talyseon's Full Review: Shiuko Kano - Yakuza in Love 2
Yakuza in Love a Yaoi graphic novel by Kano Shiuko.
Warning This is a Yaoi novel. Yaoi is a Japanese art form depicting romances between men, written for and by women. They range from sweet romances to quite racy and graphic. If this is not your cup of tea, well, you have been warned.
In the first volume of this Yaoi, Yakuza in Love we met Aoi Ichimura, a silver badge in the Flower Gang clan of Yakuza. He is a bodyguard for Underboss Yuji Sakiya. He is also in love with his boss, who he recognizes as an honorable man.
Aoi was scarred in the accident that killed his parents, and always thought that made him hideous. But Sakiya recognizes his value. Even though he is not a violent man, Aoi is fearless. When a stranger pulls a gun on his boss, Aoi shoves his finger in the barrel and invites him to pull the trigger and blow both his hands off. The man he just thwarted is Yakuza Manager, Issei Iwaki, his boss’s boss.
And that is why Sakiya loves him. In this volume, Aoi no longer doubts this. He is amazed, but not in denial. In this volume, he also learns of his family connection to the Clan; he is in point of fact, the cousin of the Don, a pervert named Toru Hanabishi. The Don is intent in taking the Clan in dark directions; extreme porn and drugs. Yuji Sakiya thinks this is wrong, and will destroy the clan. Much of what goes on amongst the minions is a reflection of this conflict of ideologies.
In the second major story arc, Ozawa Junki, the cute little brother (in the Yakuza sense of the word) is getting drawn into the Don’s orbit of perversion. His on again, ignored again relationship with Azuma, the Don’s bodyguard, is placing him in harms way. Which is what Ozawa wants, since it makes Kurasuma Chihiro crazy. But when Azuma finds a bugging device that Ozawa planted, he takes him to the Don who uses him for rough group sex porn, and he will probably become a snuff flick star as well.
The third arc is a flash back, and we see how Junki and Chihiro came to their crazy relationship; originally Chihiro was the (Yakuza) big brother to Ozawa Masaki, Junki’s (biological) big brother. Junki is in love with Chihiro, but Chihiro would not risk his relationship with him by making it sexual, and now, spurned, Junki’s slutty behavior is to punish the man he loves.
Since Kurasuma Chihiro is definitely a member of Underboss Yuji’s faction, this situation promises to start a civil war inside the Flower Gang! Which is probably what the Evil Don wants.
The last story, Love thy neighbor, is totally outside the Yakuza story, and instead focuses on a bizarre triangle between Kohei Usamoto, a schoolboy, the girl he has a crush on, Misaki, and her lover, the married man Chiaki Asakura. Kohei desperately wants Misaki to quit being a slut, Misaki wants Kohei to step up and approach her openly instead of stalking her, and Chiaki wants Kohei!
The art in all of these stories is very classical yaoi of the no big eyes school. Rather realistic while retaining the clean crisp feel of manga, this art glosses lightly over the genitals, depicting them with minimal lines. Compared to other Yaoi, this novel is more heavily involved in the story than with depictions of intercourse.
There is a wonderful scene in which Ichimura is helping Sakiya which his bath; the underboss is seated while his bodyguard scrubs his back, showing the detailed floral tattoo that covers him from neck to mid thigh. It is beautiful.
The story is a little hard to follow at times; they may dwell on an emotional issue for two pages, but the scene where Junki is busted for planting a bug is two panels, and we still don’t know who he is working for. Still, with patience, it is quite doable, and worth the effort.
Yaoi are written by Japanese women for Japanese women, and sometimes the sensibilities leave westerners confused, however, this volume is easy to follow, and gives an interesting view (if sanitized) of the workings of the Yakuza and their clan structures. All and all it makes a very different but worthwhile read.
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