Comics Books

Thus far I liked this book best compared to the other volumes in the series, even though they're alle terrific. The first story is quite long, Dee and Ryo have to investigate the case of a bomber. After the bomber has planted a bomb in a house near Bikky's school and even one in the police station, where Ryo and Dee work, he plans to detonate one in the school itself. When Dee tries to prevent the detonation, he finds his own life in grave danger.

The second story is one with Bikky and Carol. Bikky wants to buy Carol a gift for her birthday and works overtime to get together enough money for it. And the third story with Dee and Ryo in which Dee get's ill and Ryo cares for him.

If you love the series, you'll love this book. The story flows right along, and in this volume you'll love the "explosive" scene right before the middle. Can you say "KAAABOOOOOOOM!!!" But it get's touching right after that, Ryo-style. *tear* But JJ sure is a character that'll lift the mood right back up... and cause it to errupt in humor of course!!! Now before I ruin it, Later. Oh and pick up the book, you'll love it. ^_^

I kinda stumble onto this series, and man, I fell in love with it! I used to stay away from so-called "boys love" (yes, that's how it's called in Japan) stuff because many times those Japanese men were depicted in such a feminine way. But this series is totally refreshing for they are just "regular" men who are in love with another "regular" men, know what I mean? This is the Must Own series, not to just read at bookstore and leave 'em there. And, just because I am fluent in Japanese, I ordered the original version of the series and am to pick 'em up when I get to Japan, hehehe. I can't wait to read their original dialogues. I wish they make more videos/DVD's based on the stories, not only one :( But, take it! There are some CD's out, too, yay!

This is my all time favorite series - even though it's only Shonen Ai it is the greatest Manga Series out there. The art is great and the story is funny and sweet in a lot of places, especially when it reveals how much the two main characters care for one another. It focuses on Dee Laytner and his persistence to get into the pants of his new partner Ryo Maclean, your average uke not knowing what to make of Dee's advances and Dee isn't the only one after Ryo, their new boss Berkley Rose is and Dee has his own admirers including one hyperactive jealous JJ, who hates Ryo. This is a must have series for any Yaoi or Shonen Ai Fan!

Yes, that's right, genius work! A lot of people would completely disagree with me on this series (specifically friends) but I completely adore it. FAKE is freaking awesome and the fourth book is so cool. It's very touching and sweet and wow, there's a plot, how amazing is that? The action is absolutely amazing and I completely love how Matoh depicts New York city life, although she's way off on the kinds of people who live here and how the buildings look and such, but she completely gets the perfect NY attitude. The fourth book deals with a mad bomber destroying Dee and Ryo's precinct...and the rest, you'll have to find out for yourselves. I would recommend this book to absolutely everyone if I could, but I suggest whoever reads it not be offended by boy on boy relationships or cursing. There's a lot of both. There's an OT rating on the book so that means there are certain scenes not suitable for anyone under the age of 16.

From the remarkably eloquent foreword to the beautifully drawn and written stories, each page of this graphic novel shines. The narratives are subtle and Chekhovian in their ability to evoke emotion and mood. They're also just plain funny. A must-read, especially for anyone who's spent time out of U.S.

The humour in this intimately-written graphic novel hits home with its baldly honest, personal stories. Like others, I didn't want the book to end, and found myself slowing the read by spending extra time with the expressive and fabulously rendered comic panels. Very entertaining & excellent to pass on to friends.

What a lovely book! The title conveys the sense perfectly. These finely drawn stories capture the moments any traveller will recognize, when throwing yourself at the mercy of the world leaves you exposed not only to things mind-blowingly new but also to your own template--sensory memories, childhood perceptions, early hurts and wonderings. Any reader who is interested in travel will appreciate this book, whether or not she usually likes comics. A FEW PERFECT HOURS works on so many levels, I've found myself leaving it out and turning to it again and again.

"A Few Perfect Hours" isn't the kind of work you can easily peg: A graphic novel, it's also the kind of compelling travel writing that takes you on a journey both inside and beyond yourself, to off-the-beaten-path adventures in countries that no longer exist precisely the way they did when Josh & his wife Sari once traveled the globe. The result is a journey in time as well as one between borders. With pieces ranging from humorous to thought-provoking, Neufeld shows he is as capable of fascinating us with his writing as he is with his illustrations. Both bear up to several visits. In fact, it might be worth reading the whole book through once for the stories, again for the visuals, and at least once more to explore how the two interact.

