Gay Hijinx with Man's Best Friend!
Written: Mar 30 '08 (Updated Jan 22 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sweet Yaoi tales that get pretty steamy.
Cons: Homosexual content may offend some.
The Bottom Line: This volume contains some traditional yaoi tales. A bit different, incorperating spirit animals, but still, light fun.
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| talyseon's Full Review: Kazusa Takashima - Man's Best Friend 1: Inu Mo Aru... |
Man’s Best Friend Inu Mo Arukeba by Takashima Kazusa
ISBN: 1598163574
Warning: This is a Yaoi review. Yaoi is a form of Japanese graphic novels, a manga featuring gay romance. Usually written by women, for women, this stories range from sweet romances to extremely steamy sexual adventures between men. If this is not your cup of tea, well, you have been warned.
This volume contains six stories, about three couples. It also has about 20 pages of bonus material at the end.
The first three stories feature a very unusual pair. In Fallin’ Love, the Uke or passive, receptive, more effeminate partner is Ukyo. Ukyo is a college student, popular enough, but a bit reserved. As he goes back and forth to school, he frequently sees a stray dog staring at him. One day, some kids were picking on the poor creature, so Ukyo intervened and took him home.
A grungy little mutt, the dog needed a bath. So Ukyo gave him his first bath, and got him all groomed up. Looking at his cute dog, her thought of a name; Kuro, which means black in Japanese. And for an instant, Ukyo was holding onto a naked man, a man with dog ears and a tail.
And in a flash, it was over, and there was just Ukyo and Kuro, each wondering if something weird had just happened.
Ukyo continues as if nothing happened, because really, what else can you do? He feeds his new pet, and the dog, so overcome with happiness attacks him, licking his face unmercifully. And then the dude with the ears is licking him, and Ukyo is carried away on a wave of passion. Sometime later, he awakes on the floor, recalling the dream, wondering what that was all about.
So he gets up, wondering if he is losing him mind, and why his butt is sore.
Later that afternoon, he brings Kuro a present, a collar so he won’t get picked up any more. He puts it on his pet, who is so happy that he is loved that something wonderful happens. He transforms into a human again.
Of course, a border collies’ neck is smaller that a humans and Ukyo has to save him from choking.
But now (you should pardon the expression) the cat is out of the bag. Kuro is human; or rather Kuro becomes a human when he gets excited. Kuro used to pray to the Moon to be made a human so he could be with Ukyo, so that he could love Ukyo. And apparently his prayers were answered. So Ukyo teaches him to kiss instead of lick, and one thing leads to another, and what follows is a very steamy little scene. It ends with them on the floor, Ukyo wondering what the heck happened to his normal life.
I should point out that Japan has a rich heritage of tales about spirit animals with the power to become human. In the days of myth, one couldn’t wander from one village to the next with out being seduced by a fox spirit. So it comes across a little less weird with its target audience.
The second story is called Gettin’ Love. It features Ukyo and Kuro as they learn to adapt to their new and strange life. Ukyo offers to take Kuro for a walk, but unfortunately, that gets him excited, so he transforms into a human, so they can’t go for a walk.
But Kuro is so disappointed that Ukyo comes up with a solution. He dresses him up with a hat to hide his ears, and long shorts, kind of baggy, to hide his tail. So the two guys go out for a walk. It’s hard on Kuro, and he gets tired, so they sit, and work on how humans drink, and one thing leads to another, and they are kissing on the bench when a cop starts busting on them for public display of affection.
Well Kuro busts the cop for being mean to Ukyo. With a dog’s fierce territoriality, he jumps the cop, and ends up with his underwear in his mouth, giving the poor officer a fierce wedgy!
The boys beat a retreat to the bushes until the cop has gone. Then one thing leads to another, and there is another hot and steamy scene in the bushes. And Ukyo learns an important lesson about why nature is not really that accepting of spontaneous passion. Chiggers.
The Third Story is called Burnin’ Love. Its high summer, and Ukyo and Kuro are planning on playing in a wading pool in the yard to cool off. Ukyo says high to the neighbor lady, and goes inside to get something. Kuro, left to his own devices thinks about all the fun they are going to have playing in the pool and gets too excited. This prompts his change into his human form (sans clothing) He goes over to the hedge to answer natures call, just as the neighbor granny comes back out to tell Ukyo something, and catches Kuro with his leg hiked. Screaming and various alarums ensue, and Ukyo finds Kuro hiding under the overturned pool. The retreat inside, and proceed to make things even hotter (hence the title) and Ukyo promises they will take more care next time.
