 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | DIGITAL MANGA PUBLISHING | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | MOMOKO TENZEN | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 160 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | M | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 03/25/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 08/05/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | RACHEL BENTHAM |
Manhattan Love Story is a yaoi anthology that is a bit different than the usual anthologies because it primarily follows two couples throughout different interweaving tales of romance at a flower shop. Apparently florists have more fun, or one particular florist, Dan, would be if only his long time lover would finally get their relationship out of the closet. Being a powerful CEO, his true love continues with clandestine meetings and it is taking a toll on Dan. It’s hard to find time together. He loves Rock, but how much more can Dan take of all this hide and cover? It hardly spells out romance, but could Rock see the light and convince Dan of his love? Their story covers three different ones in the anthology with the final story of the manga showing Dan and Rock taking the next step in their relationship. The other main tale is of Dan’s assistant Kirie. First we meet the man who captures his heart. Kenji is slow but earnest and is trying ever so hard to impress and help his family. When not one, but two chance meetings with the gentle Kirie move Kenji’s wounded heart, it’s love at first sight. Their story is very romantic but a little heartbreaking. Kenji has to go away. In the next story involving them, time has passed and Kirie is trying to move on from the man he thinks has forgotten about him. When Kenji returns, there are a lot of tears and the potential for everything to go wrong. Can this young couple see their love through to the end? There are two one shot stories within the anthology. One involves Rock’s assistant Jessie and his troubled relationship with his lover. The other is completely out of context and unrelated to the rest of the characters. In “The Angel and the Hydrangea” a thirteen year old boy gets involved with one of his adult teachers. I’ll be honest with you my fellow yaoi fans. This one story bothered me. Considering the boy is underage and it is his teacher, this story rings too much like sexual abuse by an adult and doesn’t therefore have any place in an anthology about romances between gay men. Am I wrong? Let me know what you think on the comments section of our site. I fear that stories such as this, however unintentionally, feed the negative and excessively false stereotype that gay men are predators of children and that is simply untrue. I am certain this was not the author’s intention in any way, shape or form. The rest of the stories are pure adult gay male romances and are a delight as is the soft illustration style. If necessary, fellow sensitive fans, simply skip story three and you’ll be fine.
IN SUMMARY:
Manhattan Love Story is a mixed bag of yaoi romances and one odd story out in this collection. |
