talyseon's Full Review: Takashi Kanzaki - Love+alpha
Love Alpha by Kanzaki Takishi
Warning This is a Yaoi novel. Yaoi is a Japanese art form depicting romances between men, written for and by women. They range from sweet romances to quite racy and graphic. If this is not your cup of tea, well, you have been warned.
This is the story of a love triangle. Yuuya has two guys who are in love with him, Kyousuke, and Katsuki. There are a few problems, of course. Yuuya feels very comfortable around Kyousuke, and does not mind his homoerotic advances. However, he has been friends with Katsuki since they were three. Katsuki's advances are met with a bit more resistance. This is in part because Katsuki is alive, and Yuuya can feel his advances.
Say what? That's right, Kyousuke is a ghost. Yuuya is a sensitive who can see ghosts, so when his friend died, they never really lost touch. Katsuki is the son of a family of temple keepers, and as such is also sensitive to ghosts. Further more, he has spiritual powers that let him create barriers, and would allow him to exorcise Kyousuke's ghost, if only Yuuya would let him.
Kyousuke regrets not being more aggressive when he was alive. His seduction of Yuuya was cut short by the accident that killed him. Now, as a ghost, he has less to loose, and fewer distractions, and his efforts to win Yuuya's heart are becoming more determined.
Kitsuki is a pragmatic sort. He wants Kyousuke to give up his attachment and move on, and not just to clear the way for him and Yuuya. However, he is also rather abrupt, and not at all diplomatic. He lacks some of the tender empathy that made the thought of being with Kyousuke palatable to Yuuya.
But what is the conflict here, you might ask? How can a ghost compete with a flesh and blood lover? Ah, by possession. Kitsuki thought it might help Kyousuke move on if he could hold Yuuya one time, and so he let the ghost possess him. This was a mistake, because one hot and steamy hand job later and the ghost was more determined than ever to remain.
I would say poor Yuuya, but it is Yuuya's selfishness that causes him to continually give Kyousuke the encouragement he needs to hang on to his existence as a ghost. He can't muster up enough courage to tell his friend to move on, and there in hangs the tail.
So there they are, two living boys, and one dead one, and no one seems happy with the situation. And the ghost is getting more creative; he discovers he can possess other people, and even Yuuya's own hand for some strange semi-masturbatory fun. How is Kitsuki going to deal with a rival who can get at his would be boyfriend even when they are alone? And then there is the matter of dreams...they can really be together in Yuuya's dreams. How is Kitsuki to defeat this spirit without incurring Yuuya's displeasure?
What if he and the ghost join forces?
Poor Yuuya!
This Yaoi is really quite interesting. While it is very angsty, (Japanese girls love Angst!) it is a cut above the rest for several reasons. One, it is innovative. Usually, relationships with the dearly departed have a very nasty name attached to them. However this is rather sweet, and manages to avoid (almost) all creepiness.
Second, the art is lovely. Takashi avoids the huge eyes, and none of these guys look like girls. Her art is sparse, simple, with minimal shading, and minimal backgrounds. The focus is on the characters. And while she does censor the naughty bits somewhat, she does it in that curious way of drawing everything, unobscured or hidden, but just not very detailed. Some how, it is more erotic than detailed porn would have been.
My criticisms of this book are two fold; one on dialogue, and the other on art. I do think that Ms. Kanzaki is lacking in portraiture. Yuuya has dark hair, and Katsuki's is straighter and longer than Kyousuke's. If it weren't for these facts, you would get lost trying to tell who is who. In some scenes, Katsuki does have a harder cast of features, and Kyousuke a more tender expression, but these are not consistent enough.
My complaint about the dialogue has to do more with translation than actual dialogue. Sometimes it really comes across that this is a work originally done in another language, with modern phrasing, and it doesn't always flow when translated to English. The pauses and things left unsaid work in Japanese (probably) but minorly obscure the meaning in English.
Those comments aside, this is a bold original take on a gay love triangle, and manages to be entertaining, and rather steamy. If you want a change of pace, well, this is it.
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