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KINGDOM OF SELFISH LOVE (Yaoi Press/Studio Kosen)

‘Hey X, when are you going to review another Yaoi Press title?’ said no one ever, especially since that requires actual readers of this blog. Unlike the group that create these terrible books, I am under no delusion that people want to read by self-indulgent BS, much less even think of charging anyone for it. But funny you ask, imaginary reader, because I have here five or so of these titles that I got ages ago in some mixed yaoi lot on eBay (the only way Kosen titles ever find their way to me…). Before mixing them among the hymnals in the pews of my local church, I thought it would be fun to review them. Unfortunately to review them, this means I have to read them. The fact that I’m only just getting around to this about a year into a pandemic lockdown should tell you how much I wanted to do this. But if I can save even one person from paying $12.95 for this one in particular, it will have been worth it. Not all heroes wear capes!

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ALMOST CRYING (Mako Takahashi)

Last month I was at some comic book store and found one of those ‘guide to anime / manga’ books, this one by Dark Horse. Whenever I see one of these, I always flip to the yaoi section to see if they have some hot photos for educational purposes. In a brief note about shotacon, they mentioned that Almost Crying is one of the only shota licenses we have in English, albeit a non-erotic one (Wikipedia mentions this too by the way, but seeing it in a more official medium had more weight). I have had Almost Crying on my shelf for a while but didn’t realize it was a title worthy of any special mention among June’s numerous mid 2000s shounen-ai licenses, so I was a bit surprised. I mean, lots of yaoi has characters that could pass for shota boys, especially the ukes, and while the cover of this book is certainly indicative of how the characters look it didn’t strike me as ‘oh wow this is positively groundbreaking for the US yaoi market’ I guess. I’m also not really into shota either and am perfectly content that it’s largely located in the ‘you have to know where to look’ category, but the non-sexual nature of this title definitely broadens its appeal. And appealing it is, in exactly the way it wants to be.

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POISON CHERRY DRIVE (Modoru Motoni)

I had an inkling that this book was going to be bad. Partly a premonition based on the art style, followed by an educated guess based on the fact that it’s a Kitty title. Ages ago a read a brief review of it saying it was trash, and that nugget of info apparently stayed with me as well. ‘Trash’ may be too nice a descriptor though in this case – it sounds too polite. I’m gonna slightly bump it up a level to ‘hot garbage.’ It’s terrible even by Kitty standards and makes the likes even the bottom of the barrel of BL look like Tezuka works. While reading I was on the lookout for the answer to the question of why they wanted to license this, but I never did find it. Even halfway through, this dumpster fire was still managing to go downhill with no brakes.

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GOLDEN PRINCE AND ARGENT KING (Kouko Agawa)

I had had this title kicking around for ages; it was one of the first in my collection. I don’t know why it took me so long to finally read it. I think because usually I’m either in the mood for either a good yaoi’ or ‘bad yaoi,’ and didn’t know how to categorize this one, because I’m a weirdo and didn’t want to take off the shrinkwrap until I committed to it – but then of course I couldn’t flip through it to find out. I am fully aware that’s a stupid as hell reason but gotta preserve that new book smell, ya know?

I read this all in one sitting, around 6am listening to rain and traffic in bed and waiting for the sun to rise, possibly under some insomnia-induced delirium (my sleep schedule is FUBAR due to Black Death 2020) and trying to wash my brain out after Poison Cherry Drive – which was so incomprehensible that even fairly mediocre yaoi like this one appears near-Shakesperean in comparison.

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JIHAI (Toshimi Nigoshi)

On the off chance that someone out there has not only read this series but is also thinking that this isn’t technically a yaoi or even a shounen-ai, well, you’re right. However, it’s closer to being a shounen-ai than two roaches on a bacon bit, and the proximity about as “ugh!”-inducing – albeit for totally different reasons. But the main reason I’m reviewing it is that it’s a hidden gem of a release that needs more attention, which is my favorite reason to review anything. Are you into shojo sci-fi with BL subtext that’s heavier than metal? Well frens, read on…

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SKYSCRAPERS OF OZ (Somei/Takakura)

“Mari Kudoh and his partner Yoichi are drop-dead gorgeous ‘Handymen,’ as they prefer to call themselves. With a dangerous ‘back door’ operation, these two live a double life as seductive hitmen!”

