BLU

BLU manga is a sub section of Tokyopop which produces a lot of Yaoi or more adult manga which features a lot of gay romances largely geared towards the female and gay market of readers with slightly more graphic sexual situations they are largely given and age rating of 16+, Mature or explicit contents.


Yuki Shimizu

A Feale manga artist from Japan, Love ode was her biggest hit; she is very health conscious and loves motorcycles.


Plot

A young man who attends high school called Izumi is promised a hot older date by his friend over the school holidays however after waiting for nearly half an hour he wonders he if he been stood up. Just then another young man stumbles past him and drops a rose at his feet, the young man then stumbles on. Izumi picks up the rose wondering what's happened he is then approached by a tall handsome older man who seems to know his name. Izumi thinks he's been had but since the man is willing to pay for everything on the date he goes along with it.

Further into the evening things get hot and steamy and Izumi gets more than he bargains for when he is taken to a hotel room and the man takes his virginity. The next morning both shocked and distraught the older man sets a large wedge of money beside him and says he would like to him the next time. Angry and offended Izumi tells him that he is not an escort. It turns out the man who dropped the rose was also called Izumi and was part of a male escort service.

Despite the mix up the unlikely couple find true love through the mix up though Izumi is very confused by his new found interest in the same gender. He treats his new found partner very horribly at first but when he finds out feelings are mutual the relationship grows.


The characters

Izumi- A stubborn High school students with a bit of an attitude, he constantly likes to test peoples trust.
Takamiya-A tall handsome older man who initially mistakes Izumi for an escort, despite the mix up he falls automatically in love with Izumi despite his protests.

Aoe-Takamiya's close friend who runs the escort service, he is pretty fierce in temperament but is also extremely tall dark and handsome and is never seen without a cigarette, he plays a nasty trick on Izumi by giving him a special brand of aphrodisiac chocolates to test his relationship with Takamiya.

The story has a good pace and flows as one story as opposed to real separation with chapters, there are much less breakages in the plot than manga I have previously reviewed.

The art work is very detailed with almost a retro look to it but does contain much male nudity so I wouldn't recommend this for under 18s. It is not all about the sex however as there are other aspects to this manga such as mafia involvement family issues, bullying physical and sexual assault, abduction, kidnapping and much physical and graphic violence also.

The storytelling is very good and the characters are well developed in the first volume. You are highly encouraged to read on to see what happens next and I have become quite addicted to this series. I am now on volume 8 and I have to say the stories get a lot more emotional and heartfelt as the series go on. Many more characters are integrated along the way too along with some slapstick comedy.

At the end of the day it's not for everyone as it does have many graphic violence and sex scenes and deals with serious issues such as abandonment, abuse and acceptance.

I actually prefer this series to other BLU manga such as Junjo romantca however as the flow seems so much better with less interruption and it deals with a lot more serious and topical issues.

I am pretty sure that I got the first volume for £4.99 but the retail value is £6.99 or there about on amazon.co.uk and good manga stores.

There is also a volume preview and some advertisements for other manga in the BLU range at the back of this volume.