This title and cover was so weird that I kept skipping it initially when looking through upcoming preorders - but it ended up actually being a really This title and cover was so weird that I kept skipping it initially when looking through upcoming preorders - but it ended up actually being a really sweet story.
It's a combination isekai/shapeshifter story, with reincarnation to round it out. There are some missing pieces; we don't learn much about the new world Aleksei wakes up in, as a newborn foal, or about his old life in modern-day Japan or how he died. He was only 30 years old as a human, and says something about "the pain of hitting the ground," which could indicate suicide or some other sort of violent death?
The reincarnation part honestly wasn't that needed, but it did help to establish the human side of Aleksei's personality, which makes it a lot less weird when he shifts from horse to human and starts up a relationship with his rider, Commander Felix. Since his mother and the rest of his herd were just regular horses, this shifting ability is unique to him and part of his past life seeping through. Still, Felix didn't seem that surprised by encountering a "beastman," and no one else in the military camp treated him any differently, so maybe magic is a part of their world? Again, this isn't explored, and I do wish there'd been a bit more expansive worldbuilding. Mostly because I really liked this, so it'd be nice to have it fleshed out more.
Also, while I appreciate that all of the romance was kept strictly to human-shifted times, I actually would've liked to see more of Aleksei shifting back and forth - so the tiny bit at the end, and in the extra epilogue, was nice. Being a horse is still an important part of who he is now, and he loves being a horse as much as he enjoys the human perks.
There are minor things here and there that could've been improved, but this was a really fun, unique story, and I enjoyed it a lot. Aleksai's expressions were hilarious in horse form, and he's incredibly endearing as a human. His relationship with the commander edges a tiny bit into BDSM - makes sense, with how the commander spent so much time "training" him in horse form, and is very tied to his military lifestyle - but also has lots of sweet before and aftercare.
Actually a fairly lovely story, with my main complaint being that I would've just liked to have more of it to get a more fully fleshed out world for the two of them. I hope the commander builds Aleksei his pasture....more
Between the shrinkwrap and the smutty summary, I wasn't sure how much of an actual story this one would have. But it turned out to be surprisingly sweBetween the shrinkwrap and the smutty summary, I wasn't sure how much of an actual story this one would have. But it turned out to be surprisingly sweet and satisfying. Fun characters with a nicely developed relationship that feels like they genuinely like each other as people, beyond the romantic atmosphere. Which shouldn't have to be stated, but sometimes that part doesn't really get much of a focus.
This story started out as a short one-shot about a student council president and scary delinquent who were secretly dating - and then, based on positive feedback and publisher pressure, got turned into a full 6 chapters plus bonuses volume. Sometimes that sort of journey results in a stilted narrative where you can feel the awkward transition, but Yoriko put in all the work to build out the behind the scenes pieces and emotional depth that weren't necessary for that initial short.
At first, I'd thought the original bit was the first chapter, but I think it must've been the final bonus story? Either way, we start out with Terano and Kumazaki already in a relationship, then take a step back in the second chapter to find out how they got there. And I was really, really happy about that part. I loved seeing the interactions that made Terano's annoyance turn to curiosity then to an attraction and attachment he wasn't expecting at all.
Like Terano says himself, Kumazaki's side is a little bit slower, and I think the confession and kiss caught him massively by surprise...but he wasn't unhappy about it. While he may not have been thinking of Terano in a romantic light, he had really been enjoying their time together, and responded to Terano's intense affection with a lot of awkwardness but increasing happiness. It's a really fun journey to follow. I love how much he responds to someone pouring their affection into him.
He comes from a supportive family, actually, so there isn't any traumatic backstory there; he's just a quiet, closed-off guy who hadn't made a lot of connections before Terano swept into his life and helped him to open up.
The Nishiki bits weren't entirely necessary, but it was surprising and funny and did lead to some good communication between Terano and Kumazaki. And I liked that, too; even though there are a few points where they're not speaking to each other about things or misunderstanding situations, they do a good amount of talking. Because the way they bonded initially was through honesty: Kumazaki telling Terano that he liked him a whole lot better when he was his true self, instead of the people-pleasing Ideal Student persona he was always putting on.
Terano is actually a little bit of a jerk, but in a fun way; he loves teasing Kumazaki, and he certainly has thick jealous streaks, but he's also aware of it and never pushes anything too far. They balance each other really well.
This is a very solid story that takes a spicy trope and builds it into something substantial. It's an enjoyable read that I'll definitely revisit....more
Way too dark for me. Definitely would not have bought it if I'd done more research beforehand; I preordered this one a while ago (September 2022), wheWay too dark for me. Definitely would not have bought it if I'd done more research beforehand; I preordered this one a while ago (September 2022), when I was still ordering just about everything I saw that looked interesting, then neglecting to actually read them once they arrived (March 2023).
