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Book Review: Assassination Classroom, Vol 16 by Yusei Matsui

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Assassination Classroom, Vol 16                                       

Author: Ysei Matsui

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: June 6, 2017

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Action Adventure Manga//200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Once upon a time there was a very skilled assassin who went by the name of the Grim Reaper. But he was not always an assassin, so how did he become one? Born into a world of poverty and violence, he grew up the best that he could. The biggest lesson he learned was that “people die if they are killed”. And so he became an assassin. He was charming and intelligent… and deadly. After his thousandth kill, they began to call him the Grim Reaper.  He was invincible…

Until his unexpected betrayal and capture, which put him into the care and custody of a mad scientist, Chief Kotaro Yanigasawa. And then the experiments began. Yanigasawa was researching the use of antimatter as a substitute for fossil fuel or nuclear power. But his experimentation on animals was limited by their size and biology, which is why he found the Grim Reaper to be ideal for his purpose. Someone no one wouild ever miss or mourn the loss of.

Yanigasawa had an assistant, who was quirky but kind. She was assigned to keep an eye on the Reaper. Her name was Aguri Yukimura, and by day she taught at a junior high school. The Grim Reaper observed how poorly she was treated by the crazy doctor, and when he discovered what their relationship was, he was highly incensed. But there was little he could do about it. However, he was learning more and more about the changes that were taking place inside of him, and to his body, and the powers he was gaining. And so he bided his time.

The Grim Reaper and Aguri talked a great deal, about anything and everything, and she did her best to shield him, but when her fiancé saw what was happening, he retaliated, and the worst thing happened. Which was when Koro Sensei vowed to fulfill her dying wish, and demanded to teach the class she could no longer teach, and when the Fate of the world lay with him, even though it was not his fault or his choice.

Now that the students know the truth, can they still go through with their mission?

Even though I’ve read the manga before and watched the anime, this is one of the hardest volumes to read. Breaks my heart every time to witness what was done to Koro Sensei. How he turned from a handsome, charming man to what he became through no fault of his own. And yes, it made me cry. Can the students really save him? They say hope springs eternal in the human breast. Guess we’ll have to wait and see if hopes and dreams can come true.

Book Review: One Piece, Vol 13: It’s All Right! by Eiichiro Oda

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One Piece, Vol 13: It’s All Right!     

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: January 2, 2007

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action Adventure/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Who would have thought that the first stop on the Grand Line would turn out to be an island filled with Pirate hunters! After a large welcoming feast, everyone is passed out, except for Zolo, who is battling against the members of Baroque Works. Ms. Wednesday has a giant duck which she rides, although not very well. And the bird seems to be directionally challenged. A bloated Luffy finds himself outside, but is too sleepy to make sense of anything and decides to take a nap even as two more agents join in the battle – Mr 5 and Ms Valenine! They announce that someone is missing from the kingdom of Alabasta! Turns out, someone is not who they appear to be!

Luffy awakens to find, to his dismay, that Zolo is battling the hosts who fed him so well. Fed up with this behavior, Luffy challenges Zolo to fight him! When Nami finds out that they are being offered a billion berries to escort the princess of Alabasta to her home, she forces them to quit fighting so they can help her. Igaram offers them the Eternal Pose that should guide them to Alabasta. However, on their way out of town, they discover Ms All Sunday on their ship, and she has been up to no good. The princess swears she hasn’t revealed the top boss’ identity… until she does. Oh dear, are they in trouble now?

The next stop on their journey is an island called Little Garden, but they are hard put to understand where the name comes from as it resembles a jungle more than a garden! The animals here seem to be a bit… big.  Luffy and Ms Wednesday decide to explore a bit, as Luffy yearns for adventure. Sanji challenges Zolo to a hunt, so off they go, leaving Usopp and Nami on the boat. They quickly learn the reason behind the island’s name. Apparently, it’s a location trapped in time, and here be dinosaurs and giants! Two giants, actually, who are in the middle of a battle that has spanned one hundred years!

Now that our heroes have reached the Grand Line, I am sure they will have many exciting adventures ahead of them and this is just the first. If this is any indication, things are gonna get wild! Will everybody become friends and have a feast with the animals Zolo and Sanji kill? Gotta wait till the next volume to find out!

