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Author: Laila Reimoz
Artist: Studio Kosaru
Publisher: YaoiPress
Rating: 18+
Released: September 2005
Synopsis: “The street punk Noah made the mistake of pick-pocketing a crime lord right before he had a meeting with an embassy official. When crime lord Tokihiko can’t produce his identification he misses the important meeting. Tokihiko has Noah captured with the intention of torturing him to death. When he sees how beautiful Noah is, he decides to make him his slave instead.”
There isn’t really much that can be said for Enslaved by the Dragon that wouldn’t turn into an unnecessary, but unavoidable, drag through the mud. While having a full compiled book one can assume effort was put into it but unfortunately the finished project just really doesn’t show it.
The story is a plot that’s been used a hundred times over and this version has does nothing original with it and the characters are under developed, tiny revelations only serving as obvious attempts to cover the lack of solid substance. The artwork follows along with a few strong emotive scenes but overall looks cheap, fast and not worth time in giving a second glance.
Despite being one of Yaoi Press’s earliest releases, there’s a lot of unmistakably and unforgivable issues with the quality. The binding and size is nice but the covers could use some more impressive layout work, including some that doesn’t cut off things such as the book’s title. The synopsis on the back of book needs a creativity boost and definitely doesn’t come across as a strong selling point. Inside the book, every couple of pages is printed out of focus, and would it be too much to ask for a simple The End at the main story’s conclusion?
A short story that acts as prequel to the later released, Winter Demon, is one of the perks of the book but would have been better served with at least a cover page introduction separating it from the first story. Commercials at the front of the book seem out of place and would be better suited to the end with the others.
In the end, Enslaved by the Dragon feels about as dull, cut and dry as the synopsis on the book’s back cover. Yaoi fans accustomed to this kind of bow-tied ending may be able to take it with a grain of salt, but otherwise it falls into the category of disappointedly unbelievable by the end and with nothing making it worth the read. Recommended only for those wanting the Winter Demon prequel tacked on the end.
Review written January 29, 2008 by Lissa Pattillo
Book purchased online from YaoiPress
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