rmthunter's Full Review: You Higashino - Sense & Sexuality
You Higashino's Sense and Sexuality is not on my list of greatest BL manga ever, but it does have its points. Set in the Taisho Era (1912-1926), a time of rapidly growing economic prosperity for Japan, it follows the adventures of two young aristocrats, both sons of marquises, against a backdrop of privilege, money, and a fascinating look at the Japan of not so long ago.
Matsusugu Hanamura and Kuniomi Takakura, both in their mid-twenties (Matsusugu is the older by a year), childhood friends and the sons of wealthy nobility, are given to gambling, exclusive clubs, and amorous adventures. One day, on catching sight of a beautiful young man, also the son of a marquis, they make a bet: whichever of them beds him first will win. It becomes an ongoing game, first with the young marquis, then with a popular opera singer, known for refusing all offers from men or women, and finally with a beautiful young shougi, a male prostitute from an exclusive bordello (the contest here is to be the first to learn his true name). The victory passes from one to the other, but for Kuniomi, at least, there's something missing and he finally confesses his own feelings to Matsusugu. Then the contest becomes to see which will be the seme.
This is a sort of upper-crust picaresque adventure, following the two men on their escapades, and there's not a lot of depth in characterization or anything else. The focus is on the bet, and the plot is what drives the story -- the characterizations don't show the kind of subtlety I've come to look for in BL manga, and there's not a solid build-up to Kuniomi's confession. I didn't find it particularly persuasive. Of course, it may just be that our two heroes are shallow people.
I'm not sure whether I actually like the drawing style. Character renderings slip from portraying ravishingly beautiful men when seen full face to heavy, almost geometric profiles. One notable point: Higashino's treatment of eyes is unusual for yaoi, in that there are no big-eyed uke. Character differentiations are very clear. Visual flow is smooth and in general the drawing is appealing. Sex scenes are fairly graphic.
I should point out one delightful bit of irony here: the cover contains quotes from Jane Austen, which I found very humorous. Austen, after all, wrote about the English middle class, who were looking for a substantial income, social advancement, and propriety. -- romance was nice, but not essential. Higashino is writing about the Japanese upper class a hundred years later, who are already wealthy, looking for a good time and easy pleasure, and don't much care about propriety -- and in the case of Matsusugu and Kuniomi, romance is the essence.
Although enjoyable enough, this one was somewhat problematic for me. I've been spoiled, I think, by the likes of Momoko Tenzen, Shiuko Kano, and Youka Nitta, and while Sense and Sexuality is a pleasant enough read, it's not up to that standard. Make it a 3.5.
Masatsugu Hanamura and Kuniomi Takakura are both Japanese nobility and heirs to two separate Marquis families. As childhood friends and rivals, they l...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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