Review 51: Kannou Kissaten

Art: 8.5
Plot: 8
Characters: 9
Sex: 7

"Compassionate Coffee-shop" stars an uke who is anything but compassionate. Kuhara works at a coffee-shop, and every day his ex-coworker and frenemy, Fujinami, stops by just to chat. But the two have some scandalous history - they used to drink after work together, and one time Fujinami tired to kiss Kuhara, who slapped him! How theatrical. The two now have a sort of neutral relationship, with Kuhara pretending he barely knows Fujinami, and Fujinami contenting himself with merely seeing Kuhara every day.
And eventually, of course, Kuhara stops denying his attraction to Fujinami, but there's a catch: he wants to take it slowly. And thus, especially for a yaoi, their relationship proceeds at the pace of molasses until one night when Fujinami ambushes a sleepy Kuhara. Checkmate.

The art is quite tasteful in this one. I liked the style a lot, and all the characters were nicely done.

The plot was okay but rather simple. It serves it purpose, however, as a rainy day read.

The characters were amusing and certainly the best part of this yaoi. Kuhara in particular is hilarious because he's unusually hesitant for an uke (at least, in most yaoi). Much like a girl in a shoujo manga, he resists 'too much too fast' because he's scared to rush into things. However, Kuhara's character pulls this off in a way that's more realistic and interesting than stereotypical and girly. Which is extremely fortunate for him. Fujinami is much less interesting, but his patience is certainly to be commended.

The sex was all right but extremely brief and not completely shown. Hrrrmph. But I'll forgive, for now, since the next morning includes Kuhara's hilarious thoughts to the effect of, 'He better say he's sorry for last night. Grrrrr.'

All in all, 32.5/40. Pretty good!

Recommendation: a good read when you're bored and just want something simple and amusing, with plenty of chase in it.