Sanae Rokuya

This review was originally written for the website MyAnimeList.net

STORY
This one-shot manga started out with a lot of potential to be something really fabulous. Instead it teased without ever fully delivering; by the end I was left feeling completely unsatisfied. Basically this would make a great beginning to a longer series, but as a one-shot it really falls flat. It leaves far too many open-ended questions. Don't get me wrong, the plot itself is clever, but it promises more than it show more delivers.

ART
The style isn't as detailed as I generally prefer and it seems the manga-ka might have an aversion to drawing backgrounds. However, the guys were all very nice-looking and best of all it was SO easy to tell them apart (something that doesn't always happen in yaoi manga. ^_^;

CHARACTER
The characters were excellent; very nicely developed (for the most part) without being overly predictable in their actions. I just wish some of their back stories could have been explored a bit more...

ENJOYMENT
Right up until the end I was thoroughly enjoying what was going on. The plot was interesting, the characters were fun to read about, the setting was slightly historical, but something about the ending just felt unresolved for some reason. I was also a bit disappointed by the lack of guy/guy scenes. There's not much...just a kiss or two and some U.S.T. between a couple of the minor characters.

OVERALL
Well, despite being disappointed by how Rokuya chose to wrap things up, I still enjoyed this enough that I will probably keep it in my personal collection. The art was easy on the eyes and the interactions between the various characters was charmingly enjoyable. show less