Book Review: Love Control, Vol 2 by Ai Hasukawa

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Love Control, Vol 2       

Author: Ai Hasukawa

Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing

American release date: August 4, 2009

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Yaoi/200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

The path of true love never did run smooth…  Yamashiro is jealous of everyone he sees Okumura with, including the lovely Ishikawa.  And now there is a new young bartender, Sasatani, and Kei is afraid he is after his lover, which only feeds his insecurities. It doesn’t help when Takashi confesses that he scouted out the young man and lured him into his employment. Even back at the office, Kei can’t get away from the admiring comments about Okumura, from men and women alike. Frustrated, he calls him and suggests they meet at the bar.

An argument leads to a misunderstanding, and Kei gets drunk. It’s not until Sasatani puts him into a cab because of his inebriated state that he realizes he has totally misjudged who is the object of the bartender’s affection. Sasatani keeps working on Kei’s low self-esteem, and lies to him about what Takashi said, widening the gulf between the lovers. He promises to treat Kei better than Takashi, says he would never hurt him. Will Kei be swayed by his pretty words?

Ichinose has a meeting at the bar with a new client. Although he tries to explain that he doesn’t really drink, his words fall on deaf ears. The client orders a blue drink from the sexy bartender, but it’s stronger than Ichinose expected so he excuses himself to the bathroom. The client follows him and the situation grows ugly when Sasatani unexpectedly intervenes and kicks the older man out, making sure he will never be admitted again. Ichinose blacks out, waking some time later to find he’s never left the bar and Sasatani has been with him all night.

Ichinose is grateful for what the bartender did for him, even if he does make fun of him for being such a lightweight when it comes to drinking. He wants to thank the owners, as well, but Sasatani says he doesn’t come in all the time. Even so, Ichinose is determined, so he keeps coming back to the bar in order to properly thank him. At least, that’s what he tells himself.  But he still doesn’t drink and is thinking of requesting tea when Sasatani fixes him a drink that looks like a cocktail but is non-alcoholic.

Sasatani continues to tease Ichinose and he responds. They develop a strange back-and-forth relationship.  Ichinose has never felt this way about a man before, and he is confused, his feelings only compounded by Sasatani’s hot-and-cold behavior. Will they ever be on the same page and admit their true feelings to one another? And can Ichinose make Sasatani forget the man who broke his heart.

In the last story, Takashi makes a cheese dish for Kei.

I was hoping to see Kei and Takashi again, and I wasn’t disappointed, as they work their way to a better understanding of their relationship and themselves. I liked the second story, but I didn’t feel the same chemistry between Ichinose and Sasatani as I did Kei and Takashi. Maybe it’s because Sasatani stated out as something of a villain lol Interesting series, definitely worth a read.

Book Review: Love Control, Vol 1 by Ai Hasukawa

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Love Control, Vol 1     

Author: Ai Hasukawa

Publisher: Digital Manga Publishing

American release date: May 6, 2008

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Yaoi/200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Love Control

Kei Yamashiro and his company have been hired to remodel the Italian restaurant Jiri by its owner Takashi Okumura. When Okumura arrives to the meeting, he immediately begins to hit on Yamashiro.  This man apparently doesn’t take no for an answer when he calls Yamashiro for a dinner meeting, tells him where and when they’lll meet, and then hangs up! Turns out the place is a secret bar, very private, members only. The reason for the meeting is that the owner of Jiri wants to hire Yamashiro to decorate his apartment. Yamashiro agrees but comes up with a plan of his own to get Okumura back for his flirtatious attitude. He vows to make the man fall in love with him and then he’ll break his heart.

But at some point, the game becomes real, and Kei isn’t sure whether to believe Takashi’s sweet words or not. Has he actually fallen for the man, and can anything good come from that? Or has he become a victim of his own game?

Near the Rainbow and You

Seno is in charge of the planning division of his company. He is very driven, a hard worker.  One day he receives an unexpected email asking him to come find them at the end of the rainbow. What does that even mean? When he passes by a rather beautiful fountain, he spots what appears to be a high school kid. Could this be the prankster? He approaches the kid and discovers he sent the same email to a number of addresses, just for fun. Seno asks the kid if he’s searching for a sugar daddy, and the kid tells him to take him somewhere private. Against his better judgment, Seno takes him to his apartment. There he takes the kid’s wallet and discovers his name is Yuu. Seno forces his attentions on an unwilling Yuu, who then leaves, but the next day he shows up at Seno’s work, claiming to be a relative.  Yuu tells Seno that he won’t stop pestering him until he admits he fell for Yuu first, so Seno retaliates by taking him to an amusement park.

