Complex

by Manda Ringo

This is yet another manga that has actually made me cry to the point of sobbing. And, you know what, I love mangas that make me cry. It shows that the manga has a solid story that is able to reel your heart in and wrap you around the story.

Complex is one unforgettable manga. Another one added to the list of unforgettable mangas I’ve read so far (that includes Sakura Gari, Love Mode, Rin!, etc).

At first, I was reluctant to read this manga. However, experience told me to stop judging mangas by its cover. Look at Sakura Gari and Love Mode. Those two mangas were the few that I was reluctant to read at first. And then, when I started reading it, I got hooked and I never regretted reading it.

Volume 1 was horrible. I mean, the first half of it was. I was tempted to drop the manga immediately due to its ridulousness in the first few chapters. I was disgusted (not by the shota-ness. I’m not offended by those, btw. My policy is as long as it’s in a form of animation or manga, it’s not pedophilic but art. But if it’s in the form of real films, then I’m extremely against it). I was disgusted by the lack of creativity and the sheer ‘race for audience by throwing sex in it’ plot. It was boring, tackless, cliche. Then, the story started to progress more smoothly… And I started to love the two main characters wholly.

When Junichi and Tatsuya broke up for that few years within the manga, my heart broke. I actually felt that twinge of pain caused by betrayal and loneliness.

And … as the manga series ended. I cried streams of tears. I couldn’t believe it myself. I found myself sobbing into the neck hem of my shirt and trying to control the volume of my sobbings. The water works started when Junichi received medical results about having cancer. My heart broke. Seriously, broke. Tears started streaming down my cheeks even though the characters showed humor and comedy to lighten the mood. I could understand what Tatsuya must’ve felt the moment he found out. I could imagine the pain of loosing a partner you’ve been with for more than 5 decades of your life. The sudden loneliness, the sudden loss, the emptiness.

The last chapter really had me by the heart. I was caught up in a series of sobs when the younger version of Tatsuya appeared before an elderly Junichi.

It makes you realize about time; about life.

I could really see this manga as an anime (excluding the ridiculous shotaness, though it was trigger point of the manga). It could even be turned into a great animation movie with the right film crew and all.

And what a way to welcome back my reviews with something so pleasant to read … Well, not exactly pleasant, but something worth remembering …

Throughout the year, I’ve been hoping from one manga to another. There were some favourites .. But nothing that stick much like previous mangas that I’ve reviewed in here … I was begining to loose hope that there is a decent yaoi manga out there that is worth reading and waiting for 2-3 months for the translations.

Another thing that made the yaoi world a bit dull this year was the fact that a few yaoi scanlation sites decided to throw in the towel once and for all, and discontinue all projects that they’ve been working on. Not that I’m complaining since I love them for scanlating great mangas for our viewing pleasure… It’s too bad the yaoi scanlation sites are decreasing ..

So …

Here I was, wondering around the web, hunting for good yaoi manga to drool over … Was surfing through the whole lot of yaoi manga hosting site on livejournal when I stumbled upon a name that rang a familiar bell within me … Someone I’d never expect would produce mangas under the Yaoi genre.

At first, when I saw this mangaka’s name, I thought, oh great, yet another sappy cliche shoujo manga that’s filled with whimpy heroines that’ll fall at the slight push of even a soft breeze. (Yes, I don’t have a particular liking towards shoujo now … Yaoi brainwashed me…) What stopped me was the fact that this mangaka’s name appeared on a site where only yaoi mangas are hosted. So, begins my curiousity.

Who am I talking about?

Yuu Watase

Creator of Ayashi No Ceres (sex love cry love kiss love cry some more and more sex. Oh wait, not forgetting heroine who’ll fall at the slight push). Mangaka and artist of Fushigi Yuugi (where the heroine will always need the help of her 7 suzaku warriors). Creator of Absolute Boyfriend (which is now made into a crappy Jdorama)

Bleh. I used to love Fushigi Yuugi .. Then, I got bored with watching the heroine depend TOO much on other people. What’s the point of calling yourself a heroine when the hero-ing stuffs are done by other people, all you do is faint, cry, shout, scream, get raped, cry some more, shout ‘Tamahome~!’ all the time, have this ‘oh-I’m-the-most-kindest-woman-in-the-world-look-at-how-all-the-poor-little-children-flock-around-me’ image, get hurt easily, make a simple ankle sprain look like something that could kill you… et cetra, et cetra, et cetra.

