That's such a dry title for a survey of what is, after all, a group of lively, entertaining, and sometimes very funny manga that have recently become available in English-language editions. The following comments cover some of those I've managed to get my hands on – the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

Ellie Mamahara has long been one of my favorite mangaka doing BL, who sadly has had limited distribution in English. With the recent appearance of two new titles, however, I'm hoping that will change. Baseball Heaven is what seems to be a typical Mamahara romantic comedy of errors: in this case, the world of baseball and a rookie pitcher, Uno, who's not only a star on the rise, but is friendly and outgoing to everyone – except the shortstop, Ogata. It turns out that Uno doesn't hate Ogata; quite the opposite, in fact. Ogata doesn't want to get involved with a teammate, though, and what follows is a minefield of mixed signals and changing rules, all played for comedy. Mamahara's drawing style is tremendously appealing, particularly her character designs. Think Alberto Giacometti does manga: figures are elongated, blocky, with enormous hands and feet, and Mamahara manages to make them not merely attractive, but sexy. Faces, in particular, are expressive and often startlingly sensual.

Mamahara's other new title is Double Cast, from a story by Takana Mizuhashi. Yuki Yamamuro is a young TV star presently playing Mephistopheles in a modern-dress stage adaptation of Faust. He alternates the role with a young actor named Mitsuru Sawaki. Yuki's mentor, the producer who discovered him, wants them both for a TV drama celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of his television network. Knowing how the producer works, Yuki decides on a pre-emptive strike and decides to seduce Mitsuru. It doesn't quite work out the way Yuki planned – Mitsuru is young, but is not about to be manipulated. It's a more serious story than is usual for Mamahara, but her drawing is, if anything, better – it's more refined, stronger, and supports the narrative fully. And her grasp of the characters and their psychology is right on, which shows not only in the dialogue but in the drawing.

No Touching at All is Kou Yoneda's first title in English, and one can only hope that more are forthcoming. It's a subtle, elliptical story about Shima, a withdrawn, very private young man who, on his first day at his new job, shares the elevator with a man who is not only badly hung over but reeks of tobacco. It's his new boss, Togawa. Togawa thinks Shima is very cute and won't rest until Shima has lunch with him. They begin hanging out together and, inevitably, they wind up in bed. This one should be read as though you were watching a movie: it's episodic, the early scenes are somewhat spare, but it all comes together as the two men begin an affair and are finally forced to confront their feelings for each other. Yoneda's drawing style is somewhat spare, sketchy, but quite expressive. Page layouts are highly intuitive and carry a good part of the narrative. It's a solid romantic drama.

Rakun's U Don't Know Me is my second experience with Korean BL manhwa, and if the two I've read are typical, the Koreans seem to have a taste for the gritty side of life. Sayun and Yoojin are childhood friends who were separated when Sayun's parents moved away. Sayun and his father are now back, and the two boys resume their friendship, although they attend separate high schools. Sayun's not really what you'd call squeaky clean, although it's more a matter of his friends being somewhat shady than anything he does. Yoojin, on the basis of a bit of gossip, forces himself on Sayun; it turns out the story was not about Sayun, but about one of his friends. There's a fair amount of conflict in this one: Sayun, because of his own family situation, is leery of making a commitment; Yoojin wants forever. Rakun's drawing style is highly finished, although she tends toward very spare frames, often using little or no background. Some good psychology in a nice, knotty story.

Yaya Sakuragi, another of my favorites and creator of Tea for Two (reviewed in Wilde Oats Issue 5, August, 2010), has come up with a delightful bit of fluff, Stay Close to Me. Yuzuru Shibata has worshipped Issei Yogi since "Icchan" rescued him from a group of bullies in grade school. His goal is to become the perfect homemaker for his prince – even though Yuzu hit his growth spurt early and towers over Icchan. This is another school-boy romance, episodic and light. It's accompanied by a side story, "Play to Win," about Ohga, a young man who has taken a year off to study for college entrance exams. He runs into a school acquaintance, Takatsuki, who had been accepted by a prestigious school but gambled away his tuition money. Takatsuki wheedles Ohga into letting him stay at Ohga's place. Ohga finds him a major distraction – and it's not just the gambling. Sakuragi's drawing style has gotten quite free and confident since the early volumes of Tea for Two, and her page layouts are even more adventurous. It's a nice bit of fluff.

