The Prime Minister's Secret Diplomacy is one of Youka Nitta's latest works and it is awesome, just like her other works! I really didn't expect any less from one of the great yaoi triumvirates (i.e. Youka Nitta, Ayano Yamane, Kazuma Kodaka).

Koushi Yoshinaga is a celebrated diplomat from Japan and his skills can't be matched. Just recently, he became engaged to Michiko Shiraishi, the daughter of one of the most influential diplomats in Japan. Tomohiro Shiraishi, Michiko's brother is assigned as a translator and his work brings him in contact with Yoshinaga. But Tomohiro finds out secrets about Yoshinaga that could ruin both Yoshinaga's career and his engagement with Tomohiro's sister.

Secret Diplomacy bears some surface resemblances to her earlier works, but the core of it is very different. Like Embracing Love and The Sound of My Voice, the uke in Secret Diplomacy is older than the seme, but that's where it ends. Minister Yoshinaga is not all smiles and closeted like Yumi from Sound of My Voice and he's not thoughtful and introspective like Iwaki from Embracing Love. Yoshinaga is shrewd and a great actor and liar. He knows how to manipulate others into doing what he wants and he has a way with words that helps him get top positions like the one he has now. He's also not ashamed about his sexuality. He goes out clubbing and doesn't deny it when Tomohiro confronts him about it. Yoshinaga is the type of character that defies the weepy, sensitive personality mold that ukes are cast into.

Tomohiro is also a very distinctive character. He does have morals... on the surface, but he doesn't seem to have any qualms overcoming them. As much as he fights his attraction to his future brother-in-law, his actions don't really reflect his intentions. Tomohiro is very driven by emotions and he acts out on gut feelings. More like a less-talk-more-action kind of person. If he thinks Yoshinaga is up to no good, he'll track him down and berate him. Even the sexual relationship between himself and Yoshinaga was initiated by Tomohiro. All in all, I really like his type of take-action character. He might be quick to words and action, but his intentions have always been good, even if the results aren't what he wants.

The overall feel of Secret Diplomacy is not like your usual Nitta work. This doesn't have anything to do with the entertainment industry and while ministers and diplomats are still public figures, the dynamics are a lot more different. This manga is certainly much more serious than Nitta's other works, and it's filled with secrets and political intrigues. A lot more is at stake if these secrets are found out. Yoshinaga and Tomohiro can't be open about their feelings because of the need to protect Yoshinaga's image and the fact that Yoshinaga is engaged to Tomohiro's sister. Those aren't the only issues that plague their relationship. Yoshinaga is full of mystery and Tomohiro feels like he's only known a small part of who the minister is. Yoshinaga constantly throws Tomohiro off balance with his unpredictable actions, but Tomohiro himself responds in ways that Yoshinaga doesn't expect. I really like their relationship and the way they play off of each other. Those two are one of the most intense and complicated pairings Nitta has ever created.

The Prime Minister's Secret Diplomacy is bound to become a classic and a series that's not to be missed! Volume 1 has just established Yoshinaga and Tomohiro's relationship and I'm tuning in to the second volume to see where they take things. ( )

Shiraishi is a young diplomat for a Japan's embassy in Thailand. Here he has the change to work with Yoshinaga, a very young diplomat whose genius and political ability helped him to make a fast career. Yoshinaga is also Shiraishi's sister fiancee, even if the engagement is more a interest bargain than a matter of love.

When Shiraishi sees Yoshinaga in a night club kissing another man, he has puzzled feelings: he is angry for a man of Yoshinaga's level to be so open in public, but he is also worried for his family and sister. So he corners Yoshinaga and pretends some explanations to a scandalous behavior. Instead Yoshinaga justifies all his unethical moves due to the context and moreover, he kisses also Shiraishi and soon after they start an affair, putting also Shiraishi in an embarrassing position and bonding him to not reveal anything otherwise he will put at risk also his career.

Between Shiraishi and Yoshinaga there is a strange relationship: obviously they are very attracted from each other, but both Yoshinaga than Shiraishi seem not willing to give up their career for love; on the contrary Yoshinaga has no intention to break his engagement with Shiraishi's sister, and Shiraishi seems right with having an extra marital relationship with him, betraying not a mere other woman, but his own sister.

The story is pretty complex, the graphic detailed and rich; this is, according to the author, only a first volume of several others, even if the American publisher released it as a one stand volume.

I love Youka Nitta's "Embracing Love" series. It is one of the top 3 hard yaoi series available, and is a more or less a straight up romance. This, however, is not so simple. At first, I was a little off-put. The minister isn't very likeable, and the diplomatic storyline really requires attention. A person actually has to read this manga carefully to follow along. Not because of poor translation or misplaced bubbles, but because the language is that intricate. I quickly realized this could be Nitta's best work. The artwork is her typical high standard, with clean lines and well defined backgrounds. The men are attractive (and look suspiciously like Iwaki and Katou;), and undeniably male.

Nitta obviously did some research for this title. The conversations between the ambassadors are clever and have a lot of innuendo and hidden meaning. The story revolves around a young up and coming diplomat. There is a vicious rumor that he uses his body for negotations instead of words. However, readers learn that he truly is a brilliant diplomat. Those rumors aren't completely off-target though. He is hiding a scandalous secret - just not that! When another young diplomat, who happens to be the brother of his fiance, learns his secret he seduces him. And then proceeds to play mind games with him throughout the novel! This is what makes him not so likeable. However, the minister has demons of his own that make him crave destruction as much as success and he needs someone to love him. And I loved how Nitta shook up the traditional yaoi roles. The young diplomat is the seme but it's the minister who's obviously in control. Delicious.

The interplay here is fabulous. The sex isn't as frequent as in "Embracing Love" but it's actually a little more graphic and surprisingly crude at one point. These two men are having an affair that could destroy them. And they know it. They are complicated characters in a complicated plot. Nitta includes a note at the end that this was intended as a stand alone, but she loved the characters so much it will continue. Phew..boy are we lucky!

I would have given this more than 5 stars if I could. I hope volume 2 comes quickly. Highly recommended! ( )