Little Butterfly Volume 1 (Yaoi)

I admit, when I first started this series, I thought it was going to be another fluffy boy's love book with just a little kissing and maybe groping when they made it to the most exciting part of the story. Man, I was wrong and how happy I was to realize that. These boys are so cute, especially when they get all blushy. The art is fantastic (it's one were I look at it for 20 minutes trying to figure out how Takanaga can draw so well...) and although the storyline is strange, at least it's not cliche boy/boy that seems to keep coming up in yaoi books I buy. I definitely recommend this one to those look for juicy boys' love, and also those who want a really cute love story.

I love the conclusion, vol 3 is the best in this short series. Kojima and Nakahara are simply adorable. This mangaka's artwork is something to behold. The facial expressions of her 2 boys are vividly alive, expressing their emotions and individual character beautifully. The ending is not an entirely happy one. Nakahara is never united with his dysfunctional parents, which actually gives more depth to the emotional pull of the story. The scenes between mother and son are painful to read, bringing a few lumps to my throat. His father's implicit heartlessness is chilling. Fortunately Nakahara has Kojima, who is simply endearing. Sunny, caring, earnest and wide eyed Kojima is just the balm Nakahara needs. Nakahara finding the courage to say "goodbye" in Osaka and his few words as the 2 boys stood outside Nakahara's now abandoned family home are such effective and stirring scenes. In Vol 3, the mangaka does a marvellous job expressing the boys' love for one another, their emotions built-up and the sexual tension. Kojima's awakening desire for Nakahara is a delightful read. The quiet and more experienced Nakahara has always been the "lusty" one in their relationship and Kojima's initiation in Vol 3 is just something so sweet and cute. This is of course soft core Yaoi. Anything more explicit and "rough" would have been completely unsuitable. The boys hugging/clinging to each other so tightly really gets to me. There is an innocence and sweetness in their love which is deeply moving. (right I am getting sappy here...) Ultimately this is a beautiful story of two boys very much in love and no BL/Yaoi fan should miss it.

I was expecting the usual light hearted cliché and am pleasantly surprised by a much deeper plot and well flushed out characters with the potential of much more in future volumes. This mangaka's artwork is gorgeous and her boys are pretty, the brooding and handsome Nakahara pairing with a sunny and wide eyed Kojima. Vol 1 is a delightful shounen-ai on the the boys' budding relationship with the mangaka doing a great job contrasting Nakahara's painful background with Kojima's loving family. Get this series and you will also appreciate the fitting title "Little Butterfly" .

Liitle Butterfly is a gorgeous shonen-ai (then first volume is not yaoi) three volume story. Kojima, a friendly boy with a sunny disposition, goes out of his way to make friends with the loner, Nakahara, from his class. Wanting to know Nakahara more and have him accepted by his peers, Kojima includes the goodlooking but aloof Nakahara in his group during a field trip. However during the field trip Kojima learns the reasons why Nakahara is how he is and about his unloving and violent home life. The story charts the tender friendship that occurs between the two. Sweet and sensitive, the story boasts gorgeous drawings Hinako Takanaga and a moving and addictive storyline. If you are looking for a shonen-ai with a interesting storyline that makes you care for the characters, you really cannot get better than this. Simply love it.

i admit, i was a bit dubious about how much i would enjoy reading this manga (sometimes, if you've read one, you've read them all), but i found myself pleasantly surprised. apparently, i underestimated! although, the plot line is a bit cliched, with the broody type and the energetic clueless, but the plot line is just fresh enough to make up for it all! not to mention just adorable. i'm already looking forward to the release of volume two in september, and will most likely be purchasing that volume and more. an excellant manga with a straight forward approach and delightful artwork.