My big find recently is Yugi Yamada, a very popular mangaka whom I've only just begun investigating. I had seen the anime of Close the Last Door! a while back and found both the story and the graphics appealing. I finally got the manga. Nagai has been very protective of his younger friend Saitou since they were in the hiking club together in high school. Now he's the best man at Saitou's wedding and hating it: he realizes he's in love with Saitou and decides to skip the after party and drown his sorrows at the hotel bar. He runs into Honda, a friend of the bride, and proceeds to get very drunk. Honda checks them both into a room and – well, nature takes its course. Then Saitou shows up the next day completely devastated: his bride has run off with a co-worker. Although he's still in love with Saitou, Nagai for some reason can't stay away from Honda. Yamada has given us a budding love triangle here that works itself out over the course of two volumes, although she doesn't quite nail it down. There are bonus stories centered on Saitou and on Honda's two older brothers, who share something rather more than brotherly love. The drawing is clean and confident, although I have to confess that Nagai is a little girly for my taste. Honda, however, is a total fox. Once again, good psychology: BL manga relies a great deal on character, and Yamada has a good grasp of not only interpersonal dynamics, but hidden motivations.

Kenzou Honda's brothers, Shoichi and Shunji, get their own story in Open the Door to Your Heart. Shoichi, the oldest, works for the tax office – a job that suits his personality. Shunji, the middle brother, is a hang loose sort of guy who left home ten years before because of his feelings for Shoichi, who is actually his cousin, adopted by Shunji's parents when his own parents were killed. Shunji's back, and things play out the only way they can. The drawing is up to the level of Close the Last Door!, and I might note here that Yamada makes adroit and effective use of shading and tone. This is another that works best if you treat is as though you were watching a film.

A note about sex scenes: they are almost a requirement in BL manga, but because of Japanese censorship laws are usually fairly reticent. As I've noted elsewhere, what they're doing is obvious but what they're doing it with is invisible. Rakun's volume is the most explicit, and even there the dangly bits are masked.

As I mentioned, this is only the tip of the iceberg – there has been a flood of new titles in the last year, and it's an area worth investigating.

Ellie Mamahara, Baseball Heaven (BLU, 2010) ISBN 978 1-4278-1075-5, US $14.99

Ellie Mamahara, Double Cast (Doki Doki, 2010) ISBN 978-1-56970-111-9, US $12.95

Kou Yoneda, No Touching at All (Juné, 2010) ISBN 978-1-56970-185-0, US $12.95

Rakun, U Don’t Know Me (NetComics, 2009) ISBN 978-1-60009-136-0 US $9.99

Yaya Sakuragi, Stay Close to Me (Juné, 2010) ISBN 978-1-56970-142-3 US $12.95

Yugi Yamada, Close the Last Door!, Vol. 1 (Juné, 2006) ISBN 978-1-56970-883-5, US$ 12.95,
Vol. 2 (Juné, 2010) ISBN 978-1-56970-882-8 US $12.95

Yugi Yamada, Open the Door to Your Heart (Juné, 2010) ISBN 978-1-56970-140-9 US $12.95

 

Robert M. Tilendis is an artist and writer living in Chicago and traveling the world by means of the Internet. He is a reviewer of just about anything that can be reviewed, but focuses mainly on books, music, and art. He is grossly overeducated, and somehow manages to find more to learn. He spends entirely too much time thinking. He is very happy at this point to have found a job that stays put when he leaves for the day.

His online presence is multivalent. His photographs and bibliographies (alas, sadly in need of an update) are at a/k/a Hunter, his political and social commentary at Hunter at Random, and his online journal at Booklag. His reviews of books, music, and the occasional frying pan can be found at Green Man Review, Epinions, and Rambles. He can be reached via e-mail.

Wilde Oats is published three times a year, in April, August and December. Click here to be automatically informed of new issues when they are published.