Review 13: Kishidou Club

Kishidou Club ("Jockey" Club) is a manga centered around a highly illegal club that bets on which "steed" - man - will win a pseudo boxing match. The one who loses ends up taking it up the - well, you get the idea - from the guy he lost to. Disgustingly rich men apparently own their own steeds and regularly bet in the matches.

Meanwhile, Yuuki is a poor and overworked man who works at a violent bar where he usually ends up getting beat up by unruly customers (this is, in fact, part of his job). One day, a wealthy younger man from the Kishidou Club next door witnesses Yuuki getting beat up right outside the bar. What follows is a cringe-worthy cliche flashback in which the rich guy recalls Yuuki being his partner in judo... as well as a slightly less common hormone driven sexual rampage that ends in the rich guy getting rejected by Yuuki after he tells him they should run away together. Interested yet?

What happens next is pretty disheartening. Katsuragi - rich guy - meets with Yuuki and tells him their mentor from years ago is dying, and the only way to save him is with an organ transplant he can't pay for. Rich guy, of course, introduces Yuuki to the idea of being his "steed". When Yuuki refuses, Katsuragi begins to, you guessed it, BURN MONEY. That's right. He takes wads of I don't wanna know how much yen and lights 'em up! Yuuki, like any sane human being, can't bear to see so much money wasted in such a horrific way, and paired with his desire to save his mentor's life, he is ultimately tied to his fate.

Recommendation: If you like seeing the rougher side of yaoi, this is your slice of cake. If you enjoy knitting baby bunnies and reading pop quizzes with titles such as "Is He the One?" you should consider finding a fluffier read.