Say Please (Yaoi)

'Say Please' centres around Sakura, a serious teacher and Ryoichi, a cute, carefree guy he buys one night. The story is basically about the relationship and feelings that gradually form between them as they keep seeing each other. Overall, this is a very sweet and engaging read! The story and characters really draw you in and are very well developed. Although not as explicit as you can get, there are plenty of hot scenes. If you haven't read Kano Miyamoto's work before, I can't recommend it enough! She is without a doubt one my favourite yaoi mangakas. Her work is really edgy and her stories are just instantly absorbing. They also have a lot of depth and somehow feel very realistic. As far as I'm concerned her work is amazing. If you're looking for a solid, sweet read I definitely recommend this manga!

I'm a big fan of Kano Miyamoto's works, especially her Rules universe. Unfortunately, only a quarter of this book is devoted to introducing that universe. The other three-fourths is taken up by the title story, which has to be my least favorite of her works. What I love about Miyamoto is her honesty in portraying relationships, and her strength in drawing characters and making me care about them. That's easily seen in the second story "A Bird at Sea, A Door in the Sky". I instantly empathized with Ryu and Steve, and I wanted to know more about them. Their story, short though it is, is tender and sweet because I understand them. But while the main story, "Say Please" contains Miyamoto's trademark honesty, it misses on the rest. I don't know who the main characters are and I don't come to care. I'm guessing it's one of the first things she wrote. I can't wholeheartedly recommend this volume, especially for those new to Miyamoto's writings, though I recommend the second story. I do fully recommend the upcoming Lovers and Souls (more of the Rules universe), and Two of Hearts (a moving stand-alone book) for stories that show her at her best.

Say Please is a pretty melancholic tale. Ryoichi is a male whores; he is a young guy who tries to earn his living in what it seems the easier way, but when he meets Sakura, one of his clients, he is enthralled. Sakura is an high school teacher who can't have an open gay relationship since he will risk to lose his job. So he engages in this relationship with Ryoichi, who spends long period in Sakura's home but he doesn't know if what they have is real or not: Sakura is pretty closed about his feelings and Ryoichi instead is open and friendly, an open book. Ryoichi's character is best developed, in a way or another we can see how his feelings for Sakura are growing and why he chooses to embark in this relationship. Instead I don't fully understand Sakura: its cold behavior his only a way to avoid troubles at work or it's also a consequence of his broken relationship with another male partner? He really love Ryoichi, as it seems judging his attacks of jealousy? The graphic is good even if not very detailed; the sex scenes are all left to your imagination, there aren't any graphic details. It's a mix of detached feeling and romanticism. I think this graphic novel is quite right for a young audience (but not "too" young) and also maybe for all the newbies who want to test their interest in the yaoi world.

It's almost baffling how long it took US publishers to start licensing Kano Miyamoto's BL titles. The first offering available in English, by the newer Deux Press, succeeds as an introduction to her style. The thing I would have to say is Miyamoto's strength is her ability and will to show both the best and worst in human relationships. Not everything is the idealized perfect first love experience where two men just "happen" to become attracted to each other and live happily ever after forever with no question about the stability of their relationship. Miyamoto's characters are human, flawed, make mistakes and those mistakes have longer lasting ramifications in the story than as plot devices to bring together love interests. Not every relaionship ends happily, and in fact, many relationships fail before an individual finds someone they can truly be happy with. The repetitive cycle of this concept in her works might be Miyamoto's greatest contribution to the genre. The title story about the gay high school teacher and his prostitute turned lover is at times sweet, touching, heartbreaking and disheartening. Mr. Sakura is a gay man in the difficult position of being a teacher in a religious school and therefore being forced to hide his identity to his colleagues. Ryoichi is a younger man who works for and frequents a male brothel where Sakura picks him up for a loveless one night encounter. Their relationship continues when Sakura hires Ryoichi to stay with him over his week long summer break for reasons he won't discuss, but seem to be related to his own loneliness, having just ended a relationship to another man. The events that proceed reveal a lot about both men and a lot about what it means to be gay in a society that looks down upon alternative lifestyles. Miyamoto doesn't skirt around the negative attitudes of people put under this kind of strain, either. Sakura in particular seems to struggle with his life choices and takes a lot of his frustrations out on Ryoichi, and we aren't expected to "forgive" him for those weaknesses, either (as the one "non-con" scene shows). He must come to terms with those mistakes and make new choices to bring about a more postive future for himself and Ryoichi. If the title story isn't enough to draw you in, however, the book also includes what I would argue is the first part of Miyamoto's best and longest spanning universe with the short story, A Bird At Sea, A Door in the Sky, where she introduces Ryuu Utsumi for the first time. Ryuu goes on to star in a more complete manga series, Hydra, yet to be licensed for English publication, but in this short story we learn about the most tragic part of his life, the event that would shape all of his future dealings with other people, for better or worse. He meets another "outsider" in the gay former US serviceman, Stephan, and through their meetings and friendship they find in one another some brief comfort from their lonely existences. It's a

I enjoy this sweet and "angsy" romance between a teacher and his whore. There is a good story line here and the 2 characters are applealing. Sakura is a teacher in an all female religious school, reason enought to hide his sexual preference. He pays Ryoichi, a male prostitute, for a one night stand. Next he pays Ryoichi to stay for one week, which of course develops into much more. Sakura is trying to get over a former lover (here I wish the mangaka has revealed more). Six months later he is still unable to express his feelings for Ryoichi. Sakura is the brooding seme while Ryoichi is the warm and open hearted uke wanting only love. Theirs is a touching love story which appeals, with some bittersweet moments. There is a second shorter poignant story on a disturbed youth. This could have ended on a happy romantic note but I prefer the way the mangaka handles it. The last bonus on Sakura and Ryoichi is cute, as well as let us know that this couple will stay together. The sex could have been more revealing in the beginning chapter. Not a problem as I enjoy the storyline more. The sex does get more explict in later chapters. As mangas are serialized in Japan, this is expected. A great addition to my Yaoi collection.