Manga author: Kaori Yuki

Hi, there! Welcome to March’s first edition of Authors of my Heart ❤

Today is manga author day, so next Friday we will see a book author 🙂

Today’s mangaka is a very special one, as she is responsible for truly defining the kind of art that I prefer on my manga titles. You’d think it was Matsuri Hino, but no lol

It was Kaori Yuki-sensei!

As you may have already read in this post, we’ve met in 2005, as soon as Panini Comics released Angel Sanctuary here in Brazil and I was hooked since page one. On the first time that I’ve read this series, what kept me loving this series was Yuki-sensei’s art, as I didn’t understand most of what was happening (and with reason; I was 10 and the title is rated 16+ lol). I only really understood this series on its core when I re-read it, five years later.

Kaori Yuki has several series and oneshots under her name and I’m ashamed to say that I found this out writing this post. I only knew the titles that I had read and two tbr series from her. I’m a lousy excuse for a fan, I know The awesome part is that I have several titles to read from her now ❤

Anyway, let’s talk about what I have read:

• Angel Sanctuary

Goodreads’ blurb:

The angel Alexiel loved God, but she rebelled against Heaven when she saw how disgracefully the other angels were behaving. She was finally captured, and as punishment sent to Earth to live an endless series of tragic lives. She now inhabits the body of Setsuna Mudo, a troubled teen in love with his sister Sara. Setsuna’s misery mirrors the chaos among the angels, and their combined passions threaten to destroy both Heaven and Earth.

Why is Setsuna so mixed up? Despite his attempts to be noble, he’ll fight anyone anytime; he ignores all authority; and he harbors feelings for his sister that can only be described as “incestuous.” Why is he such a mess? The reason may be found with two demons from the underworld and their enemy, an insane angel who is distributing an insidious computer game called Angel Santuary.

The first one we never forget, right? One of my favorite things about this title is the characters dynamics. They are so real and their relationships (not only amorous ones) are always so fogged, so… Grey. Seriously, just read this, haha!

• The Cain Saga

Goodreads’ blurb:

Born under an evil moon harboring dark secrets, Earl Cain C. Hargreves, the youthful heir of the aristocratic Hargreves family, is a man on a quest to find the truth about his family’s past. Written in dark, harrowing episodes, The CAIN Saga chronicles how Cain solves the strange crimes that seem to plague his cursed existence, yet somehow bring him closer to deciphering the puzzling circumstances surrounding his father’s tragic death.

I spoke of this one very recently, so I’ll just add that I love the mysteries that Cain has on his hands during this series!

• Boy’s Next Door

Goodreads’ blurb:

Lawrence is a young male prostitute whose actual aim was to look for his brother. Unknowingly, he did find his brother – the owner of the young boys prostitute club. However, his life was about to change when he witnessed the killing of one of the biggest serial killers – Dr. Wolfgang Adrain Cray. Instead of running away, he searches for the murderer and falls in love with him. Adrian, who is basically a nice person (he is a school teacher) takes in Lawrence and reciprocates Lawrence s love. but Lawrence s brother was not too happy about losing a possible money tree and sends out his gang in search of Lawrence.

You may have noticed that Kaori Yuki’s stories tend to not win the happy manga of the year prize, right? Oh well, on Boy’s Next Door, she outdoes herself. I’m not usually one to cry while reading manga, but I did here. I felt the pain, the agony, the crushed love. I really would love to re-read this title and review it, but I don’t know if I am strong enough. What awaits me is too real…

That’s it about Yuki-sensei ❤ I also innovated this time and prepared a list with my TBR list of her titles:

• Perfume Master
• Grand Guignol Orchestra series
• Fairy Cube series
• Demon from Afar series

Thank you for reading 😀 If any of my TBR titles of this post caught your eye and you want a review for it, just say so in the comments that I’ll work faster towards the chosen title 😀

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 🙂

Manga of the Week: Angel Sanctuary,by Kaori Yuki

Today’s choice for Manga of the week is a very dear title from Kaori Yuki: Angel Sanctuary.

Goodreads’ description:

The angel Alexiel loved God, but she rebelled against Heaven when she saw how disgracefully the other angels were behaving. She was finally captured, and as punishment sent to Earth to live an endless series of tragic lives. She now inhabits the body of Setsuna Mudo, a troubled teen in love with his sister Sara. Setsuna’s misery mirrors the chaos among the angels, and their combined passions threaten to destroy both Heaven and Earth.

Why is Setsuna so mixed up? Despite his attempts to be noble, he’ll fight anyone anytime; he ignores all authority; and he harbors feelings for his sister that can only be described as “incestuous.” Why is he such a mess? The reason may be found with two demons from the underworld and their enemy, an insane angel who is distributing an insidious computer game called Angel Santuary.

Why I think it’s a worth-reading: this is a funny story, actually. In Brazil, Panini published it in 2005. The manga is rated 16+ and I started reading it as soon as it was released because Kaori Yuki’s draws are just perfection. Nothing wrong, right? Wrong. In 2005, I was only 10, LOL. I read the series again with 15 and it was a life changer; there was so many things that I understood without understanding at 10 (did I make sense?).

Anyway, the plot is amazing, the art is perfect and the characters are so passionately, so human… I’m lost on this one, lol. It’s drama, action, romance and religious conflicts all tangled up together, with touches of laughter and adventure. They’re 20 volumes, but in Brazil, Panini split the volumes in half, so we have 40 volumes. I prefer it this way; we have more covers. But I think 20 would be easier to keep – I’m that kind of person who has the entire collection of the manga and also wants the same manga in other languagues, like Japanese and English, as mine are all in Portuguese.

That’s it! Thanks for reading! Have you read Angel Sanctuary or heard about Kaori Yuki? 😀