Okay, Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden was a bit better that the first one .. But, I haven’t read anymore of Fushigi Yuugi series.

Onwards now!

The first yaoi manga made by Yuu Watase!

I had my doubts. Oh, I had my doubts. I thought, oh no, she’s going to make a sappy cliched yaoi manga… This time, the uke is going to be the ‘heroine’ and the seme will be the ‘prince-of-I’ll-do-anything-for-you’. Then, I read some of the reviews (ones without spoilers). And I saw the rates ….

And I thought.

What the heck …. Let’s do this. *jumps*

And wow ….

Incredible.

Gorgeous.

Believe me.

I sobbed towards the end of Chapter 4. I seriously cried; tears, snot and all.

Sakura Gari

Here’s this naive country boy who believes in life even though he has gone through some pretty tough life back home, coming to the city to seek higher education. And here’s another man, a gem amongst rocks, whose view of life is as mundane as a blank piece of paper. A beauty, yet, empty.

You’d think this is cliche (they meet, opposite attracts, they help each other out, they fall in love) but the plot is a whole nother thing.

It started out happy, bright (slightly dark) with the presence of Masataka (the country boy). Then, it gets shrouded by mystery and bleakness. Slowly, as if an eclipse of the sun, it turns painfully dark (in a good way). And the story just tugs you everywhere it goes. The sight of a broken Masataka can bring tears even to the most strongest manga reader out there (I think). Masataka will take your heart with him, no doubt about it.

Yuu Watase improved greatly in the drawing of expressions. Though her art is not as good as some mangakas out there (whereby even the anatomy of the body is spot on), it is still extraordinary. Personally, I would’ve prefered if she stuck to her style of drawing characters in Absolute Boyfriend. But then again, Absolute Boyfriend is a comedy manga, therefore, the drawing of characters in Sakura Gari is satisfactory enough because it suites the atmosphere.

I HIGHLY recommend this manga to avid Yaoi fans out there. I swear, you won’t regret picking it up and reading it. (I just hope it doesn’t get liscensed soon, cos it’ll take forever to get an update) Now, I absolutely can’t wait for the next chapter! Hurry~!!!! I want to know what happens to dear Masataka. *sobs*

note: Ironically, in my language, Sakura Gari or the word Gari means chains. So in other words, if translated to my language, it’ll be ‘Sakura Chains’ which ironically, suites the story.

I will update soon …

As soon as I get my hands on some good yaoi mangas in need of some good reviews …

For now …

Been reading Love Mode again …

And even after a year …

That manga still makes me cry ..

Especially the last volume …

Bravo to Love Mode… How I wish there’d be more worthwhile mangas like Love Mode … *hearts*

First off …

What have I been doing??

Reading 4 yaoi mangas a day .. Yes .. 4 … And I’m quickly running out of things to read. Hey, it’s Spring break, I just thought I’d catch up on some Yaoi ..

Most of the time, I entertain myself with Comedy themed mangas ..

Recently, I decided to plunge back into the world of angst …

And angst I got … I have to put my hands down for Koide-sensei for her tear-jerking angst themed mangas ..

The winning angst mangas amongst her many is .. I’ve got to say .. Koi no Tsumeato ..

The beginning was a little boring … But then again .. Most good things start slowly ..

The story, angst as it is, revolves around a love triangle .. And we all know love triangles are just so heartbreaking-ly …. lovely …

I’m a sucker for triangles….

I swear, I almost cried reading this manga .. And I’m only half-way through the first volume!

The story revolves around Kou whose tollerance against alcohol … is worse than a 13 year old experimenting on his/her first binging activity .. He cheats on his lover, Ao, whenever he has a little too much to drink … On one of his many alcoholic escapades, he sleeps with Mikuni. There, we find out that Kou suffers from amnesia almost a decade ago. Ao’s his childhood friend who has been completely in love with him for so many years. Mikuni, by sheer luck, happens to be someone who Kou loved right before he ran into that accident that altered his memories. Of course, Mikuni was and is still in love with him even though they’ve been separated for so many years. He also doesn’t know that Kou cannot remember him and because the accident changed Kou’s appearance slightly, he mistook him for someone else.

