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dracoqueen22I come to you today with another manga review and plenty more to come as I relive my days of scouring the internet for any and all shounen-ai or yaoi manga to tickle my taste buds. I'm quite picky when it comes to what I'll read, especially since a majority of what can be found falls into several categories that don't interest me. They lack substance, are nothing more than smut fests that don't even look good, or consist of slash where the "uke" character looks more like a girl than most girls in the manga itself. *laughs* A problem that is exacerbated by the fact some manga-ka don't even draw the penises on their ukes as if to further support the illusion that they are in fact women in disguise.
Which is fine. That's not my taste, but it's the taste of plenty of other people and I'm glad they enjoy it. I just don't happen to enjoy them myself. I do have several favorite manga-ka, and several favorite manga. I figure, one by one, I'll review them as my reccs in hopes of getting other people to enjoy them like I have.
Last time, I brought you one from Naono Bohra, "Itsuki no Himitsu". This time, I bring you one from Yaya Sakuragi, "Tea for Two" aka "Koicha no Osahou". Both of these ladies are among my top five favorite manga-ka so I'm immensely pleased to share this with my friends. I actually bought "Tea for Two" from Amazon I enjoyed it so much. I could get it for free online, but there's nothing quite like holding the book in your hands. For one thing, the pictures are so much larger! And I think it's only fair to support an author who has brought me so much enjoyment. lol
On to the review!
For those who haven't heard of this work, "Tea for Two" is about two high school students, Tokumaru and Hasune, and the four volume trials, tribulations, and comedic encounters that comprise their relationship. Now normally, I'm not a fan of high school settings for slashy manga because they tend to be very... shall we say immature? But from the first chapter of this story, I was hooked.
Here's a basic rundown. Tokumaru is a clumsy guy who's always breaking his sister's things. In an attempt to teach him calmness, his sister forces him to sign up for their school's Tea Ceremony Club where he meets Hasune, eventual heir to the throne, so to speak, of his family's tradition of Tea Ceremonies. Attraction ensues. Or, as Baka Manga puts it: "Poor Tokumaru Madoka is just a regular energetic guy that can't seem to go even five minutes without breaking something. One day his hapless sister has had enough, and she forces him to join their high school’s Tea Ceremony Club, hoping to instill a little discipline in her hopeless klutz of a brother. Tea Ceremony Club president Hasune Kazuma is Tokumaru’s complete opposite. The tall, dark president is the pinnacle of restraint, having been taught from a young age how to uphold his family’s traditions. The sophisticated president and his awkward pupil conceal a brewing attraction, but they can’t avoid steaming each other up. But even full to the brim with passion, will the two of them be able to bridge their differences and get along with each other?"
All in all, the plot isn't something incredible or ground breaking or anything like that. But the plot is not what pulled me into it. It was the characters, the drawing, the dialogue, the pushes and pulls that Tokumaru and Hasune go through. It was everything about the manga-ka's style that pulled me in and refused to let go.
First of all, let me talk about Sakuragi-sensei's artwork. It's plainly put, beautiful, but not in the flowery, soft, gentle way that many slashy mangas take. It's all in the style. Her characters never lack for an expression. And you can easily tell one character from the other without having to rely on hair color or style (like I have to do with so many other manga). And the expressions! If there's one thing that Sakuragi-sensei does well, it's the smirk of the seme. Dear god, is it hot. Everything highlights this smirk. The arch of the eyebrow, the tilt of the chin, the curve of the lip. The shading. It's amazing. Same goes for all her other expressions. You can plainly see what the characters are feeling from their expressions. It's a strange thing to say, but the eyebrows are really what makes everything so clear. If that makes any sense.
Her men, also, are gorgeous. They are the types that I enjoy seeing in my manga. Tall, with long lines. They look sexy in suits and casual clothes. Broad shoulders. Tapered waists. Long, noticeably knuckled fingers on big hands. Quite, quite attractive. I also love that Tokumaru, the uke character, is only slightly shorter than Hasune but still looks like a man. He acts like a man. He couldn't be mistaken for a woman.
I also particularly enjoy how sensei's smutty scenes aren't as graphic or revealing as many others, but still manage to make me hotter. They are short, show what's necessary, and still make you want to grab a tissue for your bleeding nose. The smut isn't there just to make you go "yay, two men getting it on!" It's a natural progression of events.
On to the actual story itself. I enjoyed how their relationship progressed, how the four-volume series covers more than just "they get together, they fuck, OMG THEY'RE IN LOVE" which happens so much in one-volume stories. Which, considering they are only one volume, I suppose can't be helped. But I like longer stories, I like seeing what happens after. How they face things like telling those that are important to them about their relationship. How the world would view two men getting together. You know, realistic things. I know I'm asking too much for a bit of realism in a gay romance manga drawn and written by women, but that's my taste and I'm picky about it. lol. That's what I enjoy about the story.
It's not angsty. It's not going to tear your heart out as you read it. It's cute with both funny and serious moments, but it's worthy every moment spent reading it.
