What do you think about Future Lovers?
| Hello again! Time for the 14th Special Read. Now it’s the turn for a heartwarming comedy: Memory of the Future & Kaze no Yukue, also know as Future Lovers, by the amazing Kunieda Saika. STORY: Two men, that have nothing to do with each other, end up having a one-night stand in a very unlikely situation. Kento is your average straight guy, his dream is to have a perfect wife and loving children, but he wants that future so much that he always overlooks an important detail, love. Thus, his straightforward personality leads him to be dumped by his fiancee when he proposed to her. Heartbroken Kento wants to get drunk and doesn't really care about the company, a man who seems to be just a harmless onlooker and was affected by the ex outburst. Well, it turns out that the charming stranger is no less than a very loose homosexual, and, what's more, he's looking for fun. As expected, alcohol, plus broken, heart plus debauchery incarnated in a man, are too much for our ordinary guy to bear, so of course, he just drowns in the sensation, deciding to forget later. What looked like an awful mistake, that should be buried in the depths of his mind, became a really troublesome situation when Akira, the seductive stranger, appears as the new teacher in the school where Kento works. REVIEW: Future Lovers is a sweet story, there is no denying it. It has such a common plot, but it presents it in a brilliant way: a slice of life/comedy, with a proper flow for each situation. Also, it 's not overly dramatic, even when the characters are so deep, and it doesn't focus on sex, even when it begins with it. In the end, it can make you laugh and even cry with such simplicity.  Kento and Akira end up developing a relationship that wasn't supposed to be, and wasn't even wanted. You could probably say that it is all thanks to a dream of the future that Kento has. Certainly, the memory of the future helped to make things smoother, but in the end what brought these two together was the fact that they are very suited for each other. So, while Kento struggles to get a family and make his grandparents happy, Akira only wants to enjoy and forget his loneliness, no strings attached. They decide to act like total strangers, two ordinary teachers in a high school, but somehow they can't really avoid each other. These two are truly opposites. Kento is very ordinary and even boring, always following the proper path. Akira only wants to have fun, feel pleasure and do whatever he pleases. Kento looks really plain, Akira is flamboyant!. Kento is very straightforward, sometimes rude, Akira knows how to play with words, he is charming and a good liar. Kento is very considerate while Akira is really spoiled and mean....There is no end to it, but they seem to share something that has only surfaced when they are together: loneliness. Kento and Akira find solace in their relationship, in the way they complement each other and they decide to pursue a dream that goes against their better judgment, to be happy together.  Kunieda Saika's style it's really funny and really weird sometimes. Future Lovers happens to be her less twisted manga, also her most famous one, it is even licensed by Deux Press. Well, she used only a bit of her weirdness here (I almost tripped of my chair with that spark of dark humor) and the rest is just hilarious, cute and hilarious. Even the art is made to work with these mood changes, sometimes very serious and detailed and others a bit messy, with funny expressions. She jumps from one to other with such an ease...one minute we see a very romantic scene with beautiful faces and the other we get the little devils and those tacky kiss marks! I love her art-style, is unique and very appropriate for each situation. Future Lovers shows us, from the usual problems that a couple has to face, to other more specific situations as the inconveniences of a homosexual relationship. Even so, it is a pretty light manga, every situation is overcame with their love and a fair amount of silliness on the sides. The story is not an excuse for the sex here, in fact this is almost a soft yaoi. Nevertheless, it has a bit of sexiness, mostly in the beautiful art along with Akira's perverted behavior. Well, I have to admit I can't stop laughing at invisible genitals here, but that's fine, the feelings are the focus in these short scenes. This is a happy story, one of those that lighten your day, even so it strikes me as a mature one...maybe because things seem to be way more normal than how this plot is usually portrayed. Memory of the future is about their encounter and how they deal with it and, the sequel, Kaze no Yukue shows us the ups and downs of their relationship and how they achieve their dream of being together as a family, forever.  Another addition to our list of a bit more realistic or less cliché mangas, one of the jewels of BL, not a masterpiece, but very outstanding and different. The focus here? Love, just that, there are some complex feelings on the side, but it's the beautiful relationship the one that gets our attention the whole time. And the funny moments too! Was this review helpful? Vote here Manga Classification: Average Yaoi, Equal relationship Story and art by Kunieda Saika, graphics by zetsuboshita, review by Queen2408. |
