I literally reviewed about 20 old forgotten June titles in a row in the past couple months, so it’s time to read some other imprints for a change (June just happens to have the largest back catalog of yaoi published in English by miles, which is why I always seem to be reading their stuff). Let’s pick one from the vault of the current top dog in BL publishing – SuBLime!
Shockingly, this is the very first SuBLime title I’ve talked about on this blog, (mainly because I usually talk about older or sucky titles and they have neither), so I thought I should start with one of their first ones, Honey Darling from 2012. This is a fan favorite with enduring popularity, in fact just yesterday I let a fujo I was selling some stuff to online pick a free BL from my box of 20 or so doubles and she immediately and enthusiastically chose Honey Darling (over much newer titles like Twilight out of Focus and even Dick Fight Island, mind you).
SuBLime is Viz’s imprint, and (almost) all their books have matching white spines with the title written in Cheltenham font – I just happen to know this because I’m a graphic designer, a career that turns you into a weird font fetishist (I know, boys, you’re uncontrollably turned on right now). Back when I started collecting, SuBLime had a small library of just a handful of titles, and they were pretty much the only publisher putting out yaoi for a while – everyone else was victims of the 08 recession. They’re now the biggest English BL pub and over the years they have built up a pretty large catalog, now coming in an easy 2nd place behind DMP as the pub with the longest list of stuff ever put out. Despite the size of their catalog, SuBLime is pretty discerning and puts out quality over quantity, probably having learned from DMP’s mistakes. They had – and still have – people constantly hitting them up for license rescue requests on twitter for things like Junjo Romantica, but besides Seven Days and Finder – two titles with verified sales they were able to cherrypick from DMP after some license drama – they know better than to take that bait as they know license rescues just don’t sell as well as new titles. They have some good licenses in digital jail though as well as some digital-only rescues as well – notably, the second half of Love Pistols that Tokyopop’s BLU imprint never finished releasing. I typically wait until 801 Day when they have a great sale to grab all their newest stuff in one fell swoop.
Man, I’ve sure typed a whole lot of shit without even getting to the review yet, so lfg. So Honey Darling is like, candy in BL form – it tastes sweet, is very easy to eat, and has wide appeal. It’s fluffy, adorable, simple to follow, has attractive art, a cute title, and prominently features a cat – what’s not to love?
Chihiro is a directionless young man working odd jobs who finds a stray kitten in a box on the street and can’t help but take it in, naming it Shio. One day he gets home from work and Shio is sick, and looking for help in desperation he runs into a gruff man on the street named Kumazawa who turns out to be the owner of the local vet clinic. Chihiro is overcome with the vet’s dedication to saving lives and ends up working at the clinic as Kumazawa’s helper and housekeeper, living in his flat upstairs in a spare room. Both men are single and straight and don’t have much in common, but an attraction between them slowly begins to build based on mutual respect.
Part of Chihiro’s job is housework and cooking, so there are many “wife” jokes – but it’s not like one of those BL stories where the situation is completely unrealistic and some hot rich famous guy takes in a random street kid, Chihiro is living there because he works at the clinic and for the staff. Kumazawa (nicknamed Kuma for his bear-like appearance) is emotionless and mature, but is too busy with work to date. They’re both likable characters with great personalities, and we get to see the story from both of their perspectives. Even though it’s a relatively short one shot, it was done over the course of three years and the chapters feel very episodic – but surprisingly it’s all very coherent and easy to follow for being done so piecemeal. The story is not like, some totally original BL scenario you’ve never seen before or anything, but it’s well done. Their relationship has a very gradual buildup, and they don’t become anything more than employer and employee until the very end.
Although I happily and freely post sex scenes on this blog in reviews, I have a sort of policy that if a good manga that at least makes an effort at relationship development has the reader “earn” a sex scene at the very end, I don’t really want to spoil it with pics (unless the manga sucks or the buildup was crap, in which case I don’t care, but this isn’t the case here). I will share this one from a short one-shot at the very end though, which was outside of the main story, if for no other reason than to point out that the censoring in this manga was shit which was probably the only thing I disliked about it. It either has very overly fuzzed-out lightsabers or just doesn’t draw the dick at all, both of which are the most annoying forms of censoring. But since it’s not really a smut title that you’d read just for sex and dicks, it didn’t really affect my enjoyment of it.
Speaking of sex and dicks though, Akira also did one of June’s most sought after titles, Beast and Feast, which is tricky to find below $50 but well worth seeking out. She also has a sister who does BL manga, Makoto Minami / ‘Homerun Ken’, who has more work than her sister but doesn’t have any licensed in English I don’t think. But like, isn’t drawing BL with your sister the dream though? I’m gonna call up mine right now and suggest that, although her answer will probably be “that’s what you called me at 4am about?”
Turns out I’ve talked about SuBLime as a publisher in this review more than I’ve actually talked about this manga, but it’s an easy one to recommend. It’s a fantastic beginner story but even seasoned fujos should find it an enjoyable read. It’s clear why it has remained a fan favorite for so long!
TL;DR: Candy in BL form – wide appeal, easy to enjoy, very sweet. Fluffy and wholesome one-shot about a gruff veterinarian and a directionless bishoujo with a stray kitten who ends up working at his clinic. Attractive art, characters with good personalities, and slow relationship development culminating in a ‘climax’ at the end – although it has some quite annoying censoring. Still, it’s a cute relaxing read with a lot of adorable kitty moments to boot, and it’s clear why it has remained a SuBLime fan favorite.