"Tea for Two" also had a really cute side story about Hasune's sister trying to be friends with Tokumaru's sister and failing miserably every time because of her "unfortunate genetics". It's quite the cute little bonus story and I wished there were more of it. I'd buy a manga with a story about the two of them.
Which is fine. That's not my taste, but it's the taste of plenty of other people and I'm glad they enjoy it. I just don't happen to enjoy them myself. I do have several favorite manga-ka, and several favorite manga. I figure, one by one, I'll review them as my reccs in hopes of getting other people to enjoy them like I have.
Last time, I brought you one from Naono Bohra, "Itsuki no Himitsu". This time, I bring you one from Yaya Sakuragi, "Tea for Two" aka "Koicha no Osahou". Both of these ladies are among my top five favorite manga-ka so I'm immensely pleased to share this with my friends. I actually bought "Tea for Two" from Amazon I enjoyed it so much. I could get it for free online, but there's nothing quite like holding the book in your hands. For one thing, the pictures are so much larger! And I think it's only fair to support an author who has brought me so much enjoyment. lol
On to the review!
For those who haven't heard of this work, "Tea for Two" is about two high school students, Tokumaru and Hasune, and the four volume trials, tribulations, and comedic encounters that comprise their relationship. Now normally, I'm not a fan of high school settings for slashy manga because they tend to be very... shall we say immature? But from the first chapter of this story, I was hooked.
Here's a basic rundown. Tokumaru is a clumsy guy who's always breaking his sister's things. In an attempt to teach him calmness, his sister forces him to sign up for their school's Tea Ceremony Club where he meets Hasune, eventual heir to the throne, so to speak, of his family's tradition of Tea Ceremonies. Attraction ensues. Or, as Baka Manga puts it: "Poor Tokumaru Madoka is just a regular energetic guy that can't seem to go even five minutes without breaking something. One day his hapless sister has had enough, and she forces him to join their high school’s Tea Ceremony Club, hoping to instill a little discipline in her hopeless klutz of a brother. Tea Ceremony Club president Hasune Kazuma is Tokumaru’s complete opposite. The tall, dark president is the pinnacle of restraint, having been taught from a young age how to uphold his family’s traditions. The sophisticated president and his awkward pupil conceal a brewing attraction, but they can’t avoid steaming each other up. But even full to the brim with passion, will the two of them be able to bridge their differences and get along with each other?"
All in all, the plot isn't something incredible or ground breaking or anything like that. But the plot is not what pulled me into it. It was the characters, the drawing, the dialogue, the pushes and pulls that Tokumaru and Hasune go through. It was everything about the manga-ka's style that pulled me in and refused to let go.
First of all, let me talk about Sakuragi-sensei's artwork. It's plainly put, beautiful, but not in the flowery, soft, gentle way that many slashy mangas take. It's all in the style. Her characters never lack for an expression. And you can easily tell one character from the other without having to rely on hair color or style (like I have to do with so many other manga). And the expressions! If there's one thing that Sakuragi-sensei does well, it's the smirk of the seme. Dear god, is it hot. Everything highlights this smirk. The arch of the eyebrow, the tilt of the chin, the curve of the lip. The shading. It's amazing. Same goes for all her other expressions. You can plainly see what the characters are feeling from their expressions. It's a strange thing to say, but the eyebrows are really what makes everything so clear. If that makes any sense.
Her men, also, are gorgeous. They are the types that I enjoy seeing in my manga. Tall, with long lines. They look sexy in suits and casual clothes. Broad shoulders. Tapered waists. Long, noticeably knuckled fingers on big hands. Quite, quite attractive. I also love that Tokumaru, the uke character, is only slightly shorter than Hasune but still looks like a man. He acts like a man. He couldn't be mistaken for a woman.
I also particularly enjoy how sensei's smutty scenes aren't as graphic or revealing as many others, but still manage to make me hotter. They are short, show what's necessary, and still make you want to grab a tissue for your bleeding nose. The smut isn't there just to make you go "yay, two men getting it on!" It's a natural progression of events.
On to the actual story itself. I enjoyed how their relationship progressed, how the four-volume series covers more than just "they get together, they fuck, OMG THEY'RE IN LOVE" which happens so much in one-volume stories. Which, considering they are only one volume, I suppose can't be helped. But I like longer stories, I like seeing what happens after. How they face things like telling those that are important to them about their relationship. How the world would view two men getting together. You know, realistic things. I know I'm asking too much for a bit of realism in a gay romance manga drawn and written by women, but that's my taste and I'm picky about it. lol. That's what I enjoy about the story.
It's not angsty. It's not going to tear your heart out as you read it. It's cute with both funny and serious moments, but it's worthy every moment spent reading it.
"Tea for Two" also had a really cute side story about Hasune's sister trying to be friends with Tokumaru's sister and failing miserably every time because of her "unfortunate genetics". It's quite the cute little bonus story and I wished there were more of it. I'd buy a manga with a story about the two of them.
