10 Dance

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Recommended for: BL readers who like a slow burn romance that is steamy without any real action occurring between the characters, and who appreciate detailed figural drawing and a strong secondary plot focus (in this case, professional dancing). Also recommended to readers who prefer BL characters that break out of the seme/uke stereotypes and other BL tropes.

-Story: (7/10) I enjoyed the premise of the story (two professional ballroom dancers teaching each other the dance styles that they specialize in for their personal/professional gain). The story felt fresh, and it was different that other BL manga that I have read. I would have rated ... the story higher, but the pacing felt off at times (there were many times that the story dragged or focuses on plot points that weren't all that interesting), and there were times that it jumped around.

-Art: (9/10) The character drawings were some of the best that I have come across. The detailed and realistic art style lent itself well to all of the dance scenes. The faces were the best - very expressive, and the mangaka did a superb job accurately portraying the face from a wide variety of different angles. The background scenery was often minimal or non-existent. To be fair, though, a large part of the story takes place in a dance studio, so there is not a lot of background to be portrayed there, and I imagine that a highly detailed background would distract from the level of detail in the character drawings.

-Character: (8/10) This story doesn't show a lot of individual character growth, but the relationship between the two characters is very dynamic and well-developed. There are so many stale cliches in BL characters, and this manga did a great job avoiding them. Both characters are confident adults, and professionals in their field. Rather than one character being more "dominant" or aggressive in pursuing the other, this relationship has a lot of give and take between two men who are equally dominant. At times, they come across as very masculine and assertive, and at other times, they come across as more sensual, and borderline effeminate. BL manga involving at least one (formerly) straight guy generally involves a lot of indecision and feelings of reluctance or uncertainty, but usually from only one of the characters, while the other is trying to persuade him. However, these two characters (both of whom were straight before) alternate between which one is more assertive (by instigating kisses, suggestiveness, or semi-playful teasing) and which one is feeling uncertain. It maintained a good balance between the characters,and felt more realistic to me.

Hot damn. This manga is sexy as hell. Think of it as a cross between "Ballroom e Youkoso", "YURI!!! ON ICE" and "Dirty Dancing". This is not a hot tumble but a slow-burning love story that develops slowly with lots of UST and comedy in between. The art in this manga is gorgeous and very dynamic, which is only fitting for a manga that is all about two professional ballroom dancers who are slowly falling for each other. The only bit I do not like because it is rather boring is the storyline regarding the two journalists. If this is ever turned into an anime, ... then I would cry tears of joy. Read it!

I only read this because my partner bought the first five volumes, and I'd give it a solid 6/10

Sports anime/manga (because dancing is a sport, this counts) aren't typically my cup of tea. Romance anime/manga even less so when it's got a lot of the "sexiness" that many people might actually finds draws them to a particular manga. This is because I prefer romance to be secondary to the plot, but that's why this manga was okay with me. The plot is the driving force behind the romance instead of the other way around, and that was nice to see.

That doesn't mean the plot ... made sense. Some of it was flash forewards that only caused extra confusion, and had no other associated foreshadowing that could lead up to those moments. There was a lot of jumping around as well, which was unecessary in context.

The art is beautiful and is the thing that I enjoyed the most, though there were a handful of times that something looked ever so slightly weird. It may have just been me though. I do, however, think it's off that one of the main characters, a cuban, suddenly loses all his skin color just by living in Japan. Half asian or not, people's skin colors don't go from completely dark to pasty pale, and seeing as he's shown out in the sun, I feel his skin would still be somewhat darker. There are many black and dark skinned characters in the manga, and they are drawn fairly well, so why not do that for your main character.

The character's personalities are very rocky at first, and they only solidify as the manga continues. There's also a few moments in which they seem to revert back to their original personalities for a moment.

So while I enjoyed having something new to read, I likely wouldn't read it again.