The manga I've read lately...

[katikat]

I've started buying manga only lately because I have enough books to keep me occupied for several months. And there have been a few manga that deserve to be mentioned here...

Incubus 1 by Yayoi Neko: The art was so-so and the story nothing that exciting either. This manga is also really short (only 128 pages) and thus rather expensive. It does seem that I didn't like it much, doesn't it? So, why I'm writing about it here?

Well, I didn't fall in love with the main pairing (Judas and Lenniel) but with the supporting couple: Kent and his young master (nope, it's not D/s, what are you thinking about! sheesh! XP). Kent is a butler in this "young master's" family. The young man (younger than Kent! woohoo!) falls in love with Kent and starts a relationship with him. But then something happens...

They are much more interesting than Judas and Lenniel. What I minded the most was Judas' obsession with his professor. That one was rather overdone. But there were some really cute scenes like: Judas to Lenniel: "More explaining, less touching, please..." XP

Still, I would give it only 3 stars and I'm not all that bouncy about the second volume. It's not on the top of my "to buy" list :(

---

Gorgeous Carat Galaxy by You Higuri: Wow, this one was worth every penny. It has a wonderful amazing art, exciting story and the volume is quite thick too (256 pages). I've been waiting for this manga for months and I wasn't disappointed. It wasn't as good as the Azura arc in the Gorgeous Carat manga but it was definitely better than the first volume of said series.

It was so good to see Ray and Florian back in action. Florian was getting himself into a lot of trouble like usually and Ray was rushing to the rescue. There were some really touching, angsty scenes between these two, although it's still not yaoi or even a full blown shounen-ai. But since I like hint-ish manga best, this one made me rather giddy! *sparkles*

There was one thing I was missing though - a climax (nope, not in the sexual way! gosh, you really have a one-tracked mind! XD). The main story sort of... dissipates for the lack of a better word. That's my only complain. But since I bought it because of the characters, you won't see me complain much.

You Higuri also promised to continue this series - although it's been 2 years now and nothing. I really hope that she will and that she'll bring Azura back. That hunk of a man was such a wonderful source of angst! XD

All in all, I would give it 4,5 stars :)

---

La Esperanca 1 by Chigusa Kawai: Another hint-ish manga I adore. The art is not so pretty as in Gorgeous Carat but then, few manga authors can draw like You Higuri, right? The art is still wonderful and the story too.

I've always liked angsty stories set in catholic schools for boys in Europe. And this one is all about angst and a catholic school. There is something about these young men praying in a church, then falling into the hands of a seducer... Okay, okay. Maybe I'm perverted XP

The characters of Georges, Robert and even Freddy are quite deep and interesting. All of them have dark spots in their pasts and each of them is handling them in a different way. The m/m relationships are almost non-existent, a kiss or two but that's it.

It's still a story to my liking and I didn't wait and ordered the next two volumes immediately. This one would deserve 4,5 stars and I hope that the next books will be just as good.

I really had to cut this one. My reviews ARE getting longer and longer XP

Comments

[merith.livejournal.com]

you won't be disappointed with la esperanca 2 and 3. the shounen ai hints become more than hints in book 2 (robert's past and confession), and book 3 shows even more. and all of their pasts are very angst heavy - none like robert's though.

i think i've seen/read incubus in scanlation form, and was planning to stay away from it. i say i think because the story sounds familiar (as well as the title) but it didn't leave much of an impression on me to want to rea dmore.

[katikat.livejournal.com]

La Esperanca is so good. I like manga with hints better than th efull-blown yaoi stuff. I don't know why. That's why I'm thinking of buying Hands Off! Do you know any other hint-is manga?

I'm not really sorry that I've bought Incubus... If I didn't buy it, I would be still thinking about it and pondering it. That's why, it's off my heart and I can concentrate on something worthwile :)

[merith.livejournal.com]

it depends on what you mean as hints vs confirmation. i know several BL (boy love) manga that confirm hints of shounen ai, and even show more than just a kiss or two. but the main concentration of the story isn't on the sex, it's on the relationship and the build up of the relationship. or, like the case of la esperanca, getting over a traumatic event(s).

hands off is great! :) it's a lot of fun in the way eerie queerie should have been. again, there are hints, but you don't see anything overt.

