rmthunter's Full Review: Hyouta Fujiyama - Pure Heart 1
For some reason, I put off buying Hyouta Fujiyama's new title, Pure Heart. Don't ask me to explain why, I just did. (I probably had some vague idea of being in the mood for something a little edgier than a schoolboy romance, no matter how well done. There's a lesson here about assumptions, I think.) Then I got the fateful Borders coupon and pounced -- and got a bit more than I expected.
Keisuke Tozaki is a freelance writer who gets a lot of work from his ex, Miyata. He's working on a project that requires some design work, and the person he winds up interviewing is his high-school crush, Shousei Kurata. Kurata remembers him, although they had almost no contact in school: Kurata was on the track team, and Tozaki was always in the library -- and as often as not, looking out the window at Kurata while he was training. Seems that Kurata not only knew someone was watching, but knew who. It's not long until they wind up in bed, but it seems that Kurata's only interested in sex -- he's not affectionate, not romantic, and not particularly gentle. Miyata figures out that Tozaki has a new boyfriend, and, after meeting Kurata one evening at Tozaki's place, decides to prod him a little. Miyata still has feelings for Tozaki and wants him to be happy, even if he can't provide that happiness himself -- but he tells Kurata that maybe he'll try to get Tozaki back. And then another voice from the past appears: Yoshioka knew Tozaki in college but didn't make a move because Tozaki was dating Miyata at the time. This time, Yoshioka's not going to let a boyfriend stand in his way.
This is volume 1 of a new series and is mostly set-up, but we start to see hints of just how knotty volume 2 might get: three men suddenly have Tozaki in their sights and it looks like it might turn into a free for all. He loves Kurata, who's not a particularly sympathetic character in this volume (although we start to see behind the façade -- Fujiyama has incorporated some revealing narration here), and it looks as though Yoshioka might make good on his promise to do some chasing. And there's no telling what Miyata might do -- he's sort of a wild card.
One thing that's very interesting here is the character of Kurata. He's new territory: closed-off, cynical, almost brutal in his treatment of Tozaki, he's quite a departure from Fujiyama's usual semes. I'm betting he's going to go through a major crisis as the story develops. Tozaki puts up with him -- first loves always have a hold on us -- but is starting to get a little fed up. Very different from Fujiyama's typical situations.
And the drawing is . . . well. She's started where Sunflower left off and gone on from there. It's still Fujiyama's style, marked by definite, weighty lines and strong shapes, but it's gotten more refined, and her use of tone, shading and pattern is remarkable. Character designs are strongly individual -- even though she still uses her more-or-less standard type, she's introduced enough variation that the sameness that has characterized previous work is not so apparent. They all remind us of other characters, but they are definitely themselves. And there's something about the way she's rendering eyes now that just boosts these guys over the top on the seductive scale. A note on the covers: Fujiyama does good covers, and these -- front and back -- once again take it up a level: strong, clean drawing and deftly applied color. Gorgeous.
There is a lot of sex in this one, of the standard "unambiguous without being graphic" variety, although I notice Fujiyama's incorporating more full-body shots (and doing it very well).
Pure Heart is a definite yes, and based on its relationship to the rest of Fujiyama's work, I have to hand it a 5. It also looks as though the rest of the series is going to be a lot of fun -- for us, at least.
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