to keep it from being too frothy. It has enough action for fans of the more explicit end of the genre to get their fill, but be warned that this is but the first of two volumes so you don't get the end of the pair's story until the next volume, so I recommending buying both books together.
You can preview sample pages at the publisher's page for it (http://www.digitalmanga.com/books/199/). I'd like to thank the publisher for providing me with my copy for review.
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Rabbit Man, Tiger Man Vol.1 - Akira Honma
by shroud
Dr Uzuki is a mild mannered doctor who works at the local university hospital. Walking home one evening, he is rather dismayed to discover a man suffering from a gunshot wound lying in an alleyway. The man is no victim of a robbery, and despite feeling decidedly out of it, convinces Uzuki to treat him without reporting the incident. ... Fearing that if he calls an ambulance or reports the incident in any way, Uzuki agrees as its rather obvious that the man is a yakuza. He hopes that by treating the man and leaving him once stable, that this will be the end of it.
What he doesn't expect is for the man to recall seeing where Uzuki worked, or his name. Nor that the man's fugue state will have caused him to believe that a beautiful woman saved him and "speaks to his tiger" (the tattoo on his back). When the man mistakenly comes to the hospital and strong arms a hospital stay to find his cherished "Suzuki", Uzuki is terrified. What will happen if the hardboiled yakuza discovers Uzuki's identity and that it's all a misunderstanding due to his wooziness? Hopefully, he'll give up and just go home, right? Or maybe not...
I found this story to be filled with drama and well balanced with a generous helping of humour. The disparate walks of life and polar opposite personalities worked together to set up the "mistaken identity" while Dr Uzuki's fears and concerns were laid out neatly and were entirely plausible, working to raise the tension while simultaneously setting up the next humourous incident.
It was also refreshing that this was not one of those stories where every single man in the story suddenly turns out to be gay except for an annoying brother or homophobic boss or whatever. Rather, here we have two men who identify as straight. So much so that when Uzuki administers to him in his hour of need, the semi-delirious and ever so grateful patient inadvertently makes him over into a woman to fit his conscious ideal. But it's the person that he's fallen in love with, and as the story progresses, we start to see a change in how each man views his sexuality. It's not a sudden, "OK, I'm totally gay now and women were a mistake" event either, but rather a discovery that sometimes, what we actually find attractive and alluring in others is not comprised of any physical body part, but the attributes contained from within. Truth be told, both men do not find this out in a sudden revelation either, but fumble their way confusedly as the tiger stalks his shy prey, which wants to run like hell in terror of getting a beating for being inadvertently deceitful.
It's a volume 1 out of an ongoing series (3 volumes so far, of which so far the first 2 have been published in English), so we don't get a rushed conclusion. Instead, this volume allows us to understand the set up, get to know the characters, and the story to build. So much so that due to its only mildly explicit nature (despite its niche market), it's rated for readers ages 16 and up. It's not overly drawn out either, and I have to admit the pacing kept my attention so that I was disappointed when I came to the last page.
Honma's art meshed perfectly with her prose, with the detailed expressions punctuating the inner turmoil being felt, adding emotional punches where needed. Her backgrounds were well thought out and her panel layout made for easy reading without confusion. Admittedly the men are a nice bit of eye candy, but that is a pretty standard trope for romance stories, and I quite liked that the degree of attractiveness was not overplayed nor was the doctor made to look like the woman he was initially mistaken for. The fact that Uzuki isn't actually serves to add to the humour of the situation.
A nice bit of male/male chick lit in manga form, it's well worth the cost of the book and a pleasant way to spend some time.
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Itazura Na Kiss Vol. 4 - Kaoru Tada
by shroud
Naoki is pretty fed up. From his often pushy school friends from the university, his bratty little brother's sulks, Kotoko's mooning over him, and his family's general meddling, he just can't seem to simply be. Deciding that what he really needs is to get away from it all for a while, he accepts a part time summer job at a rather posh ... resort. Of course, he should have known better. He may be an academic genius, but sometimes he misses the obvious. A posh resort during holiday season and the relentless nature of everyone he is trying to escape mesh together to provide a whole new kind of pressure cooker. But is the end result going to have been a summer spent in hell, or is the love struck Kotoko going to show him it's really the path to happily ever after?
Volume 4 of the classic romantic comedy neatly brings in Naoki's emotions. A tsundere type, we often just view his seemingly cold reactions to all about him, with rare glimpses of tenderness. Here, though, we get to experience the feelings of suffocation that he labours under. Everyone's expectations weigh heavily upon him, and after 19 years of playing the perfect son, he's more than ready to blow if something doesn't give.
Kotoko comes off as the stereotypical airhead with a sweet nature but who is exceedingly irritating to be around. it would be simple to dismiss this as being a bit of cliche writing, but it's not. Cleverly altering the way scenes play out to subtly change mood and reader reaction, we are experiencing Kotoko the way Naoki does. She exasperates him, and as much as he wants to escape her and her dogging presence, he finds himself drawn to her. This adds to his irritation in no small measure, and it is something he has to face and contend with, gaining emotional growth as he does so.
Likewise, events unfolding during the summer vacation and afterwards mean changes within and without for the supporting cast of characters. Kotoko's obsession with Naoki means she has learns a lot more about her crush than ever before. With that knowledge comes certain insights as she discovers his insecurities and hidden dreams. As he becomes more than a mere romantic ideal for her, Kotoko falls even harder into true romantic love. This is bad news for classmate Kinnosuke, who has carried a schoolboy torch for Kotoko ever since junior high. Determined to not lose, he pushes his efforts ever harder in what he sees as a contest for Kotoko's affections. The poor guy is is as earnest as he is clueless, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for the embarrassing mishaps he ended up suffering due to his rushed planning. he's actually a good guy; he's dedicated and hardworking, putting in a lot of hours to learn his trade and bring in a decent income. He's just not very good looking nor academically gifted, so over looked, and I couldn't help but begin to root for him to find his own true love and leave Kotoko to it.
By the end of the volume, this circumstantial romantic comedy had not only played its way through several laughs and sighs of exasperation, but managed to bring me along to where I stood immersed in the characters future hopes and dreams. each of the characters had moved on to a point where they stood to truly take charge of their own destinies if they would but seize it, even if it was in ways they had never previously expected.
Art wise it is very different than most modern readers of shoujo manga are used to. It's not bad art, but it doesn't conform to the often clone-like offerings that currently clutter the shelves of the genre. This is literally a classic of the genre, so what we are treated to is a style that predates this. It is the genesis of all the hapless heroine shoujo that followed and the elfin faced pretty boy heroes that they hanker for. Heralded in Japan as one of the greatest of its genre, to read this is literally to see where it all started. Without this, the face of modern shoujo would pretty much not exist as it does. Perennially popular, it has spawned not only an anime, but several live action TV series across Asia. Once one gets used to the art, the story draws one in and it is the small visual jokes that Tada draws in that really help move things along, making the art and the prose necessary for each other.
Available as a paperback, the series is rated a 13+, but I'll be quite honest. there was nothing here I wouldn't (and haven't) let my 10 year old read. if you have children though, take a read yourself, as just as with PG-13 films, you're the best judge as to what your own child can handle. It's a thick volume for a manga at 300 pages, but this is actually a double volume, containing what used to be volumes 7 and 8 so is actually quite good value. Recommended.
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