price:$2.59
Aurora Publishing
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (To Love, or not to Love...) 『As we all know, this is a total yaoi Romeo and Juliet, minus death. However, I have to say that I absolutely love that aspect of the story. What is hotter than two men of rivaling families having deep-felt feelings for each other? An excellent story through-and-through, I would recommend this book to any looking for a great yaoi drama.』
(A Great Tale of Romeo and Romeo) 『I did like this story, though many themes are similar to other books. It had an actual storyline to keep me interested and enough intimate scenes. The issues that I have with the story is that Masaya was such a crybaby and Yuma was a jerk who couldn't keep his pants zipped. The translation went smoothly but I am uncertain if some of the names were Westernized. Sure Masaya, Yuma, and Akiko were childhood friends but would they call each other by their first names? I also didn't see the use of honorifics. It was published by Deux and the other manga that I read, I Shall Never Return, also didn't use honorifics. I would recommend getting this if you like Makeno Tateno. An aside here, most of her characters look the same as in some of her other manga so don't be surprised if you see some from her later work, Yellow.』
(Pretty Good!) 『Hate to Love You is Makoto Tateno's very first BL story. Tateno previously only wrote shojo manga (manga for girls), but her transition into boys' love (BL) territory is seamless. She is also, even in one of her older works (10 years old, in fact), a fantastic artist and just gazing upon her drawn characters is a pleasure.
As mentioned already, this story is set up like a BL version of a "Romeo and Juliet" story, only without the tragedy at the end. Masaya Konoe and Yuma Kazuki are the eldest sons of rival real estate companies who just happened to grow up in neighboring estates, divided by a river so that they could never truly be together as friends (or otherwise). As rivals in high school their true feelings for one another become known and their "hatred" for each other ignites into an equal amount of passion. It is relatively cute and no one really gets hurt, except for the one time Akiko, the daughter of another rival real estate company and neighboring estate that Yuma and Masaya are "fighting over," slaps Yuma (one of my favorite moments in the book).
It seems clear that the story was originally designed to be a one-shot (one short story) and it stands alone just fine, but either its popularity spurned on more chapters, or Tateno just couldn't leave the characters alone after that one taste of them and enough was eventually written to fill most of an entire volume (plus an unrelated side-story). In any event, the second and third chapters of the main story in the book are a testament to Tateno's thoroughness in writing character background, motivation and plot resolution. This one book satisfies just about every question or desire you might have concerning these characters (or at least did for me).
If you're looking for graphic bits, Tateno seems to have always been reserved, starting all the way back with this, her first BL title. Yes, there are love scenes and yes they are well drawn and appropriate, but they are not excessively erotic or graphic. I personally love her style and if you have read any of her other BL works this book is on par with them in that department.
My actual favorite part in the book is the postscript. I may be biased because Tateno is one of my favorite mangaka (artists of manga), but I absolutely love her postscripts because she is incredibly candid, humorous and often surprisingly informative. In the postscript for this particular manga volume she discusses an incident she had with her editor concerning a specific panel on a page in the main story. Her editor told her that women in BL manga are extranneous and her choice to show a close-up of Akiko was unnecessary and asked a horrified Tateno to make her drawing of the woman smaller. It's interesting because we get an insight into the mindset of the industry and the ways in which it treats female characters, something Tateno has strived against in many of her BL works. Women are normally demonized or marginalized or under-developed, but, in like many of Tateno's manga, Akiko is anything but two-dimensional and anything but a villain (she actually helps Masaya and Yuma get together). It's something about Tateno that sets her apart from many of her contemporaries and something I love about her.
The only part of the manga I would warn about is the extra story. It features a teenaged boy who becomes infatuated with his adult neighbor and the stalking that goes on and quite disturbing outcome for him in the end. It doesn't exactly have a positive or romantic resolution and might turn some readers off.
Deux Press' localization is pretty good, at least on par with other BL/yaoi manga translations. The language certainly flows well and doesn't seem to be too "Americanized," although the usage of honorifics seems to have been decided against (although I've noticed in a number of Tateno's works this does not seem to be a problem as she often doesn't have characters address each other formally). I'm over-all satisfied with the work, which suggests good things for this new publisher of niche genre manga in future endeavors.
In all I would highly recommend this title to any current fans of Makoto Tateno's works and would also recommend it to those who are fans of BL or who are new to or interested in the genre. The short, one-volume nature of the story is a good taste in the lighter side of the genre (with the exception of the side-story) and can be added as a compliment to one's existing collection or serve to help begin one's BL manga collection.』
(A Tale of Love and Rivalry "Romeo and Juliet" Style...only Yaoi ^_^) 『As the title entails, "Hate to Love You," is a story of love and rivalry between the two protagonists. However, rather than the same cliche Romeo and Juliet-type storylines that make up the majority of romance material today, it was nice to see the story portrayed with a "twist." "Romeo and Romeo" that is.