A tip-off to the care he took inside, Neufeld packaged his work in an impressive form (paper, ink, and front and back matter) that makes "A Few Perfect Hours" a beautiful book that stands apart on the shelf. The result is a very readable, rewarding graphic novel that would be equally perfect tucked in a backpack or lying on a coffeetable.

Much will be (and has already been) said about Josh Neufeld's journey -- spiritual, emotional, physical, and otherwise -- as he depicts it in this insightful compilation (and indeed it is highly satisfying for a reader to observe -- as a voyeur safely removed from the frequent moral quandaries one faces when travelling abroad -- Josh's struggles while schlepping his American-bred presumptions around the globe). But as gratifying as these anecdotes might be, what really stikes me the most is his journey as an artist. Here is not simply the chronicles of a young man and his adventures in a comic book format, it's also the chronicles of an artist: years of experimentation, study, and refining a singular vision and style. This book did not happen overnight. Look closely, and you'll recognize the Life of The Comic Book Artist -- hidden behind the stories, Josh has provided us with a glimpse of how much art and an artist can change over time, even if ever so subtly. Having read much of his other works, I can now appreciate even more the times he has discussed his stylistic choices, because this book contains it all -- the whole kit and caboodle at my fingertips. So, keeping in mind Josh's own self-analyses from earlier years, I can now smile and laugh even harder when I see Josh in a tight bodysuit or Sari's tiny little feet (p. 61, "How to Star in a Singaporean Soap Opera"). Hergé would be proud...

I have read this book and it is the best book I have ever read. But i'm sure that the next one is gonna be better.

***** Freeglader
Written by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell
Reviewed by Brandon Baker
Undertown is demolished! It has been wiped out by a giant maelstrom that was created by Vox Verlix, the most high academe. All who lived in Undertown are now homeless and seek new life in the Freeglades. Rook Barkwater, a young librarian knight, guides them to his fellow 900 librarian knights. However, to make it to the Freeglades, they will need to cross the cursed Edgelands and journey into the treacherous Deepwoods. Will they be able to make it through the masses of shrykes and predators? Find out yourself in Freeglader, the amazing seventh book in The Edge Chronicles.

It is fantasy world you can't turn away from, magical and funny. Makes you want to be in it.

The Edge Chronicles is the best series I have ever read. They are full of adventure. I liked #3 the best. That's the one where Twig tries to find his lost crew mates. I have read all the way up to seven. I am reading number eight right now. Great series!

This book is one of the best of the seires. It, like it's brothers is writen well and paced well. The book combines war of the goblins and freegladers makes you want to read on even if your extreamly tierd. It will make you want to read it again even if you've only just finished it!!!!!

The best part is when the goblin armies are sent to war beacuse you meet new charcters.

By Sam age12

I love Matsumoto's work. Maetel is one of my all-time favorite characters, as is her friend (and in the movie "Maetel Legend", her sister) Emeraldas. Harlock is...interesting, but kinda cool. Tetsuro, well...he's okay.

The plots are incredible! They really make you think (and I'm not just talking about the blurbs at the end of each segment!). There are very few manga that can do that.

I reccomend this series to any and every anime/manga fan!

In the distant fututre, ayoung boy named Tetsuro steals a boarding pass to a train called the Three-Nine. After emabarking, he meets a woman named Maetel, who bares a striking resembelance to his deceased mother. A grand journey begins that will take Tetsuro to the edge of the universe and back. He will meet many friends and enemies in his journey of wonder.

Despite the artwork which will turn off fans of superhero-style comic books, Galaxy Express has a style unto its own that needs to be appreciated by a more mature reader. The story is excellent, the social commentary is superb, my only problem is the SLOW release schedule. This book easily ranks equally alongside the other great (translated) mangas of our times, including Nausicaa, Lone Wolf and Cub, Dominion, and Adolf... Buy this book!

