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Posts Tagged Fumi Yoshinaga

Review: The Moon and the Sandals (Vol. 02)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, October 12, 2008

Manga-ka: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: DMP
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: June 2007

Synopsis: “The loveable characters of The Moon and The Sandals saga begin a new chapter in their lives. Kobayashi and Toyo have both successfully started their careers, Hashizume now heads his own restaurant and Rikuko is studying to be a doctor. But amidst all this seeming success, old issues still lurk below the surface, waiting to be resolved. Question is… will the gang be able to muster enough maturity to finally settle old scores?”

The story continues as we follow the two couples established in the first volume. Older lovers, Hashizume and Rikuko continue to live together as married men (or the closest thing to), while the younger couple Kobayashi and Toyo’s relationship continues to be a little bumpy but they’re no less in love. The two couples may have found soul mates in each other, but of course that doesn’t mean they’re perfect!

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Fumi Yoshinaga, June

Digital Manga Speaks After Yaoi Con 2008

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, October 2, 2008

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Today I recieved an e-mail from Michelle Mauk from Digital Manga Publishing regarding the recent Yaoi Con convention and there’s plenty of good news to go around! From book announcements made at Yaoi Con, to the state of their imprints, you can read it all under the cut.

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Categories: Licensing
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Fumi Yoshinaga, Makoto Tateno

Review: Solfege

By Lissa Pattillo on Wednesday, September 17, 2008

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Manga-ka: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: DMP
Rating: Older Teen (16+)
Released: March 2007

Synopsis: “Kugayama is a gifted music teacher, but a man with little ambition or desire. Born to a wealthy and prominent family, Kugayama passes his days simply going through the motions and existing. When ex-student, Azuma Tanaka, requests his help in studying for a prestigious music school’s entrance exam, his budding youth and enthusiasm invoke a passion in Kugayama that he has never experienced before.”

Kugayama is a talented music teacher from a well-off family, but his life lacks passion and he lives each day without much thought about it. Then one day everything changes when a previous student of his returns, asking for his help in preparing for a music school’s entrance exam. He finds the student’s enthusiasm refreshing and inspiring, but the feelings budding between the two cause more than a disruption for their lessons.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Fumi Yoshinaga, June

Review: Garden Dreams

By Lissa Pattillo on Monday, September 8, 2008

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Manga-ka: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: DMP
Rating: Teen (13+)
Released: October 2007

Synopsis: “In a castle in a far-off western land, there once lived a baron with empty eyes, whose melancholy ways belied a love of beauty and song. A wondrous garden surrounded the baron’s home–a place of quiet splendor that served to remind him of his painful, untended memories. Could the songs of two bards bring dreams of a happier tomorrow? Or would they bring more loss than the baron might possibly bear?”

Garden Dreams begins by introducing readers to Farha, a young boy raised by Saud, a young man who found Farha as a child alone in the desert. The two travel the lands as bards, and have found themselves singing for a Baron in the lands to the West. But sadness in the Baron’s eyes reveals a painful past and a subdued yearning for a better future.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Fumi Yoshinaga, June

Review: The Moon and the Sandals (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Thursday, May 1, 2008

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Manga-ka: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: Feburary 2007

Synopsis: “As a newly appointed high school instructor, Ida has yet to gain confidence in his teaching. His lack of assurance is made worse when Ida feels someone’s eyes on him during class – a fierce-looking student, Koichi Kobayashi’s. Is it discontent that makes Kobayashi stare, or could it be something else?”

The Moon and the Sandals follows the relationship trials and successes of a group of men as they learn about themselves and others in these sweet, coming-of-love stories. It puts a down-to-earth spin on the teacher-student love story and gives readers an honest feeling look at these characters’ love lives.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Fumi Yoshinaga, June

Review: Ichigenme (Vol. 02)

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, April 27, 2008

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Manga-ka: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: July 2007

Synopsis: “An (apparently) frivolous Tohdou and an (overly) serious Tamiya. They continue to collide and have finally become lovers around graduation. This is their life afterwards. The long awaited second volume is here with never before release material. And Tohdou’s younger brother (seme) makes a guest appearance.”

