Helpful Score: 4
I'd have to disagree with the previous reviewer, as far as one-shots go, these are pretty good. Be warned that every uke in this series looks very girly, so if you are looking for manly men/bara, then this is not your book.
Are these the world's most developed stories? No, but they aren't supposed to be, they are, after all, one-shots. I personally liked the last story the best, and the story of the bird the least. If you really like this author she also has another book out in English called 'My Only King' which has a longer story and a few one-shots. If you are really a huge fan of her work, you can also try to find some of her Japanese only books and read the English translations online. All of 都立魔法学園, ミックス★ミックス★チョコレート, かわいがって下さい, and 花ムコさん have translations as well as a part of 花嫁くん.
Other than 都立魔法学園, I would say that this is the best bit of Hoshino Lily's work out there, and definitely the best you can find in English. She has a very distinctive artstyle you won't confuse with any other mangaka. Worth a read if you are into boy's love.
Are these the world's most developed stories? No, but they aren't supposed to be, they are, after all, one-shots. I personally liked the last story the best, and the story of the bird the least. If you really like this author she also has another book out in English called 'My Only King' which has a longer story and a few one-shots. If you are really a huge fan of her work, you can also try to find some of her Japanese only books and read the English translations online. All of 都立魔法学園, ミックス★ミックス★チョコレート, かわいがって下さい, and 花ムコさん have translations as well as a part of 花嫁くん.
Other than 都立魔法学園, I would say that this is the best bit of Hoshino Lily's work out there, and definitely the best you can find in English. She has a very distinctive artstyle you won't confuse with any other mangaka. Worth a read if you are into boy's love.
Helpful Score: 3
This collection is confusing as all heck. There are some manga that you just wonder "huh? was there something lost in translation or did they misprint the pages?" and at first, I thought that was what was going on here.
But no. It's just BAD WRITING.
It's like the author was selfish and desperate to get to the good part, she just skipped any linear story construction. The characters (especially the uke) aren't introduced, their motivations are taken for granted, and things just seem to happen randomly.
It's like it was written by a 13 yr old girl.
The only reason it gets one star is that the art is somewhat pretty.
(though 'those scenes' are confusing and rushed. Again, like a 13 yr old...)
Hey, request it and see for yourself, but don't spend $$ on this.
But no. It's just BAD WRITING.
It's like the author was selfish and desperate to get to the good part, she just skipped any linear story construction. The characters (especially the uke) aren't introduced, their motivations are taken for granted, and things just seem to happen randomly.
It's like it was written by a 13 yr old girl.
The only reason it gets one star is that the art is somewhat pretty.
(though 'those scenes' are confusing and rushed. Again, like a 13 yr old...)
Hey, request it and see for yourself, but don't spend $$ on this.
Helpful Score: 2
Though Yaoi takes a vary specific fan to read, and I am one, this book is not the hard core oh my god hide the children kind of Yaoi people may be expecting. Most of the stories in this book are pretty mellow and could be called Shonen-ai even. Except the last story which gets a bit, sexual. Of course that is to be expected, after all, it is Yaoi.
All in all, its a good book.
All in all, its a good book.
Helpful Score: 1
The stories in this manga were odd but that wasn't the problem. All of the characters look exactly the same with only a couple minor differences. The ukes are basically girls with no boobs and a penis instead of a vagina and even act exactly like a girl. The sex scenes in the stories weren't bad but they used the 'erase the body part' type of censors instead of the pixelated or black lines censors so it made the scenes look very weird.
If you are looking for a good story with two males, I suggest you look elsewhere or you will be very disappointed like I was.
If you are looking for a good story with two males, I suggest you look elsewhere or you will be very disappointed like I was.
The artwork in this volume played a huge part in my rating. Although I expect ukes to look younger, smaller, maybe even "prettier" than semes, I really don't like my boys to be girls. I actually don't mind fancy feminine hairstyles for long-haired characters in a fantasy setting, but the eyes and lips were also very feminine and in some cases the artwork even suggested breasts in the clothing. I'm also not a big fan of boys in dresses (in yaoi, I mean. Everyone likes a good drag show, right? ;-) ). The semes were conventionally male, but they were a pretty homogenous crew.
I did like the storybook or fairy tale feel of the first four stories. It was an original type of one-shot and often very pretty stories. The acrobat one seemed a bit weird, sort of like a punchline rather than a story.
My final complaints is that the dustjacket blurb is completely misleading as to the content of the stories. It indicates that the subject matter is D/s when nothing could be further from the truth. Most stories are shonen-ai rather than yaoi and none of them have anything to do with "desire that knows no other path but servitude" or any of the other similar statements made in the blurb.
The actual format of the book, quality of printing & material, nice heavy slip jacket, color quality on slip jacket, are all up to DMP's usual high standart. No complaints there.
I did like the storybook or fairy tale feel of the first four stories. It was an original type of one-shot and often very pretty stories. The acrobat one seemed a bit weird, sort of like a punchline rather than a story.
My final complaints is that the dustjacket blurb is completely misleading as to the content of the stories. It indicates that the subject matter is D/s when nothing could be further from the truth. Most stories are shonen-ai rather than yaoi and none of them have anything to do with "desire that knows no other path but servitude" or any of the other similar statements made in the blurb.
The actual format of the book, quality of printing & material, nice heavy slip jacket, color quality on slip jacket, are all up to DMP's usual high standart. No complaints there.