Queen2408Sep 9, 2010 6:18 PM
| One of my few top favorite yaoi !! I heartily recommend it <3 I think Quenn's review emphasize its main qualities :) |
| "Kento and Akira end up developing a relationship that wasn't supposed to be, and wasn't even wanted." I loved that line. I got to read this because of the spotlight, so thanks again, AGUY, for introducing me to a wonderful manga. What I loved the most (and I agree with the review) was the simplicity. I really liked how they managed to fall in love in a direct sort of way, and I liked how they managed to work out the problems they faced (I LOVED KENTA'S GRANPA. THE OLD MAN WAS SO ADORABLE.). A very nice series :D |
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So said: One of my few top favorite yaoi !! I heartily recommend it <3 I think Quenn's review emphasize its main qualities :) I am glad you liked it :) thethirdkibeth said: It sounds like the light, happy kind of story i've been looking for to read. As soon as my assessments are over it's at the top of my 'to read' list. thanks for the great review :) I hope you enjoy it and that the story makes your day happier! neko11lover said: "Kento and Akira end up developing a relationship that wasn't supposed to be, and wasn't even wanted." I loved that line. I got to read this because of the spotlight, so thanks again, AGUY, for introducing me to a wonderful manga. What I loved the most (and I agree with the review) was the simplicity. I really liked how they managed to fall in love in a direct sort of way, and I liked how they managed to work out the problems they faced (I LOVED KENTA'S GRANPA. THE OLD MAN WAS SO ADORABLE.). A very nice series :D :D it is nice when you can give a great manga a bit of love and make that others love it too. I am glad you liked it. And I loved both grandparents, they were just adorable and funny. But Akira is definitely my fav. |
| This manga is not fitting my taste. Maybe because i don't like 'kuma-seme' - bear like top, simply minded with big body and even bigger heart - which are way too common for me (f.e. Hagiwara Tooru though I liked him). But I'm really attracted to Akira who was much more interesting, with great amount of expressions - he is a little bit like combination of Umeda Hokuto, Tatsumi Souichi and Shibata Masayoshi. I also remember someone in flashy clothes but now i can't recall name maybe it's somone mentioned above. Story is simple, without visible lacks and gave nothing new and nothing surprising for me. Next heart warming usual story.(I think my vocabulary of English words is quite poor) But it have something in it. I like stories which are consistent, done with plan and this one surely is one of them. Some lines and some pictures made me laugh really hard. Conclusion: not perfect but nice. |
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Kythwena said: This manga is not fitting my taste. Maybe because i don't like 'kuma-seme' - bear like top, simply minded with big body and even bigger heart - which are way too common for me (f.e. Hagiwara Tooru though I liked him). But I'm really attracted to Akira who was much more interesting, with great amount of expressions - he is a little bit like combination of Umeda Hokuto, Tatsumi Souichi and Shibata Masayoshi. I also remember someone in flashy clothes but now i can't recall name maybe it's somone mentioned above. Story is simple, without visible lacks and gave nothing new and nothing surprising for me. Next heart warming usual story.(I think my vocabulary of English words is quite poor) But it have something in it. I like stories which are consistent, done with plan and this one surely is one of them. Some lines and some pictures made me laugh really hard. Conclusion: not perfect but nice. I think the star was Akira. Maybe I didn't pay enough attention to the 'kuma-seme' XD, but I quite liked how he could affect Akira. Umeda Hokuto! I love that character, and he was the one with flashy clothes, although not as much as Akira. For me the main attraction of this manga was the comedy, the expressions are so...lol. |