Here's a summery of the 18 volumes, NO spoilers^_~

"You think Tetsuro Hoshino has seen the last of the Gallaxy Express? Starting where the 2 part movie left off, Maetel sets Tetsuro back on the path to Manhood (NOTE, he is VERY young) & the trail of goals, making new friends & discovering the ones he'd thought gone, learning the harsh lessons of reality in the endless sea of stars. Mysteries come to light, only to be darkened by a new challenge or question or an old memory, & the entire gallaxy asks only of Tetsuro to survive & NEVER to forget.

Leiji Matsumoto, the creator, is second in popularity only to Hayao Miyazaki (Kiki, Totoro, Laputa, Lupin), & has one many awards for his interconnecting series.

This is one the whole family should watch because it's sincere, complex, inovative, provocative, dramatic, & contemplative above everything else. It's a helluva good story/plot that makes you think about the facts of life & its challenges. It has nothing corny or cliche, a literary masterpiece(despite the craappy artwork). It teaches about achieving goals, following hopes & dreams & beliefs, finding ones purpose in life, & keeping promises.

Personally, I wouldn't trade MY collection if you offered me 3 times what the whole set is worth^o^

His writings are like.......Pringles. "Once you pop, you can't stop."

I have liked GE 999 ever since I started readng it in Animerica magazine. So, I got this book, but discovered that this is actually the *sequel* to the *first* adventure of Maetel and Tetsuro. I got this information from the biographies of the characters and the clues in the story. As a result of not havign read the first series, I am a tad bit lost. Can someone tell me WHY they chose to publish the sequel in English before they translated the first series? It doesn't make any sense!

Anyway, the characters are fun and I enjoy their adventures. But the blurb at the end of every chapter is too deep and confusing for me to understand.

I like this, and I will look up the first series--right after I find out who started this translating mess in the first place.

Gamerz Heaven was the most awesome Manga I ever read! The characters were interesting and as passionate as Gravitation. This series seemed a little more in depth and a little better written. I also loved the intensity of the story and the mysteries within it! I wish ADV would continue to publish this series. Maybe TOKYO POP will take up the publishing of this book if enough people give them a reason to. Tokyo Pop listens to their consumers and will with enough persuading publish the manga you want! :)

While it isn't Maki Murakami's usual genre, it's just as good as Gravitation. It isn't yaoi, but like Gravitation had it's remixes, Gamerz Heaven has it's Doujinshi by Maki that is yaoi. :p So if you don't like yaoi, the manga is great for you, but if you like yaoi there are doujinshis at JPQueen under Maki's name.

Gamerz Heaven sort of attracted my attention earlier in the year, but I was short on money, so I didn't buy it. Go buy it. Now. This is a really good story that's not as popular as it should be. The story's neat, the art's nice, and it's engrossing.

Note: As everyone else says, this isn't what I'd classify as yaoi manga. The affection between Nata and Kaito isn't really what's considered yaoi... In fact, I sort of consider it a big brother, little brother thing. However, Amazon'll give me yaoi manga reccomendations for a while after viewing this though...

Gamerz Heaven truly is a creation of Maki Murakami, the creator of Gravitation. It takes on the art style of the last few manga's of Gravitation, and alot of the Gamerz Heaven characters look like those of Gravitation. (Such as Rage who looks like Yuki) The storyline is exciting, which feature the main character getting sucked into the world of his video game and being forced to save Nata, a character with the power to transport individuals from the game to the realworld. Only problem, if something gets destroyed in this world the real world is affected, and if he dies, he truly does die.
The character designs are nice, as I said, they look like the characters from Gravitation toward the end of the manga series. In any case the characters are really beautiful, especially the child Nata and Lost Soul, who become the cutest things in the book.
The humor is still there, with random drawings of over-the-top scenes. And, for non-yaoi fans out there, its a perfect manga.

