Bara Manga Updates
I got a stash from Japan today. I love my life, I really do.
This past spring Aqua Comics [Ookura Shuppan] released its first batch of collections from works serialized in their new Macho Type [Mans Love] Anthology. The imprint, called Nikutaiha, and started in April with a release from BL mangaka Reibun Ike, who, as far as I can tell, is still making BL manga for Libre! Another notable release marks the debut of Mitsuru Takagari, and the return of Takeshi Matsu!
*A note: You might not find the August/July titles at Japan-to-Foreign-Buyer web sites like JP Queen or J-List just yet, but you can always find the latest ‘Bara’ releases from Japan vendors who ship foreign – like Rainbow Shoppers [they go out of their way to try and make their catalogue easier for English language collectors] or Prime Selections.
ON TO THE TITLES…
April 2007
Reibun Ike is a BL mangaka who made the transition to ‘man’s love’ comics. Her Libre release Aoiro Keiyaku, contained a wispy seme and delicate uke and so new fans might be a little thrown off by the difference in art style with her collection Hide and Seek. Her art reminds me too much of the BL standard—there’s better BL mangaka making ‘muscle style’ with more appeal. She’s not as popular stateside as some BL mangaka, and this was released in April, so it’s highly probable you can get this at JP Queen or J-List, and it shouldn’t cost you more than $10 USD.
Hide and Seek
MUSCLE AQUA {Nikutaiha}
STORIES: Macho Type [Menslove Magazine]
SIZE: B6 - 164 Pages
May 2007
Takeshi Matsu is back! Matsu’s last title was 2005’s Three Animals Go!, and this one, a collections of shorts called, You Are Loved Earnestly, just released in May of this year, so it should be available ‘to Western buyers’ online, at the proper vendors: J-List or JP Queen. It retails for about 680YEN in Japan, so if you’re dealing with a good importer, it shouldn’t cost you more than $10.00 USD—if it’s over that, you’re being gouged.
Anata wo Aishite Yamazu
MUSCLE AQUA {Nikutaiha}
STORIES: Macho Type [Menslove Magazine]
SIZE: B6 - 164 Pages
June 2007
Takagari Mitsuru’s first full length, ANALSAGA: Uncommon Treasure Romance is a collection of short comedies ranging from romantic to hardcore; all were serialized in Macho Type. This just released in June, and retails in Japan for the usual 680YEN, but Mitsuru’s proving a bit of a foreign fan favorite because of the range of stories [not all of them are smut] and the hilarity of the plots shine through, even if you can’t read Japanese. Most import vendors will likely charge more for this title, perhaps $10-15 USD. It’s worth it.
ANALSAGA: Chinpou Denki
MUSCLE AQUA {Nikutaiha}
STORIES: Macho Type [Menslove Magazine]
SIZE: B6 - 180 Pages
July 2007: 2 Releases
This month saw the release of Matsuzaki Tsukasa Imitation Gold. First off, this book is f*cking hot. I don’t know if the mangaka took lessons over the course of this year, but the difference in story-style and sexual artwork between this release and last years “Heavy Duty”, is striking. Tsukasa is still into the very close up crotch shots, and up close panel facials, but there’s more sensuality in Imitation Gold, perhaps it might be my fondness for these characters [painstakingly developed while reading these stories via Macho Type], so as soon as it got here today, I did the usual holding in my hands, sniffing the funny Japan printer smell, thumbing through it, and then immediately putting it in a Jumbo-size paperback collector sleeve, to save it for a quiet time read. ((Yes, I’m pathetic!)) In Japan, its retail price is 680YEN, if you can find it in the US; it shouldn’t be more than $10 USD. It’s not quite ‘YAOI’ enough for the ladies, so it’s priced accordingly.
IMITATION GOLD
MUSCLE AQUA {Nikutaiha}
STORIES: Macho Type [Menslove Magazine]
SIZE: B6 - 160 Pages
And of course we move on to Macho Type’s other possible ‘female mangaka’ [rumor, not proven!] Yoshino Matsuri. Her My Favorite Teacher shorts releases this month, and it’s about two couples; the first couple has this elementary school teacher who’s perpetually clueless, and of course gets involved with this very hot thing that finds him charming. Throw in the formula best friend who meets up with ‘friend or brother of love interest’ and you have the tried and true two couple BL dynamic; makes for lots of soppy sexy shorts. Sorry, this is a bit too stale for me.
Ore no Sukina Sensei
MUSCLE AQUA {Nikutaiha}
STORIES: Macho Type [Menslove Magazine]
SIZE: B6 - 164 Pages
August 2007
Available for pick up now, but releasing in about two weeks, is Yamada Sansuke’s Resistance is Futile. It’s actually supposed to the imagined autobiographical adventures of the mangaka, in various instances of first meeting encounters and budding relationships. [Not all virgin stories—just first time meetings.] Honestly, I don’t like the art style at all, but the popularity of it stymies me. My only guess is that the style is reminiscent of ‘old-school bara’, and so it’s popular for nostalgic reasons. These stories are the ones I sort of paged through in Macho Type, without giving them too much of a picture a read…but OMG, the Mongol wrestler on the cover with Sansuke is beyond adorable.
Yamada Sansuke no Muda na Teikou Yamemashou
MUSCLE AQUA {Nikutaiha}
SERIALIZED: Macho Type [Menslove Magazine]
SIZE: B6 - 160 Pages
Remember, if you can’t do Japanese - there’s always JP Queen or J-List
If you can do Japanese, give Rainbow Shoppers in Japan your business, their new English shopping page for gay comics is listed in the menu ‘Comics’.
Here’s a treat for you STATS freaks - Rainbow Shopper has their top selling bara comics listed each month! So if you’re looking for what’s popular, always check it out.
