Sighing Kiss

All the fans of Riyu Yamakami, the author of "Vanilla", won't be disappointed. I liked this story even much more than "Vanilla", which was just OK for me. "Sighing Kiss" is at least as involving and deep as "Vanilla" was, but the sex scene is more explicit. Also, it's a self-contained volume, so it's more action-packed. The sex scene actually surprised me: there's only one in this book, but - for June - it's surprisingly explicit and quite lengthy (only partial frontal nudity, but little else is concealed). This mangaka seems to be really good in depicting the pains and passion of first love. A cute 17-year-old boy (Akira) from a disrupted family falls in love with his supposedly straight classmate. He thinks that it's all unrequited love, feels very lonely and suffers a lot. Another classmate, a mysterious, cynical, quite mature and experienced for his age Tanabe, "comforts" him. Now, the question is: was Akira's love truly unrequited? It's unclear up to the very last page whom Akira will choose. This may sound as a typical plot to some, but what makes Riyu Yamakami' story unique is her story telling abilities. All her characters are fully developed and three-dimensional; she really explains why they do what they do, and shows their inner thoughts and emotions really well. And the sex scene is really hot, with all that maximalist youthful desperation shown very well. All those who experienced adolescent unrequited love with all its bitterness and "end-of-the-world" attitude are likely to sympathize with the main character and like this story. Riyu Yamakami's art is pleasing and cute (if you hate cute-looking big-eye ukes - this is not for you). By the way, another Riyu Yamakami's work, "Then Comes Love", which, as I heard from those who read the original, is really good and steamy, was scheduled to be published this month by June, but the publisher canceled it as Riyu Yamakami's works do not sell well. It's a pity, and I think this mangaka definitely deserves much better.