I really liked the first story, watching Kei and Takashi get caught up in their own games until what they had pretended became real. I enjoyed watching them fall in love, and hope they’ll be back in the next volume. However, then we have the second story, and there’s the problem.  I don’t know how old Yuu really is, but he looks like a kid, which gave off all sort of bad vibes. But then the dubious consent. Very cringe. I am not fond of certain types of yaoi where one protagonist resembles a child, and often a very feminine on at that.  I wish they hadn’t included that second story in this volume, but they did. So I am giving the first story 4 Stars and the second story 2 Stars, for an average of 3 stars. I would suggest skipping the second story, the first is good.

Book Review: One Piece, Vol 12: The Legend Begins by Eiichiro Oda

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One Piece, Vol 12: The Legend Begins     

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: October 3, 2006

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action Adventure/200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Buggy the Clown and Captain Alvida have both reappeared in Luffy’s life! And they are both after him! He narrowly escapes being blown up on the scaffolding where Gold Roger met his end.  Now everyone is trying to escape from the Marines under the command of Captain Smoker!  The storm that Nami warned them about is about to strike! As they race back to the ship, Zolo finds himself face-to-face with an irate Master Chief Tashigi, upset because she unwittingly helped him pick out his swords and he is a pirate! Since everybody seems to be after Luffy, and Luffy is headed to the Grand Line, then everybody has decided to travel there. Even if that’s out of the marines’ jurisdiction. But Smoker doesn’t seem to care.

As they get closer to the Grand Line, Nami is disturbed by what she sees on the charts. Namely, that the entrance to the Grand Line is up a mountain! How does that even work? Things get worse when they find themselves inside the Calm Belt and have to row rather than use their sails. There is a reason they have to stay in the canal leading to the Grand Line, and they quickly discover what that is!

Just as they’re about to pass through the Grand Line, Luffy spots what he thinks is a mountain, which makes no sense. Except it isn’t a mountain, it’s a giant whale! Determined to fight the whale, Luffy jumps on him. But then he discovers his friends and his ship are missing and he demands the whale give them back! Luffy spies a trap door on the whale and heads inside to find the insides are not what he expected. There seems to be a canal in there, and more. Luffy runs across two strangers – Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9 – just as they are about to blast open a door, and all three find themselves inside the same place where his friends are.  There’s also an old man there, who id very determined to keep the strangers from capturing the whale and taking it back to their village for food. He tells them the whale’s – whose name is Laboon – sad story.

Luffy gives the whale a reason for living, and then amiably agrees to take the strangers home, to the dismay of the others. Just as they reach the island where their village, Whiskey Peak, is located, the two bid them farewell and jump ship.  They sail the Merry Go into the harbor where, to their delight, they are warmly welcomed by the mayor and citizens of Whiskey Peak. A celebration is held in their honor that includes much food, much drink, and many girls for Sanji to flirt with. But all is not as it appears to be, and Zolo is the only one to realize that. Can he defend them against a whole village that is determined to kill them?

Just because Luffy and his crew have reached the Grand Line doesn’t mean their adventures are about to end, does it? Certainly not! In fact, they are just beginning, since I know there are like a hundred more volumes to come lol Not to mention, the Grand Line isn’t a single place, and Gold Roger gave no clue as to where the treasure is. I still have my theories about what the One Piece is and also about Gold Roger and who he really is, but I won’t speculate right now, since that is all it is, speculation.  I know we’re bound to run across Buggy and Smoker and Alvida at some point. I didn’t recognize Alvida, to be honest. Where’s that gum gum fruit she ate? Sign me up lol I really like the story drawings at the beginning of each chapter, with Koby and Helmeppo. I suspect we’ll see them again too, and Vice Admiral Garp. I found Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9 rather creepy. In fact, the whole village is creepy. Who knew they’d find an entire village of pirate hunters? Good thing Zolo has more common sense than the rest of them.