Rating: A+

I'm reviewing this manga book on the basis of its appropriateness for use in a classroom. Being a middle school teacher, I find it hard to interest my students in reading. However, many of my students are interested in manga. I purchased this book since many of my students are also very interested in video games. The premise of Gamerz Heaven is that a young high schooler named Kaito receives a beta version of a game called Gamerz Heaven. The game sucks Kaito in on a mission to save the Navigator, a young boy, from monsters in the video game world. However, the video game world has repercussions in reality-if you die in the video game, you disappear from the real world, etc. The story is moderately interesting. Being a fan of video games, I like the stereotypicalness of Kaito as a high schooler who lives for his video games. This book is rated age 13+, which is appropriate for violence and some mild language/name calling. Since I teach younger students, I just went through the book and whited out the offending language and replaced it with non-offensive language (yes, I know, that's censorship, but you try telling that to concerned parents!). I'm not a great judge of artwork, but Gamerz Heaven is drawn well and the story is intruiging enough for me to consider buying volume two. For parents of younger children, though, I would highly recommend reading it first before allowing a child younger than 13 read it. For parents of video-gaming children, this could be a way to interest your child in reading rather than gaming 24/7. If you do plan on using this in a classroom, just make sure that you have a good book check out system so that it does not disappear.

When I first saw the cover of Genshiken, I didn't know what to expect. I assumed that it would be another male-oriented manga where the main male character would fall for a girl who fit neatly into one of the manga stereotypes while everything revolves around fanservice & typical cliches. Boy was I wrong!

Genshiken surrounds a whole cast of characters, most specifically that of Sasuke, a freshman in a local college. He decides that he's finally going to join a group devoted to anime, manga, or both. He almost loses his nerve until he discovers Genshiken and becomes immersed in everything otaku. Along for the ride are a lovable cast of characters that are all distinct and never cliche. Everyone has a set personality that the reader can relate to, and the storylines are actually true to life. There's no magic moves, no love triangles (not really, anyway), and no transforming... even though the characters would probably love it if it actually happened. For the most part everyone's a realtively well adjusted person.

Would I recommend this series? Yes, but some may not get all of the jokes. Luckily Del Ray is faithful about putting explanations in the back of the manga. Fledglings will need them, but die-hard otaku probably won't. ^.^'

Kanji Sasahara decides to join Genshiken, which is a club that deals with anima, manga, cosplay and video games. It happens to be his long standing dream to join a otaku club.
Saki Kasukabe's long standing dream is to get her boyfriend to act normal. But he joins the same club also.
Saki now has to chase Makoto around, from various activities to comic conventions, from video gaming to collecting figures.
I have volumes one to three and plan to collect any more that come out. There is tons of humor, but also lots of serious themes about art, relationships, S&M, porn, and what a otaku really is. Very much only for adults. Frankly, Age 16 seems too low a rating to me. Bonus material in each book.

There are no flying robots, fiery dragons, or space aliens in this one, rather Genshiken is about a select group of boring people with boring stories to tell. So why five stars? It is only that these boring stories are brought to us in the most kind and personable way, like a meal of white bread, served on a silver platter by the quirkiest waitress you ever did see. In the end, it was a fabulous dinner. Genshiken uses slight humor, slight romance, and a lot of good art. Highly recommended!

This is the funniest thing I think I've ever read!
There's no cheesy sci-fi/fantasy stuff or day dreaming girls trying to get married. The situations are realistic, which makes them even funnier. If you've every dated a super dorky guy or find that you're spending your free time watching anime (almost exclusively), you'll really enjoy this manga.

I seriously don't understand why more of you haven't read this book. It features one of the best and most memorable cast of characters in a manga that I have ever read. If you yourself are an otaku, this manga has at least one character you will find yourself saying,"Hey! Thats me!"

We start with a student, Kanji Sasahara, who is a shy young otaku, off at college. While searching through potential clubs to join, he finds the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, aka, Genshiken. It takes some prodding from a member of the club, but he eventually joins this club after feeling a sort of bond with the other members.

Through out this manga, we are introduced to several different characters, Tanaka, a cosplayer. Madarame, a military sort of otaku, Kousaka, definately doesn't fit the traditional "look," of an otaku, but his interests are in the right place. Finally, his girlfriend, Saki, who absolutely hates his okatu-ism, but you see her becoming more and more sympathetic towards it as time goes by.

All in all, I would have to say this is one of the best purchases I have made, and I eagerly antcipate the fourth volume.

Just picked up this series and, FINALLY, a plot that doesn't revolve around "oh, they like each other, but doesn't know the other does/can't say they do" or "somebody discovered they have powers and now lets go on a lengthy training montage as they get better/their sword is better/grows up" or that ilk. Well, there is love. Hyoue likes Amane, but she doesn't know it (she's socially clueless, but not in that ditzy way that every anime seems to go for). But it's not the same thing.

