Reviews written by Ashika

Sensitive Pornograph is a collection of six yaoi tales ranging from sweet, to silly, to blah. Overall it's a good read. I really enjoyed 'Sensitive Pornograph,' 'Trophies Belong in the Bedroom,' and 'Come Home' (I really liked the idea of a uke having kids). 'Non-Adult Situations' was all right but the others were better. I didn't like 'Please, Kiss Me.' It's one of those stories that falls into the "blah" category. It just personally didn't appeal to me. I also didn't enjoy 'Indirect Youth.' I'm usually okay with rape in a yaoi but it just didn't work with this one. The main character is raped by his crush, who also takes photographs of the incident. For some odd reason this doesn't make the main character dislike his crush any less. It was just too unreal a reaction. Yeah, this is yaoi and you get the "raped by future lover thing" sometimes, but I don't think the concept really worked with this story. Besides that, most of the other tales are good. I recommend this to anyone who's just looking for some simple yaoi fun. However do keep in mind that unlike the OVA, the manga does suffer from censorship. Sometimes the penises are there but distorted by a burst of "light", and sometimes they are just invisible.

Crimson Spell is pretty good. The main story is kind of weak, but the characters make up for it. I like that Vald has this feel of innocence to him, yet he can still kick butt and be tough. Havi is a delight. Although his intentions and motives can seem a bit sneaky at times, it is a treat to see how his affections for Vald grow. This is pure yaoi at its best. The sex scenes are very graphic and full of all these various little kinks. Plus, no censoring. ^^ Ayano Yamane's art is so beautiful. I end up loving everything she creates and Crimson Spell is not immune to this. The story starts of weak but does get better as it goes on. Nevertheless, the best part about Crimson Spell are the characters. They are what keeps you coming back for more. This is for people who love graphic yaoi fun and can't get enough of it. Also if you are a Yamane fan don’t hesitate to check this one out as well.

Reading this I can't stop laughing. This story is all about the crack. You have three boys talking to their penises and one boy in a coma. Two of the boys have somehow switched penises with each other, and the remaining boy's penis is possessed by the soul of the guy in the coma. See, nothing but crack. Don't expect a lot from the story. The joke of talking penises is the only thing breathing life into this tale, but oddly it is enough. I never once got bored of reading this. The characters are all cute two-dimensional types who manage to fall in love as the story goes on. Don't read this if you want something serious or deep. This is lighthearted fun. One of the penises, for some crazy reason, is drawn with glasses. That image alone left me in a fit of giggles. If the idea of boys talking to their penises and the penises talking back does not seem funny to you then you will not like this. For everyone else, you will love it. ^^

The two stories in Sensitive Pornograph are taken from the manga of the same name. I'm happy to see these stories come to life. They are definitely a couple of the better tales from the manga. Also, this is one of the more graphic yaoi OVAs on the market. Unlike the manga, which suffered from pixels and invisible penises, the OVA (OAV) shows these young men in all their naked, explicit majesty. There's no censorship at all which makes me very happy. ^^ However, if you are not into the more graphic aspects of yaoi then you should skip this one. Each story is only fifteen minutes long. It doesn't leave a lot of time for plot or character development (not that there was much of it in the manga, anyway). And it’s not dubbed, only subbed. So that’s another thing to think of for those of you who prefer one over the other. If you are looking for a simple yaoi where you can just sit back and bust a nosebleed, then this is the OVA for you.

The Gravitation anime is slightly more serious than the manga. A lot of the random goofiness is taken out. It's still wacky sometimes, but not as much as the manga was. You may or may not like that. For me the manga was way too full of crack and I enjoyed seeing this tamer version. Sadly, however, that's not the only thing that was tamed. The more physical elements of Shuichi and Eiri's relationship have also been toned down. No more wild kisses with mild groping. Nope. Now their lips just come together and the characters stand like that for a moment. It's not terribly bad, but it does seem lacking. Also, sex between Shuichi and Eiri is only hinted at. And these hints are very small ones. Despite this I still enjoyed the anime. None of the characters's personalities were changed. Eiri is still the lovable jerk and Shu-chan is as much a drama-queen as ever. I'm not a fan of the animation. It's all computer done and colored, leaving it with a clean polished look that just feels too fake to me. Other people might not mind it. I just personally don't like this type of animation. If you are a fan of the manga or are just looking for a funny shonen-ai story to watch then you might want to try this one out.

Gravitation's plot gets pretty crazy sometimes. You think it's going to head in one direction then *bam* giant panda robots! It's not always so crazy, though. There are serious moments here and there which make you want to cry, but for the most part it's all comedy. Definitely for those who like a spoonful of crack with their stories. Shuichi can get annoying, especially when it seems like he's either drooling or crying every other page, but he does grow on you. He's just so sweet and funny. ^^ Eiri is sometimes too mean for my tastes. But it's also that stoic rudeness that draws me in. There's more to him than meets the eye and you find yourself reading onward to find out what. This story is for people who like their ukes a bit on the flamboyant side and their semes tall, grumpy, and yummy. There's sex but this is a shonen-ai, meaning it's not graphic like other yaoi. Gravitation is a good read for people just starting out in the Boy's Love genre. In the first couple volumes Murakami's art isn't so great. Actually it's kind of bad, but it does get a lot better by volume 3 and continues to improve. In spite of all its faults I highly recommend this. It's very hilarious and hardly takes itself too seriously.