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THE FIRST STAGE OF LOVE (ADVANCE REVIEW)
Reviews
Sunday, 06 April 2008
  RELEASED BY: DIGITAL MANGA PUBLISHING
 AUTHOR / ART: 

KAZUHIKO MISHIMA

 FORMAT: JAPANESE / BW
 PAGES: 200
 RATING: M
 RELEASE DATE: 04/8/2008
 REVIEW DATE: 04/06/2008
 REVIEWED BY: HOLLY ELLINGWOOD


This latest anthology is about the first moments of romantic love; whether it’s first loves, first kisses, or first risks. 

“Strawberry Milk” is where readers will discover a whole new innovative way to motivate the person you care about to quit smoking. “Worries of the Future” shows a salary man worrying about his age and fears losing the ardent interest of his younger lover. “His, Her, and My Relationship” proved to be my personal favorite among the softly romantic tales. The story involves a love triangle with a hilarious twist at the end.

The story that shares the name of the title of the manga is a sweet romance about love at first sight for a bookstore clerk and his favorite customer. It’s the longest and probably one of the more predictable of the stories out of the group.  The last tale, “Wait Weight Wait” shows the confusion of body perception and insecurities when an overweight boy misunderstands the confession from the boy who holds his heart. It’s less conventional and puts a different take on the struggle of weight when given a yaoi perspective. The manga concludes with a bonus story involving the Strawberry Milk couple and shows a little bit of payback from the recently quit smoker.

All the stories in the manga are cute. They show a gentle comedy that is engaging and a romantic side that is endearing. The humor is one of the best and most appealing traits for me as a reader with this recent anthology. The art style is handsome. The manga goes for romance in its early or timid stages so there is nothing overly graphic, yet the scenes are very lovable.

IN SUMMARY:
This is an anthology about love in its first stages and also when it’s at its most fragile and sweet.




Comments (1)
1. 08-04-2008 08:46
 
Great review! Whenever I hear about a wonderfully romantic June title, I just want to buy it because it's so much more meaningful than, say, the Steppin' Stone series which is just pure graphic smut. Pure smut stories are forgettable, whereas romantic stories stay with you for a long time.
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