Taking place seven years after the end of the first book, volume two continues to follow the ever-evolving relationship of Tohdou and Tamiya. Both continue their work diligently which often means they don’t get to see eachother as much as they’d like… or as much as Tohdou would like anyway. Tamiya continues to act a bit cold and reserved. Combined with his growing independence through things such as cooking and cleaning, and apparent little interest in sex, Tohdou begins to fear that he’ll have nothing left to offer his lover.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: 801Media, Boys' Love/Yaoi, Fumi Yoshinaga

News Worth Repeating

By Lissa Pattillo on Sunday, March 2, 2008

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ANN reported back on Friday (via animeanime.jp) that Fumi Yoshinaga’s character driven manga, Antique Bakery, is getting made into a 12 episode anime series. It’s currently planned to hit late night television in Japan in July.

I know I for one am psyched by the news. I’m a huge Yoshinaga fan and look forward to seeing how her work is translated over to the world of moving pictures. With so much of her stories’ power protrayed in subtle facial expressions and an excellant sense of pacing, can an anime keep the same charm? I’m certainly looking forward to finding out.

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Categories: Misc
Tags: Anime, Fumi Yoshinaga

Review: Truly Kindly

By Lissa Pattillo on Saturday, November 3, 2007

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Manga-ka: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: BLU Manga
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: August 2007

Synopsis: “From modern-day tales of romance in Seattle, to eerie stories from historical Japanese fantasy, to Yoshinaga’s further depiction of the class conflict before the French Revolution. The characters Claude and Antoine, a young aristocrat and his butler, are initially introduced in this volume; we see their further adventures in Lovers in the Night.”

Truly Kindly is a compilation of short stories by Fumi Yoshinaga, a follow up to her previous compilation, Lovers in the Night, and includes a return of its title characters. Ranging from surprise endings to the short and sweet, it’s a diverse collection of character driven stories for which its manga-ka is known.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: BLU, Boys' Love/Yaoi, Fumi Yoshinaga

Review: Don’t Say Anymore, Darling

By Lissa Pattillo on Friday, July 27, 2007

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Manga-ka: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: DMP/June
Rating: Mature (18+)
Released: July 2007

Synopsis: “The only thing keeping Tadashi, a struggling song lyricist, alive is food handouts from Kouhei, a successful doctor. In fact, Tadashi has been leeching off of Kouhei for practically their entire professional lives. But Kouhei’s parents want nothing more than to see their son settling down. As Kouhei is pushed ever more forcefully into an arranged marriage, will he finally admit that he sees Tadashi as something more than just a friend?”

Don’t Say Anymore, Darling is a compilation of short stories by the manga-ka, Fumi Yoshinaga, famous for her character driven works such as Antique Bakery and Flower of Life. This collection brings together five short stories ranging from the trials of a futuristic world to the failings of a present day piano prodigy. Each story stands on its own as a unique tale portraying the trials of love and loss in different ways.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: Boys' Love/Yaoi, Fumi Yoshinaga, June

Review: Ichigenme (Vol. 01)

By Lissa Pattillo on Tuesday, July 10, 2007

1 Comment »

Manga-ka: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: 801Media
Rating: 18+
Released: Febuary 2007

Synopsis: “Tamiya meets Tohdou at Reinou University when he is unexpectedly French kissed by him at his zemi’s, or seminar’s, launch party! While Tamiya is somewhat put off by the unexpected kiss, considering the other students were forced to strip, he is grateful to Tohdou and they soon begin a curious friendship. But things become a little rocky when Tohdou admits he is gay and asks Tamiya to become his lover…”

Another in a long line of Yoshinaga’s work, Ichigenme should not let down any of her fans. Contained in its pages are all the classics of the manga-ka’s style, well-written dialogue, several different characters to bounce the story off of and a simple layout for which to follow it all.

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Categories: Reviews
Tags: 801Media, Boys' Love/Yaoi, Fumi Yoshinaga