Denkou Sekka Boys Lightning-Speed Boys By Toujou Asami Publisher Tokuma Shoten Imprint Chara Comics Magazine Chara Selection Vintage / Length 2000-2002 / 3 volumes

Story
To everyone else, Natsui Kodaka is just another nerd with glasses. With his classmates pushing him around and taking advantage of his friendliness, Kodaka is lucky to have his idol, student council president Kitami, on his side. So when Kitami asks Kodaka to get super-cool yet super-distant Yasaka Ritsu, heir to the Yasaka entertainment corporation, to lend them a band to play for a charity drive at the school festival, Kodaka can't say no. But why would a popular guy like Ritsu want anything to do with Kodaka? For Kodaka to understand, he might just have to take his glasses off.

Review
If I had to choose one BL series to recommend to a friend, it would be Denkou Sekka Boys. What better way to introduce a follow citizenette to the joys of man-luv manga than a series with hot young men, high melodrama, hilarious comedy, shifting intrigue and great sex? Denkou Sekka Boys has it all. Circling around Kodaka's struggle to understand his feelings for Ritsu as well as Ritsu's attraction to him, there is a large supporting cast that keeps things interesting even when Kodaka is in his deepest angsty slump. Being Too Much Fun, it's unfortunate that the series ends at the beginning of a new plot development. Never you mind; Denkou Sekka Boys is still well worth the read, for BL newbies and seasoned vets alike.

The story is a tangle of entertainment industry politics, lust and jealously, with Kodaka and Ritsu's feelings and short-comings knotted up in the middle. For them, falling in love and confessing their feelings is not the immediate issue. Before he can recognize that he even likes Ritsu, Kodaka has to build up some self-esteem and a sense of self-worth. Otherwise, any kind action or sacrifice on Ritsu's part will be construed in Kodaka's mind as being simply friendship. Where Kodaka gets further confused is when Ritsu turns around and acts cold towards him, usually with the intention of protecting him, leaving Kodaka to wonder whether or not Ritsu likes him even as a friend. Ritsu is introverted, hard to read, and seems to spend most of the time in his own head; he shows his devotion to Kodaka through actions, not words. He may have had feelings for Kodaka from way back, but he does not seem to understand him and he has a hard time trusting others. Outside forces, both their friends and their enemies, cause them to challenge one another both emotionally and professionally. Kodaka is the one to grow the most from this, as he finally realizes that what he feels for Ritsu isn't just admiration (or fear) but attraction. The climax comes when Kodaka is ready to show Ritsu how he feels; he takes the ultimate test of love, posed rather rhetorically by Ritsu, to prove his devotion. The scene is one of my absolute favorite confessions in BL manga, not just because it's so (melo)dramatic but also because it really shows just how far Kodaka and Ritsu have come since the beginning.

All of this would be a bit much for three volumes if Kodaka and Ritsu were the only major characters. Delightfully, the series does not dwell exclusively on them. Surrounding our lovers is a strong cast of secondary characters, mostly there to harass Kodaka or get in Ritsu's way but also to flesh the series out. Ritsu's rival for Kodaka's confused affections is Handa Youji, an urban, stylish, and world-wise photographer who Kodaka thinks of as a big brother even though Youji himself has other plans in mind. Youji's lover, super-model Negumu, isn't concerned with Youji's shift in attention but is definitely not happy at the prospect of being professionally one-upped by a bunch of teenagers. On the pro-Ritsu x Kodaka side is Ritsu's suave, delinquent but oddly intuitive best friend Itsuki Shigure and cross-dressing Ogasawara Nanao, a member of the band that Kodaka & Co. attempted to set up for the festival. A hilarious pair who provide most of the comedy, Shigure and Nanao are also instrumental in helping Kodaka understand Ritsu and his own feelings. Besides being ridiculously handsome, such an extensive supporting cast – there are a few others as well – may be a bit rare in BL but is a welcome side show to Ritsu and Kodaka's relationship issues. Much of the drama and intrigue is woven in through the supporting cast, and are a very welcome extra dimension to the story. That, and all of these hot boys and men running around with their shirts off gives Denkou Sekka Boys a very sexy feel.

And man, but can Toujou Asami draw a man who is both gorgeous and masculine at the same time? There is a slight androgyny to her characters, but only in the face; for high school students, her boys are in pretty tip-top shape. From the first to the third volume, her art subtly improves. Where her characters were a bit stiff and tad awkward at the beginning, by the end those problems have been worked out; they are much more expressive, and have a more natural look. Her panels become much more interesting as well as she experiments a bit with dynamic angles and different perspectives. Whereas some BL feels rather amateur, Denkou Sekka Boys is crisp and polished.

The only really disappointing aspect of Denkou Sekka Boys is the ending. The third volume climaxes with Kodaka and Ritsu admitting their feelings to the other and then shagging the night away in one of Youji’s flats. Youji, though, isn’t letting the two stay in his place just to be nice; he has a trick up his sleeve that could ruin their school lives, their home lives, and their brand new careers. The last chapter ends with Ritsu and Kodaka finding out just what kind of hot shit they are in. The revelation only gets two pages and is handled a bit humorously, so naturally the reader expects another chapter. That’s it, though, Denkou Sekka Boys ends right at the beginning of a new plot development. It’s more than a little unexpected and disappointing, because now that Kodaka and Ritsu have confessed there is supposed to be great sex and closure. What’s worse, more is obviously intended. Now, there is a two-volume sequel entitled Chouhatsu Denkou Sekka Boys that picks up right after the events in the third volume. However, it was not serialization until 2 years after Denkou Sekka Boys and ran in a different magazine put out by a different publisher. While the story makes it sound more like a continuation than sequel (a review at Boys on Boys on Film says that Chouhatsu isn't worth your time if you haven't read the original Denkou), the fact that the two series are so far apart in time, have different titles, and are put out by different publishers is sufficient enough to make them technically separate series. It would be possible to read the end of the third volume as a real conclusion, but it isn't a very satisfying one.

Would I still recommend Denkou Sekka Boys, then? Absolutely. The problem with the conclusion isn't just that it ends in a weird spot, but that it has to end at all. Everything that makes BL fun is packed into this series, from angst to camp to sex to goofiness to hawt boys. Every BL fan should give it a read. I just about guarantee it’ll be a good time.

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