Archives for June 2009

Tea for Two and Assorted Links

June 19, 2009 by MJ Leave a Comment

Just a quick collection of links to share today! As my Anime Boston coverage finally went up early this morning, I realized that there were a few recent reviews of mine at Manga Recon that I’ve failed to link to from here. Check out the AB coverage for discussion of some of the panels I attended, particularly Saturday’s “What Is Boys’ Love?” which I know I tweeted from in some distress at the time.

Recent reviews at PCS include GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class, Tail of the Moon Prequel, and (by far my favorite of the three) the first two volumes of Tea for Two, an engaging BL series from Tokyopop.

Also, I’ve reviewed a couple of fantastic volumes here over the past few days–volume five of Yen Press’ addictive girls’ manhwa Goong and volume 17 of one of my personal favorites, NANA, which was in my possession for only a few hours before I allowed myself to read it (and would not have lasted that long if I hadn’t set it up as my incentive to finally finish the AB coverage).

I have more reviews of upcoming Viz titles on the way, as well as Yuri Monogatari and The Manga Guide to Physics, so stay tuned!

Boys Over Flowers 23 by Yoko Kamio: B

June 19, 2009 by Michelle Smith

boysoverflowers23 From the back cover:
Tsukushi ends her visit at her parents’ quiet seaside home and returns to Tokyo. She is welcomed back with a “girls’ night out” and ends up meeting a ton of guys! Unfortunately, they all turn out to be losers. In fact, one of the boys is downright terrifying and bears a striking resemblance to a certain curly-haired ex-boyfriend! Could they be related?!

Review:
The fishing village story line wraps up fairly decently, actually, with some nice awkwardness between Tsukushi and Tsukasa (in which she has trouble not confessing her love), the “No-Account” dude being reunited with his girlfriend, and, back in Tokyo, the Makinos being given use of a condo by Shigeru. It turns out that all of Tsukushi’s rich friends wanted to lend her accommodations and had talked about it at length to figure out whose generosity would put the least strain on her. Aww.

Of course, Tsukushi is determined to get a job so that the Makinos no longer need depend on Shigeru and so that she can fund her brother’s high school ambitions. Sakurako dangles the carrot of a high-paying job that she knows about and manages to get Tsukushi to attend a group date along with Shigeru and Yuki. These scenes with the four girls hanging out (and trying to help Tsukushi forget Tsukasa) are a lot of fun and I hope we see more of them together. I can even forgive the ridiculousness of encountering a Tsukasa look-a-like on the date and Tsukushi’s subsequent moron moment as she keeps mistaking him for Tsukasa.

As usual, the final scene of the volume offers some particularly scrumptious angst between our two leads. It’s worth noting that Tsukasa, who had said that if the two-month dating experience didn’t work out that he would let her go, is being true to his word and not exerting any effort to get Tsukushi back. I’d like this scene better if the Tsukasa look-a-like didn’t show up at the end, but it still serves to acquaint Tsukushi even further with her true feelings, so I can’t complain much.

I can complain about the Story Thus Far, however. Usually, this is pretty decent but this time it contains errors. It says of the final chapter in volume 21 that “Tsukushi does not reveal the real reason for leaving Tsukasa, and instead, tells him that she no longer loves him.” Er, that’s completely untrue. She specifically mentions his mother and the threats on her friends’ families. Also, how could you tell someone you no longer love them if you’ve never told them you love them in the first place? What she did do was allow Tsukasa to think calling things off was easy for her because she had no feelings for him.

NANA, Volume 17

June 18, 2009 by MJ 1 Comment

NANA, Vol. 17
By Ai Yazawa
Published by Viz Media

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“But now I just want one thing… the courage to face things once more.”

This volume begins in the future timeline, with Hachi meeting Shin at apartment 707 during the Christmas season where she discovers an envelope left in the mailbox containing photos of Nana singing in a faraway club. The scene is unexpectedly moving and it put tears in my eyes right from the beginning of the volume which never truly disappeared. Though much of this book focuses on the storyline begun in in the volume sixteen regarding Nana’s biological mother and the related Search exposé, what this volume really does is bring Nana and Hachi back together–something guaranteed to fill my heart with joy. Having been manipulated by the Search reporter into confronting Nana’s mother (though this confrontation is ultimately fruitless), Hachi first spends some time hiding out at her parents’ house in shame, but once the story finally hits she runs straight to Nana’s side, much to everyone’s relief. This volume also takes a surprisingly frank look at Mai’s past, including how she became “Misato Uehara,” and delves more deeply into the complicated relationships between the members of Trapnest, focusing on Reira in particular.

