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Do remember that reviews are not necessary positive review.
Review #1:
Manga title: I hear the sunspot/ Hidamari ga kikoeru
Manga artist: Yuki Fumino
Manga cover picture:
http://i.imgur.com/wUcvOSE.jpg
Story (4/5): Poor college student Taiichi is looking for a part-time job when he accidentally discovers the secret lunch spot of the hearing-impaired student Kouhei. They couldn't be more different: Taiichi is loud, open and vivacious; Kouhei is the silent loner.
What starts off as a deal of exchanging class-notes for bentou slowly turns into friendship. Both have pasts of hardship and loneliness, and their bond grows stronger as they learn about each other and their own view on life - sometimes by making two steps forth and one step back.
When Kouhei is suddenly faced with the possibility of going completely deaf, what is it that he fears the most?
BL (2/5): Gentle and heart-warming. If you're looking for hot yaoi, this probably won't satisfy you.
Characters (5/5): I was amazed by the mangaka's deep understanding of human nature and behavior, which is well reflected in the protagonists as well as in the other characters. They make mistakes, struggle, have hopes and fears, and, thus, feel very real and tangible.
Style (4/5): The panel arrangement and angles allow easy reading and capture 'loneliness' and 'silence' perfectly. As the title indicates, motifs, such as weather and sky, are used frequently, which I appreciated from a literary point of view.
In contrast to the clean background, the characters are drawn sketch-like, giving the impression of being 'alive' and in motion.
Conclusion: Since this is soft BL, I advise you to change your expectation from ‘yaoi’ to ‘deep plot’. If you enjoy gentle but heart-wrenching stories and are open for non-mainstream drawing styles, I highly recommend this one shot.
Review #2:
Manga title: Akihabara Fall in Love
Manga artist: Kashima Chiaki
Manga cover picture:
Link: http://i.imgur.com/E8qP54n.jpg
Review:
Akihabara Fall in Love, written and illustrated by Kashima Chiaki, is a story of an ordinary salaryman named Hasegawa Yuuki, his fateful encounter with a clumsy super mega otaku Akiba Ayumu and how their relationship flourished in the Electric Town that is Akihabara. Released in 2014, it has four chapters about Hasegawa and Akiba and an extra story with a title, “The Coward’s I Love You.”
One fateful night, Hasegawa helped Akiba from being robbed and got hurt instead. After his recovery, he met Akiba’s fundashi younger brother, volunteered to cook for the brothers, discovered how cute Akiba was (since he was quite young-looking despite his age of 30), cross-dressed and later found himself completely fascinated by that inevitable feeling inside of him: love.
This type of plot is mediocre – a setting and theme we usually read in a typical BL manga – and it somewhat lacked character and relationship development. Although it was sweet and touching, the feeling that I just read something “plain” bothers me. Even the cross-dressing didn’t help that much. On the other hand, I like sensei’s great sense of humor, illustrated in every chapter. But story-wise, I like the extra better. Too bad it was THAT short.
Although the art was not so vibrantly detailed, it has fine lines that make the reading enjoyable. Every panel is happy-looking and clear; despite the predictable plot and ending, you’d still smile in the end and say, “I’m happy for them,” sweetly. The smut is also great, no complain at all! Because of these “happy” panels, it seems that the couple has enjoyed their first moment in bed and it was pleasant to the eyes.
Have a younger-seme-older-uke or megane-uke fetish? Or just wanna read a light fluffy story with some comic relief? Come to Akihabara and fall in love.