These are cute little Yaoi. They remind me in many ways of Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, funny comedies about a secret that has to be kept, and the mayhem that ensues. Just with more gay lovin’.
The next two stories are about Kasumi and Kentaro, two childhood best friends who were separated when Kasumi moved. They promised to be friends forever, and Ken-kun promised to wait forever for his Kasumi.
Ten years later, Kasumi is coming home. Kentaro, something of a slacker college student is very excited. Imagine his surprise when he discovers Kasumi is actually a guy. (My Japanese friend informs me Kasumi is a name like Ashley of Taylor is in America. It can be a Boy’s or a Girl’s name. And Kasumi is kind of pretty. So there is an awkward moment, and Kasumi busts Kentaro out for thinking he was a girl. But the two old friends start hanging out together and rebuilding the old friendship. They attend a festival, dressed in kimono, and get very drunk, and there is a kiss, and then there is a lot more (Yaoi convention: if two modern men are dressed in kimono, they will end up having sex in them.)
The next morning, Kentaro wakes up happy and warm, until he sees Kasumi on his arm. What follows is an awkward parting. They do not see each other for a while. But in that time, Kentaro works out some of his feelings, and he is not willing to leave things as they are so he goes to talk to Kasumi. He is out, but Kasumi’s dad talks to Kentaro asking if there is a problem. Kasumi was so happy, and now he is not seeing Kentaro, and he’s talking about moving back to his moms.
Kentaro goes and finds Kasumi, and honestly pours out his feelings. He loves Kasumi, girl or boy, and wants to be with him. And Kasumi relents, and they realize that they are in love, and a couple. Very sweet, very traditional Yaoi.
Their second story is called Pinpoint Lovers. The end of break is almost here, and they realize they will not be able to see each other until Spring Break, almost three months away. Come Spring Break, they are both pressured to get jobs; Kentaro gets a job as a clerk in a store, and Kasumi is a tutor to a rich kid named Misaki. Misaki and Kentaro’s own insecurities are the problem here. Misaki wants Kasumi for himself, and works to drive a wedge between them. But Kasumi is not having it, and this time it is he who hunts down Kentaro and spells things out for him. He is the only one he loves, and all is right with the world again.
Following a tradition of Yaoi, this second story is not so much about the sex, but the relationship. It is a very sweet story.
The last story is called Princess Goldfish. A kid wins a goldfish at a faire but is not happy with the prize. He is going to throw it away when Keisuke noticed and on a whim, bought the little thing for 500 yen. (Not much) Of course, he had been making out with another boy, and that meant he got dumped, but Keisuke followed his heart.
So, now he is stuck with a goldfish, and no tail, heh! But as he is lying down, suddenly there is a beautiful and very girly boy in his room. He tells him that he is the goldfish, and because he was so kind to save him, he has one night, and one night only to thank him. And of course, being a goldfish, no wealth to do so. So they make sweet passionate love. In the morning, he doesn’t know if it is a dream, but he feels much better about his new little pet.
Takashima is the same brilliant artist who brought us Wild Rock. Her style is very realistic, with just a little manga influence around the Uke’s eyes. (With goiter, people don’t have eyes that big!) But that is her only departure from a very realistic style. Her Ukes may be smaller that the Semes (the active partner, or top) but they are all instantly recognizable as boys.
She tends to draw in the penis with a light touch on the pen, and without much detail, but it is more present than it is in many Yaoi. (Japan has some strange censorship laws, and Yaoi has to follow them.)
Takashima is a good writer with light sweet traditional tales being her forte. She usually has some angst in the discovery phase of things, but it is not the protracted stupidity that many Yaoi deal with (Japanese women love angsty relationships where one partner can’t accept what is obvious to the rest of the world). Otherwise, her stories are very traditional, with the only twists usually coming where her sense of humor is involved. She is a better artist, and that makes these books very entertaining. Yaoi is not great literature, but it is a fun change of pace. Check it out.
Recommended:
Yes
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