| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
6 |
| Art |
8 |
| Character |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
First of all, this is an anthology, which isn't apparent anywhere in the adverizing. No two stories connect. And the blurb in the advertizing is misleading even regarding the story it refers to. However, the back cover blurb is pretty accurate. Not all the stories are yaoi or boys' love, or even really love stories, although love is a theme in all of them. There are definitely some unexpected twists in most of the stories. Some of the stories are of the type where not much happens--a mood is established, a fact is stated, then, like a joke, the
punchline occurs. It's like a haiku poem.
The other three stories are developed to a degree, like a normal story, but I think the plots rely very much on the twist at the end of the story rather than a real resolution. Two of the stories in the volume I would call science fiction or fantasy. Only one of them could be called a traditional love story (the title story).
The art is well-drawn, although not top-of-the-line.
Character development is not extensive but does occur in a couple of the stories, while not at all in the shorter vignettes I mentioned above. The final story in the volume has the most character growth, and is really the point of that story.
I have mixed feelings about the stories in this volume. I thought there was no point to my having read the shorter stories at all, and they certainly have no reread value. Two of the other stories I probably wouldn't want to read again, and the title story I might come back to if I'm really bored. I suppose that means that the impact of the stories are too dependent on the secret endings, and once you know that, the panel-by-panel course of the stories are just not very interesting or attractive, and the art just isn't enough to make up for that lack. read more