Hyoue is an Inu Gami (dog demon) that feeds off Amane's lifeforce. Kind of like Chrono Crusade, but Hyoue needs the nourishment more often. This leads to all sorts of misunderstandings, as he insists on getting a kiss-transfer method (which ticks off Amane's cousin Hayate). I don't know if this sucks away her LIFE per se, or just her energy levels.

Either way, I was hooked. Some horror, but not over the top nasty.

it was excellent,funny and everthing i was looking for.my 2daughters loved it alot. they are excited for more of it.i think it is the best.thank you so much victoria blair

How can you not like this manga? I admit, the cover was the first thing that had attracted me-bondages maybe? After glancing at the artwork, I soon fell in love. Ayume and Hyoue are two very likeable characters, each filling in what the other person lacked. I always find myself looking for the next volume when I go to a bookstore. Amazing storyline, I would recommend it to everyone.

About six months ago I came across a display of manga books. Although I've never been a big comic book fan, I fell in love with the beautiful cover illustrations and began to browse through them. One manga in particular caught my attention, not just for the cover art but also for the book description. The story of a teen psychic and her guardian demon is a tale that sounds right up my alley. However, I just wasn't sure. After all I am a bit older than your usual manga fan. For months every time I would into a book store I headed to the manga section, pick it up and put it down again. Last weekend I finally decided to buy the first of the series. I'm so glad I did! Despite my confusion over the format (read back to front and, I think, in the opposite direction of American books) and the very short actual reading time spent on the book, I found it facinating. I loved the storylines about malevolent spirits, the innocent girl and her overprotective guardian. In fact, I not only read it once, I've re-read it four times already. I totally recommend it to anyone who enjoys horror/romance and the supernatural.

I didn't want to like Her Majesty's Dog....I realy, really didn't. But I can't help it. I like--no, I REALLY like it. At first I didn't want to read it because at the time of it's release I was SO into InuYasha, and one day I was casually flipping through shojo beat magazine and I saw an ad for Her Majesty's Dog. When I saw the cover , I was like "it's a shojo version of InuYasha! What a rip-off!". Then, when I was at Borders one day, I saw the book and, just to see what it was like, I took a look at it. I decided, when I read the back cover and had read the first few pages, that it was a total copy of InuYasha! The fact that Hyoue protects Amane like InuYasha protects Kagome was especially hard to enjoy, and Hyoue's personality was almost exactly like InuYahsa's (almost always angry, over-protective, easily jealous, etc.). Amane even looks like Kagome to some extent. But about a year after Her Majesty's Dog was first released, I had grown tired of InuYasha (it's just so long and the story never gets anywhere). I was once again at Borders and I decided to give this another try. And I am so glad that I did. Her Majesty's Dog may sound a bit weak form the outside, but once you've read it, you see that it is deep and very entertaining. Mick Takeuchi has beautiful artwork and her story is very good, actually. Now, when I look back, I hardly see any similairities at all between Her Majesty's Dog and InuYasha. So far, my favorite thing about the books are the relationships between the characters and the little omakes at the beginning of each volume (the ones where Amane is treating Hyoue like a dog: for example, in this volume she is in chibi form and telling him to stay in his dog house and Hyoue is glaring up at the sky. It is very very funny and cute). So, for anyone who is suspicious about trying Her Majesty's Dog, I ask you to give it a shot. It is much better than it appears.

This book reveals many answers to the questions even I asked when I started my career in cartooning. The interviews and thoughts, efforts put in to this book is one reason why even after 16 years as a cartoonist I still enjoy being able to read through this book and get something out of it every time. This isn't just for those starting out, it's also a reminder for those in the industry.

I can't recommend this book highly enough! If you are serious about getting into the cartoon business, this book will tell you how!

A very good book to develop ourselves as a cartoonists

Great stuff! Required reading for any serious cartoonist! I got more out of this book than most of my other cartooning books combined! A must read!

