dracoqueen22 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dracoqueen22) wrote2009-09-14 11:39 am
dracoqueen22) wrote2009-09-14 11:39 am
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Manga Review: Bohra Naono: "Itsuka no Himitsu"
So I thought I'd give this a try. I've fallen in love with Japanese yaoi manga so I thought I'd share that enjoyment by highlighting a lot of my favorites on here, along with fic reviews and all that.
This time, I bring you one of my absolute favorite manga-ka's, Bohra Naono-sensei. Why? I simply love her artwork. Her boys look like men rather than little girls with penises. The lines are dark and bold, the expressions at times comical. Her storylines are heart-breaking and above the mark, even she indulges in cliches. She tips stereotypes on their end and most of the time, you never quite know who's going to be the uke until you get to the sex scene. I particularly love how the eyes are always darker. It gives the impression of the characters wearing eyeliner, but it's very distinctive. Due to that, and her very manly-shaped men -- square shoulders and hips, defined muscles and limbs -- I can identify her work without having someone tell me that she penned it.
"Itsuka no Himitsu" is the first of her works that I read, and it was the one that made me fall in love with her stories. It's a two-shot with an additional extra, but nevertheless, I love it.
It tells the story of Yuuya and Asano, the former who is a man recently fired, evicted, and abandoned by all his friends and forced to return home. Asano is his next-door neighbor, a man who is not only older than him, but blind. Not something commonly seen in manga. At least, not without having the eyesight returned in some miraculous manner. I'm particularly pleased with that detail.
It is a story of ten years of misunderstanding, culminating in a sweet, sensual love that one can see developing page by page. You find yourself just wanting to dive into the story, shake these stubborn men, and tell them to just talk to each other. But then, what man do you know spills his thoughts to another? So while it is infuriating, it also makes you hold your breath in anticipation.
I particularly like that Asano is no young, bishounen man. He is a fully-grown adult, edging towards his forties, and sensei captures his age but still managing to make him look attractive.
From Yuuya's aggressive behavior, and the fact that Asano is blind, one would almost expect to find Yuuya as the seme, but I was surprised to find it the other way around. The sex scene is incredibly sensual, specially since Asano mentions that he sees with his hands, so he spends a lot of his time just touching Yuuya everywhere.
There is also an element of comedy that really makes you fall in love with the characters. Asano's shy hesitance, Yuuya's gentle heart.
It is a manga I enjoy reading time and time again. I would reccommend it to anyone, as well as any other of Bohra-sensei's works.
This time, I bring you one of my absolute favorite manga-ka's, Bohra Naono-sensei. Why? I simply love her artwork. Her boys look like men rather than little girls with penises. The lines are dark and bold, the expressions at times comical. Her storylines are heart-breaking and above the mark, even she indulges in cliches. She tips stereotypes on their end and most of the time, you never quite know who's going to be the uke until you get to the sex scene. I particularly love how the eyes are always darker. It gives the impression of the characters wearing eyeliner, but it's very distinctive. Due to that, and her very manly-shaped men -- square shoulders and hips, defined muscles and limbs -- I can identify her work without having someone tell me that she penned it.
"Itsuka no Himitsu" is the first of her works that I read, and it was the one that made me fall in love with her stories. It's a two-shot with an additional extra, but nevertheless, I love it.
It tells the story of Yuuya and Asano, the former who is a man recently fired, evicted, and abandoned by all his friends and forced to return home. Asano is his next-door neighbor, a man who is not only older than him, but blind. Not something commonly seen in manga. At least, not without having the eyesight returned in some miraculous manner. I'm particularly pleased with that detail.
It is a story of ten years of misunderstanding, culminating in a sweet, sensual love that one can see developing page by page. You find yourself just wanting to dive into the story, shake these stubborn men, and tell them to just talk to each other. But then, what man do you know spills his thoughts to another? So while it is infuriating, it also makes you hold your breath in anticipation.
I particularly like that Asano is no young, bishounen man. He is a fully-grown adult, edging towards his forties, and sensei captures his age but still managing to make him look attractive.
From Yuuya's aggressive behavior, and the fact that Asano is blind, one would almost expect to find Yuuya as the seme, but I was surprised to find it the other way around. The sex scene is incredibly sensual, specially since Asano mentions that he sees with his hands, so he spends a lot of his time just touching Yuuya everywhere.
There is also an element of comedy that really makes you fall in love with the characters. Asano's shy hesitance, Yuuya's gentle heart.
It is a manga I enjoy reading time and time again. I would reccommend it to anyone, as well as any other of Bohra-sensei's works.