Another great volume, look forward to the next!

Book Review: Future Lovers, Vol 2 by Saika Kunieda

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Future Lovers, Vol 2     

Author: Saika Kunieda

Publisher: Deux Press

American release date: March 24, 2009

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Yaoi/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Akira has taken a permanent position with the school where he began as a sub due to the other teacher’s retirement. So now he and Kento work together every day. They keep their relationship from the people at school. Although Kento has introduced Akira to his grandparents, he has yet to meet Akira’s family. Then one day a flashy woman in a fur coat and sunglasses is standing outside the school when they leave, and Kento is finally introduced to Akira’s mother! That’s when he learns that Akira has a mommy complex, and actually calls her Mommy! Seriously?

She’s come to tell him she’s getting divorced… again. Akira isn’t even sure how many times that makes. It’s clear the pair dote on one another, but Kento is beginning to suspect the relationship is unhealthy. Turns out Akira’s mother had him when she was seventeen and he has no idea who his father is. When Akira leaves school early one day and doesn’t tell him, Kento searches for him, asking his mother if she’s seen him. She hasn’t, but she quickly guesses the nature of their relationship.

Kento finds Akira, who is hungover, and down, concerned unnecessarily about Yukie, whom Kento says is already in a new relationship and Kento doesn’t care because he has Akira. Akira is a complex man and Kento doesn’t always know how to take him. He realizes he’s had a hard life with his unstable mother and his childhood must have been difficult. And sometimes he and Akira seem poles apart. For example, when they end up going to a spring festival together, each is aghast at what the other is wearing. Still, no matter what happens between them, they seem to solve their problems in bed, making everything right once more.

They decide to take a Golden Week vacation but get off to a bad start. Apparently, Akira is a terrible navigator.  To make matters worse, when Kento picks up Akira at his apartment, he finds another man there with him – his art teacher from middle school! And the man not only doesn’t leave, he comes with them! He and Akira sit in the back seat together, with Kento playing chauffeur. This is not what he bargained for at all! Not surprisingly, they get lost! When Akira spots someone and goes to ask for directions, the art teacher tells Kento about what Akira was like as a child, and how much he has changed for the better.  When they finally reach their destination, they find they are all to stay in one room! Not exactly conducive to lovemaking. Kento and Akira become worried when the teacher disappears, which is compounded when his wife shows up looking for him and explains what is going on with him. Now they are even more concerned that he might do something drastic!

Akira’s mother is getting married… again! Kento starts bringing up the idea of marriage to Akira, and they fight over that. Kento wants a future with Akira, but he seems to be less than receptive to the idea. Akira provokes Kento, and finds himself in the nurse’s office with Yukie. Things get worse when Akira thinks Kento’s grandfather has died and Akira gets drunk and crashes the gathering. Will these two ever be on the same page?

I love these two guys, they are so sweet together. I like that they have their ups and downs, like any couple, which is exacerbated with the societal difficulties of being in a same-sex relationship.  The picture of Akira as a sweet little angel is priceless!  So is Akira’s dream of the future.  What a wonderful ending! I am a sucker for a happy ending. I would definitely recommend this book series.

Book Review: Assassination Classroom, Vol 15 by Yusei Matsui

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Assassination Classroom, Vol 15    

Author: Ysei Matsui

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: April 4, 2017

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Action Adventure Manga//200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Koro Sensei is not the only monster at Kunugigaoka Junior High, the other one being Principal Asano. But was he always this way? No, far from it. He began the prep school with three students and a dream. He was well liked and had ideals. So, what happened? Now he has challenged Koro Sensei, and it’s his turn. If he opens the last book, he will assuredly die. Is he willing to die for what he believes?

Class 3-E is dismayed to learn that they are being forced to participate in the school play, when their time would be put to better use honing their assassination skills. And they have been given the worst time slot – during lunch. Who’ll be paying attention then? The students pick what jobs they wish to do, and Koro Sensei expresses his desire to be in the play as well. They quickly tell him what a good idea that isn’t, but Hazama, who is going to write the play, tells him she will write him in a part, which pleases him.

