Reviews written by momogoldfish

With a title that translates to "The Mutterings of the Penises", Chintsubu is not your average yaoi manga. In here you'll literally find talking penises (with faces!), penis related puns, crack makeout scenes (with talking penises!) and even exorcisms...which all adds up to one of the funniest yaoi manga in ages. This is a manga that is packed to the brim with 100% pure crack (plus a small dose of heartwarming), and everyone knows what smoking that does to you.

Granted, quite a bit of the humour is of the "OMG I can't believe I am actually reading this!" variety but thanks to the shock value of the premise the jokes take a long long time to grow old and when they do, you'll find that you're already too invested in the characters' lives to turn away. Speaking of characters - Ayase is the cute shota, Iwabuchi is the smart stoic with glasses, Kamiya is the tsundere playboy and Toride...well he's in a coma. If they all sound sterotypical it's because they are, but luckily their penis counterparts does offer an extra layer of atypical interaction and personality, mostly for humour but also occassionally revealing the softer side of Kamiya and Iwabuchi. Though Ayase and Toride are the main couple the difficulty in developing a romance between a boy and his sentinent talking penis means that later chapters tend to shift the focus to former enemies Iwabuchi and Kamiya's budding romance.

Artwise, Yamato sensei is at her consistent best, which means cute, bright-eyed, (for some people, too) young-looking ukes and handsome semes. Special credit must go to her penis designs which gets cuter and cuter as the story progress (Kamiya-chinko is probably the only penis in the world that deserve to be called moe).

For those who have an inner child of the naughty little brat variety this is definitely the manga needed to make them happy. For the rest of us who are still naughty little brats through and through this is the rare manga that satisfy both our need for romance and well...our urge to see talking penis doing cute things.

'If you love something, set it free.
If it comes back, it is yours to keep,
If not,
Then it was never meant to be...'
Despite having heard the above saying numerous times in my life, I'll have to admit that this OVA is the only time I've seen the message get through so movingly. Make no mistake, Ai no Kusabi is no happy romantic comedy. There's next to nil humour, brutal violence and even brief scenes of bondage. There's only one major sex scene in the second OVA; all the rest are little better than stills. The story, whilst not very convoluted sports many terms that encourage a trip to the Ai no Kusabi Wiki page (just avoid the ending spoilers).
Yet despite all those shortcomings, this is one yaoi that I guarantee will remain in your mind for a long, long time. Set in a fantastical sci-fi society meticulously brought to life through the amazing art and background this is a story about love, power, loss and redemption. Iason and Raki both have striking, attractive character design and stylized personalities that fangirls will swoon over. Add to that a plot that is more action movie than the typical romantic affair and you end up with something truly unique. But the most amazing thing about the entire experience will have to be the mood evoked. Everything from Raki's elevator trip to the final fiery scene gets the emotions exactly right so that you can really empathize with the characters (Challenge:Try remaining unmoved when Katz starts crying,I know I can't).
The early 90's art may alienate anyone used to modern computer-aided anime but for many people who grew up on them (myself included) its incredibly nostalgic. Sure, digital animation have their merits but nothing beats the human warmth emanating from cels that had been carefully hand-painted. Another plus:since this was a high budget OVA the animation is incredibly fluid and stable. No missing heads or mini hands here *cough* naruto and bleach *cough*.
If you are finding the average yaoi an awfully repetitive affair that seem to assume that the audience is blind to all plot holes then this is the one that you really need to look into. It may not be your cup of tea (kinky sexual acts alert) but it is certainly an eye-opening experience. Let's hope that the upcoming 13 part OVA can carry on the legacy of the emotionally charged, thought provoking masterpiece that is Ai no Kusabi.

Anyone looking for a short romantic comedy should turn back right now, otherwise prepare yourself for one of the most engaging, complex and tear-jerking historical yaoi around!
Built around 70+ pages long chapters, the story and the less-than-perfect characters are given plenty of time to develop. The heart-wrenching relationship between Masataka and Souma should be enough to drive most people to the verge of tears. Everyone from the main couple to side characters all have several levels to them which is more than I can say for most other yaois. In addition, Masataka the reluctant uke, is actually portrayed as genuinely 'reluctant' and revulsed for once, rather than the lipservice in other works.
The art, like the story, is more realistic than the usual shiny affair. Consistent and detailed, it transports the reader into the world of Taishou Japan.
Anyone looking for the physical side of the relationships will not be found wanting. But be warned that the mood is tragic rather than smutty. Reading through those scenes, I actually wished that the seme would stop (and not because it looked painful!).
Overall, Sakura Gari is one tragic yaoi with realistically portrayed characters and circumstances that will stick in your mind for days.

Start with the classic angelxdevil pairing, add in a generous dollop of Christian iconography, a tech-concrete-jungle-mixed-with-Gothic setting, some hard-boiled stylistic quirks and a diefied totalitarian system and Innocent Bird is born.
Quite a heavy read for a Yaoi, the plot focuses more on conflict and drama than lovey-dovey antics, but is well worth trudging through to the ending. As to characters, Shiragasa (the devil uke) is beautiful and radiant whilst Karasu (angelic seme) is more in the mode of the film noir detective, quite a departure from the classic 'angelic' look. Look out also for the other bishies, each with their own compelling past.
Overall, a rewarding read for anyone looking for something slightly more engaging and serious.

An adorable, light story for people looking for something with less angst and more touching. Plotwise very simple, merely a build-up to the inevitable and absolutely hot *ahem*'scenes'*ahem*. Very readable and beautiful fun fluff to while away a hour or two.