Miya Ousaka

When I got this book, I started to flip through it fully intending to shelve it for later. Instead, I read it straight through. I prefer hard yaoi, and the 801 Media imprint publishes some of the most explicit. This one-shot is actually an anthology with 4 stories. It's mostly smut (with a lot of sex) which is what I expected, and wanted. The first story is taken from the cover art and concerns a photography student who finds inspiration for his final project when his best friend models some novelty underwear. A lot of humor, with the classic "reluctant" uke. The second story opens at a school reunion wherein the goody-goody runs into the popular kid, who just might be yakuza. This was a simple romance, with a predictable ending but still enjoyable. The third story is my favorite, despite the fact that it includes rape, because it is so edgy. I would have liked to see this one expanded into a full novel with more character development to make the romance believable. The last story was...disturbing. It wasn't really romance - more of a noir story about dangerous obsession. I liked it, mainly because it was so dark and unexpected. But again, it really deserved to be a full novel.

Short stories very rarely have much depth, and these are no exception, but it was still a worthwhile purchase. The art is pleasing: very clean, with background scenery and well-proportioned characters. Overall, hard yaoi fans looking for stories with explicit sex will probably like this. Recommended.… (more)