Hmmm, seems as though there is another secret assassin lurking in the classroom! When did Kayano acquire tentacles? She gets Nagisa to help her lure Koro Sensei into a trap, at which time she reveals herself. Will she be the one to end the teacher/monster? How did she get to be this way, and how did she fool the whole class into believing she was something she wasn’t? In revealing who she really is, Kayano accuses Koro Sensei of murder! His students are aghast! In order to clear himself of the charges, their teacher will finally have to tell them his story, although he hadn’t planned to do that quite so soon. But he has no choice now.

In this volume, we have two back stories, Principal Asano’s and Kayano’s. Boy, what a surprise! Who would have thought the nasty conniving principal ever had a nice side? I sure didn’t. And Kayano – never saw that coming! Never even noticed the small clues along the way! Now we come to Koro Sensei’s back story, but that has to wait until the next volume. Can’t wait to hear it! Another great volume, on the edge of my seat for the next one!

Book Review: Future Lovers, Vol 1 by Saika Kuneida

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Future Lovers, Vol 1       

Author: Saika Kunieda

Publisher: Deux Press

American release date: September 23, 2008

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Yaoi/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Kento Kumagaya envisions a future for himself which includes a happy wife and children in a happy home that also includes his happy grandparents. But his marriage proposal to his girlfriend Yukie goes horribly wrong and she walks away. Devastated, Kento goes to a bar to drown his sorrows. There he meets Akira Kazuki, who seems too pretty to be a guy.  The next morning, Kento wakes up in Kento’s bed with memories of having had sex with Akira!  He blames the alcohol, goes home with his tail tucked between his legs, and doesn’t tell his grandparents what really happened. Then he goes to work at the school where he teaches, only to learn there is a new sub for one of the teachers – none other than Akira!

The more Kento tries to maintain his distance from Akira, the more he is drawn to him, and they end up in bed together… over and over and over.  Yukie also works at the school, as the nurse. One day she sees something unexpected and breaks up with Kento for good. A conflicted Kento talks to his grandmother, asking her about her arranged marriage with his grandfather. She explains how they fell in love, how their marriage has had its ups and downs but they weathered every storm. At the end of the day, they can both say their life was happy for having met the other person. That gives Kento a lot to think about.

When Kento gets hurt in an accident, Kazuki rushes to the hospital in a panic. Kento tells him he wants him to be his forever. Kazuki is happy to hear that, but when they kiss, they are caught by Kento’s homophobic grandparents, who are not exactly thrilled with what they see. Kento and Akira have other difficulties, including being careful at work, but there are some who figure it out anyway, including a girl with a crush on Kento.

In Winter Rabbit, Shu has gone away to university and has been too busy to visit his family, including his younger foster brother, Minoru. When Shu receives a text from his mother that something is wrong with Minoru, he hurries home, only to run into Minoru at the station. Although they were once close, Minoru seems distant now. And when a girl named Rina shows up, Minoru goes off with her, leaving behind a baffled Shu.

Later, they find themselves alone in the house, and Shu feels compelled to ask Minoru about something he heard. Minoru tries to bluff him, and unexpectedly propositions Shu.  But Shu refuses, determined to get to the truth of their feelings for one another.

This was a very sweet and romantic first volume of Future Lovers. I love both Kento and Akira, and I love how Kento goes from saying he isn’t gay to realizing he has feelings for Akira, no matter what gender he is. Their story continues in the next volume. A second story, Winter Rabbit, was also cute and sweet, as two young men come to understand their feelings for one another.  I recommend this to anyone who enjoys romantic yaoi.

Book Review: One Piece, Vol 11: The Meanest Man in the East by Eiichiro Oda

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One Piece, Vol 11: The Meanest Man in the East    

Author: Eiichiro Oda

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: July 5, 2006

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Action & Adventure/192 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Luffy is still battling Arlong. He’s finding the Fishman hard to defeat! Breaking his teeth does no good because sharks just grow new ones! The fight carries inside his headquarters, into the chart room. And this is where Arlong makes his mistake when he talks about using Nami for her cartography skills. Incensed at the idea that Arlong has been using his friend, Luffy goes berserk and destroys Arlong park! At just that moment, the crooked Marines arrive. When they learn of Arlong’s defeat, the leader, Captain Nezumi, attempts to take all the gold for himself, but nobody is having that and they deliver to him the smackdown of his life! The disgruntled Captain Nezumi informs the navy of the existence of a dangerous pirate and his four henchmen, and a bounty is placed on Luffy’s head –higher than that of most other pirates!