This book has so much to offer the budding cartoonist! Covering such things as: getting started, tools and techniques of the pros, developing great style and characters, creating funny cartoon ideas. turning your cartoons into cash, as well as resources and extra stuff, this book answers all the questions as well as shows you various styles of cartooning by many "strippers" from today and yesterday. I highly recommend this!!!

While the book is great and Amazon itself did a great job of shipping and giving me a good quality undamaged book. It took me almost a month dealing with Amazon's partners who offered the book much cheaper and claiming to have it in stock before I was able to cancel and order with Amazon directly. Days and weeks after submitting the orders both sellers all of a sudden claimed that the item is out of stock but they would be getting it in. Why are they allowed to offer it as available when it is not? This to me is false advertising and a bait and switch scheme that Amazon needs to look into. After dealing with these partners I ordered from Amazon directly and they were quick and efficient.

- Kevin Johnson

I've read a number of books about webcomics and this is by far the most complete. I recommend to anyone who wants to publish their comic online.

Scott, Brad, Kris and Dave draw upon everyday household items you might have laying around to create a time machine or a flying car. For good measure they also pass on the secret to eternal youth and the location of the lost Ark.

Well, they might as well have.

Starting from the idea that the reader can already draw enough to make a comic (there is no "How to draw a..." section), they mold the reader into a writer, agent, techie and business person. They pass on all of their secrets in a full confession sharefest that reads like a conversation between the authors (similar to the discussions on their "Webcomics Weekly" Podcast).

The book is full of humor and brilliant ideas. The art comes from each contributor's comics and really adds to the points of the book.

You should buy two books as one will likely fall apart from constant use and you will need the second to give to your children someday. I bought four extra copies and hidden them at the corners of the world, and in my will I have clues to find each copy in an elaborate race to determine who I will leave my entire fortune to.

As someone who's been creating a webcomic for many years (Pewfell), I found this book to be very well put together, helpful and inspirational. I would definitely cite it as being essential reading for anyone hoping to monetize their own webcomic. Though much of it was stuff I already knew, I still found very many useful insights from these four guys who've actually walked the walk. All the information is put together in a fun, lighthearted, easy-to-read and well-thought-out way with lots of practical examples, great illustrations and comic strips. Great work & thanks for sharing, guys!

Not many books manage to give a decent introduction to combining being an artist and a businessman. Guigar, Kellett, Kurtz and Straub do this excellently. I bought this book because I'm writing a Master's thesis on webcomics -- and "How to make webcomics" will definitely be quoted heavily in it -- but reading this book also gave me a renewed interest in making my *own* webcomic.

The best authors for books on how to make webcomics are definitely webcomics creators who love what they do. Guigar, Kellett, Kurtz and Straub show an enthusiasm in this book that rubs off, and in a wonderful mix of creative chapters (writing, creating your characters), practical chapters (scanning your comic, making a website) and business-related chapters (making an income out of your webcomic), it becomes very clear that the authors love what they do, and that anyone who loves webcomics may one day compete with them on the webcomics arena. You learn that you have to love webcomics to make one, as they won't give you much income the first couple of years, but you also learn to not feel guilty for monetizing on your work. This is the perfect combination of a "how-to-be-creative"-book and "how-to-sell-your-art"-book.

If there is one thing I hope will change in the second edition, I wish for a more global perspective. The book is great, but many of the points stated in it aren't really that useful for non-Americans. For instance, when I make a webcomic in Norwegian, I will probably never get ten thousand readers. I could write it in English, but that would create problems with a store, since I'm still physically based in Norway and won't be able to send books and T-shirts to USA or UK without charging a lot for sending them -- probably more than my readers want to pay. And if I need to use print-on-demand, there aren't really anyone over here that can offer that, ... and so on, and so on. I hope that a future "How to make webcomics" will be able to have a chapter answering some of the additional questions that rise when creating a webcomic outside the US.

But that is nitpicking, really. This is the epitome of a five-star book.

First of all the graphic art was so in detail and of course Shiuko uses the same characters from her other Graphic Novel manga. as for the story, i don't know i didn't like the story that much it was a worth buying to add on ur Yaoi Collections.

