Review 44: Steady Study

Art: 8
Plot: 8
Characters: 9
Sex: 7

All righty, so this one centers on Iijima, the bright student of a renowned university. He meets Shinji (the kid with the glasses) while working at a ramen shop after school. Shinji is a 'ronin' student, which means he failed the university entrance exams and is trying again the next year. They get off to a rocky start, but eventually develop a friendship that in turn leads to deeper intimacy. The fun part is that Shinji thinks that Ijima lives on his own and works at the ramen shop, when really he's in a top university... Ijima lets him think that due to the fact that Shinji hasn't gotten into any universities. How sweet.

The art is nice, standard Minami Haruka style pretty much. Clean lines and all that jazz.

The plot, as mentioned above, isn't terribly complex, but it is interesting enough. I dunno why, but I love the ramen shop as a location in manga. Something about liking food too much...

The characters are good, and they even go past the usual stereotypes and feel such human emotions as sincere guilt and complex feelings that aren't so easily described. This is particularly evident in Iijima's shame over lying to Shinji about not being in college, when really he attends the most famous university in the area. Once again, yaoi teaches you that lying, even about simple things, can turn into something horrible if you perpetuate it for a long time.

The sex is abrupt and rather unromantic. And poor Shinji just lays there and takes it. And then he apologizes for not enjoying it more, even though it was forced upon him. Hmmm... this strikes me as unpleasant.

All in all, 32/40. Good plot and characters but the sex isn't entirely consensual... points off!

Recommendation: If you like the glasses-wearing uke, or ramen shops, this is for you. (Eeeee, ramen shops!)