Review 105: Secrecy

Art: 7
Plot: 6
Characters: 7
Sex: 5

It's when I've reviewed so many bad mangas in a row that I truly stop and think, 'is yaoi mostly crap?' Case in point, 'Secrecy'. I mean, wow, there's so little substance! The art isn't anything to get excited about, the 'sex' is never actually shown (there's a new one), and the plot and characters don't make up for these faults at all.

This one's about two guys who have a one-night stand, causing the younger one to seek out the older guy and shamelessly blackmail him into sex. This becomes a weird pseudo-relationship that... I need some milk and cookies. Anyway, the older guy is obsessed with his straight coworker who is getting married, so the younger guy is treated just like a side dish.

The seme - Mr. Older Guy - is awfully cold and a shallow character, too. The uke tries to make up for this by appearing to have some depth, but he's not all that interesting, either. Very fail with characterization, this one.

All in all, 25/40.

Recommendation: None~! Sigh.

Review 104: Groupie

Art: 8
Plot: 6
Characters: 6
Sex: 6

Hmm. Youka Nitta is highly disappointing this time around. The uke is a total slut... or at least, that's what I got out of it. He's some sort of 'groupie' who just... hangs around in very little clothing. It's not tasteful at all. Plus, there are two twin brothers who somehow end up sexing up the uke in a very awkward scene. Ew.

All in all, 26/40.

Recommendation: Bleh.

Review 103: Night of Replicant

Art: 7
Plot: 6
Character: 6
Sex: 5

This one is also awful. Art isn't that great, the plot is ridiculously bad (something along the lines of 'No Money' except with even less logic), and the characters have no depth at all. The sex consists only of rape, which goes on for pretty much the entire second chapter. Wow.

The plot, if anyone even cares, goes like this. This guy is at a wedding and the groom's little brother - 16 - walks up to him. This little brother reveals that he knows how the guy had a crush on the groom way back. And then he uses a combination of blackmail and force to take him to a hotel room and rape him. Of course, the guy could have easily fought him, but... nah.

All in all, 24/40.

Recommendation: Nope.

Review 102: Bath Towel

Art: 6
Plot: 6
Characters: 6
Sex: 5

I literally could not get through this. The art is bad, and the creepy guy with the black hair and glasses actually weirds me out and distracts from the story. Speaking of which, the 'story' doesn't make much sense, and when it does it becomes increasingly disturbing. The characters also don't make sense, and sometimes I'm not even sure who is who and where in the timeline it is. All in all, it's vaguely confusing and irritating to read. The sex is also creepy, especially when it gets interrupted...

23/40.

Recommendation: No. Just no.

Review 101: Kawaii Hito

Art: 7
Plot: 7
Character: 8
Sex: 8

This one's a toss-up. Art is sub-par, plot is basic and annoyingly full of the usual plot devices, and the seme is really a confusing character... but the uke is interestingly naive and yet more sensible than most. For instance, when confronted by a guy who wants to have sex with him, he actually hits the guy (pity none of the other ukes thought of that) and tells him 'no, you don't love me, you just wanna get into my pants!' Very admirable. The sex is decent, too.

But the way the seme doesn't seem to express himself - at all - makes for a difficult read, and the plot - what plot? - is awfully simple.

All in all, 30/40.

Recommendation: None.

Let's Review!

I'm finally to 100 reviews, so it's time to arrange the last twenty by score and see how everything ranks up. Who will be on top, and who will be on bottom? Only on a site like this would that mean so very much.

Successful Man - 33.5
Ijimetaihodo - 33
The Last Client - 32.5
Koi no Tsubo - 32.5
Private Magician - 32
Mugen no Roukaku - 31
Midare Somenishi - 31
Bi no Isu - 31
Pet On Duty - 31
Fake - 31
Fake II - 30
Take Me to Heaven - 30
Kimi ga Koi ni Oboreru - 29.5
Hidoi Otoko - 28.5
Rikara - 28
Access - 28
Brother - 27
Star ni Ai - 26
Sprout of Love - 25
Little Romance - 21

Congratulations to 'Successful Man' for winning this section! My most heartfelt consolations go out to 'Little Romance', with a baffling score of only 21.

Review 100: Bi no Isu

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

I saw the title of this one and immediately thought, 'Hey, another one about a chair!' No. Not really. The translation is actually 'Coercion Chair', and it's a yakuza yaoi. Again. Only this one is... dare I say it?... good. Wow.

The art is decent, and even though the seme has some semblance of a beard, I'll let that slide. They're all drawn pretty well, anyway.

Pretty predictable plot, but it's yakuza stuff so it's all right. People shooting people, who in turn shoot other people... you know, the usual. Rescue-by-uke is especially fun.

The characters are good, but I can't identify with either of them. The seme has trust issues, which makes sense because when you're high up in the yakuza you trust no one. The uke, on the other hand, has completely let go of any fear in order to follow the seme wherever he goes, take a bullet for him, and whatnot (thankfully, he does not take a bullet for him... that would be far too melodramatic).

The sex is all right. It's pretty S&M influenced, if you ask me. Meh. I suppose they have an excuse, as they ARE staying at a sex hotel. I think. I might have missed that memo.

All in all, 31/40.

Recommendation: Yakuza enthusiasts, bon voyage!