…

Boys Over Flowers 22 by Yoko Kamio: B-

June 18, 2009 by Michelle Smith

boysoverflowers22 From the back cover:
Tsukushi has left her on-and-off boyfriend Tsukasa, his mansion, her school, and Tokyo altogether! Down and out, she heads for the seaside village where her family has gone to live and work. Unfortunately, her parents are about to be run out of town. Just then, visitors from Tokyo arive!

Review:
What a disappointment! After the awesomeness at the end of the last volume, I was expecting something much better than this. Instead, we get a ridiculous plot where Tsukushi flees to the fishing village, where her incredibily annoying parents have told everyone that Tsukushi is engaged to Doumyouji and are racking up bills with the expectation that he’ll pay them. She also meets a slacker surfer guy who is waiting around for the girlfriend who left him to return and who has garnered a reputation as a “no-account.” Inexplicably, everybody in the village seems irate that Tsukushi is hanging out with this dude, and there’s a completely dumb scene where they all turn out at her parents’ house to confront her.

Meanwhile, Tsukasa is reverting to his violent ways, threatening his friends with bodily harm when they come to talk to him about what’s happened and being cruel to a girl who takes advantage of Tsukushi’s absence to confess her feelings for him. This, at least, is better than the fishing village story line and I kind of love the scene where Rui, having seen Tsukushi on TV (some kind of program was filmed at the beach and had Tsukushi in the background), goes to goad Tsukasa into going to see her, pushing all the right buttons by exaggerating her frail condition.

Ultimately, the best part of the volume is the ending, in which Rui and Tsukasa turn up at the village just in time to prevent some angry mob action. Yes, it’s completely goofy, but that Rui came himself (thinking he had failed to motivate Tsukasa) is actually pretty sweet. I’ve learned my lesson, however, and shan’t be anticipating any greatness out of the next volume just because this one ends well.

Goong, Volume 5

June 17, 2009 by MJ 6 Comments

Goong, Vol. 5
By Park So Hee
Published by Yen Press

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Goong is set in an alternate version of modern Korea in which the monarchy survived and continues on as in England or Japan. Chae-Kyung is an ordinary girl who happens to attend the same high school as the country’s current crown prince, Shin Lee. Though the prince is much admired and fairly dreamy, Chae-Kyung discovers early on that he is also a real jerk. Unfortunately for both of them, the royal family has decided that it is Shin Lee’s time to marry and after the only girl he proposes to turns him down, he’s bound to follow his family’s wishes and marry the granddaughter of his deceased grandfather’s best friend–a commoner who “treated him like a normal human being and not a king.” The granddaughter is, of course, Chae-Kyung.

…

Boys Over Flowers 21 by Yoko Kamio: B+

June 17, 2009 by Michelle Smith

boysoverflowers21 From the back cover:
Tsukasa’s mother, Kaede, is back! Can Tsukushi really stay in the home of the woman with whom she is at war?! Kaede takes a new and vicious tack in her obsession to tear Tsukushi away from her upperclass son. If Tsukushi can’t be bribed, then maybe Kaede can destroy the lives of Tsukushi’s friends! Tsukushi is forced to take extreme measures—but which course will she choose?!

Review:
Kaede’s return has everyone in turmoil. Tama, the elderly maid who has been instructing Tsukushi in her duties, manages to keep Kaede from kicking Tsukushi out of the mansion, but Kaede simply turns to other means at her disposal and pulls strings to threaten the jobs of the fathers of Tsukushi’s two closest friends. Ultimately, Tsukushi agrees to stop associating with the Doumyouji family in exchange for their jobs being reinstated.

At first, I found this volume to be kind of frustrating, despite some nice moments. The scene in which Tsukushi attempts to hide from Kaede under a table is painfully dumb, for example, and Tsukushi’s decision to give up Tsukasa seemed like just another way to extend the drama for a few more volumes. But then that last page!

