Croquis, from Hinako Takanaga

Hi, happy end of the last Sunday of 2015!

Today was a kind of melancholic day for me – I really don’t know why, as I went to the park as I said I would and walked 5,3km. Hm, maybe that’s the reason, haha! I’m a reader, not an athlete LOL

Anyway, something that always lifts my spirits is a good and sweet yaoi manga, so I decided to review another of the titles that I’ve read while I was writing my dissertation, earlier this year. The chosen one? Croquis, from Hinako Takanaga! 😀

The Story

Nagi is a model at an art school during the day and a drag queen at a club at night. He was never a lucky guy with relationships, but noticed that Kaji, one of the students of the art school, had his eyes on him more than necessary lately.

Kaji is a very talented student, but there is something about painting Nagi that unleashes Kaji’s inspiration to new levels. Can he convince Nagi that they may work outside of the artistic world as well?

Will Nagi finally find himself a good boyfriend?!

 

The Analysis

Just remembering that those were my impressions and opinion as a reader 🙂

Despite the fact that Croquis was released in 2010, I only met it last June. I was at a comic book event and saw that beautiful cover over there and ran to do a quick investigation online, to see if it was worth a shot. Oh boy, I’m so glad that I found it! This one shot was sweet, funny and, at the same time, talks about real problems inside gay relationships such as self-acceptance, couple adaptation, the importance of communicating with your partner, etc. I loved it and really wished it wasn’t just an one shot 😦 Five stars nevertheless!

The narrative pace was slow and really thoughtful. Nagi overthinks even his own breathing and this can be a little tiring, as he is very insecure in the beginning. Later, we get to see more action and less thinking, but anyway, haha! It worked for me in this title. Kaji doesn’t have many parts of his own point of view, but it is part of the magic, so the reader doesn’t know what’s up with him, just like Nagi doesn’t.

The plot was very simple and basic. It’s a daily life title, as we follow Nagi and Kaji’s routines and getting used to themselves as a couple. It’s not remarkable or brilliant, but it works fantastically. It’s a light and heart-warming read 😀

I have to admit that I didn’t really liked Nagi. I’m not into books/mangas/comics which have very gay men, the ones that wished they were women. I like males that, instead of making out with the girl in the bar, just go making out with the other male next to him. No fuss made, no crossdressing. I’m not against it on real life, this is only a literary preference in my readings!

Point is, Nagi is a drag queen and he wants to be a girl. That is one of their main problems as a couple, as Kaji seems hesitant with Nagi’s wishes. Kaji, in the other hand, was such a gentleman all the time! I loved him and just felt sorry for not seeing much sheets action, if you get my drift.

The art of Hinako Takanaga sensei was amazingly beautiful. I’ve read another title from her, called Tyrant Falls in Love, and she’s the kind of person that has the ability to draw both insanely beautiful men and regular boy-next-door men. Look at this*:

Stunning, right?! 😀

Overall, it’s a good yaoi to pass time if you are not specifically looking for hot sex scenes, haha! I’d recommend it to all of you that appreciate a “shoujo” yaoi style of manga.

That’s it! Thanks for reading 😀 Do you like shoujo yaoi styled mangas as well??

 

 

*I do not own any of those images, they were found at Google and here used with illustrative purposes only. The art belongs to Hinako Takanaga sensei 🙂