Review available at J LHLS

Ranmaru is the son of a yakuza boss; he married an older woman (5 years older) to please his father and the family, but he is not attracted by her and the thing is mutual. During their honeymoon, with all the family around, Ranmaru avoids to be near the woman, and he persists on wearing the traditional Japanese kimono even if his wife despised it. On the Italian cruise ship where they are, Ranmaru gets noticed by an handsome Italian man, Al, who has a deeply interested for all Japanese things, included Japanese men! The first night they meet, Al seduces Ranmaru, and the Japanese guy discovers only the morning after that Al is the captain. On the course of his honeymoon in Italy, Ranmaru ends in even deeply trouble and Al is always there to help him, only "pretending" as reward to ravish Ranmaru, a thing that the Japanese guy is beginning to appreciate...

As always the graphic is gorgeous and very sexy. Poor Ranmaru finds himself in very badly situation, and everyone around him seem to want to ravish him. But all in all this manga has a funny side and in the end Ranmaru always escapes from bad trouble almost unarmed, if not for what does to him the handsome Al.

At first Ranmaru's character is not very "feminine", and in fact it's strange that a very handsome man like Al finds him interesting. But after their first night together, Ranmaru changes, and he becomes more and more cute and pretty, both in behavior than in look.

The manga ends at the second volume, and the English version doesn't give an hint if there is a continue. I hope so, since there is still a lot more that can be said on these two characters.

Let me start by saying that I especially like those yaoi titles in which the male characters actually look male. I think this is part of the reason why I absolutely loved Yamane's Crimson Spell, so much so that I even ordered the second volume in the series from Japan, despite the fact that I can't read Japanese! I loved it nonetheless.

And Yamane´s Foreign Love Affair also has these undeniably male characters, in addition to the tender romance, the gripping story, some very funny scenes and stunningly beautiful drawings, which make this one a highly recommended read.

The manga features two stories:

-> A Foreign Love Affair
Ranmaru Ohmi, heir of a Japanese yakuza boss, has married Kaoru, daughter of a rival yakuza boss, and they´re now on their honeymoon aboard a cruise ship traveling the Mediterranean Sea. It's mostly a political marriage and both are not happy about it. Thus we see Ranmaru alone in a bar, during what was to be his first night with his wife, where he meets Alberto, or Al, the Italian Captain of the cruise ship. They spend a night of passion together but go their separate ways again by morning. But while Ranmaru and Kaoru continue their trip across Italy, Ranmaru and Al keep meeting each other unexpectedly and often in situations where Al has come to the rescue.

Very good story alternating between tender romance, hot sex scenes and adventurous situations.

-> The Love Guide
Professor Hirotaka Takaoka tries to find the right woman with the help of the hired matchmaker Tohru Serizawa. After the umpteenth marriage interview Hirotaka realizes that maybe the reason for those failed interviews is the fact that he can´t keep his eyes off the matchmaker.

Love Guide is a delightful story and a very sweet romance. ( )

I absolutely loved Yamane's Finder series, and have been eagerly anticipating this English release of Ikoku Irokoi Romantan. This yaoi is very different from Finder and Crimson Spell. Finder is an action drama, and Crimson Spell a fantasy. This is definitely a romance. This manga includes two stories, the main title and a second called "Love Guide."

A Foreign Love Affair: Ranmaru has been forced into an arranged marriage by his yakuza family. Neither he, nor his bride Kaoro, are happy about it. The story opens with them embarking on an Italian cruise. Kaoro is annoyed that Ranmaru insists on dressing in traditional kimono instead of a suit. Yet, that is what attracts the eye of Alberto, the sexy ship captain. After drinking far too much one night, Ran and Al end up in bed. But, Ran is married and Al sails the seas. So, they go their separate ways. But they keep meeting unexpectedly. Then, Ran is kidnapped while trying to meet Al on land. This is where the story takes an adventurous turn. The romance is on as Al may be the only one who can save Ran.

I truly enjoyed this yaoi. It is one of those rare hard yaoi titles that also manages to build a sweet romance. The sex is explicit, and happens several times, but is also tender. Ran is desperate to be seen as a tough guy, but Al just wants to protect him. It makes for fun, angst-filled dialog between the two. The kidnapping took a surprising turn, which was dark in tone, but fit the story. It was more than just boy meets boy, which I really liked. Both characters are likeable and appealing. One thing did bother me - the story left some things unresolved. Ran encounters a former friend and now rival who is in love with Kaoro. He is involved in the plot, but just disappears at the end. And readers last see Ran and Al together. I sthis more than an affair? What about his family and wife? This yaoi really deserves a sequel, though I have read nothing about one being made.

The second story was good, though I would've preferred more pages for the main title. Love Guide: a college professor's mother hires a "love guide" to help her son find a wife. The yound man is high spirited, and devoted to his job. And he happens to fall in love with his client! Luckily for him, the professor returns the feelings. This was a short, but very sweet romance. And, Yamane once again delivers the goods when the boys consummate their love, more than once! This was an almost perfect bonus story - it was brief, but didn't short change the characters or their romance.

Yamane's art is top notch as always. Clean lines, good proportions and undeniably male characters. The scenery was quite detailed for a yaoi, and there was a nice size cast for the story. The production of the book is also very nice, like 801's other titles, with a full color dust jacket and color plate. There was an occasional typo in the translation, but nothing major to ruin the story. Overall, I highly recommend this!! ( )

This is a very beautiful art book featuring characters from Ayano Yamane's most popular yaoi series, Finder. It is 102 pages on high quality paper with a color dust jacket. Though many of the images in this book were also printed in "Illustrations by Aya" (which is sadly out of print) there are quite a few new ones that haven't appeared anywhere that I have seen, including websites. The covers for the four Finder volumes begin the book. Most of the images are erotic, though none are overtly explicit, unlike her manga. A few of the new images feature FeiLong and Takaba together. More than half the book is in full color, and the black and white illustrations are mostly full page and also quite beautiful. Yamane's art is characterized by clean lines, excellent proportions, and small details. Her male figures are expressly male, unlike many yaoi whose ukes look like flat chested girls. I was sorely tempted to break the spine so I could scan these images in for my desktop screensaver, but just couldn't damage the book that way.

Yamane includes biographical sketches after the art. However, the text is in Japanese. A bonus "short story," in traditional graphic novel format, is included at the end after the character sketches. The story IS explicit and features Asami and Takaba and I hope it makes it into an English release. The book ends with some images of Ayano Yamane, and additional text (that I wish I could read!)

Unfortunately, this is only available in Japan and the shipping is very costly. Despite that, this art/character book is well worth purchasing. I recommend ordering from amazon.co.jp. Highly recommended! ( )