That last page made me cry! I shan’t spoil it, but suffice it to say that this volume contains a couple of very important actions and realizations on Tsukushi’s part, and the impact is enough that I immediately forget all the silly business and enjoy reading the last half dozen pages several times over.

Black Cat 1-2 by Kentaro Yabuki: B+

June 17, 2009 by Michelle Smith

blackcat11 Black Cat is the story of Train Heartnet, who used to work as an assassin for a powerful organization called Chronos. After an encounter with a female bounty hunter (a.k.a. sweeper) named Saya (whom we only glimpse near the end of volume two), his outlook changed and he gave up that life. Now it’s two years later and Train has become a sweeper himself, collecting bounties on criminals with his partner, Sven. Train’s motto is “more money, more danger… more fun!” and his pursuit of the latter two usually means the duo doesn’t get much of the former.

Though the idea of the “protagonist who used to be a killer but has now become more kind” is not new to shounen manga, it’s employed a little differently in Black Cat. While many such heroes have made it their pledge never to kill again, Train has no problem with offing the criminal element, though he’s scrupulous about not harming innocents. This allows for the potential of a deadly showdown with his former partner, Creed, who was responsible for Saya’s death and upon whom Train has sworn to exact revenge.

After going after a few minor targets, Train and Sven are approached with a proposition by Rinslet, a notorious female thief. She’s been hired to steal some research data from a criminal bigwig, and wants Train and Sven to help make her job easier by capturing the bigwig first. They get the reward; she gets the loot; everybody’s happy. Of course, things don’t exactly go as planned, since the bigwig invokes Creed’s name and makes Train go rather nuts. Ultimately, Train and Creed confront each other, inflicting enough wounds to prove they are well matched as opponents but living to fight another day.

These first two volumes skillfully introduce Train’s past, his current circumstances, and the lingering threat of Creed and his band of revolutionaries (who seek to overthrow Chronos and want Train to join them) without inundating the reader with information. One of the best things about this series is the nebulous notion of “pacing,” which to me means that when I read it, it feels like I am watching a television show, with a variety of perspectives and camera angles and a natural flow to scenes and conversations. The story is also structured similarly, with the introduction of a villain who then retreats into the background for a bit while the protagonists get on with the daily grind of their occupation, calling, and/or duty.

My favorite aspect of the series, however, is the strength of the partnership between Train and Sven. It’s clear that these two trust each other professionally, but it goes deeper than that, as exemplified by Train’s reaction when Sven gets wounded during an attempt to apprehend a target. Their relationship actually reminds me some of Ban and Ginji in GetBackers, with the energetic but extremely powerful guy using the nickname –chan to refer to his more cerebral partner who possesses some sort of eye-related power (though this is only a hint so far in Sven’s case). That’s a pretty superficial comparison, but the overall affectionate feel is pretty similar.

Thankfully, the similarities between Black Cat and GetBackers do not extend to the art. Yabuki’s illustrations are clean and easy on the eyes, with a minimum of screentone and quite a lot of speed lines. Even without looking at the cover, one could probably tell that this series ran in Shonen Jump. Speaking of the cover, that’s the one area where Yabuki’s art becomes unattractive. Rinslet in particular looks much, much better in the interior art. One artistic element that does puzzle me is Train’s coat. What exactly are those brown things?! They look like miniature life boats but I have a sneaking suspicion they’re meant to be cat nipples.

Bizarre sartorial choices aside, what it all boils down to is that Black Cat is a lot of fun. The well structured story and the camaraderie between the leads elevates it beyond typical shounen fare and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how the rest of it plays out.

This review was originally published at Comics Should Be Good.

Tail of the Moon Prequel: The Other Hanzo(u)

June 16, 2009 by MJ Leave a Comment

By Rinko Ueda
Viz, 192 pp.
Rating: T+ (Older Teen)

