What did you think about this manga?
| It's about time for the Special Read #17, and I have picked one of my favorite stories, I hope this one makes up for the long wait ;). Arashi no Ato -After the Storm- by Hidaka Shouko is a sequel of sorts to Signal, by the same author. However, this time the story is about the really interesting and seemingly obnoxious character we caught only a glimpse of before; the president of an interior design company, and friend of the previous main characters, Sakaki Masahiko. We would always like to think that we have control over ourselves, especially when it comes to our feelings. Of course, most of the times things don't turn out exactly the way we want them to in that area. There are also those occasions when a conviction takes form on its own, completely ignoring the conscious mind, and you can find yourself wondering if there isn't someone else sharing your inner boat. It can be a surprising, refreshing, or even dazzling feeling, to find oneself attracted to someone you are not supposed to; it can be a really bothersome issue too...which is exactly our the case for Sakaki.  Self-centered, prudent and down-to-earth Sakaki finds his peaceful days wrecked by an inner storm when he gets completely attracted to, who he considers the forbidden, a straight man. Well, it doesn't come as a surprise when Okada Kazuki, a dark haired stylish beauty, calls his attention in their first meeting; Okada is truly a jewel in the crowd, and Sakaki is very appreciative of a well-groomed man. Besides, just watching can't do any harm...right. That's true unless you have to keep meeting that person and working together for weeks. More to Sakaki's pain, even if he tries to avoid Okada, the man has an unusual interest in him. It seems to be the sort of professional admiration that can turn into a good friendship. However, Sakaki recognizes some signs that might say otherwise and, even if there seems to be some hope, he is sure that's just a delusion on his part. Could he be mistaken? Arashi no Ato is a special boys' love manga; even if the story is not uncommon, it was presented in a very different way that made it outstanding. It gives a calm feeling, soothingly pleasant maybe, that makes you love it by its simplicity. It's a combination of interesting and veritable characters, nice art-style and, mainly, a natural flow of actions; the story draws you in while the background plot adds dept to that feeling. After all, we see both characters working, in a major interior designing project, not as a simple excuse for sex behind the scene. Far from that, this is such a well developed setting that it transformed this manga into a slice of life. Speaking of the characters, Arashi no Ato is mostly focused on Sakaki and the sequel/extra Double Line is more about Okada. Both of them turned out to be pretty appealing men. There is much more to Sakaki's coldness and principles than just prudence, after all, he has been in the same situation before and can't take the excruciating pain of liking someone he can't have anymore. Sakaki wants to get away from it as fast as he can, hoping for the storm to subdue. However, it will not be that easy.  Sakaki Masahiko Okada won't take such a harsh rejection without giving a piece of his mind back. He is a bit of a free spirit, in the sense that he likes to do things as he feels them, without thinking too much. Okada isn't what he looks like at all but, somehow, he manages to maintain sort of a distant beauty. Surprisingly, he is not simply a laid-back man and Double Line gives us a better view about his interesting traits. In the end, Sakaki's personality is intense but prudent, Okada's is relaxed but upfront; talk about complementing contradictions.  Okada Kazuki Hidaka Shoko's art-style is another good point for this manga. Her characters look beautiful and the clothes are stylish, along with nice body proportions and some detailed backgrounds, everything looks great. The colored art and inserts are treats to the eye too. Now, she is not very explicit in her sex scenes, however she manages to make the few we can see pretty erotic. An interesting detail was Sakaki changing glasses along the story, adding even more allure to this sexy character.  