Finally got around to it now! It might've been an okay library read, but should not have been a purchase.
The art is pretty, and the storytelling is decent if you're into tragic backstories with unhappy endings. There's a lot of both.
I like the overarching theme of it, with two young men with rough pasts and difficult families finding companionship, joy, and freedom in each other's company. There's this lovely line in the final chapter, a flashback to a conversation in a laundromat they'd stopped at during their journey:
"I think the sorrow we feel that makes us reject everything around us can transform into a form of painful salvation. It hurts, and we strive to overcome the pain...and that's where we'll start to really live, I think. That's what I've come to believe after traveling with you."
This is gorgeous. Hopeful; there's a real sense that even if you've had horrible things happen to you, even if life and the people who were meant to protect you have failed you, there's still beauty in the world, and a brighter future.
Except...that's not where this story takes it. At all. It's just one bad situation after another, and inevitable tragedy.
For what reason?
Alan is born with some sort of bleeding disorder, for which he takes medication, and is raised in a deeply religious, sheltered environment. His parents spend all their time praying, asking God to do the things that they don't bother to handle themselves - like caring for their son, making him feel loved or wanted or valued. If he strays too far from the strict path they've set for him, his father will hit him, and/or they'll force him to kneel and pray for hours.
One day, he meets Hayden, a handsome young transient who moves from town to town whenever the mood takes him, doing his best to see as much of the world as he can without being tied down to anything or anyone. Hayden is kind to Alan, offering him a shoulder to lean on and a place to go when he needs an escape. Over the winter, they develop a friendship built on mutual understanding and shared secrets.
Hayden's backstory includes an abusive father and a mother who put rat poison in her husband's drink when she couldn't stand it any longer - then turned to sex and drink and drugs to bury the guilt of her own deeds, and of having her young son cover up the crime. When she died from an overdose, Hayden burned the house down around her and took his dad's car on his rambling tour of the country. (This is set in the US, with Alan and Hayden meeting in Texas.)
Once Alan and Hayden set off together, it's...well, it's much of the same. They do find some happiness along the way, and enter into a romantic (?) and physical relationship, although Hayden continues to sleep with random women for money to help pay their way. When Alan tries to do the same with an older, sobbing prostitute, to spite Hayden and to see what it's like, he instead forms a sort of mother/son relationship with her, since she'd lost her own child.
This starts out heartwarming and healing, with Alan finally getting some of the parental affection and acceptance he'd needed for so long. But when Alan goes to tell her goodbye and to give her the necklace Hayden had originally given him, the woman threatens Alan, then tries to shoot him. Hayden saves him by hitting the woman with his car...which turns Alan's old missing person case into a criminal chase...which then gets worse after they escape to Mexico and somehow wind up in the town where the priest who'd molested Alan as a child had wound up.
It's an extremely dramatic story, and there's honestly just too much packed in.
I liked the detective - who, also coincidentally, is someone leading the case in Alan's old city but had known Hayden years before in another? He showed some of that hope, too, because he believed that it wasn't too late for Hayden to turn his life around and find a path to recovery.
But nope. We just get a Thelma & Louise car cash on a Mexican beach and pier.
This had some interesting thematic elements, and attractively drawn art, but the story as a whole was very much not for me....more
Not what I was expecting; maybe that's why it ended up being pretty middle of the road for me. This is one I'll have to think about and come back to.
TNot what I was expecting; maybe that's why it ended up being pretty middle of the road for me. This is one I'll have to think about and come back to.
There are aspects I was looking forward to. The detective genre is one of my favorites, and I loved the idea of them being a pet detective agency - finding lost animals, etc. Which is...sort of what they do? Except not? It's kind of a confusing mix of stories, with a lot of different ideas packed into a single volume.
I'd been expecting something fairly lighthearted and a bit less weird than Toritan: Birds of a Feather, but I should start paying more attention to the publishers. Kuma is easily one of the darker ones I buy from...which is why I don't actually have much from them.
The main story isn't tragic here, but there are a lot of darker themes throughout. While there are a few cases with missing pets, even those end up being on the sadder side. Like the influencer who only hired detectives to look for her cat because she was getting flamed online for buying a new kitten instead of caring about what'd happened to the old one that'd generated her so many views. (And advertising revenue.) When they do ultimately locate the cat, it'd gotten fat and instagram-unappealing, so she no longer wanted it back.
