Haru wo Daite Ita
Hello everyone!!
Guess, guess what I found today at my fav. English manga store? Yes, Haru wo Daite Ita's artbook "Kiss of Fire"!!! I'm so excited because the art is sooo nice :D Above, you can see the cover... The black-haired guy is Iwaki and the blondie is Katou :D You can see some other artworks bellow the post... marvelous art right? Since I wanted to share my excitment of finding the artbook, I thought I could do a little review as well...
Title: Haru Wo Daite Ita
Mangaka: Youka Nitta
Other works: Groupie, Casino Lily, When a man loves a man, Boku no Koe....
Status: Not finished... so far, about 12 volumes in Japan.
Genre: Yaoi
Content: lots of explicit content, i.e. nudity and sex
Warning: if you cannot accept two men in love, you better skip...
Synopsis: Iwaki and Katou are both AV actors (AV= adult video, i.e. porn) and are auditioning for a part in a movie production called Haru wo Daite Ita, which is about 2 AV actors that fall in love with each other and their fight to be together. Iwaki is determined to obtain the role and prove to the AV world that he can still compete with the younger and new arising actors. (Iwaki is a couple of years older than Katou and I guess, he does feel the pressure) Finally, Iwaki 'wins' as he obtains the role and will co-star with the author, Sawa-sensei. About a year later, due to a huge popularity, Haru wo Daite Ita is adapted as a tv series. Too busy to be part of the production, Sawa-sensei thus gives the role to Katou... Our two favorite AV actors are then reunited. During the filming, Katou falls in love with Iwaki... and there, the story begins.
Basically, Haru wo Daite Ita follows the relationship of Iwaki and Katou as it progresses and becomes stronger than anything else, and also Iwaki and Katou's career as actors, no longer part of AV movies, and their hardships.
Manga art: Can you tell with the cover? Simply amazing... as the story progresses, the art becomes even more beautiful... but truly, Iwaki and Katou are such eye-candies!!! Also, I like how Youka-sensei plays with their clothing and change their style... Also, WOW when Katou cuts his hair. Anyway, nothing to complain about the art, it is just mouth-watering with such handsome guys and lots of attention to details and patterns.
Reviewer's verdict: I luv this series and it's not for the sex. There is a lot of yaoi series on the market where the plot is almost non-existent and all there is is the hot sex... This is not the case with Haru wo Daite Ita. You get lots of plot, lots of drama and lots of twist in this story. Actually, I would say that neither Katou or Iwaki are gay. It is not said explicitely in the manga, but neither Katou or Iwaki ever got 'attracted' to guys before their relationship.... In their case, the person they LOVE just turn out to be a guy... Are they going to throw their chance at happiness because their soulmate is of the same sex? No. You can see in the beginning of the manga that Iwaki was very very reluctant about starting a relationship with Katou... To him, Katou was in love with him because of 'his' character in Haru wo Daite Ita... it took some time before Iwaki could trust Katou and from then, build their relationship. I also admire Katou a lot for his perseverence and never doubting himself or his feeling. Seriously, I just love Katou's personality... Anyway, it is a joy to see the two men falling for each other, deeper at every chapter, and see their love unfolds.
Grading: 4/5
Licensed? If i'm not wrong, it is in English, under the title 'Embracing Love' by DMP... but not in French
Scanslation? Yes, both in English and French. For English, the easiest way to get the scanslation is to join the Youka Nitta livejournal community. As for French, head towards Silver Metsuki.
Anime? Yes, there was a 2 eps. OAV out not long ago... Of course, with two eps. only, it covered very little... about the beginning of their relationship only. There's also a rumor that there is another OAV coming out... this one covering the 'Winter Cicada' storyline. This storyline features Iwaki and Katou back in Ancient Japan... anyway, too complicated to explain, just a very sad and very touching story.
ps - if anyone wants more pics, let me know :D
Guess, guess what I found today at my fav. English manga store? Yes, Haru wo Daite Ita's artbook "Kiss of Fire"!!! I'm so excited because the art is sooo nice :D Above, you can see the cover... The black-haired guy is Iwaki and the blondie is Katou :D You can see some other artworks bellow the post... marvelous art right? Since I wanted to share my excitment of finding the artbook, I thought I could do a little review as well...
Title: Haru Wo Daite Ita
Mangaka: Youka Nitta
Other works: Groupie, Casino Lily, When a man loves a man, Boku no Koe....
Status: Not finished... so far, about 12 volumes in Japan.
Genre: Yaoi
Content: lots of explicit content, i.e. nudity and sex
Warning: if you cannot accept two men in love, you better skip...
Synopsis: Iwaki and Katou are both AV actors (AV= adult video, i.e. porn) and are auditioning for a part in a movie production called Haru wo Daite Ita, which is about 2 AV actors that fall in love with each other and their fight to be together. Iwaki is determined to obtain the role and prove to the AV world that he can still compete with the younger and new arising actors. (Iwaki is a couple of years older than Katou and I guess, he does feel the pressure) Finally, Iwaki 'wins' as he obtains the role and will co-star with the author, Sawa-sensei. About a year later, due to a huge popularity, Haru wo Daite Ita is adapted as a tv series. Too busy to be part of the production, Sawa-sensei thus gives the role to Katou... Our two favorite AV actors are then reunited. During the filming, Katou falls in love with Iwaki... and there, the story begins.
Basically, Haru wo Daite Ita follows the relationship of Iwaki and Katou as it progresses and becomes stronger than anything else, and also Iwaki and Katou's career as actors, no longer part of AV movies, and their hardships.
Manga art: Can you tell with the cover? Simply amazing... as the story progresses, the art becomes even more beautiful... but truly, Iwaki and Katou are such eye-candies!!! Also, I like how Youka-sensei plays with their clothing and change their style... Also, WOW when Katou cuts his hair. Anyway, nothing to complain about the art, it is just mouth-watering with such handsome guys and lots of attention to details and patterns.
Reviewer's verdict: I luv this series and it's not for the sex. There is a lot of yaoi series on the market where the plot is almost non-existent and all there is is the hot sex... This is not the case with Haru wo Daite Ita. You get lots of plot, lots of drama and lots of twist in this story. Actually, I would say that neither Katou or Iwaki are gay. It is not said explicitely in the manga, but neither Katou or Iwaki ever got 'attracted' to guys before their relationship.... In their case, the person they LOVE just turn out to be a guy... Are they going to throw their chance at happiness because their soulmate is of the same sex? No. You can see in the beginning of the manga that Iwaki was very very reluctant about starting a relationship with Katou... To him, Katou was in love with him because of 'his' character in Haru wo Daite Ita... it took some time before Iwaki could trust Katou and from then, build their relationship. I also admire Katou a lot for his perseverence and never doubting himself or his feeling. Seriously, I just love Katou's personality... Anyway, it is a joy to see the two men falling for each other, deeper at every chapter, and see their love unfolds.
Grading: 4/5
Licensed? If i'm not wrong, it is in English, under the title 'Embracing Love' by DMP... but not in French
Scanslation? Yes, both in English and French. For English, the easiest way to get the scanslation is to join the Youka Nitta livejournal community. As for French, head towards Silver Metsuki.
Anime? Yes, there was a 2 eps. OAV out not long ago... Of course, with two eps. only, it covered very little... about the beginning of their relationship only. There's also a rumor that there is another OAV coming out... this one covering the 'Winter Cicada' storyline. This storyline features Iwaki and Katou back in Ancient Japan... anyway, too complicated to explain, just a very sad and very touching story.
ps - if anyone wants more pics, let me know :D
said nath at 5:16 PM
8 people spanked the monkey.
