Review 64: Black Knight

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

What a tough call. This is a yaoi that is a lot more serious than most. At the same time, it lacks the intensity that other 'serious' yaoi tend to exhibit, so it ends up in a grey area that I don't really like for some reason. It centers on Chris, the young prince of Aran, and Zeke, the man who wants to become the most valuable knight in the kingdom - the Black Knight. They quickly form an illicit relationship but are constantly torn away from each other due to political matters, kidnappings, and other very annoying and not all that interesting events.

The art is pretty nice, and would have gotten a nice 9 if not for Chris's nose. Seriously. Why?

I happen to dislike the plot quite a bit. Time tends to flashforward to a month later, for instance, which dulls the excitement of the romance and makes the story drag on. And there are no dragons. Plus, there's plenty of political espionage and kidnapping and ransom letters... it's just boring. Very predictable.

The characters are just all right. I don't particularly identify with either of them, which tells me that they probably aren't developed very well, as I tend to identify with most character types. Zeke comes off as 'The Serious Knight', like Heath from Fire Emblem except without the added benefit of character depth and a personality. In fact, any of the characters in this story, including Chris, could have benefitted with a standard Fire Emblem treatment to further develop personality.

The sex is okay. It isn't explicit and it isn't lengthy and it just isn't satisfying. Plus, it's soooo serious most of the time. It's not steamy at all. Complaints have been made accordingly.

All in all, 29/40. Meh.

Recommendation: If you like this particular setting - I'm not sure what to call it, exactly - or if you like the vaguely royal/political romances, try it. Just don't expect too much.