I haven't normally given a full run at reviews of manga. Normally, it's just been a little paragraph, and I haven't even really bothered posting them here. But this series is different. For something that I picked up because I kinda wanted a BL thing to try the last time I was in Japan, and I liked the cover, this story was really remarkable. It's the best BL thing that I've ever read, and in terms of the story and the reality of the characters, it's up there with the best manga I've ever read, period. And it's short and self-contained to boot, 2 volumes and your story is done. So what is the story, you ask? Well...

Ootomo Kyouichi is a salaryman in his late 20s. He's pretty good at work, but in his personal life, he just gets carried along by whatever comes his way - if someone's interested in him, he usually just gets swept along, and does as they want. Seeing as he's married, that can be problematic. He's approached at the beginning of the story by Imagase Wataru, an old college friend who's now working for a private investigation firm, and who's been commissioned by Ootomo's wife to look into whether Ootomo's had any affairs. Since he has, Imagase proposes a bargain. See, Imagase turns out to have been closeted back in college, but he had a huge crush on Ootomo the whole time when he was in school, and now that he has the chance, he can't pass up trying a little blackmail. Even if all he wants (for now) is a kiss.

Okay, so far, this sounds pretty normal for a BL series, and it's true, the first chapter is the weakest. But the story grows so much, and has all sorts of good hallmarks. It has two realistic - really realistic - lead characters, in a real-world setting, with the problems with being gay, and different people's reactions to that. It has female characters that are meant to be real, to be sympathetic, and to be real alternatives for Ootomo than Imagase, and that's a rarity. It has, yes, some graphic sex scenes, but they actually advance character development. That's right, they really are used to build up the characters, and they're there for a reason. I don't think I can come up with other titles that do that. And the author, Mizushiro, knows the story she wants to tell, has a good length for it (2 volumes really is enough), has great, great art, and fills the pages with nice blocking and good symbolism in the art.

The writing is just very good, as well, and complements the art really nicely. Seriously, she makes the most of the graphic format, and I don't want to sell the art short, but the writing... the character voices are so clear, and they sound like people I've met (actually, Imagase's voice in a lot of cases reminds me of me). The books take on a lot of questions: What if what you want is someone who just really cares about you and supports you... but the one who does that the most is the opposite sex from what you'd normally want? How do you deal with it when your emotions for someone twist who you thought you were out of shape? How do you work out what you want emotionally when you're a bit older, you're in your late 20s or early 30s, and you want to settle down? If you're not really gay, as a man, can your feelings for another man be as strong as a gay man's? And can your partner trust those feelings?

There's a lot more that I can say about this series, but what it comes down to is that I love it to bits. Seriously. It's got its really funny moments, and it's romantic and moving and just real. I love the characters so, so much, with all their flaws (and they are both pretty damn flawed people). If this was translated to English, I would be buying it for people already, but it hasn't... although you can probably find it if you look. It has been translated to French, and of course it's in Japanese, if you want it. And you do want it. Trust me. ( )