Kaguya is a young woman working as a housekeeper in a Tensho Era brothel, the inhabitants of which originally discovered her wounded and unconscious in a field of bamboo. Though she has no memory before that time, the one mark of her former life is a long, moon-shaped scar left on her back by a sword or knife. Though her scar prevents her from working as a prostitute, one of the brothel’s regulars, Hanzou Hattori—a well-known playboy who serves as a bodyguard at the nearby Okazaki Castle—takes an interest in her and after just a few meetings they fall in love. It is only when Hanzou finally sees the scar on Kaguya’s back—one which he gave her—that he realizes her true identity as the assassin who killed the Okazaki lord’s mother just six months prior. Confronted with this news, Kaguya flees to safety, suffering a blow to the head in the process. When she finally awakens in the care of her retainer, Rikimaru, Kaguya realizes that she is actually Princess Sara, a powerful ninja sent to assassinate the very lord whom Hanzou protects. As the volume continues, new truths are revealed, Lord Okazaki is destroyed, and Sara and Hanzou continue as secret lovers while Sara takes on her missions, including one in which she must pretend to marry Hanzou’s relative, Shimo-no-Hanzo, recognizable to fans as the male lead from Tail of the Moon.

Following the first meeting and courtship of two minor characters in Tail of the Moon, Tail of the Moon Prequel: The Other Hanzo(u) is quite accessible to those who have never read the original series, which is probably one of its strongest points. Though the art is pretty and the heroine, Sara, is fun and feisty as a ninja, the story itself provides little substance or thrill. The romance is rushed to the point of being unbelievable, and Sara’s ninja missions are too easily accomplished to evoke any real suspense. It is disheartening, too, that despite her great renown as a ninja, Sara always seems to require Hanzou’s last-minute intervention to achieve her objectives.

That said, this volume is lively, with attractive characters and a breezy romantic plot line which may appeal to many shojo fans, particularly those fond of the original series.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at PopCultureShock.

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need

June 16, 2009 by Katherine Dacey

Given the current economic climate, any book with the subtitle The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need sounds like a worthwhile investment. Job seekers should be warned, however, that The Adventures of Johnny Bunko isn’t about crafting the perfect resume, networking, or nailing the interview, but finding a career path that suits your strengths and personal values. Readers should also note that Johnny Bunko’s format defies easy categorization, straddling the fence between graphic novel and self-help book. Some readers may find Johnny Bunko’s mixture of slapstick humor and advice charming, while others may find the presentation too gimmicky for their tastes.

The story follows Johnny, a recent college graduate toiling in anonymity at a large company. Thanks to a set of magical chopsticks, he acquires an unorthodox career counselor who talks like a drill sargeant but dresses like a genie. Johnny hopes that Diana will give him insider tips for getting ahead, but instead she offers six, Yoda-esque rules that run the gamut from “There is no plan” (meaning that it’s impossible to map out your entire career) to “Persistence trumps talent” (meaning that a strong work ethic is a better predictor of success than intelligence or talent). Each chapter addresses one of these six rules, showing us how Johnny’s mistakes prevent him from being successful in the workplace by playing it safe, working a job that taxes his weaker skills, and bypassing his supervisor to pitch an idea to the head honcho.

Daniel Pink’s advice may seem glib to recent college graduates without jobs. After all, Johnny is employed; he just doesn’t like what he’s doing. Folks in their mid-to-late twenties are a better audience for Johnny Bunko, as they’re more likely to be questioning their career path—should I go back to school for a graduate degree? why didn’t I get the promotion I deserve?—than those struggling to find an entry-level position.

Whether twenty-something readers will warm to the presentation, however, is another question. Artist Robert Ten Pas, winner of Tokyopop’s Rising Stars of Manga contest, employs a style that blends Eastern and Western influences. This synthetic approach doesn’t quite work, producing a jumbled, dark layout that’s overly toned, a flaw compounded by the thin, greyish paperstock. Pas’ character designs are also problematic: though he draws realistic, animated faces, his characters’ bodies often look stiff, like dolls whose limbs have been bent into slightly unnatural positions.

If The Adventures of Johnny Bunko carried a lower price tag—say, $7.99—I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it, as Daniel Pink offers the kind of sensible advice that most of us never got from parents, college career counselors, or co-workers. At $15.00, however, Johnny Bunko seems overpriced, both for the paucity of content and the poor production values. Self-help books don’t need to be long to be useful, of course, but when the book’s main talking points could be reduced to a good blog post, budget-conscious readers may prefer to obtain their copy through a used bookstore or library, as I did.

