price:$1.88
Yaoi Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (A Major Disapppointment) 『After reading this book, the first thing I thought was "I want my money back." It's the first time I've ever thrown a book away. It was just bad: the artwork was awkward and empty, the plot was nonexistent, the sexual content was uninspiring. I did not like it at all and I will not be reading any other works by the author.』
(Winter Demon) 『There is nothing cold about this demon because he's hot for the beautiful monk. Haklin [the monk]is gorgeous alright but a little timid for my taste. There are 4 volumes with the 4th yet to be released. I love the art work of Studio Kosaru and the only fault I have is it's done right to left but then the good old USA seems to prefer this style. Sex is slow but gets hotter and more frequent by the third volume. Possibly the 4th will be the best. Volume 1 was enough for me, I was hooked and wanted more. I love demons and Fuyu is as pretty as new fallen snow. 』
(A good western yaoi) 『This westernized yaoi manga is not as good as most Japanese yaoi that have been licensed in the U.S. However, it is much better than many other western offerings, and some Japanese ones, with an unusual story. Fuyu is a winter demon who raped a monk from a local village not long ago. Now the village is under attack by fire demons and only that monk can convince Fuyu to help. But, what will it cost him? And Fuyu will get more than he bargained for when the fire demons turn out stronger than he anticipated. These two have an uneasy relationship to say the least!
The art is not as clean looking as that of Japanese mangakas Nitta or Kodaka, but it doesn't look cartoonish either. The panels are laid out in a clear manner, with sufficient background to give some depth, and the text bubbles are clearly directed to their speaker. There is sex in the book, but while graphic it is not explicit (as with Nitta or Yamane). The book is laid out left to right, rather than in the Japanese style, but Yaoi press makes no bones about the fact that they do OEL/western yaoi. The cover art is lovely and the book well made. There is a secondary story after the primary one about another demon called Figaru. One nice thing Yaoi press has done is to take a "bonus" story and make it more than just an add on as with most Japanese yaoi. Figaru's is a sexy little story that will have surprising developments in the next two volumes of this series when they stories cross-over.
Overall, "Winter Demon" is worth the purchase if you're a yaoi fan looking for something new while waiting for the next volume of your favorite series. It's hot, with good art and an interesting storline. Recommended.』
(Rent the Book) 『I didn't really have high hopes for Winter Demon considering Western manga is new and different from Japanese manga. Although I thought the plot was okay, I disliked the art in this manga. It's too simplistic and has none of that superior quality of bold effects so it makes the character's two dimensional. What I did like about this new manga is that I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't bothered about Fuyu's change of role, it usually bothers me when a seme switches roles to a uke, but I found in this manga that it fit.』
(Good, very good) 『I loved this one. When I read the first short story in the back of "Enslaved by the Dragon", I'll be the first to admit that I didn't care for it. I thought it ended to abruptly, and wasn't thrilled with the over all content. I thought it was to violent (odd, because I enjoyed "Enslaved by the Dragon...oh well). Anyway, when I read "Winter Demon", I fell in love. The poor demon who was so cruel in the short story learns his lesson in the most basic of ways. What he has done has been done to him. And even though the three fire demons are the "Bad Guys", I can't bring myself to dislike them. They're a tightly knit group that obviously cares for each other. And how bad can a guy be when he refuses to corrupt the child who tempts him because he needs something good in his life? The death scenes in this story are so touching. The monk remains steadfast in his dislike of his winter demon, but let's face it. The last time they met wasn't exactly a "pleasent" experience. So I forgive him. Hopefully, he begins to thaw in volume 2 (get it? "Winter Demon"? Thaw? I'm sorry.)
The other demon story was also very good. The good demon and the poor, emotionally abused but really well built mortal finding happiness together...aww. Oddly enough, it's the mortals who are the bad guys in this short story. Everyone is cruel to our poor uke, even his mother! And the monk who goes to "save" him gives the impression of cunning, not caring.
The one-page epilouge to that was also very cute.
The last short story, "Pinfeathers", left me unmoved. It might have been good as a full length story, but I don't think it worked. Oh well.』 『When three ruthless fire demons come to terrorize the monk Hakuin's village he's forced to seek help from Fuyu, the snow demon who tormented him a year ago. Fuyu is thrilled to see his beautiful monk again. He'll defeat the demons only if Hakuin becomes his willing slave. Fuyu realizes too late that the fire demons are out of his league. Even worse, the lead demon thinks the fey Fuyu would make a nice slave in his own right. When Fuyu is put in the same position he put Hakuin a year ago he starts to realize the error of his ways. Maybe, in time, he can even be redeemed to his beloved monk. Also, a pacifist is forced to bring an assassin to a rival lord. It doesn't help that the assassin is part of the group who wiped out the pacifist's race. So why are they sleeping together?』
price:$3.51
801 Media, Inc.
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Great Plot? Meh... Great Sex? Mmm Hmm!) 『Don't Rush Love is a high school drama kind of story with your typical crying uke and rather unimpressive storyline. Morino is a new transfer at the school and very quickly falls in love with another student pretty much at first sight. Since he is staying in the dorms at this school, you can guess who his roommate turns out to be. Kusama, his new roommate and crush, has his sites set on one of his teachers, who of course has no idea about these romantic feelings and is seeing someone else. To deal with these frustrations, Kusama goes on the prowl at night when he should be in his dorm sleeping. Morino wants nothing more than to stop Kusama from these nightly excursions so he offers himself up as a substitute stand-in so Kusama has some way to release his frustration. The big question is... will Kusama finally confess his true feelings to the man he loves or will Morino cause him to see things in a different light?