Luffy and the others have celebrated their victory with the villagers, and now it’s time to go. But where is Nami?  Sanji is horrified to think she might not be coming, but she is, of course. She just has one more thing to do.  Back on the high seas once more, headed toward the Grand Line, Luffy is delighted to discover that he has a price on his head. He feels as though he’s really arrived now and been officially recognized as a pirate. The others tell him that isn’t really good, especially such a high bounty, because it puts a target on their back! People will be coming after them now, strictly for the money.

As they pass by a particular island, Nami informs them that this where the infamous pirate Gold Rogers was executed, in a town called Roguetown. Would Luffy like to go there? Of course he would! Once ashore, the crew scatters to do their own thing. Nami looks for clothes she doesn’t intend to buy, and Zolo needs swords. He goes to a shop that sells them, but when the owners finds out how little he has to spend on two swords, he isn’t very enthusiastic about his presence… until he notices the sword Zolo carries and tries to cheat him out of it. Luckily, a knowledgeable young lady who happens to be in the shop gives Zolo much needed advice and helps him search for two swords in his price range. Wait, is he actually going to take the cursed sword?

Oh oh, Luffy is in trouble when a couple of unexpected blasts from his past show up on the island and he finds himself on the same execution stand where Gold Rogers met his end.  On top of everything else, Nami says that a huge storm is on the way and it’s going to hit the island!

Finally, we see the end of the evil Arlong (or at least I presume so). I love the way Luffy stands up for people, especially the ones he cares about. For one so young, he is very mature in ways, but very immature in others. I loved the scene between Mihawk and Shanks. If you watch the live anime, you’ll see that the actor playing Mihawk got him to a tee! If you haven’t watched it yet, you should, it’s great! I sure didn’t expect to see those two return and I would never have recognized one of them if she hadn’t mentioned her name.  It turns out that Zolo’s new friend works for the naval captain, Smoker. This can’t be good, can it?

Another great volume of One Piece, looking forward to the next!

Book Review: Love Mode, Vol 6 by Yuki Shimizu

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Love Mode, Vol 6       

Author: Yuki Shimizu

Publisher: Blu

American release date:  August 14, 2007

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Yaoi Manga/200 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

Kiichi takes Naoya shopping and insists on buying him lots of clothes, despite his protestations. He even insists that Naoya needs a ring, considering his newfound relationship with Reiji and takes him to a jewelry store. He was just kidding, though, and buys a watch instead. They are unaware that trouble lurks nearby. As they are leaving the store, two armed men force them back in and demand money and jewels! And they are going to take Naoya as a hostage. Kiichi refuses to let that happen, so that’s how he ends up in the back seat of the getaway car along with Naoya.

Haruomi, who was only gone for a moment, returns to discover what has happened and immediately phones Reiji, who is visibly upset at the news. He tells his subordinates to contact the phone company so they can trace Kiichi’s cell phone, no matter what it takes.  Meanwhile, the robber realizes the story about them is on the news as they listen to the radio. But what do they care, as they intend to kill the hostages anyway. Kiichi tells Naoya to open the door so they can escape, but when he does, he pushes the younger man out, into the river, to keep him safe. The robbers hurt him for his trouble, while Naoya finds a pay phone (good luck doing that now lol) and phones Reiji. Now it’s time to rescue the doctor!

Seiichi works at B&B, Reiji’s male escort service. He’s been assigned to a new client. But, to his dismay, when he arrives at the client’s home, he finds what appears to be a little kid. However, looks can be deceiving.  The client’s name is Tomoki, and Seiichi is his first.  When Seiichi sees Tomoki taking pills, he gets upset and makes him throw them away. They have a lot of sex over the next couple of weeks. But when something happens, and Seiichi learns the truth about Tomoki, his world will never be the same again.

I love how Reiji is learning to care about someone other than himself, though I did miss seeing Izumi and Takamiya in this volume and hope they will be back soon. Kiichi and Haruomi have grown much closer too. The story of Seiichi and Tomoki made me cry.  The biggest complain I have with some yaoi is the tendency to either make one of the guys looks like a kid or like a girl. I would rather see two men who look like men.

Good volume, looking forward to the next one.