Boys Next Door Reviews

Rating: ♦♦

I really wanted to like this release more than I did. The art was really well done, and the story wasn’t too silly, but it just didn’t gel.
It was just kind of fluffy, with no underlying substance to make me care about the characters.

There’s Aoto, who’s left alone in the world after his sisters death. He transfers his affections to his brother in law, Takashi, who seems oblivious to Aoto’s feelings.
There’s Takashi’s friend Masayuki who decides that he’s madly in love with Aoto, even though Aoto does not return his feelings.

It’s kind of cute, and has some nice graphic moments, but in all honesty, this didn’t make me that happy.

I guess I’ve been spoiled with a lot of 801’s releases; they’re usually graphic, have a decent plot and make me all kinds of happy. When I find one that’s graphic, and has a plot that’s just okay, I compare it to the ones that I’ve loved, and just find them lacking.

It’s cute, and it’s something that people will enjoy, I just want something with more substance.

Rating: ♦♦♦

You know, I’m really tired of anthologies. Still, they are a good way to get introduced to an artist, and get a feel for their work.
This release, while being very charming and very well drawn, left me feeling a bit lacking.
The stories were very good, and I really liked the characters, but in a short format like this, I didn’t get enough of them. For most of the stories in this anthology, I would be happy to read an entire manga devoted to the characters and their problems.

I guess that’s really not something to complain about. But, it did leave me feeling unsatisfied at the end.

I think my favorite story revolved around the character that was the oldest of six children.
Now, this being Japan, this is a bit of an oddity, and he’s embarrassed by the fecundity of his parents.
He also doesn’t want to let his family know that he’s gay, in case they react badly.
A surprise visit from his lover has him questioning his decisions, and a slip of the tongue has him coming out to his siblings, who are more supportive than he could have ever imagined.

It’s sweet, and it’s slightly silly. The only thing that could improve the story would be the addition of some smut. Well, that and to expand on the characters.

One thing I really did enjoy about this release was the real lack of happy endings in the majority of the stories. These stories seem much more true to life, than a lot of the stereotypical BL stories that always end with true love and buttsex.
Much like the releases by Est Em, who is currently my favorite artist working, these stories show a subjective kind of happiness. Something that will get you through right now, but is not the shojou flowers and joy that I’m used to.

It is a nice change. I just wish there was more of this!

Rating: ♦♦♦♦

I’ve been waiting so long for this volume, that I pretty much forgot what had happened in the first two volumes.
Thankfully, I caught myself up pretty quickly. This isn’t one of those deep thought mangas that has lots and lots of complicated plot twists. No, this is pretty straightforward, boy meets other boy, boys boink, and then complications arise to keep boys from boinking.
Just to catch all of you up, we have Tokumaru and Hasune. Tokumaru is good at anything athletic, but is a dismal failure at almost everything else. Hasune is the head of his family’s tea house, and his charged with trying to teach Tokumaru some grace and manners.
Cue some hilarity with Tokumaru being a klutz, and winning over Hasune with his bubbly personality and we’ve got a relationship.

In this volume, it’s summer break, and Tokumaru is faced with trying to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life. Nothing like putting the pressure on! When he’s given the opportunity to look into attending a sports college, where his lack of book knowledge is not going to be held against him, Tokumaru thinks that he’s got it all figured out.
Hasune takes this as an opportunity to tutor and molest Tokumaru at every possible opportunity. Now, the question is if Tokumaru will be able to stay with Hasune or will his future plans pull them apart.

You know, if this wasn’t so well drawn, and so charming, I don’t think I would care for it as much. It’s really nothing special, when you look at the basic plot, but, there’s something with the quality of the art, and the situations the characters find themselves in, which turn this into a series that I’m happy to wait for.

I have volume four pre-ordered on Amazon.com, and it’s slated for delivery in April. Let’s hope that the release date doesn’t get pushed back too far, now that I’m remembering how much I like this series, I don’t want to wait too long to read the rest of it!