If you can't already tell, I was not impressed with this story's plot. I feel like I've read this type of storyline a thousand times and could easily predict where this story was going to go. I found myself even getting irritated in the beginning few chapters. It did get a little better toward the end when a few new characters were introduced into the mix. This story's one redeeming quality? There is a good deal of sex and it is VERY explicit. I've always said I can overlook a crappy plot if the sex is good and in this one, it definitely is.
The character design is one you'll recognize if you've read The Sky Over My Spectacles. The characters tend to be a bit on the tall almost lankey side. I won't say they're not sexy but they could be sexier. Personality wise, I felt they were pretty typical roles for the seme and uke; lots of tears, blushing and miscommunication. The book itself has a nice cover and one color insert. 801 fans looking for the dust cover won't find it since they stopped providing them. The illustrations are nicely done with good detail, especially the sex scenes so if you are not a fan of detail in those areas then you may want to pass. However, if that is the case then 801 Media is probably not the publisher for you since hard yaoi is their specialty. The translation was really good and I had no trouble following the speech bubbles. If anything, there were just a few times I wasn't always sure about what was being said out loud and what was only being thought.
In the end, if you are looking for a good plot, this is a definite pass. If you are looking for great sex and a hard yaoi title, this one will not disappoint.
Plot = B- Characters = B+ Book Design/Illustrations = A- Sexual Content = A Translation = A-
Overall Grade = B+ 』
(Explicit Yaoi with such sweet romances and an enjoyable plot.) 『I love Mio Tennohji's boys. There is an innocence in the uke which I find adorable. That said, the seme does come across a jerk at the beginning but soon wins your heart too. This is again so for "Don't rush Love" which has a great storyline as a newbie falls in love with his roomate, a stud. But the stud has been in love with his sensei for years. Will the newbie ever be able to make the stud "really looks at him"? Some angst filled moments here as I really feel for Morino as Souichirou Kusama takes advantage of Morino's love. As in "Meeting you", we again have the uke declaring his love for the seme first but the plot in Don't Rush Love is more engaging, the development of their love better explored.
The romance between Souichirou's twin brother, Riichi, and their uncle, Seiji, is just as enjoyable as Souichirou and Morino got entangled in this couple's not very socially acceptable romance. I guess the second romance could be caught up in moral standards if the mangaka wishes to. But I am glad she did not opt to. The couple from "Meeting You" are featured in this story too and they are of course totally besotted with each other.
I enjoy this mangaka's distinct artwork which is easily recognizable by her long limbed boys and nicely drawn hardcore sex. Another winner from 801 media :)』 『Morino is the new arrival at an all-boys university prep school, who finds himself rooming with over-achieving honors student, Kusama. Apparently, Kusama keeps a secret that has him sneaking out late at night, barely returning in time for morning roll call. Morino becomes convinced it has to do with Kusama s feelings for their teacher, Kanzaki-sensei. Are the two carrying on an illicit affair under the cover of darkness?
To make matters worse, Morino finds his own fascination for his new roommate growing day by day. A simple kiss leads to more, and soon, exactly what Kusama is doing when he should be sleeping turns into Morino s obsession.
Featuring characters from Meeting You, creator Mio Tennohji (The Sky Over My Spectacles) argues that meaningless sex can happen in a spur of the moment, but only time builds a real relationship. When it comes to Kusama, Morino is more than willing to take things slow to find true love!』
price:$1.94
Digital Manga Publishing
Usually ships in 2 to 4 months Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Very Wonderful!) 『When I bought this Manga, I thought that it would be like all the other manga's I had. But when I read it, it was on a different level. The plot was different as well! Over all this manga was great! The art was wonderful!』
(Interesting) 『Considering this was my first yaoi book of any kind that I have ever bought before, I thought it was pretty good. It was a cute story and there were parts in the story that made me laugh. Both boys are really cute when they are trying to say something but have issues not being able to say it. Overall it was a cute read.』
(4 stars for the story on sweet young love. 5 stars for the lovely artwork.) 『I love this mangaka's artwork. Very expressive and graceful and her boys are just so pretty and adorable. The main story on a sempai and his kohai is funny, light, angsy and sweet. As commented, it is sexy without being explicit. Both sempai and kohai complements each other nicely without one dominating or preying on the other. The kohai who turns out to be the seme (LOL) is caring and shy while we have the lovely sempai desperately trying to get his kohai's attention. It does not help that the poor sempai is prone to nervous breakdown when he is "excited". Then we have the sempai's perverted brother who is the teacher in their school. This brother is an interesting contrasting character and his short story as he subtly helps out a student is both enjoyable and a nice surprise. An enjoyable sweet Yaoi. You just have to love all those vivid facial expressions and eyes.』
(Fun and worth rereading) 『Fans of books like My Paranoid Next Door Neighbor (Yaoi) will enjoy this book. It's fun with a good amount of smut that will make you giggle. I'd recomend it to any of my friends.』
(After I Win Review) 『The art in this book is absolutely fantastic. Nakatani and Kasumi are absolutely beautiful. It's interesting because the senpai is actually the uke in this situation, something he didn't really expect to be. This uke-uke relationship is different and leads to its own problems. The situations, while explicit, are not depicted in the art. All the steamy elements are more emotional than porn-like, which is great if this is what you're looking for. There are also a lot of solo scenes. The story is enjoyable and full of teenage angst. A good read, but if you're looking for more explicit art, there are far better books out there.』 『Beautiful and popular Nakatani Niwa has fallen in love with his dormitory roommate and underclassmen Amano Kasumi. But being in the same room with the one you love day in and day out is a strain. From here, there is only one way to advance.』