What I truly love about this manga is the drama… It’s so bittersweet.. Ao, supposed-ly the protagonist of the story, turned out truly sweet. Unlike most cliche love triangles where the protagonist is someone you’d really hate for being so selfish, in this manga, Ao’s truly lovable. With his unending love for Kou and the way he displays it so honestly, it breaks my heart. He cares so much for Kou that he even forgives Kou’s countless affairs. Half the time, I thought he’d finally give up and move on, and everytime that thought comes to mind, I felt like crying.

Mikuni’s alright for me. But I’m rooting for Ao. I can’t help it … He broke my heart, now I’m completely in love with him. Here’s a guy who’s been in a unrequited love relationship with his childhood friend, yet his friend never seemed to realize the dept of his love towards him. All of a sudden, this guy shows up and snatched him right from under his nose and all he could do is watch them. I know, it’s his fault for being cowardice. It’s his fault for not taking action … And here’s where I start warming up to Mikuni who never got the chance to be in a relationship with Kou ..

But .. I swear .. if Kou ever decides to break-up with Ao ….. I’ll surely cry …

Argh .. I just can’t make up my mind .. I’m just going to read finish this manga and cry buckets of tears … and hope …. Ao gets a happy ending .. =)

Why?

Easier to maintain if it’s on the same account as my real blog .. That way I won’t abandon any blogs…

So .. What’s my new url?? … You guessed it – http://www.the-qu33n.blogspot.com

So, yeah, I’ve gone back to my Yaoi manga spree. I’m back! That’s Yaoi. Once you’re sucked into this world, it’s near impossible to get out of it. Now, I’m starting to love watching 2 men kiss …. Be it real men or anime/manga characters. Hot…

So … Yeah … I’m addicted to Yaoi. Everyday, I must read at least one yaoi manga or else … I won’t be able to sleep at night ……. Yes, chronic addiction. At least it’s healthier than other addictions….. It just corrupts my mind .. slightly …

Of course, reading yaoi everyday …. decreases the amount of yaoi manga choices.. I used to be able to read 3-4 volumes of Yaoi .. Now, I’ve read so many that I’m running out of yaoi to read! I’ve even gone back to reading short, unsatisfactory, one-shots.

And now … I’m digging through the Yaoi archives.  Reading yaoi mangas dating back before the millennium, when gay was still EXTREMELY taboo and geaky, tug-in pants were all-the-rage. =_=; Of course, add in the huge grandma glasses, geaky clothes … Ah, you get what I mean right.

It’s not all that bad, going through these oldies. Other than the fact that it’s so nostalgic to read Dragon ball styled mangas again, some of them are pretty … erm …… well …. good. Almost equal to the mangas we have today.

One of them I’m enjoying right now is … Yatteraneeze!

I’m in love with it. It’s old school but the story is ….. well …. very realistic, which is what most Yaoi mangas these days lack in. And the art is not that bad. The art reminds me of the first series of Detective Conan. Which is good since most mangas these days adapt to that kind of art.

I love the reality of the manga. I especially love the characters.

At first, Takashi really pissed me off. I kept thinking, this guy is so damn mean and yet, Hiroya’s still so determine to get him to be his friend.

And dear Hiroya. So innocent. So adorable. He’s like a feisty little prince, ready to rebel against his right of birth, just to spend one day as a commoner. His not your average, clingy, weak uke. Well, at times, he does appear weak, but that’s forgivable for a delicate body like his. He’s so fragile, at times I worry whether he’s really healthy or sick. I know, ridiculous worrying over a fictional character. But that’s the good thing about this manga. It’s so realistic to the point where you start worrying over the characters’ health.

I’m only half way through the series… I’m glad I found it before it got licensed.  Mine you, I’m a poor college student who can barely buy her own lunch …… Can’t afford to buy real mangas (I mean, the book .. you know) I depend on the internet for my source of mangas to read….

