It’s been a wonderful week here at Manga Bookshelf. As we wrap up our week-long look at Fumi Yoshinaga, I’d like to extend another round of thanks to Michelle Smith, Danielle Leigh, Eva Volin, Robin Brenner, and David Welsh for joining me in celebrating one of our favorite mangaka.

After kicking things off with my favorite of her series, Flower of Life, I though it appropriate to end things yesterday on a similarly beloved note with Antique Bakery. There are few short series I have loved as much as either of these, and it’s a great pleasure to talk about them here, in the company of both long-time Yoshinaga fans and potential new ones.

A full archive of the week can be found by searching the tag, “fumi yoshinaga.”

Alternatively, here’s a full list of the week’s festivities: Read more…

Fumi Yoshinaga’s Gerard & Jacques is a two-volume boys’ love manga that tells the story of Jacques, a young aristocrat swept into a new, terrifying world following the death of his father, and Gerard, the unlikely man who eventually becomes his new family.

Published in English by BLU Manga (Tokyopop’s BL imprint) Gerard & Jacques was recommended highly to me when I first began reading yaoi, but I’ll admit I had some difficulty with it my first time around, due to some specific content in the manga’s opening chapter which kept me from enjoying it at all at the time.

When I began to make plans for this special week of Yoshinaga, I decided to give Gerard & Jacques another try. I was also interested to hear what some of my favorite critics (and BL fans) thought of the work, so I invited a few of them along for the ride. Read more…