Well this is my third title from Shiuko Kano and this one is definitely on the hard core .Everytime this two character are together, it is a f*** fest, maybe the mangaka was pressured to have more s** in this title.It is pretty much XXX rated.The illustrations on the "bed scenes"are very explicit.And I agree with the author that Masashii is the most perverted teenager so far.
Character development wise and story not as strong as compared to the other titles ie Kiss all the boys and Yakuza in Love, but as I read the manga again, the characters start appearing strong and deep.Strange.
I like the drawing style but The cover is the weakness.

Maybe I'm Your Steppin' Stone (Yaoi)

The younger seme (Ezumi Masashi) and older uke (Sakai Kazuya) is a concept I've recently gotten behind....that is thanks to this manga. Reading the reviews, you are well aware of the plotline, but the chemistry between the characters is most important to note. And let me tell you, there is CHEMISTRY!

The artwork is great, especially the details given to the eyes and lips. During those most intimate moments, it is most intense. I think everyone will let out a squeal during the tryst between Masashi and Kazuya when Masashi drives Kazuya so wild that he's literally biting the sheets. *WHEW!* Yes, moments like these make me love this manga ever so much.

But, smut alone doesn't make this manga top notch. The storyline is great and it grabs your interest. You really care about the characters and root for them to have a happy ending. I'm looking forward to the spin-off manga, unfortunately not about these characters, "Maybe I'm Your Steppin Stone".

My only problem is that the link to digicomic.net is no longer operational, that is a let down once you read the Club Dandy section.

Sakai has a passion for well endowed women, really if you look at them they border on the fat type, but everyone has his taste... And when he falls in love for Izumi's sister, it's with his great regret that he is informed that the girl only dated well cultured men, and Sakai is a drop out from school who works as construction worker. But Izumi makes a bargaign with him: he will help Sakai to pass the test for college's admittance and Sakai in exchange will have sex with Izumi.

Even if Izumi has never had before a gay relationship, he is very willing to go on with the bargain: it's only sex, isn't it? But when he realizes that maybe he is more involved of what he thought, he chickens out and tries to break with Izumi. But Izumi is not willing to let go.

In comparison to other Shiuko Kano's manga I have read, this one is very explicit: it's like, since the relationship started as a pure sex thing, that the drawning needs to be more explicit and less romantic. And also the style is a pretty more "comic" and less "realistic". I like a lot Izumi's looks, and a little less Sakai's. Most of the time Sakai is too extreme, but sometime I can see an almost naivee's looks in him.

A manga very explicit which manages to be also funny and lighthearted.

Kazuya wants to impress a girl by taking the high school entrance exam. So he turns to her younger brother Masashi to help tutor him. But Mashashi wants Kazuya for himself and demands sex as payment for the lessons!

When 801 Media announced they would publish hard yaoi, I was skeptical. I only consider it hard yaoi if the sex is graphically rendered (and cones of light had best not be anywhere in the book!). 801 has delivered exactly what they said they would. This manga is Hard yaoi with a capital H! There is hot sex right from the very beginning. I loved Ayano Yamane's Finder series, which was very graphic, but this takes explicit yaoi to a new level. The mangaka goes beyond simple intercourse and depicts sexual acts that I have only read in gay romance. These two even get it on in the bathroom at a movie theatre! Fortunately, the art is very well done. The people are proportioned correctly, there is shading and detail throughout and the men look like men. Everything a hard yaoi fan could want. So, why only 4 stars? The translation.

I had a difficult time in a lot of panels figuring out which man was saying what. There is a LOT of angst in the story, from both boys, and this lack of clear dialog was frustrating at times. The first "chapter" of the story, the boys have sex and it appears just casual on Kazuya's part. But, in the second chapter he is suddenly the reluctant uke, refusing intercourse. I wasn't sure at first if the second chapter was supposed to be a flashback. His resistance continues for another chapter or so before it becomes clear both boys are in love with one another. The story is a very good romance. Masashi is a seme who knows what he wants, but this is still his first relationship and "first time." This is Kazuya's first time with a man, and he already has self-confidence issues because of his lack of education. This naturally leads to tension and more hot sex. When Kazuya's motivations for taking the test are revealed, readers get a great conclusion to a sweet romance.

Overall, I highly recommend this yaoi. The translation by 801 leaves a little to be desired, but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book. I will certainly look for more by the mangaka.