| I've only read two of Kunieda's works, the one-shot collection 'Like as the Time Will Come When it Will Rain' (Thanks to your rec :))and 'Dark Eyes', so I was expecting more of that rather poignant tone, and then I ended up looking like the two characters when they first meet at school! I quite like it, I must say, though certainly different from those two works. It reminded me so much of Yamada Yugi's works - the stories are not really new or mind-blowing, there's just something about the characters and story-telling that make the manga quite special. Thanks for the great pick! :) |
Athena said: I've only read two of Kunieda's works, the one-shot collection 'Like as the Time Will Come When it Will Rain' (Thanks to your rec :))and 'Dark Eyes', so I was expecting more of that rather poignant tone, and then I ended up looking like the two characters when they first meet at school! I quite like it, I must say, though certainly different from those two works. It reminded me so much of Yamada Yugi's works - the stories are not really new or mind-blowing, there's just something about the characters and story-telling that make the manga quite special. Thanks for the great pick! :) Oh yes, quite different, you should read her other works to know how 'wtfyish' she can get...even when she is making a funny story. Her shoujos are the same...I love them! Glad you liked this one :) |
| Great review! You pointed out the humour bits, and that's what I really liked about this manga. After reading a lot of her usual dark psychological fare, reading this took me by surprise. It's a very fun, cute and sweet read- kinda unexpected! It just... makes you happy reading it. :D She is such a versatile mangaka- good with humour but skilled in writing creepy and affecting stuff too. And her art is awesome as well, sharp and pretty. Definitely one of my top favourite mangakas in the BL field! |
zetsuboshita said: As for me, I enjoyed it a lot. It's one of my favorite series from the author and probably the first I read by her and I wouldn't have done it differently, it made me appreciate her art and comedy-love stories a lot more. Well, this was your selection after all XD, I think her art is great...and her comedy is probably the best that I have seen. Dasha9x said: What I liked about this story the most was the comedy part and maybe that it was such a normal story. It could really happen. And it was interesting to see how two totally oposites got to like each other. I will be probably in the minority here but I liked Kento much more than Akira. Usually I dislike settings where are a bear-like seme and cute slutty uke. But Kento was more passionate than I would expect him to be and he wasn’t even scared to punch his lovely partner. So he wasn’t just any passive guy who lets his partner do as he pleases. And Akira wasn’t only cute jerk with no brain so I liked even him. But seriously who I liked the most was the grandpa. When he was rambling Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!, he totally got me. But the story wasn’t about him, right? So for me it was quite normal manga with pleasant moments. Hey, good point! that's probably the only reason why Kento didn't become one more of those characters that turn into oblivion for me. He might want to be normal but he has it for crazy things, he just needed Akira to lead him and light that spark! mondo0102 said: Great review! You pointed out the humour bits, and that's what I really liked about this manga. After reading a lot of her usual dark psychological fare, reading this took me by surprise. It's a very fun, cute and sweet read- kinda unexpected! It just... makes you happy reading it. :D She is such a versatile mangaka- good with humour but skilled in writing creepy and affecting stuff too. And her art is awesome as well, sharp and pretty. Definitely one of my top favourite mangakas in the BL field! Thanks ^^, and yes, she is is really surprising, she has made me laugh, cry, get a bit scared and sometimes dumbfounded. That's what I call talent! |
| excuse me :D I'm hardly interested in this manga thanks to that review, does anyone knows where I can read/download it in english or spanish? thank you so much :) |
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Helsic said: excuse me :D I'm hardly interested in this manga thanks to that review, does anyone knows where I can read/download it in english or spanish? thank you so much :) Lol you mean really interested right? (Hardly siginifca difícilmente, apenas) ^^ You can find it in mangatraders I think. |
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