 |
 |
 |
||
 |
Tsuyogari is a collection of six short romances focusing on a small group of couples who know each other from school and from their personal lives. A few of the stories are shota pieces.
This was my first jaunt with Nekoda Yonezou, and I have to say that I was pretty happy with it (of course, it's always nice when a book you buy based on the cover turns out to be worth the risk). I generally stay away from shota stories, but none of the characters in this volume were too young for discomfort. While the stories in this volume are not the most original situations for BL romances, the fun characters and Nekoda's good artistic hand make up for the collection's more generic aspects. For a quick, enjoyable, and satisfying, and read it doesn't get much better than this. { boys love reviews - reviews - main } |
 |
||
 |
||||
 |
 |
 |
"Hidarimune no Romantist" (Left Chest Romantist) and "Hidarimune no Romantist
II" are about student playboy Shiba and his lover, the nervous, emotional teacher Onosaka-sensei. In the first story, Onosaka doesn't know how to respond to Shiba's
advances, since Shiba has admitted that he likes big breasts. The problem for Onosaka is that, well, he's a man, and a skinny one at that. In the second story, Shiba's
emotions get tossed around when he senses that Onosaka is acting strange at school. Two other stories focus on Shiba's childhood friend and classmate Inuo, who is just
as popular with the girls though more mellow than his buddy. "Sore wo Koi to Iu no desu" (That is Called Love) begins with Inuo waking up in a hotel room after a wild party
with - not a chick in bed this time - but little Natsuda. Inuo would rather forget the whole thing and stay friends, but the more time he spends with Natsuda the harder it
becomes for his feelings to remain platonic. In "Tsuyogari", now that Inuo and Natsuda have finally hooked up, Natsuda faces a serious bout of jealously when a group of
Inuo's female friends invite him to a group hook-up party. (Shiba and Inuo are patently not "gay" – they just like sleeping with men – which incites a lot of emotional turmoil in
their more selective partners.) The last two stories are less directly related. "Natsuyasumi no Himitsu" (The Secret of Summer Vacation) is about Keisuke, Shiba's middle
school brother, and his friend Aki, who wants to do things with Keisuke that Keisuke isn't too sure about. This leads to a lack of communication between the two boys, and
Keisuke feels himself hurting over the absence of Aki in his life. The last story in the volume, "Yasashi Kuchibiru" (Gentle Lips), is only vaguely related to the others in the
book. Kaneda wants his friend and neighbor Yukimoto to spend more time with him, but gets angry when Yukimoto is too busy. So, Yukimoto proves to Kaneda that he cares
about him in an alternative way. There is an unnamed friend of Kaneda who looks like Keisuke, which is the only connection this story has to the others.
Like most BL shorts, the stories in Tsuyogari are about the
characters coming to terms with their feelings for their partners and later overcoming the little misunderstandings and jealousies that get in the way of their relationships. It's a
fairly predictable template (and satisfying because it's an easily digestible read). Luckily, Nekoda Yonezou is good at creating steady characters with individual personalities
to make up for lack of space (and probably expectation) for serious character development and a more original storyline. Whether or not the reader cares for spongy
Onosaka-sensei (op: he's a wuss) or jokerster Shiba (op: suki!) is a matter of preference, but they are at least memorable for their quirks and personalities from the
beginning to the end of the volume. It helps Nekoda that she is particularly deft at drawing characters with convincing sincerity and emotion (not to mention ridiculously
handsome and trendy), while stopping well short of over-writing the drama. The shorts in Tsuyogari get very emotional, but they aren't taxing. The pacing of the stories
are good and there is plenty of humor and sweetness mixed in with the drama and the sex. The only exception is the last story, "Yasashi Kuchibiru", which did not leave much
of an impression on me as there was nothing particularly unique or novel about Kaneda and Yuki. The sexy characters and good storytelling are what make Tsuyogari
a good one-shot collection.