Review:
Sticking once again with more of the well-known titles, I think that this particular manga should probably be listed as one of the gospels in the yaoi bible! It is one of the longer running manga series around and is a firm favourite with good reason. The story revolves around two main characters: Takaba Akihito and Asami Ryuichi. Takaba is a freelance cameraman and Asami is a businessman who owns exclusive nightclubs… However that’s not all – he’s also involved in Japan’s shady underworld, dealing in weapons. Takaba, being the good cameraman he is, has being doing some investigation but gets caught out and chased down by Asami and his men. It’s during this first encounter that Asami’s perception of Takaba changes and he finds himself wanting to hunt down this kid and punish/make him his. And Asami is the kind of man that always gets what he wants.
The reason you should be reading this manga is simple: it’s superb. It blends a seinen genre together with yaoi in perfect harmony to tell a story that’s both compelling (for the actual storyline) as well as sexy (for the numerous encounters between the two). Add to this mix, a whole host of additional characters – including a Chinese bishie named Fei Long – and you’ve got yourself a winning combination. There is action, excitement, steamy scenes, character and relationship development, bonus chapters and some of the most beautiful artwork you have ever seen. Without a doubt, it’s a must read for any yaoi fan!
There isn't anything remarkable that stands out about this story (so far), and as such it is a difficult title to review for lack of much to say. But sometimes normalcy can be refreshing, so let's give this manga a chance!
Haibara is your typical established 30 year old bachelor and a regular customer at his friend's bar, where he meets the young and timid bartender, Yoshiya. Yoshiya gets a lot of unwanted attention at the bar from his customers and when he gets too close to getting in trouble one day, Haibara comes to his aid. Haibara gets annoyed with Yoshiya mistaking him for an "old man killer", aka a young trap who purposely seeks attention of his customers. To teach him a lesson, one day Haibara teases him mercilessly with a random love confession but little does he know Yoshiya is secretly in love with him! Add to that Haibara is himself developing feelings for Yoshiya but he is clearly struggling to get his feelings across to his much younger lover.
The art is beautiful and the nonchalant banter between the pair, though not outstanding, is pretty enjoyable and cute. Read this you're easily pleased and in the mood for something cute and fluff, but don't expect something over the top.
It was a bit hard to pick one when both of the titles are familiar to me :|
Eventually went with #2 because it was nicer to read shorter paragraphs and I found the rating at the end interesting. While reading, I also noticed I was hoping that the writer of #1 would have criticized the title somehow since it's a well-known manga, instead only praising it.
10-24-2016, 06:01 PM
Dids
Proofread, proofread, proofread~ Voted for #2. :smile: I'm gonna read The Killer manga soon... haven't come across that one yet. :twinkle: Thanks for the reviews! :lalala:
10-24-2016, 09:37 PM
kerlyness
I went with #2. A little confusion, but I did like the ratings at the end and that the reviewer was honest about the manga's weak points, as well as its strengths.
Also, with #1 - maybe this is just me, but Viewfinder also struck me as being much stronger non-consent than 'average' yaoi, which is saying something. If I hadn't read it, I would have liked a heads-up about that.
10-24-2016, 09:39 PM
MinxieChan
#2 because I felt like the #1 was a bit too excited. #2 was more relaxed and easier to follow for giving me an idea of what to expect and as opposed to #1 which just seemed to me to be worshipping the manga. Just my opinion though. :oops:
10-24-2016, 10:35 PM
Yuuri Kirito
Both reviews are excellently written, congratulations to the writers! :cheerldr:
#1 is a review exactly written for those who haven't read the title, or someone who's new on BL or a newbie who wants to take a step higher from a twee-tum shounen-ai stories. The excitement is okay, however; this kind of review would not work on the BL elites and experts. Well, you know what I mean. :oops:
#2 is for the BL veterans and guru; those who are looking for ratings in a particular title. These readers are tend to seek more concise and relevant information about the manga before they read it. Newbies could also find this review a simple glimpse of what's happening in the story, and with ratings, they are more guided on the elements.
Good job, guys! :yey:
10-24-2016, 11:22 PM
laketica
no idea what that 2nd title is, but reading the review made me feel like I got the gist, so I went for #2. ^^ Thank you both for writing reviews! I was afraid that there wouldn't be any cuz we're all busy hunting images for the AF contest :spray:
10-28-2016, 06:46 AM
angerbda
#1 gives you an overview of the plot then the positive points of the manga, what makes it a sure read according the reviewer...
#2 dives a bit more on the pros vs cons and provide a rating that gives more to think about than just the enthusiasm of the reviewer (found in #1)
All two gives a good idea of the story, plot, art and other aspects, though I find #2 gives me more of an idea whether I'd like to read it or not...
10-29-2016, 05:18 PM
Preeh
Now that was a hard decision: Both had their good points.
#1: I enjoyed reading the review. It gives a good overview on the storyline and the main characters. In the end the author lets us know what themes we can expect without telling us too much about it. So the readers can still discover the story for themselves. As it was already mentioned before - I would have appreciated to hear some criticism of the work too. Only focusing on the positive aspects and writing about the good points makes it seem like a personal opinion, rather than an objective review. The author really transports the feeling of wanting the reader to have a look at the story.
#2: Thank you very much for trying to give a rating to different categories. Imho I would have prefered to get a better explanation as to why the author chose a certain grade e.g. 6/10 for Plot. Personally I would have prefered a paragraph for every category that has been graded and a little bit more arguments. There is a short introduction in the first paragraph, the second paragraph is a synopsis of the story and the part where the author judges the story is the last paragraph (with only two sentences). Additionally I have the impression that there are some contradictory parts: Calling the manga nothing special but refreshing? Then the interaction between the characters is enjoyable and cute but the story itself isn't something over the top? The author is trying to make an objective evaluation of the manga but imho fails to deliver arguments.
Hence I voted for #1 because it mentions why I should read this and what I can expect from the manga in more detail than #2. The second review has good approaches (grading system) but the actual execution is lacking. I prefer any personal opinion/review over a mediocre objective one.