I’m glad I checked the back of the book before thinking I was super clever for thinking of the back door action pun first…

My friend and I joke that this book is like the common cold of yaoi in that it is always at every manga clearance sale. One might assume that this means its bad, and we were curious to find out for sure. So what was the verdict? For me, it was similar to my feeling about Lost Boys – ‘huh, this is better than I thought it would be!’ This is one great benefit of having low expectations. Also, turns out the reason this manga seems to be everywhere is that it sold really well, having been released right as US yaoi obsession was peaking. This is one of those books that would have been better then, when there was less English-licensed yaoi around for comparison – it’s not terrible, but it does pale next to our modern tomes and tales of butt-fucking.

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JAZZ (Maeda/Takamure)

This series made me genuinely curious if, in ‘real’ doctor/patient romantic relationships, the ‘patient’ continues to call his partner ‘Doc!’ during sex even after they’ve been together for years, like the couple in this book. I’m just wondering if it’s an anomaly. I would think that’s something you’d get out of your system relatively quickly if you date them long enough (and thus presumably care about them as a person enough) to call them by their actual name when balls deep in their asshole. Granted, when I fantasize about [entering serious judgment-free zone] General Hux from Star Wars, in my head I mostly call him by his title, but that’s a fantas- well…ok, maybe I answered my own question.


I’m not sure if Jazz was ever a super-popular yaoi series (if it ever had momentum it’s most likely because it was in the right place at the right time) but it’s certainly a widely circulated one, in that if you are new to the genre and discovering what’s out there you will probably come across this one sooner rather than later. It’s a four-part patient-x-doctor story that manages to overcome its flaws by the end – if the backwards seme/uke age dynamics don’t bother you that is, and gratuitous rape in the first two volumes notwithstanding (more on that later). The art is lovely to look at and the story runs the gamut of emotions from happiness to hopelessness, silliness to seriousness, and heartbreak to healing. Don’t tell me that alliteration didn’t excite you.

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HEAVENLY BODY (Takashi Kanzaki)

So, I read this book on a six-hour plane ride. I happened to be sitting next to an elderly couple and the woman wanted to make small talk with me, and asked what I was reading (the dreaded question). “Oh, this?” I nonchalantly flipped it shut so that the back was facing and realized it had ‘Angelic sex or demonic sex?’ emblazoned on the back in large and bright enough lettering that you’d half to be half-blind not to notice, so quickly turned it over to the front instead. I studied the cover to buy a few seconds to think of something, which I later realized made it look like I had no idea what I’d been reading for the last 20 minutes. I almost went with that, actually, maybe something like, “oh, I found it in the back of the seat pocket in front of me,” but that would have made her more curious. Damn, X, think think think….ok, so the cover makes it look like it might be a nice story about three brothers that got turned into a made-for-TV movie on be Hallmark channel in the 90s, I should say that.

“Oh, it’s a…romance novel.”

She looked at the cover again in this new context. She frowned. The flight is almost landing and she hasn’t said anything to me for the last five hours.

I guess that’s one way to end small talk with elderly strangers…

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SOLFEGE (Fumi Yoshinaga)

Surprisingly, this is my first Fumi Yoshinaga title. I never actively sought out Antique Bakery although I somehow still own it, and it’s among her most well-known works (you know you’ve written a hit when it gets made into a Korean live-action movie). Though not yaoi itself, she made a lengthy catalog of yaoi doujinshi to go with it that I am going to go out on a limb and guess is probably a bit different from Maki Murakami’s Gravitation dj, but one can dream.

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