Spell was the first of Hyouta Fujiyama's BL manga that I read, and I found it refreshing on several counts. First, the basics:
Takamasa Natori is a second-year university student, originally from a remote village, who has finally adjusted to his newly cosmopolitan life enough to view the prospect of yet another mixer (date party) with some ennui. Nevertheless, his friend Takeda dragoons him into attending one, where he meets Junpei Kisugi, a vivacious young man whom Natori immediately finds terrifically simpatico. They become fast friends, even though Natori finds out soon enough that Kisugi is bisexual, which makes Natori a little uneasy -- at least in the beginning. And then Natori realizes that he's jealous of Kisugi's boyfriend. And then, to compound matters, he confesses his love. Kisugi is what we would term "loose," and the boys enter into a relationship that can be described, I guess, as "friends with benefits." The only problem is that Natori is afraid to broach the subject of Tooru, Kisugi's boyfriend, for fear of ruining things, although the insecurity of not knowing Kisugi's feelings toward him is driving him crazy. Natori's friend Yasuha (who has had her own feelings toward Natori) confronts Kisugi after learning of his relationship with Natori, telling him that he'd better figure things out for Natori's sake: make a commitment if he really cares about him, and if he doesn't he should break it off cleanly. You can probably guess that the resolution leaves everyone happy -- except, I guess, Tooru.
This is another character-driven story. Natori's conflict is based on his own reticence: he worries about Kisugi's feelings toward him, and given the circumstances and Kisugi's own proclivities, his insecurity is not unfounded, but he doesn't quite have the courage to broach the subject for fear of finding out that he is just another fling. The fact that Kisugi is oblivious to the whole question until confronted by Yasuha is revealing of his own character: he is definitely the grasshopper to Natori's ant.
This is a work by Fujiyama that dates from 2003, and it's apparent that the broad outlines of her graphic style are set. Character designs exhibit her basic characteristics: strong-featured, expressive faces rendered in a definite, substantial line and, although she tends to follow a fairly standard character portrayal, I seldom have any trouble differentiating between them. (I really have to emphasize how much I admire her ability to make her characters' faces truly expressive: it's awesome.) Narrative flow is fairly straightforward, although there are sequences in which the page layouts become highly intuitive and fluid. The sex scenes, as seems to be standard with Fujiyama, are unambiguous without being graphic.
There is a "side story" at the end -- or in this case, perhaps better to call it a "bonus chapter" -- that I think would better have been worked into the main story: it's a recap of the boys' relationship from Kisugi's point of view, as told to Tooru during their final interview. I think it would have provided more support for Kisugi's motivations if it had been incorporated earlier in the book.
There's a lot of charm in this one: both Natori and Kisugi are appealing characters, and Natori's awkwardness and indecision provide a perfect counterpoint to Kisugi's light-hearted, in-the-moment attitude. As I mentioned above, it's the first of Fujiyama's works that I read, and it was enough to keep me coming back for more.
When second-year college student Takamasa Natori gets dragged to a double date by his friend, Takeda, he meets Junpei Kisugi. The two hit it off insta...More at Buy.com
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