Sunday, June 20, 2010

Yaoi Review: Love Skit

Ok folks, here's my first ever yaoi review for you all. Fair warning, if you have never read yaoi before, it is about romantic relationships between men, and can often include graphic depictions of sex.


Love Skit drawn and written by Rie Honjoh.

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This is just about perfect for me. The two leads don't hook up right away, but it isn't drawn out so long you get sick of it either. While sometimes yaoi can be nothing but pure fluff, this one has a weighty story filled with real emotions without getting too melodramatic or corny.

Our main character is Aoto, a handsome young man who has gone through a lot in his life. His parents died when he was very young, and he and his older sister lived with some relatives until she married Takashi. The three of them lived together as a family, until Aoto's sister tragically died. Now Aoto and Takashi are trying to help each other with their grief. As if that wasn't bad enough, Aoto has a secret, he has been in love with his brother-in-law since the day they met. Dealing with the guilt of loving his dearly departed sister's husband has almost become too much to bear: Enter Masayuki Kitano! Takashi's friend who falls for Aoto at first sight. Masayuki senses Aoto's pain right away, and uses his energetic personality and caring heart to finally get Aoto to open up to him.

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Well, that's one way to wake somebody up XD

Even tough the subject matter seems heavy, it is perfectly balanced with humorous antics (including someone mistaking a bedroom for a bathroom and Masayuki's "hands-on" approach to solving the crisis). There are also some beautiful moments too, in particular a phone call between Aoto and Masayuki that takes my breath away every time.

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Say it with me now, "Awwwwwwwww" <3

There is a second story about one of Aoto's school friends who likes to cosplay as a gangster, but is actually a really nice guy. (He has a particular hairstyle popular in the 80s for punks. Think Kuwabara from Yu Yu Hakusho). The only problem is that he's also very strong, so despite his kind nature, he is constantly challenged by gangsters who want to make a name for themselves. I have to say, I'm a huge sucker for the gangster-with-a-heart-of-gold cliché, so it's no surprise I loved this part too.


Hard to believe this look was cool at one point.

I give this one 5/5! It doesn't get much better than this.