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Alright!!!! Score 1 for Yaoi!!!! ^_^ … *sings ‘And I~~~~~~ will allllways love yooou~~~’*

I’ll never leave you ever again, yaoi world …

=_=; And I thought wordpress autosaves posts…… =_=

Long story short

Koukou Debut, the manga I thought would be my temporary recovery drug from yaoi addiction, back fired.

I don’t like it. It disappointed me so much I felt soooo betrayed. Here I thought this was going to be a good shoujo that I could read during my free time. Here I thought, hrm.. may be this’ll be better than Parfait Tic (which I think is one of the best shoujo out there .. even though the story drags on) but I was disappointed greatly after the 3rd volume of Koukou Debut.

Actually, mid way through volume 3, I started to think … ‘hrm… well .. that sucks .. where’d the fun go?’ .. It was too fast, for a shoujo series. And … as much as I’m a fan of romance .. this .. is TOO much.

It became TOO cliche that it made me puke (figuratively). I managed to predict how the story goes throughout volume 4. Everything grew old.

I should’ve never left Yaoi. I should have never thought of leaving! I’m sorry yaoi, I’ve been a bad fangirl .. Thinking of leaving you for a moment .. Should have never done that

Anyway ..

Speaking of Yaoi…

Here’s an old news that I’ve just found out..

The whole plagiarism scandal between Takashima (mangaka of hot yaoi bisshies) and Kayono (whoever she is)..

It’s old news, like I said. But I’ve only found out recently … thanks to my ever hardworking ‘search for updates on free_manga livejournal’ side.

So now, Takashima’s banned from creating mangas .. *sobs*

Dangnammit! I love her works!!! Wild Rock was so hot, I felt like eating up all her bisshies. And Harlem Beat wa Yoake is so cute!! It’s shoujo, but I can’t help feeling the love between the prince and his schoolmate. Man’s Best Friend .. oooh ..yummmmmm…..

Damnit!!!!! No wonder I don’t find anymore mangas by her even though her works are greatly sought after by lots of yaoi fans. I mean, sure, it’s common for mangakas to suddenly take a ‘LONG’ break from drawing … So, I didn’t expect much .. But when I heard about this …

hrm…

That sucks…

How cruel reality can be when money reigns most powerful.

Even manga world has scandals ….

Note: BOYCOTT Kayono’s works!!!! I support Takashima Kazusa a hundred and one percent (mostly coz I love her bisshies and I want to see more of her bisshies frolicking around under the sheets – and of course, the art counts…).

I’ve never read Kayono’s works.. I don’t even know she exist .. (okay, that sounded wrong .. sorry..) But she’s mean……. She’s one spoiled rich little brat who depends on her mummy and daddy’s money to become famous by stepping on real talented people out there … Bitch.

Takashima-sensei, daijobu ne, karma will bite her(Kayono) hard in the ass one day. What goes around, comes around.

Happy New Year! And belated merry Christmas ..

Anyway ..Today .. I’m going to review something I’ve abandoned since .. the beginning of last year ..

I know, I keep reviewing Yaoi mangas. But, let’s face it.. what fangirl won’t love reading mangas about 2 hot bishies (sometimes more ^.^) ‘playing’ around under the sheets and making sweet ‘imaginary’ babies. ^O^ Okay, I kid, I kid.

So, this year.. I started out freshly new … Coming back down from the sweet, lovely, sexy world of hot men loving hot(sometimes way too adorable) men, returning back to the real world, where most hot men still loves women (no matter how adorable the other men look *LOL*). So, I’ve decided to read Shoujo.

Back to basics. Yup. One of my first love. Last year (my love for shoujo started a long time ago but I’m just going to talk about last year), it started with Hot Gimmick, then it went to Yuu-sensei’s Fuushigi Gaiden series (which I simply adore more than all her other works) then I fell for Vampire Knight’s hot bisshie vampires … Then, of course, after countless of shoujo mangas later, I got sucked into the wonderful and marvelous world of …. YAOI, my world changed forever.. And I don’t regret it, not ever.

