Gakuen Heaven (Yaoi)

The Gakuen Heaven character cast consists of Ito Keita, Endo Kazuki, Niwa Tetsuya (nicknamed the King), Saionji Kaoru (nicknamed the Queen), Nakajima Hideaki (I call him Hide), Shicihijo Omi, Shinomiya Koji, Iwai Takuto, Naruse Yukihiko, Taki Shunsuke, Matsuoka Jin, Yoshizumi Hiroya, Umino Satoshi (nicknamed Umino-sensei), Tonosama the cat, Kakeru Ozawa, Wataru Ozawa, and Keiji Kuganama. I apologize if I mixed up the characters' first and last names. The anime and manga are quirky but entertaining. Like most mangas I've read, I first watched the anime before reading the manga. I love the anime; however, I felt this book didn't quite measure up to its true potential. Gakuen Heaven is the first ever manga that I am giving 4 out of 5 stars. The reason is that I'm a person that loves to watch a relationship flourish, not an alternate universe where Keita hooks up with a new club captain every time. Therefore, I love Kazuki's and Keita's romantic narrative the best because those two were the main couple in the anime. I would have felt more excitement if they shipped Kazuki and Keita together and continued the storyline after the anime, like in the third volume. However, I will say that the realistic manga panels are impressive. The characters come alive off the page. Some of the characters' personalities overlap while others don't. The King seems his typical self; however, Kazuki isn't because he's allowing the King and Keita to be together. There's also no mention of Kazuki being the chairman of the school. Yet, Naruse is totally in character, calling Keita his honey. Hide is an interesting character who seems to have some animosity against the King's newfound relationship because he considers their relationship a bother for the Student Council workload. But Hide does take an interest in Keita by offering him physical contact. Some other characters appear in this manga, but the spotlight is shone upon Keita and the King. The narrative does generally fall along the same lines as in the anime. On the other hand, the manga MVP pairs don't have the same effect as the anime. Kazuki and Naruse don't get along because they both love Keita, so it doesn't make sense when they team up. And for Shunsuke to team up with Umino-sensei doesn't seem correct. I don't think a teacher should be allowed in the competition; it should be a competition strictly for students. Also, in the MVP competition (that goes by quickly), the King seems to be doing the majority of the work rather than Keita. I prefer it being the other way around since Keita is fighting for his right to stay at the Bell Liberty school. But the King saving Keita from the Judo club and their reason for attacking the King and Keita team makes sense. If the anime had shown the King and Keita being together, I'm sure I would have loved this one wholeheartedly. However, I have to say the love between the King and Keita was sweet. It was interesting to find out that Gakuen Heaven started as a game. I would love to play it one day. Gakuen Heaven is number sixteen on my list of favorite animes/mangas. Now, I am reading Gakuen Heaven Revolution on a translated website, which is interesting so far. I wish those volumes and Gakuen Heaven Double Scramble could have been in English. It seems that they are trying to squeeze some of the content from Gakuen Heaven Revolution into one volume. Don't get me wrong. I love the Gakuen Heaven series, and I hope You Higuri continues writing more about Bell Liberty school and its exceptional students.

I love how King and Keita balance each other. The moments when Keita reveals a his hidden strength are wonderful too.