Then there's the 60-year-old man who'd lived in a homeless encampment for six years because he couldn't handle the demands of his soul-destroying job anymore and abandoned his family without a word...and the openly philandering husband who'd gotten weirdly secretive about his cheating, because now he was engaging in gay BDSM...and a pretty random chapter where the detectives cleaned an abandoned apartment and found an old gun buried under the floorboards. Then, of course, the final stalker story, which was mostly set up to push the two leads into each other's arms.
I like mystery of the week stories, but the tone was kind of jarringly different from one to the next. What are they even doing in their jobs, really? But that's kind of what Sako and his assistant, Rou, like best.
Sako had been a police officer until he'd quit out of boredom with a too-structured job - something his much more disciplined ex-partner is still angry about. He's currently working as a private detective, and may move on to something else when another opportunity catches his interest. That's something he'd told his stalker years before; he never wanted to settle down into one job, and wanted to try being a little bit of everything.
Rou is happy to go along for the ride, wherever Sako takes him, even if they wind up running a farm, he says. (At the rate they're adopting abandoned pets, they might end up there.) He's a 20 year old who'd run away from a bad home situation years earlier and wound up running into Sako on the street. Sako found Rou lying in a pile of trash and invited him to come home with him. (This part reminded me of another Kuma title, Canis: Dear Mr. Rain.)
Rou ends up just staying for two years, working with Sako and falling in love with him. There's a constant push-pull throughout with Rou hitting on Sako and Sako rejecting his advances, which I was also not expecting. From the summary, I guess I'd thought Sako would be more oblivious about it until their romance actually started up. But nope, it's present from the very first page.
One issue is that they never really have any particular chemistry. I like them both as characters, and I do think they work well together, but I'm not seeing a lot of actual attraction or romantic interest there. That's why I was expecting more of an actual development from Sako's side; I get Rou's crush, but there's no real "falling in love" shown. Mostly just Sako's stalker being much creepier than Rou's steady support.
Again, a pretty middle of the road story for me. Not a favorite, but maybe I'll like it more on future rereads. The story is interesting enough, even if it doesn't feel like it really ever knew exactly what it wanted to be....more
This is super close to being 5 stars, because I really liked it, but honestly some of the timelines are kind of hard to follow. This is definitely oneThis is super close to being 5 stars, because I really liked it, but honestly some of the timelines are kind of hard to follow. This is definitely one that warrants further reads, probably after I get my hands on the rest of the volumes, too - which I'm definitely buying.
The art and the paneling style is interesting because it doesn't feel like a typical manga. It has the Western sort of feel I used to be more familiar with, from graphic novelists like Craig Thompson (particularly something like Blankets). I actually flipped back to check whether this was originally published in Japan (it was). And Ryou's facial features and expressions uh...kind of reminded me of Disney's Tarzan at points.
I almost wonder if that's a little bit intentional, since the whole point of his character seems to be that he's got something like the reborn soul of Satoru's beloved childhood dog. (As the end notes say, "a human of the canis family.") He's human, of course, but he doesn't always act like one, and as Satoru muses, he simultaneously seems very mature and weirdly innocent/fragile, like he's on a slightly different plane of existence from other people.
Again, parts of this narrative were a little confusing to me, but I don't think the flashback-overlapping of Satoru's and Ryou's stories was meant literally - just emotionally, as their fates got drawn together over time, even with an ocean dividing them.
I really did love the concept, from the picture books Satoru's grandmother read him, of patting something's (or someone's) head once to release its soul, and twice to let it be reborn. The scene with Satoru losing his dog, and patting its head over and over again, while crying, was wrenching. He loves deeply, and when he takes in a stray, like his dog or like Ryou, he gives them his whole heart and all his attention. And it turns out that's exactly what Ryou needs, because he's spent his life feeling completely alone and unwanted - only valuable to others when he can give them something or do their bidding.
He tries to latch onto Satoru in the same way, when his attempt to (view spoiler)[commit suicide via a member of the shredded-apart mafia family he'd left behind in New York (hide spoiler)] fails. But Satoru, while letting him stay in his home and cook and clean for him, doesn't actually want Ryou to follow his orders. He wants Ryou to live his life and be happy, and that's the first time anyone's ever actually treated Ryou as a person. Funnily enough, considering Satoru still kinda sees him as a stray dog.
It's kind of difficult to describe this story, actually, but I liked it a whole lot. Really attractive art, interesting characters, and lots and lots of complexity to the storytelling that I'm sure will develop more in the next volumes. There's definite potential for a lot of darkness, but based on how this one went, I think the sun's bound to always break through the clouds - Ryou's already had a lot of tragedy, and this is the future he'd never thought he'd deserve. I'm looking forward to seeing how it pans out for him....more
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