My fav is the one from the middle, yours? fell in love with this title since the moment I saw its great cover. Their expressions, their calm and composed moods, the expensive sofa from Sakaki's store, the cigarette that makes Okada look so sexy and the clothes that are pretty much the great style along the whole manga. All of it sums to perfection. Top that with their linked hands and there you have it: stylish, sexy, beautiful and subtle but intense romance; Arashi no Ato in a nutshell. If you feel it's not enough with the manga, there is also a drama CD and the booklet has a small extra for the story. Morikawa Toshiyuki and Nakamura Yuuichi did a pretty nice job with the characters' voices. More? another short story called Shopping came out in the anthology Gokujou Megane Danshi (yes! more glasses) Original artwork and story from Hidaka Shouko Published by Houbunsha. Fan art by zetsuboshita. Review from queen2408. Found the review helpful? Vote. On Lists: Average Yaoi, Equal relationship  Bye bye, enjoy your read and tell us what you think |
AngieOct 24, 2010 12:59 PM
| You can't imagine how much I started grinning when I saw the club picture had changed to Arashi no Ato/Double Line. I've reread this series a ridiculous amount of times. I've even done the whole Drama CD read-along thing. This series makes me ridiculously happy. The pacing and atmosphere is perfect to me. Double Line is a wonderful extension to the series, giving us insight to Okada's point of view and at the same time showing us far their relationship has come. I really enjoyed all the side characters in the series. They really add this something extra. Nakamori makes me really happy for not being a stock character. We get to know her quite well and she really shows personality. Of course, Sakaki and Okada are extremely likable as well. You can sympathize Sakaki when he closes up and you can sympathize with Okada as he tries to sort through his feelings for Sakaki. They're very real. I also stalk Hidaka Shoko's blog (I like her work in general) and there's this cute image of the two if anyone's interested. |
Queen2408Sep 12, 2010 10:21 PM
 ジリティック♡BEGINNER |
adamantine said: You can't imagine how much I started grinning when I saw the club picture had changed to Arashi no Ato/Double Line. I've reread this series a ridiculous amount of times. I've even done the whole Drama CD read-along thing. This series makes me ridiculously happy. The pacing and atmosphere is perfect to me. Double Line is a wonderful extension to the series, giving us insight to Okada's point of view and at the same time showing us far their relationship has come. I really enjoyed all the side characters in the series. They really add this something extra. Nakamori makes me really happy for not being a stock character. We get to know her quite well and she really shows personality. Of course, Sakaki and Okada are extremely likable as well. You can sympathize Sakaki when he closes up and you can sympathize with Okada as he tries to sort through his feelings for Sakaki. They're very real. I also stalk Hidaka Shoko's blog (I like her work in general) and there's this cute image of the two if anyone's interested. :D:D that's so nice, just like me haha. I edited your post in case of a minor spoiler there... And thanks for the image!! so cute! I'm looking forward to Hana wo Sakuka 'cause it's feeling pretty similar to this one, realistic but still wonderfully lovable. |
| It's a masterpiece! (your vote) I don't know what more could I say about this series. I liked everything: how it was putted, how they passed on with relationship, how they felt in love. I love a spin-off after 2 years, somehow I loved that oneshot more then series. It really is a wonderful manga. And what happened was so cute |
Queen2408Sep 13, 2010 11:39 AM
| (VOTING MISTAKE OTL I clicked 'It's okay' instead of 'It's very good'!) I've read this before, and while I think it was pretty good (definitely not crap-quality yaoi), it wasn't anything that stood out for me. I can barely remember how I felt as I was reading it, although after checking my rating, I'm rather surprised that I rated this a 9 (considering that I only rate BL manga when I like it/hate it to the extreme) This review made me want to reread it, as well as check out its related titles. |
 |
Queen2408 said: Slight Hana wa Saku ka spoilers.:D:D that's so nice, just like me haha. I edited your post in case of a minor spoiler there... And thanks for the image!! so cute! I'm looking forward to Hana wo Sakuka 'cause it's feeling pretty similar to this one, realistic but still wonderfully lovable. To the spoiler wary: Basically, I love UST. |
ジリティック♡BEGINNER |