[katikat.livejournal.com]

I like manga, where it's not all about sex. I don't like PWPs. I love the sort of Gorgeous Carat or La Esperanca best - it's about the relationship and there is some mystery and some trauma. I think I love the trauma best. I love manga with lotsa plot and few sex scenes (sometimes, sex is good but not when its only purpose it is to shorten the space for the plot development).

Then I need to buy Hands Off! I liked Eerie Queerie, though the later two vols weren't as good as the first two.

Do you also buy manhwa? michalyn recommeded me Let Dai but I don't know...

[merith.livejournal.com]

let dai i'm collecting more because i'm too stubborn to stop. the story isn't bad, but it's a bit violent, and one of the main characters, dai, doesn't make me want to like him much. (he does something absolutely terrible, completely unforgivable).

i feel the same about eerie queerie. i was disappointed with the last two volumes. but hands off is the same sort, but different. it does drag just a tad, seeming to have the same storyline over and over with the same outcome, but each one a little closer to the truth. the characters are very engaging, though, and a lot of fun is had.

i do collect manhwa, and while i debate about let dai, i do enjoy "the boy princess" (as odd as it can be) and "not so bad".

let me go look through my collection and we'll see what i have that you don't. k? :)

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you for any help. The reviews on Amazon are not really helpful.

I was thinking about Boy Princess though I'm not sure about the art. I also wanted to buy Lies and Kisses and Empty Heart by Masara Minase but they seem to be unavailable (4 to 6 weeks delivery time usually mean unavailable).

I've heard that there are some m/m hints in Let Dai. Does it look like the two guys will end together or does it head towards a tragedy of some sort? I really don't like manga with bad endings *sniff*

[merith.livejournal.com]

okay, lots of manga here. :)

shounen ai or yaoi with plot:
la esperanca, we've already talked about.
little butterfly? did we talk about that one? this is another that's good, and sweet. there are definite hints to confirmation there will be more than hand holding and a kiss or two, but there's depth backing it up.
jazz (not sure if you're read this one yet. i've only read volume one, and i like it so far. doesn't stand out terribly well for me, but is cute enough i'll be picking up future volumes.
there's the korean "one thousand and one nights", which is going to be several volumes... i've read up to volume 2 so far, and while one of the main characters is making it hard for me to want to like him, i do anyway. it's good, little to no sex, though there is some violence.
almost crying is a series of cute little stories with pretty art. the stories are all pretty much the same, but cute none-the-less.
time lag i'd read as a scanlation, and it's a nice story... hints but nothing happens before he conflict is resolved.
you and haruuion is cuted, but one of those quickly forgotten stories
same cell organism (i think you've already talked about this one)
our everlasting is a cute two volume manga with sex but has plot.
our kingdom is another high school boys getting together in unusual circumstances, and falling in love. confirmed hints, but no sex (yet).
the art of loving is... odd. i love the art, but am having trouble with the story because of its dark sided nature. i've only volume 1, and haven't seen volume 2's release date yet, so that one you might want to put on the back burner. the other one (lies and something?) i've got that one on order, so haven't a clue. the art is pretty, but not sure about the story.
empty heart is good, but i'd read that one in scanlation form, and enjoyed it then. typical school teacher/student falling in love relationship but has a twist ;)
let dai... i'm not sure how it'll end, but yes, the two main characters do have sex (off screen) in the manga. they have a very troubled relationship -- they love each other but keep hurting one another. dai is possessive and abusive, and jae is torn between what he knows is right, and how he feels... not always a good combination. if you want to preview before you buy, go to netcomics.com (http://www.netcomics.com/) and you can "read" the first chapter for free. i've actually "bought" time to read chapters as they come out... mostly for boy princess, though. let dai, i think i'll just wait until the volumes come out since it sort of bothers me on how torn jae is.
boy princess, the art is ...typically korean. large seemingly overly made up eyes, weird dress/es, and lanky men and women with narrow faces (some you can't even tell the difference!). however, the story is cute, and the main character (nicole) is so cute and just adorable! he's really too young (young teen), and his "groom" prince doesn't act on any feelings. there is cross dressing, obviously, but it's more of a minor thing after the first volume. a true love and angst story, filled with intrigue and magic, murder and subtrifuse. this is another story you can peek in on at net comic.
other than a coule more one-shots, that's about it for those i have that i'm not sure you have.

