Boys Next Door Reviews

Rating: ♦♦♦♦

I adore Yamada Yugi. Her characters are batshit crazy in the very best way. The plots are completely unbelievable. Yet, instead of them making me cranky, I fall into them and get sucked into their little world of insanity. That’s quite a talent. After reading BL for longer than I want to admit, I’ve just about had it with some of the more outlandish plot-lines and tropes that go along with this genre.

So, Yamada Yugi, you’ve got the rare talent of making me forget that, at times I hate this genre, and remind me of just why it is that I love it.

Itaru had grown up taking care of Tatsuhiko. Tatsuhiko grew up in love with his caretaker. Time goes by, and the two grow apart, leaving Itaru with a bittersweet memory. Years later, when Itaru has joined the wonderful world of salary-men, he is tasked with a mission. It seems that young Tatsuhiko has run away from college, and his family desperately wants to find him.
In the normal world, the police would be called in, which Itaru points out, but as Tatsuhiko’s family hates the police, he’s charged with the task.

Along the way he’s put in contact with a less than honest private-eye, the #1 massage girl at a local parlor, and Tatsuhiko, who’s never outgrown his love for Itaru.

It’s slightly crazy, but works out in the end. Trying to explain the plot here, in just a few paragraphs is giving me fits, because it’s so amazingly convoluted. By all rights, this manga should not work, yet it does.
It’s like she broke all the rules that govern what should make up a good release, and in putting it back together, came up with something utterly wonderful.

I want more releases from her. This one just made me happy.

Rating: ♦♦♦

Because of the plagiarism scandal, I have a love/hate relationship with Youka Nitta. On one hand, I love her stories. I enjoy her character designs, and when she’s writing BL, it can be utterly filthy, and it’s wonderful.
On the other hand, she’s traced some of her best images from fashion photography.

So, while I did enjoy this release, in the back of my mind I’m wondering how much of it was her talent, and how much was taken from outside sources.

Now, this is not a BL release. This kind of sucks, because I could have really used some of her smut styling right about now. Still, I’m going to take it for what it is, a gorgeously drawn murder mystery with pretty boys and an ambiguous relationship.

This really does beg to be slashed, and slashed well.

There’s Kaname, a man who can hear things most other’s can not. His hearing is so sensitive, that he can hear the screams of the dead. His friend, Hide, used to work with Kaname for the police, but now both have left the force and are trying their hands at other careers.

Hide, is trying his hand at being a private detective, which brings him in contact with a lot of murder victims, which brings him into closer contact with Kaname.

Kaname likes to keep Hide around, because unlike most of the population who’s voices sound distorted, Hide’s sounds clear and true to him.

See what I mean about the slashy-bits?

It’s pretty. It’s a fun read, and I’m going to enjoy the rest of the series if it continues in this vein.
I just can’t get the nagging thoughts of this not fully being the work of Youka Nitta out of my head, and that’s spoiling the fun for me.