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As for the supporting characters they are all equally three dimentional: Shiiba's solid brother-in-law who is so much more than he seems, Munechika's quietly forceful right hand man with his unwavering loyalty, the ill fated and tragic Nagakura and Godou, the ruthless and souless villain. I enjoy the fact that Shiiba is not the typical uke but I have to say my favorite character is Munechika. I have a most wonderful time finishing S in one day. But at the end it is the relationship between Shiiba and Munechika which grips me and refuses to let go.
The characters are so well developed and captivating. What an amazing series. And I am impressed with the tightly paced plot and love is often dark and poignant tone. DMP has really done a marvelous job in the translation. From an intimidating and cold Yakuza in Vol 1, this seme has somehow got hold of my heart by vol 2.
The sex is sensual, the touch of sadism/masochism adding to the intensity. Kudos to Saki Aida and I wish there is more from this writer. OK so I am pretty bleary eyed now but I could not put it down once I started. No review could do justice to S. Both characters are complex and their relationship is intense, passionate and stirring.
I really appreciate the deep and meaningful progression of their relationship through the series, from purely business in Vol 1 to violence in Vol 2 to heartbreaking pain in Vol 3 culminating to a most satisfying conclusion in Vol 4. The only regret is that they may never be another Yaoi novel of this high caliber. And I love the graphic illustrations too.
The package arrived the other day and my heart start beating fast in anticipation on how the writer ends this BL drama.Well the story can go either way if you see it in diferent directions but I am satisfied on how it ended.Man, this series is the best.My avid reader gay friend loves it too.Very well written.At least Shiiba is not too girlish in this volume.I really want the drama CD.
The end of book 3 left me almost frantic: Munechika in a hospital and Shiiba being chased by both the police and the yakuza. As always, Nara-sensei's illustrations blend very well with the story and have become progressively better looking since the beginning.The relationship between Shiiba and Munechika also enters its most important stage here, as the two finally come to terms with what they mean to one another. There really isn't enough space to devote to relationship development in most manga of this type (BL series are usually much shorter than regular shojo and sometimes characters unrealistically fall for each other within the first ten pages), but here in a four-part novel, the page count works out favorably enough. Volume 4 is a lot more quiet than I expected. Nice paper and a good translation make a novel much more enjoyable. While there are two very intense situations, this book is mostly dedicated to calmly unraveling the reasons behind the whole series. It seemed like a difficult volume to follow and I wondered how Aida-sensei would resolve all this tension. Once that point has been reached, the two have to figure out a way to make their love work with other elements in their personal and professional lives.Throughout the entire series, I've felt as though the BL aspect of the novel was treated much more seriously and in greater detail than usual.
Pretty much all the questions the reader might have asked since the beginning - the death of Shiiba's sister, collaboration between different yakuza groups, the relationship between Munechika and his younger brother, the reasons for making illegal guns at the Yoshizawa factory - all of them will be answered here. So be prepared for a lot of dialogue and not that much action. I remember how tenuous the liaison between the two main characters seemed in volume 1; it has come a long way since.DMP has managed to keep the high production quality of the first volume until the very end of the series and for that I am very grateful. I only hope that there will be more releases from this author in the future, despite the current grim outlook of the whole BL market in the States.
It takes cop thrills and m/m romance and turns it into a read you just cannot put down. This is an awesome hot series. smok'n. For those of us waiting for volume four go to Akadot retail. http://www.akadot.com/product_info.php.products_id=28199&cPath=37_38They have volume 4 available and ready to ship in 36 hours versus two months.
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