[sabershadowkat.livejournal.com]

I really like La Esperanca. It's building the plot slowly and the third volume brings in the religious aspect that plays a central part in the story. Plus, it's very gorgeous artwork.

Warning: volume 2 of the main story is short. The secondary story(s) takes up the bulk of the manga.

[sabershadowkat.livejournal.com]

I so agree that the first to EQs were good, but the second two were not. In fact, I only kept the first two volumes because of it.

I like manga in a similar way you seem to: more shonen-ai than yaoi. I'd recommend Hands Off! (for sure, though some people classify it as friendship rather than romance), Fake (best complete series), and Our Kingdom. And if you haven't read it yet, Only The Ring Finger Knows manga, which I adore.

Gravitation is a good one too, but has a LOT of comedy in it, so you have to enjoy that sort of thing. The romance part, though, is excellent, and watching Yuki fall in love with Shuichi while struggling with his past is what makes the manga a keeper, for me.

[katikat.livejournal.com]

The secondary story(s) takes up the bulk of the manga.

Okie, as long as the secondary story is good, then I don't mind.

I like La Esperanca very much too. Especially the religious aspect. I've loved that side since one of the stories in the Yami no Matsuei manga where Tsuzuki was pretending to be a priest in a catholic school for boys. Wow, he was gorgeous *swoons*

And since you like La Esperanca, I think you might also like Gorgeous Carat. The shounen-ai overtones are very slight and the art, goshy goshy, the art is excellent. I think that there aren't many authors as good as You Higuri :)

[katikat.livejournal.com]

I decided to keep EQ and Yellow too, even though only the first volumes are any good.

I've ordered Hands Off! and Let Dai (a friend of mine recommended that one to me). Fake is so good. I don't have it at home but I translated the books for a friend of mine so I know what's going on. The last volume was so cool, when they finaly got together. Oh, do you have the story that follows the manga? There is only one chapter but it offers a closure for every character there. Our Kingdom is on my wish list. Wah! I need more MONEY!!!

I don't know about Gravitation. All the comedy kind off scared me off... :(

[katikat.livejournal.com]

Yaaaay, so many recommendations! Thank you so much, Merith! *snuggles you* My wish list is growing longer and longer X(

[sabershadowkat.livejournal.com]

I have and read the first volume of Gorgeous Carat and I didn't like the abuse/punishment that's dolled out. Puts an icky tinge on a romance building after that, to me. I did love the art, though. Gorgeous drawing.

[sabershadowkat.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't seen the story that follows the Fake manga. jdfiladkhafjldjfaj! Where can I find?

You can probably find Gravi scanlated online somewhere, thus you can test it out for free. I would say it has Ouran Host Club level of comedy to it. Gravi has an anime to it, too, but it doesn't has as much character-depth to it as the manga does.

[katikat.livejournal.com]

I love GC. The 2nd to 4th books are different. There is abuse, but this time on the hands of someone else. And the baddie is... well... gorgeous XD Dark skin, white hair, patch on the eye *swoons*

I love it how later Ray and Florian unite against their enemy and how caring Ray becomes. It's... wah, so touching. At the end of the 3rd book, there is this scene where it's night and Ray and Florian are sitting on the board of a steamship and Florian is completely out of it. Ray lets him lean against him and he keeps telling him about the town where they are headed, how Florian will like the sea and the white buildings on the shore and the desert with its warm sand... Gah, that was the most touching scene in the whole manga. Ray was so hurt and desperate and tired and sad about what happened and then Florian took him by the hand and Ray simply smiled... That was... I have no words *misty eyed*

Gorgeous Carat is, hands down, the best manga I've ever read. The first volume is probably the weakest. The real story begins when Azura, the "blue-eyed demon" appears!

[sabershadowkat.livejournal.com]

*big put upon sigh* Now I'm going to have to get more of it and see what you mean. Enabler, you are!

[katikat.livejournal.com]

*feels so proud* But beware, Ray and Florian go through a lot of abuse there X) But seriously, this manga is really worth it :) It was the first manga I've ever bought and since I bought it in German, I have all the 4 books. The actual story of GC makes 2,5 volumes of the 4 vols manga.

oh, the Fake chappie - I've uploaded it for you here:

http://www.streamload.com/katikatnik