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dracoqueen22Once again, I bring you another manga review by one of my favorite manga writers: Yaya Sakuragi. I keep treating myself, every paycheck week, to buying one or two manga off of Amazon, so expect more reviews to come! Today I bring you "Stay Close To Me," a very cute, romantic manga that's a one volume work.
"Stay Close to Me," also known as, "Soba ni Oitene" is different than my other recommendations. This is not angsty or deep or particularly life-altering. In fact, I chose this manga just because it's adorable, makes me laugh, and has an interesting twist on the whole seme-uke dynamic. The characters are of a different sort, and it's not really that graphic, but it's cute and worth a read, so I recommend it anyway. Plus, I enjoy Sakuragi's drawing style so much that I can't help reading it anyway. And somedays, you just want a cute manga to make you smile.
Stay Close to Me is an 18+ work released by June Publishing. The manga itself is beautiful and well done. The cover is very neutral in tones and reflect the relationship of the characters very well. I'm also pleased with the translating and found very few grammatical errors. The book contains the title story, in four acts, and then an accompanying oneshot story with an extra.
Description: When Yuzu and Icchan were little boys, brave Icchan defended Yuzu from a gang of neighborhood bullies... but thanks to a sudden growth spurt, Yuzu now towers over his princely defender! Even though he's got more than a few inches on his best friend, Yuzu wants nothing more than to be Icchan's sweet princess! Will these two lifelong companions find the fairytale romance they've always dreamed of?
The reason I enjoy this fic so much is that Yuzu -- the character who ends up the "uke" -- is almost a full head taller than Issei (Icchan) -- the character who is the "seme." Not only that, Yuzu adores his Icchan, considering him a princely figure who deserves a princess. Yuzu would like to be that "princess" but he settles for being the perfect homemaker by learning how to cook, and he does cook well. What's really adorable is that Issei doesn't take Yuzu for granted. He treats him as someone precious (even trying to cook Yuzu dinner for once and failing miserably, which reassures Yuzu who's glad Icchan isn't good at something so he's not perfect).
What's especially comedic about this story is that Yuzu is unconsciously in love with Issei, but sweetly naive, unable to recognize exactly what that means. Issei, however, recognizes the meaning of it. He invites Yuzu over one day, and Icchan questions him "Well, we're dating aren't we?" Yes, yes, it's one of those "haven't we been dating???" type situations that I have such a weakness for. They can be so amusing and adorable when done well.
This manga isn't very graphic. The two sex scenes are short and sweet, very well done. What I find nice is that Issei obviously cares for Yuzu in return, and he likes Yuzu just the way he is: tall and lanky.
Again, I can't help but praise the art. This may sound odd, but simply ADORE the way Sakuragi-sensei draws hands, especially on these boys. They are strong, noticeably knuckled... they are some sexy hands. *laughs* Both the seme and the uke have these strong, very male hands, which I especially appreciate. And of course, I can't forget the expressions that I always enjoy. The faces are very well done.
There's not much to say about the oneshot and accompanying extra. The story itself is a little bland, but with only twenty or so pages to work with, there's not much to explore. I read it mostly for the pretty, and then go back to reading the main fic.
So if you're looking for a cute romance that'll make you go "awww" this is it.
"Stay Close to Me," also known as, "Soba ni Oitene" is different than my other recommendations. This is not angsty or deep or particularly life-altering. In fact, I chose this manga just because it's adorable, makes me laugh, and has an interesting twist on the whole seme-uke dynamic. The characters are of a different sort, and it's not really that graphic, but it's cute and worth a read, so I recommend it anyway. Plus, I enjoy Sakuragi's drawing style so much that I can't help reading it anyway. And somedays, you just want a cute manga to make you smile.
Stay Close to Me is an 18+ work released by June Publishing. The manga itself is beautiful and well done. The cover is very neutral in tones and reflect the relationship of the characters very well. I'm also pleased with the translating and found very few grammatical errors. The book contains the title story, in four acts, and then an accompanying oneshot story with an extra.
Description: When Yuzu and Icchan were little boys, brave Icchan defended Yuzu from a gang of neighborhood bullies... but thanks to a sudden growth spurt, Yuzu now towers over his princely defender! Even though he's got more than a few inches on his best friend, Yuzu wants nothing more than to be Icchan's sweet princess! Will these two lifelong companions find the fairytale romance they've always dreamed of?
The reason I enjoy this fic so much is that Yuzu -- the character who ends up the "uke" -- is almost a full head taller than Issei (Icchan) -- the character who is the "seme." Not only that, Yuzu adores his Icchan, considering him a princely figure who deserves a princess. Yuzu would like to be that "princess" but he settles for being the perfect homemaker by learning how to cook, and he does cook well. What's really adorable is that Issei doesn't take Yuzu for granted. He treats him as someone precious (even trying to cook Yuzu dinner for once and failing miserably, which reassures Yuzu who's glad Icchan isn't good at something so he's not perfect).
What's especially comedic about this story is that Yuzu is unconsciously in love with Issei, but sweetly naive, unable to recognize exactly what that means. Issei, however, recognizes the meaning of it. He invites Yuzu over one day, and Icchan questions him "Well, we're dating aren't we?" Yes, yes, it's one of those "haven't we been dating???" type situations that I have such a weakness for. They can be so amusing and adorable when done well.
This manga isn't very graphic. The two sex scenes are short and sweet, very well done. What I find nice is that Issei obviously cares for Yuzu in return, and he likes Yuzu just the way he is: tall and lanky.
Again, I can't help but praise the art. This may sound odd, but simply ADORE the way Sakuragi-sensei draws hands, especially on these boys. They are strong, noticeably knuckled... they are some sexy hands. *laughs* Both the seme and the uke have these strong, very male hands, which I especially appreciate. And of course, I can't forget the expressions that I always enjoy. The faces are very well done.
There's not much to say about the oneshot and accompanying extra. The story itself is a little bland, but with only twenty or so pages to work with, there's not much to explore. I read it mostly for the pretty, and then go back to reading the main fic.
So if you're looking for a cute romance that'll make you go "awww" this is it.
