▪	RELEASED BY:		DIGITAL MANGA PUBLISHING
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		RIYU YAMAKAMI
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / B&W
		▪	PAGES:		200
		▪	RATING:		M
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		11/24/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		11/23/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		HOLLY ELLINGWOOD

Morio never understood why he didn’t have the same urges as other boys. When he bumps into a cocky and aloof guy, he’s furious, and suddenly the amotivated student isn’t having a lack of motivation or emotions anymore. But this isn’t just some random guy, this turns out to be his new teacher Yoshitaka Saeki. Now all those feelings and urges are making themselves known to Morio with a vengeance! Why he is so drawn to the aloof teacher is beyond him, but the heart has its reason that reason cannot know.

Vanilla is an unusual yaoi manga. It doesn’t have the same feel in how it brings about this pairing. Nor is it a traditional pairing, at least at first glance. This is a drama, not a comedy, and the romance is much more a story about self-discovery as both fellows find out what truly lies within their hearts.  When Morio discovers the teacher having sex with another student, a male one at that, he is left turned on and confused. He is found out by Saeki who is cool and patronizing. Turbulent emotions take over and he’s at a loss with no coping skills as he’s never experienced these feelings before. He confesses his love but is coldly rebuffed. Saeki doesn’t want relationships, he only wants sex. The older male in this entanglement doesn’t ever get emotionally involved. Morio’s anguish isn’t simply the confusion of realizing he’s gay. It’s also over the fact that what he longs for is intimacy, a deep emotional connection, one that Saeki will not allow. It’s a difficult push and pull between the two men. This volume ends with Morio on the roof, torn up emotionally, desperate in love, he is at a loss. But perhaps the cold teacher is not as impregnable or unmoved as he insists? It could be that still waters run deep and the maelstrom that is touched upon in this first volume promises a dramatic and emotionally intense romance in the making.

This isn’t the usual easy seduction commonly found in yaoi. Though there are a few explicit scenes, the emotional content is the heady pull that this story holds. This is a couple that if they do come together, it will be an intense bond in light of the immense obstacles they will first have to overcome. The art is a fair yaoi standard, not as wispy as some, it has soft and appealing pencil work, occasionally deeper detail in scenes that one hopes to see more of in the volumes to come. It holds attractive and intriguing characters. It makes for a compelling gay male romance.

IN SUMMARY:
Vanilla is a dramatic romance between a cold teacher and a previously unmotivated student realizing that he is gay. First love can be difficult, but for student Morio, it may be a painful first foray as he strives to melt Saeki’s heart.