From the back cover:
Surfer dude Horyu and shy intellectual Shouin are very much in love. Their days together are filled with happiness, but when Shouin’s French tutor, a handsome and openly gay man named Nanami, makes his affection for Shouin known, doubts begin to surface between the couple.
Horyu begins to suspect the relationship between Shouin and Nanami, while Shouin begins to believe Nanami’s theory that Horyu is at heart a straight man and will turn to a woman when his experimentation period with Shouin is over.
Review:
The description above concerns only one or two of the stories collected in this volume. Left out is a chapter where Horyu has the opportunity to become a pro surfer, but it would mean sacrificing his relationship with Shouin and a chapter where Shouin’s cousin has dumped off her baby while going off on a trip.
The story with Nanami is okay, but nothing terribly exciting. Standard jealousy and insecurity angst.
I most liked the story about Horyu’s opportunity to turn pro, as it caused Shouin to consider whether he could continue to follow along contentedly at Horyu’s side, or if he needed to branch out and do something for himself. He realizes that being a couple does not necessarily mean that you share the same dreams, as convenient as that would be.
At the end, there’s a short little story where the boys take care of Shouin’s cousin’s baby. This chapter could’ve been totally stupid, but it ended up being cute. I guess this is a good thing, because it’s the last chapter we get of the boys before going to a couple of side-story chapters that are somewhat steamier than the main story.
Even though the volume occasionally employs tried and true angst tactics, and even though Shouin’s a bit weepy and frequently has to call Horyu for help (Horyu calls him The Princess in these situations), there’s enough originality in some of the stories and characters to make this a distinctive title amongst all the Boys’ Love that DMP is producing these days.