THE ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY BUNKO: THE LAST CAREER GUIDE YOU’LL EVER NEED • BY DANIEL PINK, ART BY ROB TEN PAS • RIVERHEAD BOOKS • 160 pp. • NO RATING

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need

June 16, 2009 by Katherine Dacey

Monkey High! 6 by Shouko Akira: B+

June 16, 2009 by Michelle Smith

Volume six of Monkey High! builds on issues between reserved Haruna and her cheerful boyfriend, Macharu, that began to develop in the previous volume. Macharu, in his optimism, keeps trying to help bring about reconciliation between Haruna and her distant politician father while the mere thought of her family woes is sufficient to ruin any fun Haruna might be having. Macharu’s friend Atsu, who also has feelings for Haruna, tries to take advantage of the situation to convince her that he’s a better choice, but in the end Haruna decides that it’s time to stop running from her family problems and face them head-on.

I’m always appreciative when the issues a couple faces come completely from who they are as people. Haruna and Macharu have had very different upbringings, and it’s clear that Macharu’s warm and loving environment has rendered him incapable of imagining the coldness with which Haruna’s father treats her until he sees it for himself. I also really like how clear the beautiful Haruna is about her devotion to the goofy Macharu and how she’s neither flustered nor tempted by Atsu’s attempts to woo her.

On the downside, the old shojo cliché of “Oops, I tripped and got to first and/or second base with you!” is employed not once but twice in this volume. In each case, it serves to get Macharu and Haruna thinking about the physical aspect of their relationship, which is good, but it’s too bad that couldn’t have been accomplished in a more original way.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

Pluto, Volume 3

June 13, 2009 by MJ 9 Comments

Pluto, Vol. 3
By Naoki Urasawa & Osamu Tezuka
Published by Viz Media

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Based on the story “The Greatest Robot on Earth” from Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy series, Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto takes place in a future world in which robots and humans live as equals. It begins by following a detective named Gesicht (a robot with exceptional sensory abilities) as he takes on two similar cases–the murder of a robot war hero who was beloved by the world and the murder of an activist who worked to preserve existing robot civil rights laws. Though the lack of physical evidence at both crime scenes suggests that a robot is the culprit, robot laws forbid a robot from killing a human which makes that possibility complicated and potentially very volatile.

…

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Keeping Up Appearances as a Female Fan

June 13, 2009 by MJ 54 Comments

This morning as I was scrolling through my LiveJournal friends list, I came across a post by a friend, lamenting the obvious sexism in both the LA Times’ Girls’ Guide to Comic-Con and the upcoming Marvel Divas comics. I bristled, just as she did, at the implication (or perhaps outright statement?) that the only things that could possibly interest women in comics are hot guys, romance, and shoes. It was only after my initial disgust waned a bit that I was able to stop and think about how much work I’ve put into proving that kind of thinking wrong and how much that has shaped my actions and decisions–to the point where I may be letting those ideas about women control me as much as if they were true.

Boys Over Flowers, Volumes 1-5

June 12, 2009 by MJ 11 Comments

As you may have noticed, I’ve been spending a lot of time lately (thanks to the generosity of friends!) catching up on older shojo series I missed during all those years I spent tragically unaware of manga. Included in a recent shipment of manga loaned to me by Michelle Smith were the first five volumes of a long-running shojo classic. Behold.

Boys Over Flowers, Vols. 1-5
By Yoko Kamio
Published by Viz Media

Tsukushi Makino is a smart girl from a working class background, attending an elite “escalator” school populated mainly by kids of wealthy families. Disgusted by a group of rich bullies known as the “F4” (“Flower Four”) who rule the school with an iron fist (and their parents’ money), she finally snaps and kicks the leader (Tsukasa Domyouji, son of a powerful corporate mogul) in the face as he begins to bully her best friend, Makiko. Defying the F4 earns Tsukushi a dreaded “red slip”–the F4’s declaration of war–something that signifies such torment and misery to come that it typically drives students into transferring out of the school. …

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Tea for Two, Vols. 1-2

June 11, 2009 by MJ Leave a Comment

By Yaya Sakuragi
Published by BLU
Rating: Mature

Madoka Tokumaru is, to put it simply, a spaz. He is verbally crude, physically out of control, and lacks grace and composure on every level–something his sister is certain can be cured by forcing him into their school’s Tea Ceremony Club. Fortunately, the club’s president, Kazuma Hasune, whose family maintains the tea ceremony traditions, is up to the seemingly impossible task. Madoka’s progress is slow. He is crude, clumsy, and has difficulty maintaining seiza for any period of time. Still, as the school’s cultural festival rolls around, Madoka is deemed presentable enough to put on a kimono and serve tea.

