-"NightS" involves the yakuza and a free-lance transporter.
-"Kanjou Spectrum" is a shounen-ai story between two highschool students.
-"Reply" is a charming love story between a car salesman and a mechanic that work for the same company.
I don´t know if the stories are that original. Doesn´t matter, really. The thing is Yoneda Kou´s work does not stand out because of the plot, but rather thanks to her characters, which are great. They all have strong personalities, not only the semes, but also the ukes, who don´t behave like cry-babies and don´t go acting all tsundere. Nor do the semes go acting all-mighty, violent and manipulative.
I think the dialogs are her strongest point. I´ve already mentioned this in another review. I think her dialogs may be the best I´ve read, not only in yaoi manga but in general. They are full of irony, play of words, sarcasm. They flow naturally. She does not resort to the usual clichés, she doesn´t go over the top with words. Perfect dialogs.
I love the art. It’s very realistic. The characters are down to earth, not only as regards their development, but also their looks. The ukes don´t look like girls. The semes aren´t overworked. The H scenes in "NightS" (the first story) are a little more explicit than the ones in "Reply" or in other works by her, such as "Iro no Aru Sekai" or "Crows ZERO". But they are still closer to being erotic, rather than pornographic.
There is one thing I would like to applaud as regards the plot in all three stories. That is, the way in which all three relationships develop is believable... I generally don´t like it when the story involves heterosexual adults that suddenly and naturally fall in love with another man, without even questioning themselves or having some kind of inner conflict with their change of tastes. They usually solve the problem with a "thought bubble" that reads something like "Why have I just found him cute? No, no! What is happening to me?" And on the next page he has already come to terms with everything and suddenly accepts the fact that he has fallen in love with a man... or even more, he may even come to a conclusion such as: "I´m not gay... I just fell in love with you, because it´s you". Not credible at all.
But none of this happens here. In the first story this is not even a matter in question. We aren´t told about the previous sexuality of the characters... there is just chemistry between them, and that´s it. Furthermore, none of them looks naive and inexperienced in the matter. The second story is about teenagers who are, by definition, at the age where they define their preferences, and I think the manga reflects in a way this "awakening" to sexuality. The third story does involve heterosexual characters that fall in love with each other... but they both have a rough time accepting and admitting it. They even stop seeing each other for a while.
This natural flow of events in her manga, which makes her stories credible, goes with her realistic portrayal of the characters and the spontaneity of her dialogs. And I think that´s what makes her work stand out.