All the juicy parts that make "Romeo and Juliet" so famous--minus the tragic ending--are still intact. The excitement of a forbidden romance, the adrenaline pumping rivalry between the two protagonists and their families, and the external and psychological turmoil of the characters as they battle through their rivalry with, and feelings for, each other.
I am a sucker for anything forbidden that results in lots of psychological turmoil within the characters so I rather enjoyed this story even though it was set in a stereotypical plot setting. Not to mention, I am also a sucker for sappy romance stories as well ^_^
Makoto Tateno really knows how to portray serious and intense emotional states like rivalry, love/hate, and obsession in very engaging storylines.
The second story (there are two stories to this oneshot volume) deals with one of my favorite topics: love that borders on obsession / or in this case, more of a fascination/ attraction that leads to obsession.
Though the physical elements are not as intense in this novel, the examination of deep emotional/psychological states within the characters more than makes up for it. At least with these two stories, it is not all about the sex. There is a depth to the stories that, if examined deep enough, could be quite disturbing. Then again, that may be just my tendency to overthink everything.』
(Appealing star crossed lovers!) 『This is Romeo and Juliet but Yaoi and minus the tragedy. The romance is engaging and I like the flashbacks to the star crossed lovers' childhood. Yuma is the cool, smart and aggressive seme while Masaya is the earnest, pure and gullible uke. They are stereotypes but this is why we read Yaoi. I find both characters very appealing as their relationship evolve from rivalry to love, interspersed with misunderstandings and doubts. I would have preferred a more dramatic ending and the sex could be more explicit. This is the mangaka's first attempt at Yaoi and she is of course the mangaka of my favorite series Yellow. There is also a second separate short story on obsession. This one is disturbing even without any explicit sex.
Her artwork is clean lined and pretty, with such vivid facial expressions. Please to add this to my collection.』 『An intimate rivalry.
The Konoe and Kagetsu families have been fighting like cats and dogs for generations. Masaya Konoe and Yuma Kazuki attend the same elite high school and are known to all as arch rivals, but do they really hate each other? Masaya still cherishes a childhood memory of a time when Yuma shared a "treasure" with him. Now they share a secret attraction. Can they hide their passion? Burning desire has a way of erupting into flames!』
price:$1.94
Digital Manga Publishing
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (A heartwarming romance-drama-comedy) 『I really liked this story and the art. At first it starts off somewhat confusing because you're in the dark about the details of a love triangle between the three main characters...but eventually romance blooms and it's quite warm and fuzzy. This is more of a boys love story than yaoi, so if you're looking for something more, you know...try something like Wild Rock. From the other reviews I found that the illustrator is the same as in Only the Ring Finger Knows (Only The Ring Finger Knows Novel 1: The Lonely Ring Finger (Yaoi) (Only the Ring Finger Knows)). I didn't finish that one yet, but it's a similar romantic kind of story. So far it's really good too, so I recommend it.』
(Wonderful Story) 『I love a good story.... and I love it when a manga can convey as much emotion as words. This was an excellent example of a good story.』
(Nice enough read with pretty art.) 『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.』
(Attractive&Sweet) 『
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.』
(A sweet shounen-ai.) 『Being one into m/m romance erotica/Yaoi, Time Lag is a good light break in between. This sweet shounen-ai is addictive enough to keep me turning the pages, all the while rooting for the 2 childhood friends to clear their misunderstandings and be together. The letter which comes 3 years later is quite a nice surprise. The ending is a trifle weak but it's just my wishing for something more expressive.』 『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?』
price:$12.95
Digital Manga Publishing
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Light BL with gorgeous art.) 『*A 5 volume series* Even though DMP states it's Yaoi, this Manga IS NOT. It's light BL. It may feature an all boys high school in Europe but there is no kissing or sex in this volume much like the others. Except volume one where there was a kiss between the main character; Georges and Robert. There is a lot of innuendo, hugging and very close friendships in the High School. The main story to Volume 2 is that Georges (our little angel) meets Chris, a charity worker and Chris manages to suck Georges in to try and get Freddy's fathers donations. But the charity is abusing it's status and stealing money from people, but Georges can't accept the fact that a charity can be cruel. Thus he begins to understand the world a little more and the consolidation is left to Robert. Also a little story about Henri and Robert occurs, where Henri confronts Robert about his attitude toward Georges. The main reason why I give this Manga such a high rating is because of the story and art. The art is absolutely gorgeous! And the storyline is going along smoothly - unlike some. There is a rising relationship between Robert and Georges, and how they are getting closer. Also you find out about Henri's crush on Georges that can never be and Erwin and Josh's relationship.』 『As Georges and Robert continue to become more at ease with each other, Georges' long-time friend Henri begins to question his own relationship with Georges. Henri carries strong feelings for him, but has accepted that he will never be able to get beyond friendship and has devoted himself to being his protector. Jealous and apprehensive of Robert's growing closeness to him, Henri sees Robert as a rival for Georges' affections. But when he realizes that Georges is slowly changing, Henri sees that Robert may be the one to succeed at breaking down Georges' barrier.』