est em

This is one of those manga/authors that there's simply too much good said about too universally by too many intelligent and respectable people to go into it expecting anything but a quality read. Yet I took my time getting to it. In my experience, BL with the kind of praise this has been getting are indeed better written than most BL, but are also less satisfying in the romantic/sexual way (not to say this is a weakness or fault—just that they're different).

Now having read it, I can say show more that it was pretty much exactly what I expected. The stories varied, none fitting quite if at all into the usual BL short story molds. The characters are mature, their dialogue interesting. They feel a million times more human than BL characters often do, conflicted in ways beyond just 'I'm attracted to a guy?!' They have chemistry together and are sexy (in that odd way realistically flawed, as-far-from-over-the-top-romanticized-sexy-as-you-can-get kind of way. Which is always the way I prefer, anyway). The stories are well told. Each one is engaging.

But as suspected, the stories also don't quite hit the spot some BL readers might be hoping for or expecting. Personally, to be embarrassingly honestly, when I pick up a BL I want to see characters I love and long to see together and who make my heart flutter every time they move a little closer. These stories do center around or feature aspects of gay romance. However, they aren't really what I'd call romances (though some of them might be if they were extended to something longer).

In the end, these are simply stories about romantic relationships between men. Good stories with good characters and good dialogue and sometimes even twinges of wistful romance that are (if you're talking to someone like me, who has difficulty enjoying most BL due to their glaringly bad writing and paper-thin characters) sometimes even more satisfying than the stuff you get in “real” BL romances, anyway. This might actually be an attractor for someone who isn't normally into BL, too. Still, as a BL (wish-I-could-be?) fan who always has her fingers crossed for something well written AND romantic, I was engaged while reading it, appreciative after, but not as wild about it as many. When placed next to the other BL on my shelf, I like it and the variety it adds. I'm also glad I've got plenty of more crowd-pleasing BL to go with it. ^_^ show less

In this second collection of est em’s yaoi, est em heads to Spain and tells five stories that are either set in Spain or have Spanish characters. The title piece of the collection tells the story of a famous young matador, Rafita, who falls in love with a butcher named Mauro, and who feels his confidence in the ring suffer as he starts to imagine Mauro as the bull.

est em is a wonderful yaoi mangaka, probably competing with Yoshinaga Fumi or Yamada Yugi with the title of ‘the best.’ Why show more is she so good? Well, her stories are always poignant while being realistic. There are no wide-eyed ukes or impossibly overbearing semes. There aren’t any “your mouth says no but your body says yes” nonesense. What est em is best at is creating snapshots of the lives of men in love.

The title story with Rafita and Mauro, while the falling in love part is totally skipped over, has great tension between Rafita’s feelings for Mauro and his ability to do his job. Not everybody will like the descriptions of bulls being butchered, or will find Rafita’s eventual reconciliation with his tensions too disturbing, but I think that’s what makes est em memorable. Her psychological portraits aren’t run of the mill.

I liked all the other stories too, especially “Baby, Stamp Your Foot” for making a small incident about crossdressing so beautiful. I complained in a review of est em’s other work that her stories are stunning but too detached. I feel that has improved in this collection since I genuinely cared for most of the characters, so brava.

The art is also distinctive, making use of simple lines and negative space. It comes across as more western than Japanese, and while that’s not necessarily a good or bad thing, it certainly stands out. However, if my connection with the stories increases in this collection, my fondness for the art decreases because the drawings do get scratchy in some parts. The contrast with the otherwise fantastic art is jarring. So the art is the only thing that brings this manga down a notch, although it doesn’t fall very far, being so high up already. show less

Seduce Me After the Show is a collection of yaoi stories by est em, a mangaka that was unknown to me until I read a review for this anthology. The review was glowing, so I decided to buy myself a copy and give it a try. The stories in Seduce Me After the Show center on artisans, from dancers to actors to musicians to painters, with one exception.

The first thing I noticed was how different the art looked. It doesn’t remind me of typical Japanese yaoi. In fact, the art looks western. I show more actually had to check the credits to make sure the manga was translated from Japanese and not in fact an OEL. I think this is a strength since right away there was something different from the norm to keep my attention. est em’s art is bold and elegant, sparse when it needs to be but rich with detail at other times. In some frames it slips and looks overly sketchy, but for the most part it’s fantastic art. If you don’t believe me, look at the segments of “Carmen.”

The stories are also attention-grabbing. If I had to describe them in one word, it would be “powerful.” These aren’t romantic comedies where the characters fumble to confess their feelings; these are stories about men who love, and lose, and live their lives. There is a thread of melancholy and ambiguity that runs through the entire collection. It’s not so much romance as art– Seduce Me After the Show is one of the artsiest yaois I’ve read.

Like anything that’s overly artsy and ambiguous, it can be hard to approach. This isn’t the kind of yaoi you can hold to your chest and feel warm about. It’s the kind of art that you put in a museum and admire it from afar. Is that a weakness? Hard to say. While I admired all the stories the only one I sank my teeth into was “Twilight Cicadas.” Nevertheless, the stories ARE all admirable and beautiful. show less

A selection of short stories. I'm not as wild about Est Em as some manga enthusiasts are, but I appreciate her work. The title story was probably my least favorite.
En el Parque was lovely. An old Man sits in the park every day waiting for his love to return. A very sweet and sad story.
I really like the simple story of "Just not Like a Merry-Go-Round" which features a merry-go-round operator in love with his best friend.
The stories primarily follow artists and dancers, which is very Est Em. show more I enjoyed this collection. show less