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Kannou Kissaten is a collection of Sakura Haiji's short stories. Now, the pink cover is a little misleading. It suggests that the stories in this volume are bouncy, maybe even a bit hyper. In truth, these are subdued shorts with a slice-of-life feel to them. Sakura's light style helps set the mood, which readers may appreciate for its intimate feel. Sweet, unpretentious, and at times a bit sad, Kannou Kissaten is a rainy-day read for people who like rainy days.
Sakura's art helps set the mood of the Kannou Kissaten shorts. Her thin, sketchy lines give the stories a light feel. Just as her characters do not have extreme reactions, nor do they sport extreme facial expressions or need to be viewed from dynamic angles. She does not linger on details, preferring to put down what is appropriate to creating a touching scene or humorous moment. The pages and panels are uncluttered and easy to follow. The choice for airy and sparse over heavy and meticulous fits perfectly with the sweet, personal nature of the stories. Kannou Kissaten will not appeal to everyone. Many readers will find it wordy and boring, especially if they prefer the high melodrama of Yamane Ayano or slapstick humor of Matou Sanami. However, for those looking for stories about relationships that are less epic and over-the-top will appreciate the mellow feel of these shorts. Personal and sweet, these stories really are best read on a rainy summer day when there is nobody around except you and your manga. { boys love reviews - reviews - main } |
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There are five shorts in this collection. The headliner, "Kannou Kissaten", is a
two-chapter story about the relationship between two ex-co-workers, Fujinami and Kuhara. Back in the day, Fujinami stole a kiss from Kuhara after Kuhara's leaving-the-office
party and Kuhara wasn't too happy about it. Now Kuhara is working in a coffee shop, and Fujinami stops in everyday. They usually talk about work, but for Kuhara that isn't
enough anymore. Why won't Fujinami open up to him? In "Omoi Shire (Realize It)", Ogawa is sent to a school out in the boonies to study agriculture. He thinks that this is a
good opportunity to relax, if nothing else. Much to his dismay, his dorm mate is none other than the school's infamous Hongou. Ogawa isn't sure how he feels about Hongou.
Is Hongou just there is tease him, or does his roomie have something else in mind? "Sanami ni Boku wa (By the Way, I'm...)" is about Machida and Sakito. Machida and Sakito
have been screwing around together for about a year, but all this time it never occurred to Machida that Sakito might think of them as a serious couple. In truth, Machida
doesn't really know how he feels about Sakito, and it isn't until they have a little quarrel that Machida sorts out his feelings. Finally, in "Yoru ni Musubu (Night Ties)" and "Yoru
ni Tsumaku (Night Bonds)", two roommates come to terms with their feelings for the other. Kanai and Sue have been living together in Kanai's apartment for four years, yet Kanai
has always been cold towards Sue. Kanai's coldness hurts Sue, who remembers when Kanai was sweet to him. How does Kanai really feel about Sue? What will it take for
Kanai to open up?
Compared to melodramatic, theme-based BL fare, the shorts in Kannou
Kissaten have more of a mellow, slice-of-life feel. For the most part, the couples in these shorts are not boys of extremes. Where in other BL stories emotions run high,
here the reader gets quiet sadness or frustration and subdued sweetness and cuteness. The feeling is intimate and personal, both for the characters and for the reader. In
some cases, the reader does not even learn the character's full name, suggesting at once the familiarity of the two boys as well as the reader's privileged position of getting a
peek at lives intimate enough that they don't require complete introductions (he is simply "Machida-kun", what else do you need to know?). The characters themselves seem to
come from various random walks of middle-class life. None of the stories can be generalized by theme, such as "office-romance" or "high school-romance". Instead, the
couples come from any hum-drum existence – a coffee shop, an
average apartment – reveal enough about themselves to explain how they met, tell their stories, and no more. None of the characters are singularly trendy or have a unique
personality. They are, for all intents are purposes, individuals yet very average people. This is not to say that Kannou Kissaten is experimental in any way. There is the
usual bit of humor involved, and some good old fashion shagging. It does, however, have a very different mood, one that is not as over-the-top as most expect from BL. The
stories in Kannou Kissaten read like vignettes of everyday relationships for your average BL reader.