| I remember being unimpressed by Arashi no Ato, but absolutely loving Double Line. Maybe it was the deadpan expression on Sakaki's face throughout his whole 'inner storm'. I'm not sure. And I usually like stoic characters like that, but I remember being annoyed by him. I do agree with Queen about the details in the art - really pretty and interesting. The sofas, the spectacles. (I like the right glasses in the picture, btw. :D) I probably should give it another chance, though. (I didn't like 'Restart' or 'Out' either - I can't quite put my finger on why, though.) And with Morikawa Toshiyuki's cool/evil/disinterested/sexy voice, I think I'd probably enjoy it more. Thanks for the info about the drama CD. :) |
ChowCwow said: It's a masterpiece! (your vote) I don't know what more could I say about this series. I liked everything: how it was putted, how they passed on with relationship, how they felt in love. I love a spin-off after 2 years, somehow I loved that oneshot more then series. It really is a wonderful manga. And what happened was so cute I'm glad you liked it. neko11lover said: (VOTING MISTAKE OTL I clicked 'It's okay' instead of 'It's very good'!) I've read this before, and while I think it was pretty good (definitely not crap-quality yaoi), it wasn't anything that stood out for me. I can barely remember how I felt as I was reading it, although after checking my rating, I'm rather surprised that I rated this a 9 (considering that I only rate BL manga when I like it/hate it to the extreme) This review made me want to reread it, as well as check out its related titles. I think I felt the same way at first, the I re-read it after a long time and mountains of crappy and not-so-crappy BL. I liked it a lot more...even more with the extra. thethirdkibeth said: while reading your review i had an idea that i'd read this manga before because i remember the interior decorators part. Turns out i had read it and i'd rated it an 8. I could barely remember the story so i reread it. It wasn't bad. I think i would have liked it more if it was longer, i usually like longer stories because they have more development. I liked the way it was paced but i wish it'd been able to go a bit further. The relationship was rather unsteady at the end of the main manga but i guess the extra at the end made up for that. I might go and find Shopping to get a little more though :) Yeah, more would have been great for this, especially more details about how they work together and Sakaki falls in love with Okada. adamantine said: Queen2408 said: Slight Hana wa Saku ka spoilers.:D:D that's so nice, just like me haha. I edited your post in case of a minor spoiler there... And thanks for the image!! so cute! I'm looking forward to Hana wo Sakuka 'cause it's feeling pretty similar to this one, realistic but still wonderfully lovable. To the spoiler wary: Basically, I love UST. Oh well, I am a rare person too, seems like I'm gonna love Hana wa Saku ka even more...how the characters get to know each other is going pretty well. I think we are just very picky about how the love develops, after that is nice to see how it keeps doing the same. Athena said: I remember being unimpressed by Arashi no Ato, but absolutely loving Double Line. Maybe it was the deadpan expression on Sakaki's face throughout his whole 'inner storm'. I'm not sure. And I usually like stoic characters like that, but I remember being annoyed by him. I do agree with Queen about the details in the art - really pretty and interesting. The sofas, the spectacles. (I like the right glasses in the picture, btw. :D) I probably should give it another chance, though. (I didn't like 'Restart' or 'Out' either - I can't quite put my finger on why, though.) And with Morikawa Toshiyuki's cool/evil/disinterested/sexy voice, I think I'd probably enjoy it more. Thanks for the info about the drama CD. :) Hahahah Sakaki annoyed me at first too...weirdly I found it sexy later, then hot and now he is just perfect lol. I didn't like Restart that much either, and I can't remember Out very well...but I loved Shiranai Kao and I'm loving the new stories :) |
More topics from this board
Sticky: Poll: » How did you find out about the AGUY club?Queen2408 - Jul 20, 2010 |
21 |
by CloudyRing
»»
Sep 8, 2019 2:02 PM |
|
» The Uke-Sensei List (Student x Teacher)Geisha_X - Aug 23, 2009 |
44 |
by Geisha_X
»»
Dec 4, 2018 11:15 PM |
|
» Looking for some AGUke Manga? ( 1 2 3 )Queen2408 - Jul 24, 2009 |
117 |
by Geisha_X
»»
Dec 2, 2018 1:30 AM |
|
» The Showbiz Yaoi List ( 1 2 )Geisha_X - Feb 1, 2010 |
81 |
by Geisha_X
»»
Dec 1, 2018 4:32 PM |
|
Poll: » Manga discussion: Seven DaysGeisha_X - Feb 1, 2010 |
21 |
by Geisha_X
»»
Dec 1, 2018 1:47 AM |