Madoka’s newfound composure is quickly broken, however, when he discovers that some students are taking advantage of the festival chaos to rob the Tea Ceremony Club room of its valuable teacup collection–specifically Kazuma’s personal cup, which, despite being of lesser monetary value than any others in the room, has great sentimental value for Kazuma. Determined to retrieve the cup, Madoka chases after the culprits and gives them a sound beating, only to drop the cup himself immediately upon his return. Devastated by his failure, Madoka falls to pieces, but Kazuma is touched by his actions and thanks him warmly. This is really the beginning of a closer relationship between the two and as the first volume continues, Modoka and Kazuma begin to fall in love, though it requires some encouragement from Keigo (an openly gay friend of Kazuma’s) to really loosen up Kazuma’s heart and get things going.

Volume two follows the protagonists as they face questions about their future. Madoka feels directionless and Kazuma begins to question his place as the future head of his family, where he is expected to take over the tea ceremony. Adding further complication is the return of a close friend of Madoka’s who has been living overseas and who inspires some jealousy in Kazuma.

Though this series isn’t remarkably original or groundbreaking in any sense, it is a very satisfying romance story which bests much of its genre by actually discussing the characters’ sexuality in clear terms, at least by its second volume. Though initially appearing to play into the tired female fantasy of two (one, at the very least) apparently straight schoolboys falling in love with each other, as the story continues, the two not only must face how their relationship is viewed by family and friends and how it affects their future, but they even have a conversation about it in which they actually use the word, “gay.” Though it is sad that this is such a rarity in a boys’ love story, the reality of it makes this manga a rare jewel. That said, the mangaka does pull a cop-out by making most of the story’s queer characters actually bisexual (including the two protagonists)–Madoka even continues to ogle girly magazines after he begins a sexual relationship with Kazuma–though this only costs her a few points.

Speaking of gay characters, though the story’s primary relationship is quite touching and definitely a satisfying read, the real gem of the series is Kazuma’s friend Keigo, whose relationship with an artist who illustrates erotic novels begins as a side story in the first volume and continues into the second (actually culminating in a joke about the lack of “realism” in yaoi). Keigo is flamboyant and fun and serves as a sort of mentor for Kazuma who is too serious for his age. “Let me tell you something, Kazuma-kun,” Keigo says, supposedly discussing the broken cup but obviously hinting at deeper things. “Even when you think you’re taking good care of something… if it’s cracked, someday it’s going to break. You should fix things before it’s too late.” Though he never becomes more than a supporting character, it is his presence that really makes the story work–providing much-needed insight and offering a role model for both Kazuma and Madoka, neither of whom are as comfortable with their sexuality and what it means for them as Keigo is.

This is not to belittle either of the story’s protagonists. Kazuma is quiet and intriguing–deeply serious and afraid of letting either his youth or his fears show. When he experiences second thoughts about his career path, it is really quite moving and dramatic, and it’s nice that even at the end of the second volume nothing has been truly resolved there except for the fact that it does not yet need to be. Madoka is brash and wonderfully honest, and he provides much of the story’s real truth as well as a lot of its humor. Humor is actually one of this series’ best strengths and manifests itself with a sense of subtle whimsy unusual for this kind of manga (Madoka exclaiming, “I’ve just never seen a real gay couple before,” while wearing a shirt that says, “Buttocks,” is an oddly funny moment).

Though the story’s character designs are not especially attractive, they are at least distinctive and there’s never a question of telling the characters apart. The art overall is very nice, however–expressive, detailed, and easy to follow.

Tea for Two may not be an epic masterpiece, but it is down-to-earth, funny, occasionally sexy, and above all, a nicely nuanced romance. Though the two volumes published here stand very solidly on their own, it is exciting to note that a third is scheduled for December of this year, possibly answering some of the questions left open at the end of the second volume–something for boy’s love fans to truly look forward to!

Review copies provided by the publisher. Review originally published at PopCultureShock.