Jul 26, 2018
If you're on a super yaoi-binge with lots'a hardcore guy-on-guy action; unfortunately, this isn't really the manga for you. However, if you're a fan of the genre and just looking for a cute little something to read that isn't very intense in its contents, then 'Koketsu Dining' may very well be for you!
(Please note that as I am writing this, 'Koketsu Dining' is ongoing, but I have caught up with it thus far.)
This series is very light-hearted in its story, with a pile of fluff and minimal sexual content. If you're trying to get into the genre, but are a bit shy around full frontal
...
nudity, this may be a good one to test the waters with. Out of the three volumes that I have read, there was only one sexual scene; and while, yes, there was a (very) big ol' schlong in there, it was actually important to the development of Hyuuga and Akaru's relationship. That scene was there because of a reason other than "Gee, you're hot. I'm horny. Let's get jiggy with it!"
The series has its goofy moments, as it would with a tiger-faced man, but with those goofy moments, 'Koketsu Dining' also has cute moments and serious moments that are relatively believable, and it doesn't rely on a misunderstanding happening every chapter to drive the plot forward. One or two still kind of baffle me, but they weren't so pivotal to the story that I thought they were something to think very hard about.
A big point in yaoi for me is the art-style. Especially when you consider that the content one would usually read the genre for (the lovin') is visual. The art for 'Koketsu Dining' is pleasant to look at, and I have to give credit to Moto: the detail in Hyuuga's... face(?) is pretty impressive! The only qualms I really have with the art is that Hyuuga's tail seems to change length and/or thickness every once in a while, and also his face might make an expression that I can't quite understand in the context that it's made. That being said: I never expected a tiger: or in this case, a man with a tiger's face; to be able to pull as many expressions as he did! Hyuuga's face suited most of the situations he was in, and I'm very impressed with the more subtle displays of emotion. I didn't realise it until later on, because I didn't think about it, but you are able to pick up how he's feeling even if it's just a little, tiger-y smirk. I have no idea how you can successfully make a tiger smirk, but it was pulled it off, and I am very impressed!
The characters seem pretty reasonable, and I certainly don't dislike any of them. Of course, I don't feel like we get very far into who they are, so in regards to development, it's not brilliant. We may very well see other sides to the characters as the series progresses, but I feel like it might have been nice to know a bit more about them at this stage (three volumes in). I certainly know of other series which seem to space out character info pretty well within the space of a couple of chapters, so it's doable. One may argue, however, that it lets us focus on their current relationship and who they become as their relationship progresses, rather than who they were beforehand; and I'm willing to believe that, given the more lighthearted, fluffy, and not too serious vibe this manga has.
Long story short, I really did enjoy 'Koketsu Dinig'. While I don't feel like it had a life-changing impact on me, I do think it may have wriggled its way to being one of my favourite BL manga, and that's mostly thanks to it's pleasant change of pace compared to other BL I have read. It's definitely not the type of manga where you should think too hard about what happens, but there's enough depth in the story that makes you feel genuinely intrigued in the plot and not just think "Yeah, I don't care. When do they do the wild thing again?"
If you want a BL manga that isn't "sex, sex, sex!" then I can happily suggest tucking in to the laid-back, goofy, and fluffy 'Koketsu Dining'!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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