But alas, I have to face the fact that men don’t ALWAYS fall for the next cute guy that walks pass him (I wish…) coz if that happens, then we women won’t have a single chance of getting any men .. And of course, the human race will die out coz men falls for other men and women can only drool and watch them romp around in bed *drops on the floor, laughing ass off*

The lucky shoujo manga that is slowly helping me recover from all the yaoi is… Koukou Debut!! I’m recuperating from all the yaoi (but I’m not giving it up!! I’m just taking a short break)

Because I got tooo accustomed to men falling for men, it took quite a while for me to finally decide to go back to shoujo. Yaoi makes me hate the woman who falls for the man coz in almost every yaoi, women are the cause of men turning the ‘other’ way coz women made them incompetent to other women. (it’s a love hate relationship that I have against women in yaoi manga. I love them coz they turn the men gay, but I hate them for their bitchy ways and coz they broke my lovely bisshies heart)

Koukou Debut is a great manga for recovering back-to-reality-from-yaoi fans like me. One, coz the main character in the manga is so tomboyish that anyone could easily mistake her for a boy. Two, the main boy is so hot it sends most yaoi bisshies running home with their tails (and another delicious body part) between their legs. Three, when a guy says ‘I hate girls’ that only means one thing “Homo-des!” *lols*

Okay.. That’s not true … but it can be, in the world of yaoi, it’s more likely to happen. I was taken aback when Yoh (the main guy, who’s really hot, btw) says “I hate girls”. The thought ‘Homo-des!!!! *sigh*’ came to mind IMMEDIATELY!  Plus, with 2 hot bisshies as friends, (when you’re a huge yaoi fan) you can’t help thinking that MAYBE he’ll turn gay..

Okay.. Nuff with gay .. Come back to real romance between male and female.

I’m only through the first volume, but I must say, I’m liking it so far! It’s nice to read about something like this. I’m fed-up of reading about beautiful girls, with a hidden agenda, falling for some cheerful, upbeat jock. Or the other way round. And I’m fed-up of overly angst shoujo manga. Not everyone needs to have some kind of drama in their past just to get a boyfriend, you know.

Plus, this manga relates to me well. For one, I’m not particular about fashion. But there was a bleak short amount of time when I was so desperate to get boys’ attention, that I’ve been told that I’m trying too hard just to look like someone I’m not. I looked pathetic.. But that’s just personal (I’m in the mood for sharing, so face it..)

Reading this manga .. love it. And there’s of course my love for shoujo (similar to the main character) and the longing for some attention from the opposite gender. Heh!

So, I’m off to read further.  I hope I won’t be disappointed!

I prefer series compared to oneshots and one volume mangas.

It rarely progresses smoothly and everything is almost always rushed to meet a happy ending .. or a sad one ..

So .. I went on hunting for manga series rather than one volume mangas. I know it’s a painstakingly slow process, to wait for the series to end and all that. But the wait is worth it.

For now..

I’m going to review 2 manga series  that I haven’t finished reading but managed to read at least one of it’s volumes..

First and foremost .. Sex/Love Pistol

OMG .. I’ve never read such a twisted manga ever in my entire life …

It’s so twisted that I find myself tilting my head to the side so many times in one volume alone ..

Here I thought, hey, the title sounds sexy, surely the manga is sexy ..

Then, I read the synopsis and wondered ‘Pregnant men’? What the-

So .. I dived right in ..

And …..

I’ll never be the same as before I read this manga…

Men getting PREGNANT?!! Lesbian couples who can somehow produce children?!! I can understand the twisted logic that Tarako-sensei created in this manga by telling us that sperm has to go into another person’s body .. But how can a lesbian couple get pregnant on their own?! Who produced the seed?????????

And then there’s the … Women impregnating their husbands ….. O-O …. How’d that happen? Men has a whole life time of seeds they’ll produce yet they get ‘seed-ed’ by women?? What the —– ……. How??

That’s what you’ll find yourself thinking the whole time during this manga… How? And WHAT THE—

But the twisted-ness of this manga is what makes it great! The artwork is simple and plain .. But the story is so unique it’s funny. Hilarious …

The next manga I’ll review about in my next post ..