Yuuya

STORY
Hmm...well, when I first started reading this one I didn't really think I'd like it too much. I have a general aversion to yaoi where the first sexual encounter between the main characters is coerced &/or forced - which is exactly what happens here. Nevertheless, I kept reading and was happily surprised to find the uke's reason's for remaining with the seme afterwards to be almost plausible (something else that doesn't happen too often.) There were also a couple of other twists that show more deviated from the norm in this type of story which were pleasant surprises, but I'll let you discover those for yourself. ;)

ART
The art is classically yummy and I especially enjoyed Yuuya's ability to draw faces/facial expressions. Something else that impressed me was her techniques for drawing older characters - so often in manga they just wind up looking...unfinished, but that's definitely not the case here. With that said, I will admit that the art wasn't perfect. Sometimes it felt like the manga-ka was being sloppy when drawing the "low interest" panels; the lines don't seem as clean and everything is a bit more sketchy. But these are mild flaws in an otherwise highly appealing style.

CHARACTER
The characters start out pretty two dimensional, with the seme and the uke acting exactly like you'd expect them to. However, this uke has a bit more fire than you might expect and instead of the seme seeing it as an obstacle to overcome, he uses it to his advantage. While they really don't grow too much over the course of the story, it's fun to see them interacting with each other. I only have two small complaints - 1)The sister just disappears...what happened to her? 2)Iwao-san should have had more "screen time".

ENJOYMENT
There are a few things that deviate from the norm in this story - I won't give anything away, but that's what made reading this one enjoyable for me - those little unexpected plot twists. The romantic scenes could have been a little better...but not much. ;) And the art, of course, was pure eye candy, which is always a treat!

OVERALL
Interesting story, gorgeous art, compelling characters and some fun plot developments. I'll happily be keeping this one on my shelf for future re-reading. show less

I was so disappointed by this book. I liked Endless Rain a lot, but this book is like a high schooler outline of a short story. It jumps from scene to scene with no development or real continuity. The characters have no personality - they are just puppets being moved around. Pretty pictures aren't enough to make a good manga; a good story is critical. Too bad this had no story at all.

Not worth reading unless you're stuck in an airport with nothing better.

Art is nice, but the story is too disjointed to follow properly. The second story is based on work not (yet?) licensed, making that even harder. As eyecandy, it's fine. As an actual story, I'd say look elsewhere.