dracoqueen22 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dracoqueen22) wrote2010-10-19 08:43 pm
dracoqueen22) wrote2010-10-19 08:43 pm
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Manga Review: Tetuzoh Okadaya - Man of Tango
If there was ever a manga that I can't wait to be published in the US, it's Man of Tango by Tetuzoh Okadaya. I was first introduced to this beautiful manga by the scanlation group Nakama. And I fell in love at first sight. After they released it, Nakama has since removed the links to the site because it's been licensed, and they won't scanlate any more of the manga-ka's work because she requested it. So I hope, hope, HOPE that the US licensing agency get off their asses and start releasing the manga-ka's work over here because it's lovely.
And not lovely in the sense of beautiful. No, her characters are strongly, strongly masculine. There are no flowery, pretty boys here. Thank the gods because that's what I've been looking for. They have muscles and body hair and broad shoulders and firm jaws and everything wonderful that I could ever hope for. Some would probably compare Okadaya-sensei's work to bara -- Japanese gay male comics targeted at a gay male audience. Frankly, I'm not surprised that my tastes run more toward bara-similar works. It tends to have a more realistic view and is a bit more believable and heck, I must admit I love the artwork. It tends to run bold and shameless and masculine. Yum. It's totally my taste, which I know differs greatly from most slash/gay/yaoi fans. But that's another debate in unto itself.
When I say Okadaya-sensei's work is lovely, I mean that everything about it is appealing. From the storyline, to the emotions, to the artwork, to the way the information is presented. It's erotic and delicious.
Man of Tango, my first foray into Okadaya-sensei's work, is truly a brilliant manga. I'm sad that there's only one tankobon.
Here's a brief description, as given by Baka-Updates. It's also the description given on the cover of the tankobon: Angie, though hailed as "The Man of Tango," had never truly felt the deep, fiery passion of Latin dance. That is, until he met Hiro, a man born from a Latin mother, who was under his Japanese grandfather's custody and now lives as a Japanese citizen. Now, a slow, seething desire begins to rock his body and soul! At first feeling a nostalgic familiarity toward the Latin dancer, Hiro finds himself drawn into the seductive beat of a Latin dance, opening his body and heart to the smoldering heat of his Tango partner.
I really love the theme of tango. I'm not a dancer myself, but I've always wanted to learn, and tango is one of the dances that I've always admired. It is such a sensual dance, and I've thought that to watch two people do a tango is like watching a story being told. It's quite lovely. And Okadaya-sensei does an excellent job capturing the sensuality of two characters in motion, even with ink on paper. It's like watching the tango in real life.
I especially love how well the men are drawn also. They are masculine and well-shaped, with limbs in perfect proportion. Sensei doesn't skimp on the details, she really knows how to capture the male form.
Man of Tango is a romance, but it doesn't feel one. There's not of that flowery, sappy, gooey nonsense. It's realistic and wonderful, with ups and downs and none of that constant, "I love you" floating around the screen as though it's freely given without any trouble at all. The story moves on at a perfect pace, with the relationship developing between the two men in a believable fashion. And for how erotic the sex scenes are, there's a certain sensuality to it that leaves them feeling less like porn and more like a progression of plot. I do so love my porn, but it's always better when accompanied by story and Okadaya-sensei pairs the two together perfectly.
My only complaint? It's not long enough! I'd love to see more of these two. But I can also see how the story has come together in the end and there's little left to cover. Also, at times it was a little difficult to follow the story, but I also think that's a fault of my own. I get excited and skim through the pages to read it all, and then go back and read a lot more slowly. I tend to miss important details when I do that, I've discovered.
I can't wait for Man of Tango to be released by Aurora Publishing. It's something I'll buy in a heartbeat. And I'm grateful to Nakama for introducing me to Okadaya-sensei's works. Without their scanlation, I would have never discovered how much I could enjoy her works. I know can recognize her as someone I can always go to for quality works. They also released an oneshot by her before she asked them to stop scanlating, which only cemented my becoming a fan of hers. I'm hooked for life. ^_^
And not lovely in the sense of beautiful. No, her characters are strongly, strongly masculine. There are no flowery, pretty boys here. Thank the gods because that's what I've been looking for. They have muscles and body hair and broad shoulders and firm jaws and everything wonderful that I could ever hope for. Some would probably compare Okadaya-sensei's work to bara -- Japanese gay male comics targeted at a gay male audience. Frankly, I'm not surprised that my tastes run more toward bara-similar works. It tends to have a more realistic view and is a bit more believable and heck, I must admit I love the artwork. It tends to run bold and shameless and masculine. Yum. It's totally my taste, which I know differs greatly from most slash/gay/yaoi fans. But that's another debate in unto itself.
When I say Okadaya-sensei's work is lovely, I mean that everything about it is appealing. From the storyline, to the emotions, to the artwork, to the way the information is presented. It's erotic and delicious.
Man of Tango, my first foray into Okadaya-sensei's work, is truly a brilliant manga. I'm sad that there's only one tankobon.
Here's a brief description, as given by Baka-Updates. It's also the description given on the cover of the tankobon: Angie, though hailed as "The Man of Tango," had never truly felt the deep, fiery passion of Latin dance. That is, until he met Hiro, a man born from a Latin mother, who was under his Japanese grandfather's custody and now lives as a Japanese citizen. Now, a slow, seething desire begins to rock his body and soul! At first feeling a nostalgic familiarity toward the Latin dancer, Hiro finds himself drawn into the seductive beat of a Latin dance, opening his body and heart to the smoldering heat of his Tango partner.
I really love the theme of tango. I'm not a dancer myself, but I've always wanted to learn, and tango is one of the dances that I've always admired. It is such a sensual dance, and I've thought that to watch two people do a tango is like watching a story being told. It's quite lovely. And Okadaya-sensei does an excellent job capturing the sensuality of two characters in motion, even with ink on paper. It's like watching the tango in real life.
I especially love how well the men are drawn also. They are masculine and well-shaped, with limbs in perfect proportion. Sensei doesn't skimp on the details, she really knows how to capture the male form.
Man of Tango is a romance, but it doesn't feel one. There's not of that flowery, sappy, gooey nonsense. It's realistic and wonderful, with ups and downs and none of that constant, "I love you" floating around the screen as though it's freely given without any trouble at all. The story moves on at a perfect pace, with the relationship developing between the two men in a believable fashion. And for how erotic the sex scenes are, there's a certain sensuality to it that leaves them feeling less like porn and more like a progression of plot. I do so love my porn, but it's always better when accompanied by story and Okadaya-sensei pairs the two together perfectly.
My only complaint? It's not long enough! I'd love to see more of these two. But I can also see how the story has come together in the end and there's little left to cover. Also, at times it was a little difficult to follow the story, but I also think that's a fault of my own. I get excited and skim through the pages to read it all, and then go back and read a lot more slowly. I tend to miss important details when I do that, I've discovered.
I can't wait for Man of Tango to be released by Aurora Publishing. It's something I'll buy in a heartbeat. And I'm grateful to Nakama for introducing me to Okadaya-sensei's works. Without their scanlation, I would have never discovered how much I could enjoy her works. I know can recognize her as someone I can always go to for quality works. They also released an oneshot by her before she asked them to stop scanlating, which only cemented my becoming a fan of hers. I'm hooked for life. ^_^